the retired andre agassi is next on the grand slam list with tournaments
santoro who played in record th australian open made his final bow when he
went down to th seed croatian marin cilic on show court three
was very happy to come back one more time here santoro said
no regrets was happy to fly to melbourne practice here for one week it
was not the best draw for me but played very good match so happy
admired for his touch and tennis artistry santoro known as the magician
said the australian open was one of his favourite events
love melbourne this is my favorite city out of france have so many good
souvenirs here he said
so melbourne this tournament rod laver arena everything is very special to
me so wanted to be here
santoro debuted in the french open as teenager played throughout the
and until the shadow of his
think the game has changed lot for the past years he said
when you look at where am when start with connors mcenroe then becker
then edberg agassi sampras courier and rafter
then you can see today with federer nadal and all the guys behind mean
tennis is improving all the time the game has changed so much
santoro said his latest decision to come to melbourne did not signal return to
the atp circuit and he had some ideas about what he wanted to do after tennis
will probably work bit for the french media tv and radio he said
also with friends we are in charge of the men tournament in september in
metz
it one of the few tournaments we have in france so it important for me to
be in the organisation of the tournament to see the other part of the job
would also like to keep playing in some tennis exhibitions
the ups and downs of japan airlines
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines is expected to file for bankruptcy protection tuesday capping
dramatic fall from grace by the once proud carrier following are milestones in
jal half century history
established as private airline
government takes percent stake
flies first international route to san francisco via honolulu
expands international routes as economy booms and tokyo olympics
boost the number of foreign tourists
jal flight from amsterdam is hijacked by palestinian and japanese
extremists all passengers and crew are released at an airport in libya where
the aircraft is destroyed by bomb
jal becomes the top international air cargo operator
becomes the top carrier for scheduled international operations
jal boeing domestic flight crashes in central japan killing of
the people aboard in the worst single airplane accident ever
jal is fully privatised
airline admits ties with organised crime in massive scandal
two jal airplanes narrowly avoid mid air collision company requests
public assistance after air travel demand slumps following the september
terrorist attacks in the united states
seeks more public assistance amid sars and iraq war
completes merger with japan air system
unveils plans to slash jobs
announces further job cuts joins oneworld airline alliance
reports billion dollar half year loss and receives billion dollar
emergency loan from state owned lender to keep flying us carriers american
airlines and delta air lines bid for stake in jal
government doubles loan to jal to billion dollars jal seeks more
funds and prepares to file for bankruptcy protection and slash jobs amid
court led rehabilitation process shares crash
four killed as somali pirates fight over record ransom
mogadishu jan afp
at least four people were killed overnight during intense fighting between rival
somali pirates in the town of harardhere arguing over record ransom elders
and pirates said tuesday
the tension has been high in the central somali pirate lair ever since an
estimated seven million dollars were dropped by small plane for the release of
the vlcc maran centaurus greek flagged supertanker third of kilometre
long and carrying two million barrels of crude oil
the situation is calm this morning but there is still tension between the
pirates three of them including senior pirate leader were killed so far and
three others were injured local elder moalim abdalla hasan told afp
we are trying to mediate between them because they are disturbing our peace
civilian was killed in the crossfire and the residents are very concerned about
this feud he added
hasan nile local grocer who said he could not open his shop on tuesday
because of the security situation in harardhere said the pirate vendetta
involved vehicles and heavy weapons
think there will not be trust between them any more since they killed each
other three pirates have died already since yesterday and if there no swift
mediation more will die including civilians nile said
according to other sources in harardhere two pirates died when dispute flared
on sunday immediately after the maran centaurus ransom was delivered
somalia pirates treat every successful hijacking like private venture in
which businessmen from all over the country can invest by offering financial or
material assistance buying and selling shares
the bigger the captured vessel the more complex the shareholder structure
squabbling over ransom is not uncommon but monday night clashes are some of
the most violent recorded in somalia otherwise relatively united piratehood
the operators of the maran centaurus the second largest vessel ever captured by
pirates confirmed the supertanker and its crew of were freed on monday and
were heading for the south african port of durban
kabul on high alert after brazen taliban strikes
kabul jan afp
the afghan capital was on high alert on tuesday after one of the most dramatic
attacks on kabul since the hardline islamist taliban were thrown from power more
than nine years ago
the authorities are likely to face questions about how the militants were able
to penetrate the highly fortified heart of kabul although top us and nato
officials hailed local security forces for their defence of the capital
