tennis heineken open men singles quarter finals
auckland jan afp
results from the quarter finals of the heineken open here on thursday denotes
seeding
quarter finals
john isner usa bt tommy robredo esp
albert montanes esp bt michael lammer sui
arnaud clement fra bt jurgen melzer aut
philipp kohlschreiber ger bt marc gicquel fra
european stocks rise at open london up percent
london jan afp
europe main stock markets advanced at the start of trading on thursday with
london benchmark ftse index gaining percent to points
frankfurt dax added percent to and in paris the cac won
percent to stand at points
urgent yemen clerics appeal for war in case of foreign intervention
sanaa jan afp
yemen council of clerics appealed 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
alert
russia to ratify european court of human rights reform parliament leader
urgent pakistan 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
tennis sydney international results nd update
sydney jan afp
results from the fifth day of the sydney international wta atp tennis tournament
on thursday denotes seed
women
semi finals
serena williams usa bt aravane rezai fra
elena dementieva rus bt victoria azarenka blr
men
quarter finals
richard gasquet fra bt potito starace ita
julien benneteau fra bt leonardo mayer arg
marcos baghdatis cyp bt lleyton hewitt aus
alert
pakistan taliban leader hakimullah mehsud escapes us drone strike militants
alert
yemen clerics warn of jihad in case of foreign military intervention
iraq sentences men to death over baghdad bombings
baghdad jan afp
an iraqi court thursday sentenced to death men including al qaeda militants
over devastating truck bombings in baghdad on august that killed more than
people judicial official told afp
they are sentenced to death for the crime they planned ali abdul sattar
president of the criminal court said at hearing in the iraqi capital
the august attacks outside the ministries of finance and foreign affairs
caused massive destruction killed people and wounded around others
those convicted included salim abed jassim who confessed that he received
funding for the attacks from brigadier general nabil abdul rahman senior army
officer during the rule of saddam hussein now living in syria
also sentenced to death were ishaq mohammed abbas an al qaeda in iraq leader
and his brother mustapha the court official told afp
both men had once been detained but were later released from camp bucca now
closed us run prison in the southern city of basra
the august truck attacks on what was dubbed black wednesday marked iraq
worst day of violence in months and prompted outrage among citizens at how
the bombers had been able to commit such atrocities
the government which blamed the attacks on al qaeda and saddam loyalists from
the executed dictator outlawed baath political party admitted at the time
that negligence at checkpoints allowed the attackers to penetrate the capital
un chief recommends prolonging nepal mission
kathmandu jan afp
united nations chief ban ki moon has recommended that the un special mission
in nepal be extended warning of escalating post war tension in the himalayan
country
in report to the un security council ban expressed serious concern at nepal
political stalemate and said the next few months would be crucial for the peace
process which began when civil war ended in
positions have hardened at the opposing ends of the political spectrum which
has seriously eroded the common middle ground that had from the outset defined
the peace process and remained its driving strength he said
there is growing and worrying risk of the political discourse being dominated
by extreme voices and the focus shifting away from the peaceful and democratic
path
the un mission in nepal unmin was set up in to support and monitor the
peace process after year civil war between maoist rebels and the state
its mandate is due to expire on january
the nepal government has asked for the political mission to be extended until
may and the security council will vote on the issue in the coming days
ban said withdrawing the mission now would be unwise although he urged nepal
political parties to agree timeline that would create an unambiguous exit
strategy for the un
the un has repeatedly criticised the slow pace of nepal peace process which
includes drafting new constitution by the end of may and integrating thousands
of maoist former fighters into the regular army
more than people died in the war between the maoists and the state and
deep suspicions persist
thousands of maoist soldiers remain in un monitored camps around the country
awaiting integration but the army opposes such move and negotiations to end
the stalemate have failed to reach compromise
there are also fears that the new constitution will not be written on time given
major differences among nepal political parties including the maoists
tennis serena fights back to reach first sydney final
sydney jan afp
world number one serena williams called on all her signature fighting spirit to
overhaul french opponent aravane rezai and reach her first sydney international
final on thursday
the american time grand slam champion clawed back from set and down to
defeat th ranked rezai and will play defending champion elena
dementieva in friday final
fifth seed dementieva who downed williams at this stage in last year
tournament was too strong for sixth seed victoria azarenka of belarus in the
other semi marching to victory
williams will be bidding for her th title while dementieva will be after her
th williams leads in their career matches
for much of the two hour contest williams looked consigned to losing her fourth
