attacks becoming more frequent and more violent across the globe maritime
watchdog said thursday
there were reported incidents of piracy and high seas armed robbery in
up from the previous year but below the figure of in the
international maritime bureau imb said in report
our hope is that this escalating volume of piracy is met with heightened
response from the governments and their agencies best able to reduce and contain
these risks to human life and property imb director pottengal mukundan said
the imb said its piracy reporting centre in kuala lumpur received reports of
vessels being hijacked last year attempted attacks and vessels that were
fired upon
total of crew members were taken hostage injured and eight killed in
it said
increases in the frequency and level of violence perpetrated against ships at
sea and the people who work them is serious concern mukundan said
the watchdog said pirate attacks rose in almost all regions
off the coast of lawless somalia the number of cases nearly doubled last year at
incidents with vessels hijacked and crew members taken hostage
however the imb said the number of successful hijackings off somalia was
proportionately lower attributing the decline to the increased presence and
coordination of international navies
it warned that pirates have shifted their focus from the gulf of aden one of
the world busiest maritime trade routes and the main target of attacks in
to the east coast of somalia
the watchdog said other african waters also remain very dangerous with
incidents reported in nigerian waters which are frequently much more violent in
nature than those in somalia
the south china seas have also seen rise in attacks with cases last year
the highest in five years
piracy is also on the rise in south america with incidents reported up from
in
attacks in the malacca strait which just few years ago was world piracy
hotspot remained at just two in the same as the previous year the imb
said
large scale coordinated patrols involving indonesia malaysia and singapore have
deterred attacks in the area
malaysian catholics lawyers offices hit in allah row
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysia catholic church said thursday its lawyers offices had been burgled
and ransacked in the latest of spate of attacks triggered by row over the
use of the word allah
police said church in southern johor state was also attacked bringing to
the number of churches that have been fire bombed or vandalised in the past
week
trouble broke out after the high court decided on december to lift
government ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god
our lawyers offices were broken into and burgled sometime between wednesday
evening and thursday morning and the office was ransacked said father lawrence
andrew editor of the catholic church newspaper the herald
we believe the break in is linked to the ongoing situation over the use of the
word allah and we are very concerned he told afp
the law firm does not have any money or many valuables so we believe this is
purely aimed at intimidation
church lawyer derek fernandez said laptop was stolen in the attack on his
firm offices in southwest kuala lumpur and he was checking whether any
documents had been taken
this was very professional job as there were very strong grilles protecting
the office that were cut and the locks were carefully replaced after the
break in he told afp
district police chief arjunaidi mohamed said his officers were investigating
meanwhile police said the saint elizabeth catholic church in johor had been
splashed with paint early thursday
the church was splashed with red paint sometime early this morning deputy
national police chief ismail omar told afp we are still investigating the
matter
malaysia bar council condemned the attack on the law offices urging
thorough investigation
lawyers must be free to represent their clients without fear or favour
council president ragunath kesavan said in statement
criticism and dissent are legitimate forms of expression but threats
coercion intimidation or violence are unacceptable he added
the high court ruling in favour of the herald which argued for the right to use
allah in its malay language section was suspended last week pending an
appeal after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict
since the ruling churches have been hit with molotov cocktails splashed with
paint and had windows smashed with stones triggering tighter security at places
of worship nationwide
about nine percent of malaysia million people are christian including
catholics more than half of malaysia catholics are from indigenous
groups mostly from borneo and who mostly speak the national language malay
the row is one of string of religious disputes in recent years that have
raised fears among minorities that the country is being islamised and that
their rights are being eroded
the us government commission on international religious freedom tuesday voiced
concern over the violence and said the response of malaysian leaders would be
vital in shaping the nation future
the malaysian government has strongly criticised the attacks but has been
accused of stoking malay nationalism so as to protect its voter base after the
opposition made unprecedented gains in elections
afp gmt news advisory
paris jan afp
duty editor charles whelan
tel
top stories
