had increased despite severe cold snap across much of the country
in singapore new york main contract light sweet crude for february delivery
fell cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents at dollars
new york crude has slid from month high of dollars earlier last week
oil is under pressure primarily from economic considerations said victor
shum singapore based analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz
some of the economic data out of the us were not really robust and so these
data raised doubts about the health of the us consumer and the strength of the
us economy
tokyo was off percent or points at
jal plunged percent to an all time low of five yen five cents day
before it is expected to file for bankruptcy as it struggles under enormous
debts it is also widely thought jal will delist its stock
the carrier market value is now just million dollars less than the cost
of one new jumbo jet
while tokyo has said it will try to ensure its survival during restructuring
investors are expected to lose most or all of their money if it files for
bankruptcy
in the meantime many short term speculators are trading the shares to try to
make quick profit dealers said
this has become pure money game said masatoshi sato strategist at mizuho
investors securities there is really no meaning to the level of the shares
the firm 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
hong kong was percent lower at the break
shanghai was percent off in early afternoon trade as investors remained
cautious ahead of the release of key economic indicators for later in the
week
however many markets moved off their morning lows as bargain hunters moved in
sydney closed percent or points higher at on gains in the
financial sector which offset falls among the big miners
bhp billiton dropped percent to australian dollars us dollars
and rio tinto shed percent to
seoul added percent or points to
singapore was also up rising percent in the afternoon
dealers in the region were also absorbing percent fall in new york the
biggest drop this year where strong earnings data from chipmaker intel and bank
giant jp morgan failed to lift spirits
chinese and hong kong stocks were also dented by growing concerns beijing will
further tighten monetary policy to keep lid on the nation soaring economic
growth
analysts said the focus this week will likely turn to upcoming chinese economic
data thursday in order to judge whether more tightening measures are required
to keep the china economy from overheating
however china launched the csi cross straits index monday in bid to boost
financial cooperation in the greater china region
the china securities index company said on its website that the market which
covers firms listed in the mainland hong kong and taiwan was down
percent
taipei lost percent or points to
the drop came despite three memoranda of understanding with china going into
effect saturday
lead cause of the fall was because financial authorities said they would allow
total of million us dollars worth chinese institutional investments in the
local market lower than the previously expected one billion dollars
the euro slid to dollars in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late friday it rose to yen from the dollar gained to yen
from
and in hong kong gold opened slightly lower at us dollars an
ounce from friday close of dollars
in other markets
manila dropped percent or points to
there nothing in the local front to move the market joseph roxas of eagle
equities said adding the market was likely to look for overseas cues
wellington fell percent or points to close at
leading stocks were the main losers with fletcher building falling cents to
dollars and contact energy down eight cents at
dow jones newswires contributed to this story
rugbyu former wallaby scrum half cyril burke dies
melbourne jan afp
one of australian rugby greatest scrum halves wallaby cyril burke has died at
the age of the australian rugby union said monday
burke who died at nursing home near newcastle in new south wales played
tests for australia and made seven overseas tours during his stint
with the wallabies
he was member of the wallaby side that toured the british isles france
canada and the united states in and featured in all five tests on that
tour
burke also played in three of the four tests on australia tour to south africa
in
four of burke tours were to new zealand in and
burke wore the wallaby jumper times when all tour matches are factored in
while he also appeared for new south wales on occasions
korea says no nuclear talks until sanctions are lifted
seoul jan afp
north korea said monday it will not return to international nuclear disarmament
negotiations unless sanctions are lifted and reaffirmed its call for talks on
pact to formally end the korean war
any nuclear talks held while sanctions remain in force would be akin to those
between defendant and judge pyongyang foreign ministry said in its
second statement on the issue in week
the dignity of the dprk north korea will never allow this to happen it
said
the north quit the long running six nation talks last april month before
staging second nuclear test which attracted tougher united nations sanctions
the communist state said monday it is not opposed to the six party talks and
has no ground whatsoever to delay them
but it said they would collapse again without confidence building measures such
as talks on peace treaty
there will be starting point of confidence building only if the parties
concerned sit at negotiating table for concluding peace treaty it said
the war in which us led united nations force supported the south and china
the north ended only in an armistice leaving the parties still technically
at war
the united states and south korea have rejected the call for early discussions