sydney semi final before she raised her level to claim of the last games
was lucky to get through today for sure williams said
was just trying to play my game and do the best that could didn do so
well
hit don know how many errors today but finally made couple of
shots
faced with chastening defeat just days ahead of the defence of her australian
open crown williams dug deep and turned the tide against the impressive rezai
don think she lost her way at all williams said just think at that
point lifted my game
thought she did really well felt like literally lifted my game at that
point because knew was going be headed to melbourne for the australian
open if didn
kept thinking want to get little more practice and hate for it to
end now
rezai said she had learnt from the defeat
was probably scared to win the match she said but realise have the
game and can win so learn one more thing today it just to fight until
the end of the match
dementieva went on from her impressive straight sets win over world number two
dinara safina late wednesday to ease past azarenka
was trying to be very aggressive from the beginning of the match dementieva
said
didn want it to go to three sets because need to save some energy for the
final
dementieva said she was looking forward to facing williams ahead of next week
australian open
sure it going to be tough one think playing her in early rounds it
completely different game she said
so to play her in the final it going to be tough challenge for me
it looks like she in very good shape right now it going to be tough
battle
japan pledges million dollars for haiti quake relief
tokyo jan afp
japan on thursday pledged five million dollars in aid for haiti where an
earthquake may have killed more than people government spokeswoman
said
deputy foreign minister koichi takemasa said japan will offer five million
dollars foreign ministry spokeswoman told afp
tennis wickmayer forced to qualify for open
sydney jan afp
belgian world number yanina wickmayer on thursday missed out on seeding for
next week australian open and must go through qualifying to play in the year
grand slam opener officials said
wickmayer who won last week auckland classic final would normally have been
awarded seeding but was unable to register in time before the closing date for
main draw entry because of doping ban
wickmayer was suspended last november by the flemish doping tribunal for failing
to give her whereabouts for compulsory drug tests on three occasions and
belgian court banned her
but the ban was suspended by an injunction on december
wickmayer successfully appealed the ban but by the time it was overturned
she had missed the closing date for regular entry into the australian open
she made an unsuccessful bid for wildcard into the open and her only path
into the tournament main draw will now be through qualifying officials said
don deserve to start off in qualies and have to play three matches to
qualify for the main draw wickmayer said
everyone who knows my story and how everything went thinks deserve to be on
court
otherwise tournament organisers kept the australian open seedings according to
world rankings
world number ones roger federer and serena williams will be top seeds for the
open
belgian seven time grand slam winner justine henin making comeback after
months in retirement has been granted wildcard and will be unseeded when the
tournament begins at melbourne park next monday
the men and women singles draws will be held on friday
urgent japan pledges million dollars for haiti quake relief
tokyo jan afp
japan on thursday pledged five million dollars in aid for haiti where an
earthquake may have killed more than people government spokeswoman
said
posco posts sharp cut in earnings
seoul jan afp
south korea posco the world fourth largest steelmaker thursday reported
sharp drop in earnings last year as it was hit by the global economic crisis
net profit fell percent from year earlier to trillion won
billion dollars it said in statement
operating profit plunged percent to trillion won while sales fell
percent to trillion won
posco said net profit rose to trillion won in the fourth quarter of last
year from billion won year earlier due to decreased costs and rising
demand as the effects of the downturn wore off
fourth quarter sales fell percent from year earlier to trillion won
while operating profit rose percent to trillion won
production last year fell percent from to million tonnes posco
has set its annual production target at million tonnes this year
the company said its investment for would hit record high of trillion
won
it said it is considering acquiring percent stake in australia roy hill
mine as part of an effort to secure stable supply of raw materials
alert
japan pledges million dollars for haiti quake relief government
wwf to help expand china panda reserves
beijing jan afp
the world wildlife fund said on thursday it planned to spend million yuan
million dollars over the next three years to increase the number of giant
panda reserves in china
the environmental group also plans to build wildlife corridors between the
plus reserves to enable the pandas to move around more freely wwf china
representative dermot gorman told afp
the only way we are going to protect the long term security of the giant panda
is to ensure that the existing habitat remains of high quality he said
gorman said wwf will try to work with local governments to reduce the impact
of tourism highways and other infrastructure on panda habitats as well as
expand scientific monitoring system to cover all the reserves
there are nearly pandas living in the wild more than three quarters of
them in the southwestern province of sichuan pandas also are found in