haiti awaits quake relief feared dead
taliban leader escapes us strike
european central bankers tackle eurozone crisis
haiti quake lead wrap
port au prince
frantic haitians await global rescue effort as they claw through the ruins of
their capital seeking survivors from calamitous earthquake which left streets
strewn with corpses and death toll that may top
words gmt by clarens renois graphic picture video
pakistan unrest us taliban rdlead wrap
peshawar pakistan
pakistani taliban leader hakimullah mehsud escapes us drone strike on
militant training camp in the lawless tribal belt near afghanistan that killed
people the hardline militia says after rumours he was among the dead
words gmt by lehaz ali
we will also move pakistan unrest taliban hakimullah profile
ecb eurozone bank rate forex money lead
frankfurt
the eurozone faces one of its most serious internal crises ever as european
central bank governors meet here with fiscal problems in greece and other
eurozone members pushing interest rate issues to the background
words gmt
haiti quake
haiti quake horror lead scene
port au prince
mournful songs and prayers rise above the ruins in haiti overnight as darkness
draws veil over the rows of corpses in this caribbean nation quake hit
capital
words gmt by beatriz lecumberri graphic picture video
we have also moved haiti quake religion scene
haiti quake homeless scene
haiti quake world aid newseries reax
washington
rescuers sniffer dogs equipment and supplies head to haiti by air and sea in
global response to horror earthquake feared to have killed more than
people
words gmt graphic picture video
haiti quake recovery focus
washington
fierce earthquake that hit haiti causing massive destruction and loss of
life may also have shattered the country fragile recovery after decades of
political instability experts warned
words gmt by christophe schmidt picture
haiti quake internet twitter rdlead
washington
with communications in haiti ravaged by an earthquake tech savvy residents
turned to twitter to send pictures and news of the destruction while others used
the web service to mobilize appeals for aid
words moved by chris lefkow
we have also moved haiti quake un annabi profile
europe
nireland britain ireland politics religion focus
belfast
while northern ireland scrambles to defuse political crisis sex scandals
behind the turmoil have lifted the lid on the reality behind the province
perceived puritan religious divide experts say
words gmt by alice ritchie
eu spain economy diplomacy focus
madrid
spain has quickly shown it intends to play driving role in the eu during its
six month presidency at the risk of being snubbed as happened this week over
bold economic proposal
words gmt by pierre ausseill
ukraine vote economy focus
mariupol ukraine
from the windows of his house olexander fiordov surveys the smokestacks of the
mammoth steelworks where he has just been sacked another victim of ukraine
economic misery ahead of its presential polls on sunday
words gmt by anya tsukanova picture
middle east
iraq unrest trial rdlead
baghdad
an iraqi court sentences to death men including al qaeda militants over
devastating truck bombings in baghdad on august that killed more than
people
words gmt by ammar karim file picture
yemen qaeda guantanamo interview
sanaa
former yemeni prisoners who return home from the us military detention centre at
guantanamo bay could easily slip back into violence if they are not helped to
reintegrate in the society one returnee says
words gmt by taieb mahjoub
africa
nigeria politics court president lead
abuja
nigerian high court resumes hearing three petitions pushing for the vice
president to be formally recognised as acting president in the absence of an
ailing leader day after it ordered in separate case that he takes over
executive powers
words gmt by ola awoniyi
mozambique summit zimbabwe madagascar
maputo
mozambican president armando guebuza takes his oath of office to second term
before host of regional leaders who are later set to meet on the political
crisis in madagascar and the strained unity government in zimbabwe
words gmt by joshua howat berger
violence angola togo fbl afr cabinda focus
cabinda angola
in nova era prefab village couple of kilometres from the town of cabinda
group of around former separatist officers live with their families
isolated by the angolan authorities
words gmt by colin droniou picture
asia
us china it internet google wrap
beijing
china defends internet restrictions that have prompted web giant google to
threaten to pull out of the country adding potential new irritant in china us
relations
words gmt by dan martin picture graphic
china us it internet google rights focus
beijing
the internet has offered hundreds of millions of chinese an outlet to vent
political and social frustrations but beijing unrelenting surveillance only
highlights state fears about the people power of the web observers say
words gmt by francois bougon
india religion festival rdlead
haridwar india
hundreds of thousands of hindu devotees take ritual bath in india holy river
ganges before daybreak as the world largest religious gathering gets under
way
words gmt by beatrice le bohec
pakistani taliban leader escapes us strike militants
peshawar pakistan jan afp
pakistani taliban leader hakimullah mehsud was in the area of northwest pakistan
where us drone strike killed people thursday but left before the missiles