on peace treaty they say the north must first return to the six party talks
and show it is serious about scrapping its atomic programmes
the us also rejects any lifting of sanctions before negotiations resume
we ve made clear going back several months we re not going to pay north korea
for coming back to the six party process state department spokesman said
last week
south korean ministers have voiced suspicions the talk of peace pact is aiming
at stalling any progress on nuclear disarmament
they also suspect the north wants to exclude it from any peace talks and to deal
solely with the united states
in an angry statement friday the north national defence commission threatened
to break off all dialogue with south korea unless it apologises for an alleged
contingency plan to handle regime collapse in the communist state
the commission which is headed by leader kim jong il denounced the alleged
plan as crime and said it would stage holy war against those who drew it
up
pope failed assassin released from turkish prison lawyer
ankara jan afp
mehmet ali agca the turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in was
released from prison monday after almost three decades behind bars his lawyer
said
the release procedure has been completed yilmaz abosoglu said outside high
security prison near ankara where an army of reporters awaited agca to emerge
from the compound
alert
inter korean talks to go ahead despite north threats seoul ministry
massive explosion heard in kabul as violence rages
kabul jan afp
massive explosion shook kabul on monday as fighting between taliban militants
and security forces raged in the centre of the afghan capital witnesses said
the explosion at am gmt came amid wave of gun and bomb attacks
and clashes between taliban linked militants and security forces that has closed
the centre of the city
the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack with spokesman saying
that suicide bombers had been sent into kabul to lay siege to government
buildings including the presidential palace
television showed shopping mall in the centre of city believed to have been
taken over by the militants burning and billowing smoke as security forces
took cover behind military vehicles
gunfire continued to ring out over the city deserted but for the heavy
presence of police and army television picture showed and witnesses said
tennis imposing murray coasts into open second round
melbourne jan afp
scotland andy murray was in imposing form as he breezed into the second round
of the australian open with straight sets win over qualifier kevin anderson on
monday
murray fancied to become the first british man to win grand slam singles
titles since could scarcely have been more impressive as he destroyed the
south african world number in just minutes
the match wasn quite as one sided as the score suggested with anderson
genuinely testing the scot at times
but the fifth seed showcased an array of winners that backed his unwavering
personal belief that he can take out the year first grand slam
murray reeled off winners in his brief time on court and also showcased his
improved volleying game by losing just two points from the times he ventured
to the net
however one area of concern was his first serve percentage which was just
percent for the match
the tall anderson tried to serve and volley his way out of trouble against the
year old but each time he seemed in dominant position at the net murray
would come up with crisp passing shot
down in the second game of the second set murray reeled off string of
winners to hold serve and then immediately broke the anderson serve in period
of play that reflected the tone of the whole match
when anderson finally broke the murray serve in the third set the scot simply
broke back as he reeled off the next three games to take the match
urgent pope failed assassin released from turkish prison lawyer
ankara jan afp
mehmet ali agca the turk who tried to kill pope john paul ii in was
released monday after almost three decades behind bars his lawyer told
reporters
basketball nba results and standings
washington jan afp
results and standings after sunday national basketball association games
sunday january th results
toronto dallas
denver utah
eastern conference
atlantic div pct gb
boston
toronto
new york
philadelphia
new jersey
central div pct gb
cleveland
chicago
milwaukee
detroit
indiana
southeast div pct gb
atlanta
orlando
miami
charlotte
washington
western conference
northwest div pct gb
denver
portland
utah
oklahoma city
minnesota
pacific div pct gb
la lakers
phoenix
la clippers
sacramento
golden state
southwest div pct gb
dallas
san antonio
houston
memphis
new orleans
monday january th schedule
detroit at new york pm
portland at washington pm
oklahoma city at atlanta pm
sacramento at charlotte pm
milwaukee at houston pm
new jersey at la clippers pm
philadelphia at minnesota pm
san antonio at new orleans pm
chicago at golden state pm
phoenix at memphis pm
dallas at boston pm
orlando at la lakers pm
all times are eastern
afp
afghanistan yet to come up with anti graft policy officials
kabul jan afp
the afghan government has yet to put together comprehensive anti corruption
plan ahead of key international conference to lay out road map for
development diplomats and government official said
fighting corruption is one of the key topics to be discussed at conference set
to be held in london on january along with the security situation good
governance and reconciliation with taliban fighters
president hamid karzai has promised to eradicate corruption which infects every
aspect of afghan life as condition laid down by his western backers whose
soldiers are fighting the taliban to keep him in power
an afghan government committee charged with coordinating plans for bringing
peace and development to the war torn country has not received finalised