northwestern gansu province and northern shaanxi province
another giant pandas are in captive breeding programmes in china
singapore detains terror suspect interior ministry
singapore jan afp
singapore has detained suspected member of the jemaah islamiyah ji extremist
group who had undergone bomb making and firearms training in the southern
philippines the interior ministry said
mohamad azmi bin ali is being held under the internal security act which
allows for detention without trial following his arrest last november the
ministry of home affairs said in statement on its website thursday
it described azmi as long time ji member who joined the group in he
also became member of the philippine muslim separatist rebel group moro
islamic liberation front milf the ministry said
he had visited an milf camp in the southern philippine island of mindanao and
learnt to handle firearms and attended bomb making demonstration the
ministry added
azmi also donated funds to the milf cause and was fully aware that the money
would be used to purchase ammunition
azmi fled singapore in december after authorities mounted security
operations that crippled local ji cell whose members were allegedly planning
to bomb us and other foreign targets in the city state
he remained in hiding overseas and was eventually arrested with the cooperation
of regional authorities the ministry said without disclosing where the arrest
took place
the ji has been blamed for series of deadly attacks in southeast asia
including the october nightclub bombing in bali indonesia that killed
people many of them foreign tourists
singapore has taken tough security measures with officials warning that the
island republic regional financial centre and host to thousands of
multinational companies is prime target for terror attacks
haitians await rescuers as quake toll may top
port au prince jan afp
frantic haitians awaiting global rescue effort clawed through the ruins of
their capital seeking survivors from an earthquake that left streets strewn with
corpses and death toll that may top
injured and shocked survivors steeled themselves thursday for second night on
streets and sidewalks littered with the dead from haiti worst earthquake in
more than century
schools hospitals hotels ministries and the presidential palace lay in ruins
and people caked in blood and dust pleaded for help as they or their loved ones
lay trapped beneath mountains of concrete in mostly destroyed port au prince
an afp correspondent said
mournful singing and prayer rose above the dust and debris cloaked city of two
million people as darkness descended on destitute nation thoroughly unprepared
to cope with tragedy of this magnitude
in city street an overwhelmed preacher warned in creole about the end of the
world
dead victim was pinned between the fallen roof of her home and her bed and
rescuers tore at the wreckage of children hospital with their bare hands
jeanwell antoine held trapped baby arm and sought to comfort it as he clawed
through the rubble
it is not me who is pushing back this earth it is the hand of god who loves
life and is guiding me so can save this baby he said
with every hour crucial for those trapped global aid operation swung into
action with rescue teams bringing heavy lifting gear sniffer dogs and
desperately needed medicines food and water
the priority is to find survivors elisabeth byrs spokeswoman for the un
office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said as the un mobilized
search and rescue teams
we are working against the clock she said
casualty figures were impossible to calculate but prime minister jean max
bellerive told cnn the final death toll from the quake could be well over
president rene preval told the network could be dead
us secretary of state hillary clinton who canceled an asia trip to return to
washington compared the tragedy to the asian tsunami which killed more than
people five years ago
the indian ocean tsunami was such terrible tragedy and with such high loss of
life this will be very high loss of life as well she said
preval unsure of where he would sleep after his home and the presidential
palace were destroyed painted scene of utter devastation
parliament has collapsed the tax office has collapsed schools have collapsed
hospitals have collapsed he told the miami herald
with thousands of people missing dazed survivors in torn clothes wandered
through the rubble as more than aftershocks rocked the ramshackle and
impoverished capital
dust filled the air scattered fires broke out and injured people slumped on
the blood soaked floor of one clinic waiting for treatment outside field
hospital mothers huddled with shell shocked children
injured survivors were carried on makeshift stretchers past piles of smashed
concrete from which crushed bodies protruded
fanning safety fears in the crime hit capital the united nations said the main
prison had collapsed allowing some inmates to flee into city where basic
services and communications were shut down
the earthquake was the latest tragedy to hammer haiti which has been scarred by
years of unrest crime political tumult and natural disaster
they have had long and tortured history but they are good people they are
survivors said former us president bill clinton the un envoy to haiti
these people deserve chance to bury their dead to heal their wounded to
eat to sleep to begin to recover and they can do it with just government
help alone clinton said appealing on cnn for cash to buy aid
tuesday quake struck just below the earth surface on notorious fault line
meaning the shock was intense and damage severe scientists said
un officials said at least of its staffers were dead were injured and