hit militant spokesman said
missiles fired by unmanned us aircraft hit militant training camp early
thursday in remote area on the border between north and south waziristan
strongholds of the tehreek taliban pakistan ttp group officials said
hakimullah mehsud was present at the same place in shaktoi where the drone
attack took place ttp spokesman azam tariq told afp by telephone
but he had left the place already when the drone attack took place he is alive
and completely safe
his comments came after local television stations carried unconfirmed reports
that mehsud may have been killed in the strike the seventh to hit pakistan
lawless northwest tribal belt bordering afghanistan this month
tariq did not say when mehsud left the area which pakistan security forces
described as very remote
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for thousands of deaths
in pakistan in late august after his predecessor baitullah mehsud was killed in
us drone strike on august
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his succession
australian unemployment in surprise fall
sydney jan afp
australia announced thursday surprise drop in unemployment to percent an
eight month low which raised expectations of further rise in interest rates
the december data which was down from november percent was helped by more
than people finding work during the month and beat analysts forecasts
for rise to percent
had thought the labour market was looking pretty good but even my optimistic
jaw dropped when saw these numbers come up said adam carr senior economist
at icap
australia has been dubbed the wonder from down under after government stimulus
and chinese resources demand helped it avoid recession in the global downturn
and become the first advanced economy to raise rates in october
the figures have led to forecasts that the reserve bank of australia will
increase the lending rate for fourth time since october
labour shortages and wage pressures will rear their heads again toward the end
of next year this will add upward pressure to inflation and reaffirms our view
that the rba will continue hiking the cash rate throughout said helen
kevans an economist at jpmorgan
the rba last lifted the rate by basis points in december to percent with
its governor glenn stevens saying business conditions suggest that the economy
is in gradual recovery
the bank had kept the rate at year low of percent as it tried to give
the economy boost during the downturn
the rba will make its decision on february five days after the release of
fourth quarter inflation figures
the unemployment data was driven by rise in part time jobs while
another found full time work the australian bureau of statistics said
today figures provide further evidence of how australia has outperformed
virtually every other advanced economy during the global recession said deputy
prime minister julia gillard
compared to an unemployment rate of percent in both the us and now europe
today result shows what we ve achieved by australians pulling together in
tough times and getting behind the government stimulus actions
the benchmark amp asx closed percent higher at points on
the news amid heightened expectations of fourth successive interest rate rise
in february
if policymakers and businesses are going to worry about anything in coming
months it is that the job market is tightening too quickly said craig james
chief economist at commonwealth securities
full employment is considered to be situation where unemployment is around
five percent and that is certainly not far away
dow jones newswires contributed to this report
tennis isner dumps robredo from heineken open
auckland jan afp
giant american john isner called on every inch of his six feet nine inch
centimetre frame thursday to upset spanish top seed tommy robredo in their
heineken open quarter final
the unseeded american fired booming aces and powerful barrage of ground
strokes to down the world number with victory in the
auckland atp event ahead of next week australian open
in match of see sawing fortunes the world rd ranked player had to
overcome an early break by the spaniard in the third set before breaking back
twice for victory
it always encouraging to come back and win set when was down
that ll give me lot of confidence going forward isner said
felt served pretty well today the outdoor hard courts suit my game the
balls bounce higher and can play aggressively
robredo rued some bad luck which included his racquet strings breaking on match
point
it was an easy forehand which normally cannot miss it tough to finish like
that but that the way it was
robredo departure completed the exit of the top four seeds from spain after
number two david ferrer and number four nicolas almagro were beaten in the
second round third seed juan carlos ferrero was forced out with an ankle
sprain
isner will play another spaniard albert montanes in friday semi final after
the eighth seed had relatively easy victory over swiss qualifier
michael lammer who is ranked in the world
montanes the winner of three clay court atp titles will be playing his first
hard court semi final with isner the victor in their only previous encounter
in auckland last year
frenchman arnaud clement continued his run of upset victories at the tournament
following up his second round win over ferrer by beating sixth seeded austrian