policy plan on how corruption is to be tackled an afghan official said
three months after work on the policy paper began the committee in charge of
drawing up anti corruption policy withdrew its original submission on saturday
western diplomat told afp
the anti corruption document was withdrawn from the governance standing
committee of the joint coordination and monitoring board jcmb an afghan
government un body established to oversee reform and development policy and
financing he said speaking on condition of anonymity
he said the afghan government had pledged to resubmit the document by wednesday
when the jcmb meets to finalise policy submissions for the london conference
the withdrawal of the document which spokesman for karzai also told afp
would be resubmitted by wednesday raises questions about the afghan
government commitment and ability to deal with endemic corruption
it does not bode well for discussions on this matter either on the th of
january or in london the diplomat said
another diplomat involved in the process said the policy paper had been
inadequate because there had not been enough time to complete it
the london conference was called by british prime minister gordon brown after
karzai had already announced plans to hold an anti corruption conference in
kabul early this year
more than international troops are fighting the taliban under us and
nato command and losing troops almost daily as the war escalates on entering
its ninth year
national hockey league results
washington jan afp
national hockey league results and standings after sunday games
sunday january th results
washington philadelphia
chicago detroit so
ny rangers montreal
anaheim calgary
eastern conference
atlantic division
new jersey
pittsburgh
ny rangers
ny islanders
philadelphia
northeast division
buffalo
boston
ottawa
montreal
toronto
southeast division
washington
atlanta
florida
tampa bay
carolina
western conference
central division
chicago
nashville
detroit
st louis
columbus
northwest division
colorado
vancouver
calgary
minnesota
edmonton
pacific division
san jose
phoenix
los angeles
anaheim
dallas
note overtime losses ot are worth one point in the standings and are not
included in the loss column
monday january th schedule
ottawa at boston pm
new jersey at ny islanders pm
buffalo at phoenix pm
tampa bay at carolina pm
edmonton at colorado pm
st louis at columbus pm
minnesota at dallas pm
toronto at nashville pm
calgary at san jose pm
atlanta at florida pm
all times are eastern
afp
urgent massive explosion heard in kabul as violence rages
kabul jan afp
massive explosion shook kabul on monday as fighting between taliban militants
and security forces raged in the centre of the afghan capital witnesses said
alert
pope failed assassin released from turkish prison lawyer
haitians call for aid as relief workers struggle with crisis
port au prince jan afp
quake survivors in haiti clamored for supplies of food water and medicine as
aid began to trickle in and thousands more us troops were due to join
beleaguered relief efforts monday
five days after magnitude earthquake flattened much of the impoverished
caribbean nation bodies had been buried in mass graves and international
aid workers were struggling to cope with the scale of the crisis
several hundred thousand people have been made homeless and officials fear the
eventual death toll could top
food rations provided by the united nations and humanitarian organizations
reached challe camp for displaced people for the first time sunday
but quake survivors were dismayed that only small packets of dry biscuits were
distributed
we have been waiting since tuesday and that is all there is said vanel louis
paul father of three brandishing an empty biscuit packet
coordinator at the camp situated between the ravaged capital port au prince
and its airport said there was more urgent need of water and medical supplies
particularly for old people and children
one of the un troops providing security at the camp said the international
body world food program wfp had lot of food and water in warehouse
close to the airport but there were not enough trucks to distribute it
us president barack obama has mobilized military reserves and un chief ban ki
moon vowed after visiting the disaster zone sunday to accelerate aid efforts
another us military personnel were expected by monday to join us
forces already on the ground or in ships off haiti
us admiral said more humanitarian aid was coming through guantanamo the us
naval base in cuba every day
time is still of the essence we re getting better but there is still lot of
misery in haiti rear admiral ted branch commander of the us aircraft carrier
carl vinson strike group told reporters sunday
some emergency centers coordinated by the wfp were also due to be set up
monday to distribute aid and provide shelter for the homeless haitian
government source said
survivors were besieging hospitals and makeshift clinics some carrying the
injured on their backs or on carts and violence flared sunday as police tried
to stop looting in city market
the stench of burning bodies hung over slums clinging to hillside as residents
abandoned the search for survivors and torched the squalid ruins
lieutenant general ken keen who is running the vast us military relief
operation said might be possible start point for the final death
toll but that it was too early to know
clearly this is disaster of epic proportions and we ve got lot of work
ahead of us he said
after hours of painstaking digging team from florida unearthed seven year
old girl man aged and year old woman in the mangled wreckage of
supermarket in port au prince
australian news crews put aside their day jobs to rescue an month old baby
after hearing her cries from underneath the rubble as she lay trapped next to