further were missing the head of the mission hedi annabi was thought to
be among the dead
us president barack obama vowed swift and aggressive effort to save lives and
spoke with an array of regional leaders to coordinate the aid operation
this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible he said
officials said the first us search and rescue teams had arrived and were
deploying into port au prince
the aircraft carrier uss carl vinson was due to arrive thursday
officials said the us naval base in guantanamo bay cuba home to
controversial camp for terror detainees may also be used to house refugees
plane loads of rescue teams and relief supplies were quickly dispatched from
nations including britain canada france germany the netherlands russia and
spain
the world bank said it planned to extend an additional million dollars in
emergency aid to haiti to help recovery and reconstruction
the quake turned thousands of buildings into rubble among them was the un
mission headquarters and major hotel where tourists were missing
brazil said of its peacekeepers were killed jordan reported that three of
its peacekeepers died while eight chinese soldiers were buried in rubble and
were missing state media said
the haitian resort town of jacmel was also devastated
was driving back to jacmel in the mountains when the entire mountain seemed
to fall down all around me said emmet murphy local head of the us non
governmental organization adci voca
euro firms in asia ahead of data ecb meeting
tokyo jan afp
the euro was higher in asian trade thursday as investors anticipated upbeat
factory data from the eurozone while trying to gauge the strength of the
region recovery
traders were also waiting for monetary policy decision meeting by the european
central bank and press conference by its governor jean claude trichet for
clues on prospects for interest rates in europe
the euro firmed to dollars in tokyo afternoon trade from in new
york late wednesday it also gained to yen from the dollar edged
up to yen from
barclays capital analysts said investors were waiting for europe november
industrial production index which may surprise to the upside with some
expecting strong bounce after october decline
market forecasts are for factory output to have jumped percent in november
after percent fall the previous month
but the stronger than expected data may do little to nudge the ecb when it meets
later in the day to decide on interest rates dealers said
markets expect the ecb to hold its key lending rate steady at percent and
see little prospect of revisions to the bank assessment of the economy or when
it will halt its policy tool of flooding markets with cash
the dollar was weaker after lacklustre beige book survey on economic
conditions in the united states that dampened speculation that the federal
reserve might hike interest rates earlier than expected this year
the report said data from the federal reserve districts showed modest
improvement in key areas such as consumer spending manufacturing and housing
meanwhile the yen was sold after data showed japan core machinery orders
slumped worse than expected percent in november from the previous month
underscoring moves by companies to slash capital spending
the dollar tumbled against asian currencies declining to south korean
won from on wednesday to indonesian rupiah from and
to philippine pesos from
it also fell to taiwan dollars from to singapore dollars
from and to thai baht from
iraq sentences men accused of august bombings to death
baghdad jan afp
an iraqi court on thursday sentenced to death by hanging men accused of
plotting bombings in baghdad on august that killed people judicial
official told afp
they are sentenced to death for the crime they planned ali abdul sattar
president of the criminal court said at hearing in the iraqi capital
the august attacks at the ministries of finance and foreign affairs also
wounded around people
german inflation at year low of percent official
frankfurt jan afp
german inflation averaged percent in its lowest level since the
country was reunified in final figures released on thursday by the
national statistics office showed
the figure confirmed an estimate first provided on december
in consumer prices gained percent in europe biggest economy
according to data provided by the destatis office
the low year on year rate of price increase in was characterised mainly by
price decreases for mineral oil products and food statement said
lower energy and food prices compared with peaks in have kept inflation
down in germany while rising unemployment has also prevented unions from
demanding substantially higher wages
the last time inflation was anywhere near this low was in when it reached
percent destatis said
inflation even dipped briefly into negative territory in the middle of this
year reaching minus percent in july the lowest rate since
across the nation eurozone inflation rose in december to percent
according to flash estimate from the the eurostat data agency well below the
european central bank target of below but close to percent
new zealand air force acrobatic pilot killed in crash
wellington jan afp
new zealand air force pilot in the elite red checkers display team was killed
thursday when his plane crashed as he practised aerobatic manoeuvres officials
said
squadron leader nicholas cree was rehearsing solo maneouvre in an air
force ct airtrainer when he crashed near the ohakea air force base in the south
of north island
there was no obvious cause for the crash which will be investigated the air
force said
prime minister john key described the accident as tragedy
