you inviting danger on yourselves
residents of peshawar home to million people say they avoid public
gatherings hosts confess to dropping police soldiers and government officials
from guest lists for fear of inviting taliban attack
khalid ayub the owner of wedding hall in peshawar said lashkar islam
leader mangal bagh and taliban figures called him and told him to stop playing
music at the ceremonies claiming that to do so was un islamic
although the northwestern region bordering afghanistan has born the brunt of
militants ire violence has hit cities nationwide with more than people
killed in islamist attacks since mid
the moneyed youth of cosmopolitan lahore in eastern pakistan are also playing it
safe after six attacks this year killed people including civilians in
suicide attack at busy night market in december
used to be frequent guest at parties and weddings but haven been at
party or event for four months said faran shakir year old student if
try to leave the house after pm my parents ask where going
rai farooq afzal general manager of an events group said his business had
suffered as lahore found itself in the taliban sights
during the last year business has dropped more than percent and in the last
six months we haven arranged single party in lahore he said
there was big new year eve function at club but there was threatening
phone call and they cancelled it he added
in pakistan most populous city karachi authorities have ordered that all
weddings wrap up before midnight both to save electricity in nation suffering
power shortage and to allay security fears
the financial capital suffered one of its most devastating attacks last month
when people were killed in bombing at religious procession
now go to wedding hand my gift over to the couple and leave don stay
for dinner said lawyer asif rashid
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
gritty teen drama breaks taboos in russia
taliban bombs sap pakistan party spirit
russia entertainment television education feature
moscow
blood drips from boy mouth after fight in school slouching teen boasts
of knocking up chick and classmates swig cans of beer at break time
that the picture in new gritty russian tv series that has provoked outrage
from teachers and officials and calls that it be pulled off the air
words by anna malpas picture
pakistan unrest northwest lifestyle marriage feature
peshawar pakistan
when sara qaiser celebrated her wedding her dream day was attended by armed
guards and guests who had been frisked by pakistani soldiers
words by sajjad tarakzai picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
china says google case will not affect trade ties with us
beijing jan afp
china said friday that google threat to pull out of the country over
cyberattacks and official censorship would not affect beijing overall trade
and economic ties with the united states
the comments from the commerce ministry came after washington again demanded
explanations from beijing following the us internet giant allegations that it
was the victim of cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
the company has said it may abandon its operations in china the world largest
online market with million web users and also has warned it will stop
bowing to china army of internet censors
no matter what decision google makes it will not affect overall trade and
economic relations between china and the united states commerce ministry
spokesman yao jian told reporters
the two countries have multiple communication channels we are confident in the
healthy development of economic and trade relations between china and the united
states
in beijing first official reaction thursday foreign ministry spokeswoman
insisted china internet was open but defended the censorship that prompted
google shock announcement and told the firm to obey the law
yao echoed those remarks saying foreign firms operating in the asian giant
should respect the laws public interest culture and traditions in host
countries and take on social responsibilities accordingly
china is transferring from traditional planned economy to socialist market
economy stability and development are our top priorities at the current stage
the commerce ministry spokesman said
the row has threatened to rattle ties between washington and beijing already
frayed over number of issues from the copenhagen climate change conference
debacle to the value of the chinese yuan and number of other trade disputes
earlier this week secretary of state hillary clinton demanded answers from
china on thursday state department spokesman philip crowley said us
representatives had met with chinese embassy officials in washington on the
matter
the incident raises questions about both internet freedom and the security of
the internet in china crowley told reporters
google said more than other unidentified firms were targeted in the highly
sophisticated attacks believed to have originated in china while other
reports have put the number of companies attacked at more than
officials in washington have been reluctant to comment on how the google case
could affect bilateral ties but one official who asked not to be named warned
of future diplomatic fallout
if this was part of deliberate strategy on behalf of china it has
implications the official said
us lawmakers on thursday hailed google move and touted draft bill that would
prohibit us firms from storing users personal information in countries that
restrict the peaceful expression of political and religious views online
under the bill called the global online freedom act companies also would have
to report to the state department which search terms countries were trying to
filter out
google sent thrill of encouragement through the hearts of millions of
chinese representative chris smith the bill chief sponsor told news
conference it is game changer