the bodies of her dead parents
and then out of the ruins came this little girl and will never forget it
nine network reporter robert penfold told the australian newspaper
she did not cry she looked astonished almost as if she was seeing the world
for the first time
danish man was pulled unscathed from the flattened un mission but the
likelihood of finding more survivors was waning with every hour
with vital supplies of water and food still struggling to reach some of those
most in need many haitians were despairing over how to now survive the
aftermath of the quake
life is really hard we have nothing said year old jean osee camped out
with his family in front of the presidential palace in makeshift slum of
people
hundreds of rioters ransacked hyppolite market in the heart of the capital
police reinforcements descended on the market armed with shotguns and assault
rifles and one rioter man in his was fatally shot in the head an afp
photographer said
in the few medical facilities that are still standing in the city there is not
only shortage of medication but also of staff
they are overwhelmed and bursting at the seams the international committee of
the red cross said
the un has estimated that the quake affected three million people one third
of haiti population and left homeless some tent cities have
sprung up in port au prince according to the red cross
un chief ban flew back to new york sunday bearing the bodies of some of the
un staffers killed when the un mission in the haitian capital collapsed
alert
massive explosion heard in central kabul as violence rages
tennis murray into open second round
melbourne jan afp
scotland andy murray cruised into the second round of the australian open
monday with the fifth seed beating south africa kevin anderson
tennis australian open results day one rd update
melbourne jan afp
results from day one of the australian open at melbourne park here monday
denotes seeding
men singles
st round
ivan ljubicic cro bt jason kubler aus
fernando gonzalez chi bt olivier rochus bel
florian mayer ger bt philipp petzschner ger
andy roddick usa bt thiemo de bakker ned
women singles
st round
dinara safina rus bt magdalena rybarikova svk
maria kirilenko rus bt maria sharapova rus
ji zheng chn bt shuai peng chn
anastasia pavlyuchenkova rus bt anastasija sevastova lat
kateryna bondarenko ukr bt ioana raluca rou
yvonne meusberger aut bt timea bacsinszky sui
elena baltacha gbr bt pauline parmentier fra
kim clijsters bel bt valerie tetreault can
yanina wickmayer bel bt alexandra dulgheru rou
svetlana kuznetsova rus bt anastasia rodionova aus
euro struggles in asia amid greece debt woes
tokyo jan afp
the euro struggled in asian trade monday as investors anticipated weak
business sentiment survey from germany amid worries of looming budget crisis
in greece dealers said
the euro slid to dollars in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late friday it rose to yen from the dollar gained to yen
from
germany zew economic sentiment index out on tuesday is likely to have taken
beating for the fourth straight month in january on concerns that greece debt
woes may derail recovery in the region dealers said
the indicator which surveys financial experts on their outlook for germany
europe main growth engine is expected to have fallen to this month from
in december according to analyst forecasts
admittedly investors were already keen to sell the single european currency
as concerns about the fallout from the greek debt crisis escalated nab capital
strategist john kyriakopoulos told clients
german chancellor angela merkel last week said greece fiscal crisis put the
euro in very difficult phase while european central bank governor jean
claude trichet warned of bumpy recovery in the fragile eurozone
investors were also waiting ahead of slew of us earnings reports later this
week after jpmorgan chase opened the earnings season for banks on strong note
last friday us markets are closed monday for public holiday
citigroup will release its fourth quarter earnings on tuesday followed by bank
of america morgan stanley and wells fargo on wednesday and goldman sachs on
thursday
dealers said market players will also be looking to china fourth quarter gdp
figure on thursday which is likely to show double digit growth as well as data
showing inflation ticking up
calyon analyst sebastien barbe said he expects that chinese borrowing costs via
market interest rates will increase in the first quarter of the year due to the
strong economic numbers and rising inflation
against asian currencies the dollar rose to south korean won from
late friday to indonesian rupiah from and to
philippine pesos from
the greenback gained to singapore dollars from and to taiwan
dollars from but slipped to thai baht from
korea says no nuclear talks until sanctions are lifted
seoul jan afp
north korea said monday it will not return to international nuclear disarmament
negotiations unless sanctions are lifted and reaffirmed its call for talks on
pact to formally end the korean war
any nuclear talks held while sanctions remain in force would be akin to those
between defendant and judge pyongyang foreign ministry said in its
second statement on the issue in week
the dignity of the dprk north korea will never allow this to happen it
said
the north quit the long running talks last april month before staging
second nuclear test which attracted tougher un sanctions
the communist state said monday it is not opposed to the six party talks and
has no ground whatsoever to delay them
but it said they would collapse again without confidence building measures such
as talks on peace treaty
tennis dominant kuznetsova into second round
melbourne jan afp
third seeded russian svetlana kuznetsova powered her way into the second round
of the australian open with dominant win over australia anastasia