the royal new zealand air force safety record is excellent but there are
always dangers when flying and regrettably they can claim the lives of even
the very best of our pilots key said
us drone missile strike kills in nw pakistan officials
peshawar pakistan jan afp
missiles fired by us drone aircraft hit militant training camp in northwest
pakistan thursday killing at least people officials said as washington and
islamabad clash over the strikes
it was the seventh bombing raid by unmanned us planes this month as pakistan
sees surge in the strikes which fuel anti american sentiment in the nuclear
armed muslim nation and draw public condemnation from the government
us officials say the attacks are necessary to protect nato troops fighting over
the border in afghanistan and are urging pakistan to do more to dismantle
militant safe havens carved out along the lawless frontier
thursday assault took place in pasalkot village in remote area of north
waziristan and very close to the border with south waziristan where pakistan
military are battling taliban fighters officials said
it was us drone strike which took place between am gmt and
am at least people mostly militants have been killed in the missile
strike the toll is likely to rise said local intelligence official
the targeted site was militant training camp he told afp it was not
immediately clear if any senior insurgents had been killed
senior security official confirmed the death toll and said four missiles were
fired from unmanned planes in the remote area
all seven strikes this year have hit north waziristan bastion of al qaeda
fighters the taliban and the haqqani network which launches attacks on the
us and nato troops fighting the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
the administration of us president barack obama has put pakistan at the heart of
its fight against al qaeda and islamist extremists and says the war in
afghanistan cannot be won without islamabad help but tensions simmer
us senator on wednesday scolded pakistan leaders for privately supporting us
drone strikes while publicly denouncing them
what troubles me is the public attack on these drone attacks when at the same
time they ve privately obviously not told us that we must stop said senator
carl levin chairman of the us senate armed services committee
pakistan leaders not only understand and acquiesce but in many cases
privately support the drone attacks levin said adding that the minimum we
should expect is silence on their part rather than public attack on us
such criticism creates real problems for us in terms of the pakistani public
and helps create some real animosity towards us sense of revenge the
implication that we re violating pakistan sovereignty he said
on wednesday pakistan foreign minister shah mehmood qureshi said the strikes
sour relations with washington while president asif ali zardari has warned they
undermine public support for their own military operations
pakistan armed forces have in the past year launched multiple offensives to
quash northwest sanctuaries of the taliban blamed for most of the attacks in
pakistan which have killed more than people since july
but washington is increasing pressure on islamabad to tackle militants who use
its soil to launch attacks in afghanistan and american officials have said that
the highly secretive drone programme has eliminated some top fighters
more than people have died in about drone strikes in pakistan since
august but us officials do not confirm individual attacks
three philippine soldiers missing in haiti military
manila jan afp
three philippine peacekeepers were missing on thursday after haiti massive
earthquake while fourth had been rescued from collapsed building military
spokesman said
the three sergeants two of them female were believed trapped beneath the
rubble of the collapsed headquarters of the un stabilization mission in the
haitian capital port au prince after the quake struck on tuesday
army corporal david catacutan was pulled from the wreckage of the montana hotel
amazingly with just minor injuries the military said several hours after
reporting he was among four of its soldiers missing after the quake
fortunately he only has few bruises lieutenant colonel romeo brawner said
on local radio after report by satellite phone from the commander of the
small philippine peacekeeping unit in haiti
the philippines has strong contingent in the un force comprising police
soldiers and military observers brawner said the rest are now taking part in
the rescue effort he added
manila has said it has no news on more than philippine civilians in haiti
including people working for un agencies
china urges foreign it firms to operate according to law
beijing jan afp
china said thursday that foreign internet firms were welcome to do business in
the asian nation according to law after google said it might leave the
country over cyberattacks and censorship
foreign ministry spokeswoman jiang yu offering beijing first official
response to the google row also emphasised that the communist government was
against any form of cyberattack such as hacking
china like other countries administers the internet according to law jiang
told reporters
also like to stress that china welcomes international internet enterprises
to conduct business in china according to law
she said the internet was open in china adding the chinese government
encourages its development and it also makes efforts to create favourable
environment for that
google vowed tuesday to stop bowing to chinese internet censors and risk
banishment from the lucrative market in protest against highly sophisticated
cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