but it companies are not powerful enough to stand up to repressive government
like china said smith republican from new jersey
without us government support they are inevitably forced to be ever more
complicit in the repressive governments censorship and surveillance
microsoft said thursday that security vulnerability in its internet explorer
browser was used in the spate of cyberattacks
web security firm mcafee inc said meanwhile that the attacks on google and
other companies showed level of sophistication beyond that of cyber criminals
and more typical of nation state
oil slips below dollars in asian trade
singapore jan afp
oil prices extended losses in asian trade friday on weak energy demand and news
the us commodity and options regulator was looking to tighten controls in the
energy futures market analysts said
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
fell cents to dollars per barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
barrel
prices dipped after the us department of energy doe reported wednesday an
unexpected increase in us petroleum reserves analysts said
new york crude rose to month high of dollars monday on the back of
robust chinese data but subsequently tumbled on news that beijing was tightening
money supply in bid to tame economic growth
think this was much needed correction because oil had run up to almost
dollars per barrel said tony nunan risk manager with mitsubishi corp in
tokyo said
lot of this optimism and euphoria was driven by chinese demand like the us
china is major oil consumer
nunan said the increase in us energy stockpiles was reality check because
people realised that the inventories were still high so there lot of fear
and uncertainty in the market now
the doe said crude reserves soared million barrels in the week ending
january far more than the consensus forecast for million barrel gain
distillates including heating fuel and diesel rose million barrels
the doe said confounding forecasts for million barrel drop
distillates are currently in focus amid an ongoing cold snap in the united
states the world largest energy consumer but forecasters have predicted
milder weather for the weeks ahead
prices were also impacted by the commodity futures trading commission proposal
thursday to regulate the energy futures market
there strong feeling that it could impose positions on energy contracts so
think that was one of the bearish catalyst to oil prices nunan said
china tightening weighs in stocks as intel boosts tech firms
hong kong jan afp
investor concerns that china will move to further rein in lending weighed on
shanghai and hong kong stocks friday as regional markets eased back after
strong run the previous day
however technology plays were higher after us bellwether intel the world
biggest chipmaker posted profit surge of almost percent
chinese stocks fell percent on expectations that beijing will try to curb
bank lending as it aims to tame soaring economic growth following the massive
stimulus measures put in place to beat the global slump
the government this week increased the amount of money banks must hold in
reserve after raising the yield on one year bills for the first time in five
months
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was down
points at
there are expectations that the government may take fresh administrative
measures to rein in rapid bank lending growth near term huatai securities
analyst dai shuang told dow jones newswires
and hong kong shares opened percent lower with the hang seng index down
points in early trading to
tokyo nikkei fell percent with troubled japan airlines which has fallen
around percent since monday unchanged at eight yen
but shiseido japan largest cosmetics company rose percent to yen
after it said it had agreed to buy bare escentuals of the united states for
billion dollars in friendly takeover
regional stocks were weighed by disappointing data from the united states that
showed retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december
analysts had expected gain of percent in sales the key driver of us
economic activity
sydney retreated percent by noon but singapore was percent higher
technology stocks rose after intel said net profit soared nearly nine fold by
percent to billion dollars in the three months to december
intel also said it expects revenue of between billion dollars and
billion dollars this quarter better than the billion dollars forecast by
analysts
in japan tokyo electron was up percent and elpida memory added percent
while in seoul hynix semiconductor rose percent and samsung electronics
gained percent
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo morning trade from in new york
late thursday as the impact of the retail data set in while the euro slipped to
dollars from and to yen from
in asian oil trade concerns over demand in the united states sent new york
main contract light sweet crude for february delivery cents lower to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
gold opened at us dollars an ounce in hong kong up from
thursday close of dollars
tennis davydenko lurks for federer at australian open
melbourne jan afp
roger federer faces potential quarter final against russian bogeyman nikolay
davydenko following friday australian open draw as the world number one
chases th grand slam title
davydenko the sixth seed has beaten the swiss legend at their previous two
meetings and could pose another test as top seeded federer goes after fourth
australian title
davydenko beat federer in straight sets in the semi finals at doha this month
and also mastered him at the atp world tour finals event in london in november
federer will open the tournament against russian world number igor andreev
and could face either lleyton hewitt or marcos baghdatis both former australian
open finalists in the fourth round
serb novak djokovic who beat federer in the semi finals of the australian