taliban gunmen and suicide bombers launched series of attacks monday on
commercial and government buildings and fought running gun battles with security
forces leaving five people dead and sending residents fleeing
militants managed to breach the city security cordon as president hamid karzai
was swearing in new members of his cabinet part of the painfully slow process
of forming government since the fraud tainted election last year
the attacks the most spectacular since the taliban laid siege to government
buildings in february and killed people have left the commercial heart
of the city looking like disaster zone with buildings burned out and roads
strewn with debris
one child was killed along with four members of the security forces and more
than people were wounded after more than three hours of bombings and street
battles interior minister mohammad hanif atmar said
seven militants were also killed either blowing themselves up or shot dead by
the security forces
our security measures are always strict we are always on high alert and we
will be tomorrow and after interior ministry spokesman zamary bashari said
monday
the attack throws into question karzai plans to bring the taliban in from the
cold by offering fighters economic incentives to put down arms and reintegrate
into mainstream afghan society
he is due to announce new reconciliation plan ahead of major international
conference on afghanistan set for london on january but monday attack has
cast doubt on its chances for success
us defence secretary robert gates on monday said it was unlikely taliban leaders
would reconcile with afghanistan government though lower ranks those who
fight for cash rather than ideology might be open to making peace
taliban chief mullah omar and other leaders would be reluctant to lay down their
arms until circumstances changed on the battlefield he told reporters
travelling with him on trip to india
be very surprised to see reconciliation with mullah omar he said
think it our view that until the taliban leadership sees change in the
momentum and begins to see that they are not going to win that the likelihood
of reconciliation at senior levels is not terribly great he said
but he added that we may see real growth of reintegration at the local
district and provincial level as insurgents come under pressure and know
they re not going to win
the capital has avoided many of the bloodiest attacks waged by the islamist
militants since they launched an insurgency against the government and foreign
troops after the toppling of the taliban regime in the us led invasion
us general stanley mcchrystal commander of the foreign troops in
afghanistan fighting the taliban under us and nato command condemned the
attacks while praising the actions of the afghan security forces
today attack by the taliban in kabul is yet another example of their
brutality and contempt for the afghan people mcchrystal said in statement
his remarks were echoed by nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen
the attackers made it clear in their choice of targets that their aim is to
reverse the progress that afghans are making in building better lives and
better future he said
the foreign minister of australia which has around troops in southern
afghanistan where the taliban are strongest said the insurgents intention was
clear to go right to the heart of the new karzai government in kabul
afghanistan continues to be very difficult and very dangerous stephen smith
said
cricket younus targets big scores to revive pakistan career
karachi jan afp
former pakistan cricket captain younus khan said tuesday he hoped to score runs
and help his team win the one day series against australia as he flew out in
bid to revive his career
the year old abandoned the captaincy after losing one day series to new
zealand in abu dhabi two months ago he stayed away from all international
cricket saying he needed rest to regain his batting form
he was named in squad which takes on australia in five one day matches the
first of which starts in brisbane on friday
younus left tuesday with fawad alam khalid latif and rao iftikhar while
allrounders shahid afridi and rana naved ul hasan will join the squad from
australia where they are playing in twenty tournament
am fully focused and will do my best to score big and hope that help my
team win because we need wins said younus who managed just runs in three
one day matches against new zealand
despite younus failing in two domestic matches scoring runs in four innings
pakistani selectors chose him for the one day series on the request of from the
team management in australia
took the break to rest myself but always said that whenever my team needs me
will be there to play said younus who made himself available last month but
refused to lead the team again
mohammad yousuf who replaced younus as captain for the tour of new zealand was
retained for the australia tour as well
tennis jankovic overcomes slow start to see off niculescu
melbourne jan afp
eighth seed jelena jankovic overcame slow start to see off romania monica
niculescu in the opening round of the australian open on tuesday
tennis unfashionable davydenko hot run continues
melbourne jan afp
happily unfashionable russian nikolay davydenko continued his impeccable start
to the year at the australian open on tuesday and warned he was capable of
beating anyone
the sixth seed cruised past german dieter kindlmann and into the
second round in just minutes to remain unbeaten in
davydenko beat world number two rafael nadal in the final and world number one
roger federer in the semis in doha before heading to australia for the year
first grand slam
despite being davydenko said he had added new facets to his game recently
including improving his net play to complement his renowned baseline prowess and
court coverage