jurgen melzer
the year old world number will face semi final clash against
auckland champion philipp kohlschreiber who cantered to win over
france marc gicquel
urgent russia to ratify european court reform parliament head
moscow jan afp
russia will ratify key protocol clearing the way for long delayed reform of
the european court of human rights the head of the lower house of parliament
said thursday quoted by news agencies
hong kong gold closes higher
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold closed higher thursday at us dollars up from
wednesday close of dollars
it opened at dollars
renault reports percent drop in sales
boulogne billancourt france jan afp
french car maker renault on thursday reported its sales dropped percent to
million vehicles in as the global auto market slumped in the economic
crisis
renault also said however that its market share had grown from percent to
percent even as the world market shrank percent
renault said it would try to gain more market share in but warned the
european market could shrink again between eight and percent this year
yemen clerics call for jihad in case of foreign intervention
sanaa jan afp
yemen council of clerics called thursday for jihad or holy war in case of
foreign military intervention amid speculation the united states might join
sanaa pursuit of al qaeda extremists
if any party insists on aggression or invading the country then according to
islam jihad becomes obligatory they said in statement read at media
conference
qantas defends safety of budget carrier jetstar pacific
sydney jan afp
flagship australian carrier qantas thursday defended the safety of its
vietnamese budget airline jetstar pacific following claims that top management
had violated maintenance regulations
qantas chief executive alan joyce said the civil aviation administration of
vietnam caav had issued report identifying number of administrative and
quality issues related to the airline operations
but joyce said some of the problems had been addressed and subsequent routine
and independent audits the most recent in october had cleared the
carrier of any safety worries
we remain confident in our investment in jetstar pacific and confident in the
airline total commitment to safety joyce said in statement
the october audit concluded there were no safety concerns with jetstar
pacific operations and that the airline met regulatory requirements he
added
we will work with our vietnamese partners on the jetstar pacific board as they
continue to liaise with the caav
official vietnamese media on tuesday said the caav found three jetstar officials
had made systematic mistakes in monitoring maintenance work which put flights
at risk
the faults related to personnel appointments hangars equipment and the
licences and certificates of maintenance technicians according to the vietnam
news agency
it identified the managers as former general director luong hoai nam and two
unnamed foreigners who headed the airline maintenance and technical quality
sections
hanoi police arrested nam last week for alleged neglect of responsibility in the
performance of his duty causing serious consequences local media reports
said
he resigned from his post late last year they said
two australians working as senior employees of jetstar pacific have been ordered
not to leave vietnam as they help authorities explain how the budget carrier
lost million us dollars in fuel hedging
jetstar pacific formerly pacific airlines is percent owned by australia
qantas group the largest shareholder is the vietnamese government
hong kong shares fall percent
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares closed percent lower thursday falling back from earlier
gains amid lingering concerns over china monetary policy after beijing moved
to tighten liquidity
the benchmark hang seng index ended points lower at turnover
was billion hong kong dollars billion us
in shanghai however chinese shares were led up by telecom stocks after beijing
announced plans to encourage consolidation between telecom broadcast television
and internet network firms dealers said
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares closed up
percent or points at on turnover of billion yuan
billion dollars
indonesia to send team to haiti
jakarta jan afp
indonesia pledged thursday to send strong medical and rescue team to haiti
where an earthquake may have killed more than people an official said
we have prepared about personnel who consist mostly of paramedics and
rescuers disaster management agency spokesman priyadi kardono told afp
we want to send them as soon as possible probably friday
indonesia is well versed in quake relief and sits on the pacific ring of fire
where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity
magnitude quake that struck indonesia sumatra island on september
last year killed more than people
pakistani taliban leader escapes us strike militants
peshawar pakistan jan afp
pakistani taliban leader hakimullah mehsud was in the area of northwest pakistan
where us drone strike killed people thursday but left before the missiles
hit militant spokesman said
missiles fired by unmanned us aircraft hit militant training camp early
thursday in remote area on the border between north and south waziristan
strongholds of the tehreek taliban pakistan ttp group officials said