open on the way to winning his first grand slam was drawn in the same top half
of the men draw as the world number one
third seeded djokovic is drawn to face french open finalist robin soderling of
sweden in the quarters before potential tilt at federer in the semis
in the bottom half of the draw world number two and defending champion rafael
nadal could run up against british title contender andy murray in the quarters
nadal who beat federer in last year five set final in melbourne opens
against australian davis cup player peter luczak while fifth seeded murray
takes on qualifier first up
another prospective quarter final looms between us open champion juan martin del
potro the fourth seed and wimbledon finalist andy roddick
veteran frenchman fabrice santoro who will become the first player to
participate in grand slam tournaments stretched over four decades faces
croatian th seed marin cilic in the first round
britain prince william heads down under
wellington jan afp
britain prince william arrives in new zealand sunday for visit down under
during which he will be mixing with all black rugby players young aborigines
and bushfire victims
as well as carrying out some ceremonial duties on behalf of his grandmother
queen elizabeth ii in new zealand the second in line to the throne will travel
to australia on tuesday for more informal three day visit
tabloid coverage in britain of the year old son of prince charles has been
dominated by speculation about whether he is likely to propose to long term
girlfriend kate middleton
but officials say she is not expected to join him on this trip
many visits by britain royal family members to the former colonies tend to be
relatively low key affairs but the young prince has some of the allure that made
his late mother princess diana such popular figure
think what we have seen previously with royal visits here is there are those
people who get very excited about it and prince william is obviously someone
that certainly has that global pull new south wales tourism minister jodi
mckay told reporters on wednesday
think that we will see some prince mania but that good thing
the personal popularity of the prince is likely to ensure there will be little
focus on growing republican sentiments in both countries which recognise queen
elizabeth as their head of state
william will be making his third visit to new zealand the first was with his
parents as nine month old baby in
he returned in representing the queen at world war ii commemorations and
also taking time out to follow the fortunes of the touring british and irish
lions
am immensely looking forward to returning to new zealand following my
incredibly enjoyable visit in william said last month when details of the
visit were released
new zealand and new zealanders utterly captivated me on that visit and since
then new zealand has become very special place for me
william interest in rugby will take centre stage at the start of the visit
with visit sunday to eden park rugby stadium in auckland when he will meet
some all blacks and hear about plans for next year rugby world cup
he will later go sailing on auckland harbour in new zealand america cup
yacht and have traditional indigenous maori hangi meal cooked in pit in
the ground
the official centrepiece of the visit in the capital wellington the next day
will be the opening of the new supreme court building and public walkabout
after which prime minister john key will host barbecue
during two days in sydney his itinerary includes visits to an aboriginal
community centre and an australian army base
on the tour last day in melbourne on thursday the prince will be visiting
nearby rural areas devastated by fire in february last year in australia worst
natural disaster of modern times
on black saturday the raging bushfires killed people and destroyed more
than homes
jal offers service with smile despite looming bankruptcy
tokyo jan afp
as debt crippled japan airlines heads towards an expected bankruptcy filing its
pilots and cabin crews have taken their legendary courtesy to new heights
passengers flying with the carrier have been greeted by jal personnel both
working and retired who have expressed their gratitude to them one by one for
sticking with the troubled airline
thank you very much for choosing jal uniformed airline officials told
customers bowing politely and handing them hand written cards that thanked them
for their continued loyalty to the once iconic carrier
jal is in deep trouble and some of the passengers jetting off for overseas
holidays may have been excused for wondering whether their return tickets would
still be valid
shareholders this week strapped on their parachutes and jumped
as the airline prepared for court supervised restructuring and delisting the
share price which soared to yen in plunged more than percent
in day to just seven yen eight cents on wednesday
the share price rebounded somewhat on thursday but nobody doubts that jal faces
the end of an era and radical remake under new ceo and the guidance of
state backed turnaround body
jal is widely expected to file for bankruptcy next tuesday and later shed more
than jobs about third of its workforce its retirees and staff have
already agreed to sharp cuts in their pension benefits
the state backed enterprise turnaround initiative corp now overseeing the
restructuring will provide billion yen billion dollars so that it can
continue operations news reports have said
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september also
plans drastic cut in routes and sell off of non core assets and reportedly
may turn part of its operations into low cost carrier
wonder if they can keep up their great hospitality in future said motoe
kurasawa who was leaving from tokyo haneda airport for holiday in south
korea this week
often use jal because their politeness and passenger service are incomparably