think ve started to play little bit better and volley better he said
if you saw my match against nadal in the final in doha started to go to the
net
started to make some points volleying made so many winners volleying and
maybe little bit better serving
davydenko four times grand slam semi finalist but yet to reach decider
said his confidence had never been higher
now feel like can beat everyone he said
before no mostly was losing against these guys top players
but now can beat everyone it good feeling
although his previous encounter with kindlmann was closely fought three set
win at last year us open davydenko was impressive as he outclassed the th
ranked german from the outset
relegated to an outside court apparently because of his low profile davydenko
rattled off the first five games as he claimed the first set in only minutes
he didn drop game in the second set having broken the german serve seven
times in succession
kindlmann rallied in the third to break davydenko and claim lead but the
russian simply kicked into another gear and won the last five games of the
match
davydenko hit winners while the german managed just
the russian had no qualms with playing on an outside court saying he was happy
to avoid the media glare
am not paris hilton don want to be like this he said
don want to be like nadal federer these guys never see at breakfast
they stay in the room and take room service
for me better go downstairs you know take breakfast or dinner to go
somewhere not to be so much famous
he faces either veteran spaniard carlos moya or ukrainian qualifier illya
marchenko in the second round
celebrations muted as japan us security pact turns
tokyo jan afp
japan and the united states on tuesday marked the th anniversary of one of the
cold war defining security pacts but an unprecedented level of mistrust
between the allies kept celebrations muted
no major state events were planned in tokyo to mark the milestone treaty in
which the former world war ii adversaries in stood united against communist
russia and china
half century on the alliance has been strained since centre left government
took power in tokyo four months ago vowing more equal ties with washington
after more than five decades of almost unbroken conservative rule
the government has signalled new embrace of japan pacifist stance and
announced review of key agreements governing the often unpopular us military
presence in japan where american troops are now based
prime minister yukio hatoyama last week ended naval refueling mission that has
backed us forces in afghanistan since and has announced review of pact
on the relocation of major us air base
us president barack obama administration has repeatedly asked japan new
leaders to stick by the original agreement under which new marine corps air
base would be built on the southern island of okinawa by
despite the row both sides praised the treaty signed on january which
strengthened pact that allowed us forces to be stationed in japan while
providing for the nation defence under the us nuclear umbrella
hatoyama said it was thanks to the pact that japan has maintained peace while
respecting freedom and democracy and enjoyed economic development in that
environment since the end of the last world war to this day
he said he plans to further deepen the us japan alliance in order to adapt
to the evolving environment of the st century would like to present the
people of japan with the results of this work before the end of this year
the anniversary was marked by naval ceremony with sailors from both
countries led by japan naval commander vice admiral masahiko sugimoto and
rear admiral richard wren commander of us naval forces in japan
but no japanese politicians or diplomats and no us officials or embassy staff
attended the event at yokosuka port us base southwest of tokyo
japan and the united states were due to release joint statement later in the
day and the us embassy was set to screen video address by secretary of state
hillary clinton on its website an embassy spokesperson said
the two countries can celebrate this occasion in big way because it is
unclear how japan wants to change the alliance said tetsuro kato political
science professor at hitotsubashi university they couldn say anything more
than to confirm that the past years were good
us ambassador john roos writing in newspaper said that although the world
had changed since the treaty is no less critical today than it was
years ago when it was signed
some of the challenges that we face are clear north korea ballistic
missile and nuclear programmes and the lack of transparency in china military
buildup he wrote in the asahi shimbun
he noted that japan benefits from the assistance of us forces in its defence
and is able to spend far less on its own defence as percentage of gdp than
any other state in the region
japan conservative yomiuri daily also highlighted the regional threats facing
japan and criticised hatoyama for weakening the alliance
given the circumstances it is extremely regrettable that the japan us
relationship has become shaky since the launch of the administration of prime
minister yukio hatoyama japan top selling daily said in an editorial
tennis sorensen ends year irish slam drought
melbourne jan afp
qualifier louk sorensen became the first irishman to compete in grand slam
singles for years on tuesday winning his opening round match at the
australian open
sorensen defeated taiwan lu yen hsun on an outside
court
tennis runs in the family with his father sean the last irishman to play in
grand slam singles at the wimbledon his dad lost to australian tennis
legend rod laver in the first round at wimbledon in
feeling great it the biggest achievement of my career so far but let
see how it goes in the next round sorensen said
the diminutive irishman now takes on american serving giant john isner
anything that happens now and win will be bonus he said