hakimullah mehsud was present at the same place in shaktoi where the drone
attack took place ttp spokesman azam tariq told afp by telephone
but he had left the place already when the drone attack took place he is alive
and completely safe
tariq did not say when mehsud left the area which is in pakistan lawless
northwest tribal belt bordering afghanistan
japan pledges million dollars for haiti quake relief
tokyo jan afp
japan on thursday pledged five million dollars in emergency aid to help haiti
recover from the devastating earthquake that may have killed more than
people
tokyo planned to cooperate with united nations agencies in distributing the aid
the foreign ministry said in statement
japan will cooperate with unicef and the world food programme to carry out
support swiftly said the statement
foreign ministry official said that separately japan will send emergency
goods worth million yen dollars including tents to haiti
to study the needs in the field of medical services we have formed research
team he added saying the team was due to be dispatched to haiti as early as
thursday
top government spokesman hirofumi hirano earlier said japan is planning to do
its utmost in giving aid to help the impoverished caribbean nation recover from
the magnitude quake that struck tuesday
casualty figures were impossible to calculate but prime minister jean max
bellerive told cnn the final death toll could be well over president
rene preval told the network could be dead
japan which experiences about percent of the world major earthquakes has
in the past dispatched disaster experts including rescue and medical teams to
quake hit regions and provided financial aid
defiant china web users back google
beijing jan afp
chinese internet users flooded the web on thursday appealing for google not to
close down its operations in the country after the us giant ultimatum to
beijing over censorship and cyberattacks
it not google that withdrawing from china it china that
withdrawing from the world one internet user said on twitter sentiment
echoed in other tweets
google announced on tuesday it would no longer censor search engine results in
china and possibly pull out of the world largest online market complaining
about cyberattacks and censorship by the communist regime
china based cyber spies struck the internet giant and reportedly more than
other firms in an apparent bid for computer source codes intellectual property
and information about human rights activists around the world
chinese online users have been flooding twitter even though the micro blogging
website is currently blocked by beijing evidence that savvy web surfers can
easily circumvent the great firewall of china
the authorities in the world most populous nation regularly block content and
websites they deems politially objectionable in vast censorship system in
country with an estimated million online users
social networking site facebook and google video sharing system youtube are
also blocked
strongly asking google to stay the government is really too overbearing
said one posting on baidu com google chief rival in china
not worshipper of foreign things and deeply love my country but the
government cannot be too excessive
on sina com another popular chinese web portal reaction was also strong
if google disappears from china how will intellectuals look for information
said one online user
others however were more sceptical
they re bluffing one said on sina com google situation in china was not
easy it hard for capitalist company to adapt in communist country
another said it would be mistake for the internet giant to leave china
leaving the chinese market would indicate the failure of google in china the
chinese market is huge it would even be mistake on their part the online
user said
at google headquarters in beijing dozens of supporters stopped by to voice
their support for the company leaving messages flowers and fruit
goodbye google you can build the wall but you can separate the hearts of
the people we want to see the other side of the wall said one supporter
freedom said another message in english and chinese
year old employee at an internet company who only gave his surname zhang
said he believed the chinese authorities had gone too far in their policing of
the web
in the last few years it has become harder and harder to go around the great
firewall you have to spend more time and money
google announcement was reported in some state run newspapers on thursday
although there was no mention of it in the people daily the ruling communist
party mouthpiece
but the english language global times which is run by the people daily said
china will lose out if google makes good on its threat saying people had the
right to free flow of information
should the world most populous nation fail to provide foothold to the
world top search engine it would imply setback to china and serious loss to
china net culture it said
the information highway demands not only safe driving but also free flow of
traffic and in the interests of the majority right to know free flow of
information should take precedence in civil society the global times said
google and china going their separate ways would hurt both sides
china said thursday it welcomed foreign internet firms to operate in the country
according to law without referring specifically to google