better than that of the foreign airlines hope they ll succeed in their
corporate restructuring she said
others were less complimentary about the airline which was once symbol of
japan post war rise to prosperity but has kept flying only with the help of
three large government bailouts since
isn it private company asked teruo yokoura an office worker
think jal can disappear opposed to injecting public money to me
they ve been unsuccessful in management reforms because they still have
bureaucratic atmosphere
industry watchers have pointed to various causes for jal demise global
shocks to the aviation sector such as the attacks and the economic
downturn but also rigid management and political interference which forced the
airline to fly unprofitable domestic routes
kiyomi nakao part time saleswoman in southwestern shimane prefecture
said be troubled if jal abolishes the local flights use it ll take
hours for me to get to tokyo
another passenger accountant fuminori izumi from misawa northern japan
aomori prefecture said ll accept it if jal abolishes flights between tokyo
and my city where we now have three flights day the airline is losing money
and think it needs to rebuild its business from zero
there is one area in which the airline must not cut corners said izumi who was
travelling with his two young children and wife
hope they ll keep doing enough mechanical checks he said
baseball red sox okajima agree to million dollar deal
boston massachusetts jan afp
japanese left hander hideki okajima and the boston red sox have avoided salary
arbitration with an agreement on million dollar one year contract
okajima was with era last year his third with boston after coming to
the major leagues in all he is with six saves and era and was
major contributor to boston world series run in
the team announced the deal with the reliever on thursday
okajima is the third left hander in baseball history to make at least
appearances in each of his first three seasons
he could earn an extra dollars in performance bonuses dollars
each for pitching in and games
the contract isn guaranteed so the red sox could still release okajima in
spring training and give him either or days termination pay depending on
the timing
tennis nearly man roddick chases standout result at open
melbourne jan afp
andy roddick knows all about roger federer induced heartbreak with his tennis
career littered with demoralising loses in grand slam finals to the man he calls
the greatest player of all time
roddick is the nearly man of contemporary tennis if not for the commanding
federer he would be heading into next week australian open acclaimed as
five time grand slam rather than just the one
the rocket serving american had another shattering dose of what it is like to
come so close to the thrill of grand slam title when he was denied by federer
in spellbinding five set final at wimbledon last year
the swiss great prevailed in the fifth set at minutes the longest
deciding set in the history of wimbledon finals
it was once again hard to take for roddick who shed few tears realising that
he dropped serve just once but at the worst possible time the last game of an
enthralling contest
roddick has lost all of his three wimbledon finals to federer
and whose career record against the champion reads two wins and defeats he
also lost to the swiss in the us open decider
but for roddick it all clean slate as he heads into buoyed by winning
the brisbane international and committed to adding to his us open triumph
ranked seven roddick is looking to go at least one rung better than his
four semi final appearances in eight trips to melbourne and hope that he can
avoid bumping into his nemesis federer before the final
coming off his win over czech radek stepanek in this month brisbane
international for his th career title roddick is happy the way things are
falling into place ahead of the year first grand slam
the preparation doesn start when you get to the warm up tournament it starts
in december and feel like ve done everything ve needed to from mid
november on roddick said
feel like was hitting the ball pretty well all week in brisbane but
obviously coming out on the good end probably only helped things
it weird because ve played well here ve made the semis in melbourne
four times
they re pretty good results but don have that standout result
certainly like another chance
roddick owns one of the most dynamic serves in tennis and last year led the atp
tour in first serve percentages and was second in the number of aces
yet the big challenge confronting roddick is his ability to finish off the point
once his opponent gets his boom serve back over the net
tennis happy henin just glad to be back
melbourne jan afp
she smiles lot more and insists she is calmer but justine henin has shown
everyone she still has the game to stun the tennis world and win the
australian open
henin returned to the sport after month retirement at last week brisbane
international where she went down to fellow belgian kim clijsters in
magnificent three set final
while the year old still has the steely determination and sheer will to win
that has overwhelmed her opponents in the past and her trademark backhand
remains as potent as ever there is something different about henin this time
gone is the intense sometimes dour woman who agonised over defeat and in her
place is smiling talkative one who sees positives in almost every situation
during the brisbane tournament she talked just as much about how she had matured
as person and how relaxed she is these days as she did about her tennis
after the brilliant final against clijsters when she came back from seemingly
hopeless position to one where she dominated the third set only to lose to her
arch rival henin was not the slightest bit downcast
don have any regrets from leading to the end of the third set because
everything could have happened at that time it was so close so tight she