sorensen ranked in the world booked his place in the main draw when he
downed new zealander daniel king turner in two sets during qualifying last
saturday
he said the qualifying matches had given him an advantage playing lu first up
am used to the courts and the surface now and if you get through qualifying
it an advantage but now after the first round everyone got their playing
rhythm sorted out he said
sorensen lives and is coached in stuttgart germany and only goes to ireland to
visit his parents in dublin
prince william in australia for first visit as an adult
sydney jan afp
britain prince william on tuesday began his first visit as an adult to
australia kicking off tour that will take in poor inner city aboriginal
community and towns devastated by deadly wildfires
the prince last visited the country as nine month old baby with his parents
prince charles and the late princess diana in
the second in line to the throne requested the unofficial visit because he
wanted to get to know australia arriving after an official visit to new zealand
where he represented his grandmother queen elizabeth ii for the first time
prince william stepped off royal new zealand air force jet before being
whisked off to meet the queen representative in australia governor general
quentin bryce
during tour of the grounds of bryce official harbourside mansion the prince
described the view of sydney famed opera house and harbour bridge as
thrilling and waved to stunned passengers on passing ferry
he and bryce were joined for lunch by prominent young australians including
singer delta goodrem cricketer michael clarke olympic diver matthew mitcham
and wallabies skipper rocky elsom
foreign minister stephen smith said australians would welcome the year old
royal
think there an affection for the queen herself and there clearly an
affection for prince william smith told sky news
it quite clearly the case that he going to be welcomed very
enthusiastically in australia as he was in new zealand and as he should be
around fans many waving australian flags greeted smiling prince william
outside the governor general residence while television stations offered
wall to wall live coverage of the start of the historic visit and showed images
of the baby prince in his mother arms on his last trip
although described by the british press as prince charming following his
relaxed tour of new zealand seasoned royal watcher has warned while william
was as lovely as can be he was no longer as good looking as he once was
at he was divine at he wasn bad but now standing here next to all
these sun tanned kiwis he looks like pale pommie prince with thatch in his
patch hello reporter judy wade reported from new zealand
he comes off looking second best harry the heart throb now and he far more
fun
but wade noted that prince william has got his mother magic
he reminds the world of diana and that wonderful thing she said
hundreds of onlookers gathered in the inner sydney aboriginal neighbourhood of
redfern for the first stage of the prince whistlestop tour
aboriginal leaders have said they will ask prince william for help in finding
and returning the head of an indigenous warrior pemulwuy who opposed british
settlers and was shot dead for his efforts in
his head was cut off and is believed to have been placed in jar and sent to
england its location is unknown
in keeping with his personal interest in young people and the armed services he
will also meet australian soldiers at sydney barracks
the prince tour comes as poll revealed the majority of australians who in
voted against model to become republic would prefer prince william to
be their next king instead of his father prince charles
the survey for british television channel itv news found percent of those
interviewed thought william should be the next monarch compared with percent
for charles
it had closer result on the question of monarchy with percent voting in
favour of the queen remaining australia head of state and percent against
the australian republican movement dismissed the poll as irrelevant but said
prince william visit did highlight the fact that australia head of state was
british
but people don spend all day in australia worrying about constitutional
issues the movement president michael keating told afp
keating said he did not expect republicans to protest the prince visit
prince william will visit bushfire ravaged areas near melbourne on thursday
before returning home the following day
tennis tortured dokic insists she can bounce back
melbourne jan afp
troubled australian tennis player jelena dokic insists she can bounce back from
her disastrous showing this month
dokic who reached the quarter finals of the australian open last year was
bundled out in straight sets by russian alisa kleybanova in the first round on
monday
the loss came hot on the heels of early round departures in warm up tournaments
in brisbane and hobart and an air rage controversy surrounding her boyfriend
tin bikic and coach borna bikic
dokic world ranking will fall from to about as result of her loss to
kleybanova
it unfortunate because finished last year so well and felt like was
getting back into it had lot of wins and everything dokic told reporters on
tuesday
just the last few tournaments this year haven been great
very disappointed with this month because haven played percent of
what can
just have to move on and forget about this take couple days off
refocus get on the court again train even more
look had good australian open last year and struggled for the rest of
the year not with my game but also with health was sick she added
so maybe this year by not doing well here ll have great year outside of
that
dokic has had troubled life dealing with volatile relationship with her
father damir who is currently in jail for threatening to bomb the australian
embassy in belgrade