said
really happy it gives me the confidence need before the open
her long time coach carlos rodriguez has noticed the change since henin return
to tennis saying his charge was now far more relaxed and willing to listen to
another point of view
the most important thing for me is to see another player another attitude he
said
she enjoying it little bit more even in tough quarter final against
melinda czink when it was not so good she still enjoying herself on the
court
clijsters agreed with rodriguez and said the final against henin was the most
enjoyable match the two had played
there were rallies out there where we were both laughing and both having fun
that what it should be like clijsters said
henin said she had realistic goals heading into the year first grand slam
need few more months to really be at my top she said
have to remember it my first tournament back in months
if someone told me before coming here to australia that would be in the final
of my first tournament would sign for it
henin who must play three tournaments before she can get an official wta
ranking has been granted wildcard to the australian open
her form in brisbane suggests many seeded player will be waiting nervously for
the draw to be made
tennis sharapova on long road back to the top
melbourne jan afp
russian maria sharapova has had frustrating year to forget but feels her
fitness is returning and is confident of making big splash at next week
australian open
sharapova won the opening grand slam of the season in convincing fashion in
but was deprived of defending it last year after failing to recover from
shoulder surgery which kept her out of action until may
she returned to the circuit and won the pan pacific open in tokyo in october
but didn play again until exhibitions in thailand and hong kong this month and
has yet to rediscover the form that took her to world number one
now ranked the statuesque year old said the injury layoff taught her
never to take anything for granted
you realise how fortunate you are to get back she told reporters at the hong
kong classic team tournament where she posted encouraging wins against danish
teenager caroline wozniacki and china zheng jie
obviously stepped away because had to it was frustrating very
frustrating and boring but there is no better healer than time
and with the competitive juices again flowing she is confident that she can
make an impact in melbourne
keep getting stronger ready for the challenges in australia mentally
and physically have great memories of the tournament and sure it will be
great to be back she said
despite her upbeat outlook sharapova has tough task ahead of her with not
just the williams sisters to contend with but the returning kim clijsters and
justine henin
henin then top seed was one of the woman she demolished en route to the
title and any rematch would be eagerly anticipated
sharapova who also made the final in but lost to serena williams said she
welcomed the challenge the belgian posed
think it great think it adds to the great story line of comebacks we ve
had with kim clijsters as well coming back and winning grand slam she
said
when you re doing something you love you re champion you re good at it and
you don have it for while to get it back to get that feeling back as
competitor it always great
despite having slipped down the rankings sharapova three time major winner
insists she is not focused on getting the accolade back instead just
concentrating on staying healthy and winning matches
don think too much about rankings or even look them she said on her
website
know if can stay healthy good things will happen on the tennis court
for some of her fans the russian outfit at melbourne park will be almost as
important as the quality of her forehand or whether her serve is back at full
power
but she is not ready to reveal what fashion statement she might be making
it surprise but you will like it she said about her choice of dress
spectators at the tournament could have been excused for thinking she had
rushed onto court straight from bed as she sported powder blue baby doll
nightie
year late she went for high waisted lemon and white chiffon number with an
orchid detail on the thigh before opting for more restrained outfit in
tennis djokovic back on track
melbourne jan afp
it is an older and more importantly wiser novak djokovic that returns to the
scene of his greatest triumph at the upcoming australian open
it was in melbourne that the richly gifted serbian announced himself as the
likely challenger to roger federer and rafael nadal dominance by winning his
first grand slam in beating jo wilfried tsonga in the final
however things haven gone completely to plan for the year old since his
breakthrough success
that australian open title was expected to launch his career to the next level
but he has failed to make another grand slam final since
his ranking slipped to fourth for much of behind scotland andy murray
before he finished the year strongly to regain third again in late october
speaking late last year djokovic admitted he lost his way slightly after his
first grand slam title
he only reached the quarters in his australian title defence last year
infamously retiring due to fatigue when down two sets to one against andy
roddick
he said the pressure of expectations affected his tennis for an extended period
it started with the australian open and defending my title there he said
adding that his change from wilson racquets to head just before the year first
grand slam did not help
ve expected too much of myself and it wasn good with the racquet change and
distractions off the court
it all kind of reflected on the court
however djokovic form started to turn at the atp masters event in cincinatti
in august when he beat nadal in the semis and lost to federer in the final
he had previously only made the third round at the french open and quarter