she has also overcome depression and at one point walked away from tennis
altogether
philippines reports first fatalities in haiti
manila jan afp
one philippine un worker and peacekeeper have been found dead in haiti
following last week massive quake the southeast asian country first
fatalities from the disaster
four other filipinos including two un peacekeepers and two women working in
supermarket are still missing officials said
the body of jerome yap identified as executive assistant to the deputy head of
un mission in haiti was found late monday in the ruins of the christopher
hotel which had housed the un headquarters in haiti foreign department
officials said in radio interview
few hours later military statement announced that the body of female
filipino soldier pearly panangui was recovered from the same building
colleagues are continuing the search for two missing filipino sergeants among
the peacekeepers the statement added
there were more than filipino civilians in haiti including people working
for un agencies when massive quake hit the country on january
the philippines also had strong contingent in the un peacekeeping force
comprising police soldiers and military observers
tennis unfashionable davydenko hot run continues
melbourne jan afp
happily unfashionable russian nikolay davydenko continued his impeccable start
to the year at the australian open on tuesday and warned he was capable of
beating anyone
the sixth seed cruised past german dieter kindlmann and into the
second round in just minutes to remain unbeaten in
davydenko beat world number rafael nadal in the final and world number one
roger federer in the semis in doha before heading to australia for the year
first grand slam
despite being davydenko said he had added new facets to his game recently
including improving his net play to complement his renowned baseline prowess and
court coverage
think ve started to play little bit better and volley better he said
if you saw my match against nadal in the final in doha started to go to the
net
started to make some points volleying made so many winners volleying and
maybe little bit better serving
davydenko four times grand slam semi finalist but yet to reach decider
said his confidence had never been higher
now feel like can beat everyone he said
before no mostly was losing against these guys top players
but now can beat everyone it good feeling
although his previous encounter with kindlmann was closely fought three set
win at last year us open davydenko was impressive as he outclassed the th
ranked german from the outset
relegated to an outside court apparently because of his low profile davydenko
rattled off the first five games as he claimed the first set in only minutes
he didn drop game in the second set having broken the german serve seven
times in succession
kindlmann rallied in the third to break davydenko and claim lead but the
russian simply kicked into another gear and won the last five games of the
match
davydenko hit winners while the german managed just
the russian had no qualms with playing on an outside court saying he was happy
to avoid the media glare
am not paris hilton don want to be like this he said
don want to be like nadal federer these guys never see at breakfast
they stay in the room and take room service
for me better go downstairs you know take breakfast or dinner to go
somewhere not to be so much famous
he faces either veteran spaniard carlos moya or ukrainian qualifier illya
marchenko in the second round
korean team crosses border for talks with korea
seoul jan afp
south korean team crossed the border tuesday for talks with north korea
despite last week threats from pyongyang of possible attack on its
neighbour
the two sides were to meet later tuesday to discuss ways to revitalise their
jointly operated industrial estate at kaesong north of the border valuable
source of hard currency for the sanctions hit north
today meeting will provide an opportunity to have frank discussions on the
question of developing the kaesong industrial park in stable way seoul
chief delegate kim young tak told reporters before leaving
the two day talks were expected to start tuesday afternoon
the two sides agreed last week on the meeting at kaesong the latest in series
of apparently conciliatory moves by the north after months of tensions
but the meeting appeared in doubt friday when the north launched verbal
broadside against the south
its powerful national defence commission threatened to cut all dialogue and
cooperation unless the south apologises for an alleged contingency plan to
handle regime collapse in the north
the commission also warned of possible retaliatory war against the south
should there be any attempt to carry out the plan
given the north recent behaviour it seems as though it would be impossible
for even god to understand north korea policies and actions toward south
korea the joongang daily said in an editorial tuesday headlined the north
erratic behaviour
the cash strapped north has faced tighter sanctions since its nuclear and
missile tests last year and appears eager to promote economic projects with the
south despite the rhetoric
last week it called for the resumption of lucrative tourism projects in the
north
the kaesong estate employed north koreans in south korean firms last
year with wages paid in dollars to state bodies and not to the workers
directly
hong kong shares down percent by break
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares fell percent by the break on tuesday as dealers awaited
key economic figures from china this week as well as earnings reports from us
banks
the benchmark hang seng index shed points at turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
beijing online game operators test ratings system media
beijing jan afp
online game operators in beijing will test ratings system advising parents on
