oil is pulling back and it part of the volatility said victor shum an
analyst with energy consultancy purvin and gertz in singapore
the cold weather is ending in the northern hemisphere he said
he added that an upcoming government report on us energy stockpiles was expected
to show an increase which would indicate weaker demand
the inventories report is due for release on thursday one day later than normal
owing to us bank holiday on monday
the us inventory data is likely to show that the demand for oil and oil
products in the world largest oil consuming country continues to be weak
added commerzbank analyst carsten fritsch in note to clients
strengthening greenback also weighed on oil because it makes the dollar priced
commodity more expensive to buyers who hold weaker currencies
the euro tumbled under dollars on wednesday as worries mounted over the
outlook for the european economy in light of weak german data and greece
fiscal woes dealers said
at gmt the european single currency plunged as low as dollars
which was the lowest point since august it later stood at which
compared with late in new york on tuesday
the shared european unit until recently favoured as high yielding currency
is now being shunned in favour of the safe haven dollar analysts said
elsewhere this week on thursday market participants will digest economic
growth data in china which is the world second biggest energy consuming
nation after the united states
we continue to see the market consolidating above dollars ahead of the us
inventory numbers tomorrow and some macro releases towards the end of the week
said vtb capital commodities analyst andrey kryuchenkov
the market is still looking for bottom while overall sentiment turned slightly
negative with the cold snap easing in the northern hemisphere he added
the opec oil producers cartel said tuesday in its january report that world
oil demand in was forecast to grow by million barrels per day bpd to
average million bpd
the organization of petroleum exporting countries which is headquartered in
vienna pumps around percent of the world oil supplies
for men next winter macho sporty or retro classic
milan italy jan afp
from dsquared in your face ice hockey bully to armani classic chic with
slightly retro feel italy top designers are cannily proposing wide range of
styles for men next winter
the dsquared twins dean and dan caten did not disappoint on the final day of
milan men fashion week on tuesday offering glam rock show featuring
leather clad models perched on high heeled boots who were covered in sparkles or
trailed ostrich feathers from their sleeves
and making grand entrance tokyo hotel singer bill kaulitz descended
majestically in an elevator cage in scene reminiscent of the rocky horror
picture show
drawing inspiration from ice hockey brawls the canadian twins painted black
eyes and blood on the noses of bad boy models wearing blood spattered jerseys
or leather jacket over bare torso daubed with skull and crossbones
sleeveless white shirts their collars also apparently spotted with blood came
out over wide leather bermudas accessorised with chains round the neck or
waist leather fingerless gloves or wool rasta caps
italian duo domenico dolce and stefano gabbana meanwhile took an alpine route
proposing red yellow and green ski pants as well as corduroy and even fur
trousers for their amp second line
oversized mittens tasseled wool caps pulled well down over the ears chapkas or
helmets sporting ski goggles atop the visor and sturdy boots completed the
sporty outdoorsman look
giorgio armani dressed his models in more classical style recalling the
with basque berets and trousers tucked into military boots or leather gaiters
for look suggesting wartime resistance fighters
the italian icon also went for relaxed chic with warm and elegant fabrics such
as cashmere suede and velvet in fluid cuts
today man wants fashion to suit everyday living said the head of italy
fashion buyers association beppe angiolini confirming notable return to
simplicity since the financial crisis
on monday gucci offered toned down luxury with designer frida giannini going
back to basics with camel hair or velvet jackets over turtleneck sweaters and
straight trousers opulence was suggested in details such as leather buttons and
suede elbow patches
the collection was made up of items that are easily interchangeable and made to
last gucci said
british designer john richmond was on the same page proposing comfortable
simplicity in parkas with fur lined hoods down jackets and fuddy duddy
cardigans
the sports motif was strong with kean etro jogging pants topped with plaid
suitcoat as well as jodphurs oversized sweaters and floor length scarves
somali mps condemn kenya security swoop
mogadishu jan afp
somali lawmakers criticised kenya on wednesday after nearly dozen of the
country mps were arrested during security crackdown in the neighbouring
country
security forces in kenya rounded up around somalis in swoop on suspected
illegal immigrants at the weekend the crackdown followed violent protests by
muslims last week to demand the release of controversial jamaican cleric
with one incident we cannot say kenya is harassing the somali community in
general but what has been done in nairobi against the lawmakers recently was
inappropriate deputy parliament speaker mohamed omar dalha told reporters in
mogadishu
six of the mps arrested were freed authorities said they were still
verifying the documents of five mps
lawmaker bod abdalla magan described the arrests as an embarrassment and total
humiliation against the somali nation and condemned the kenyan security forces
for targeting somalis living in nairobi
many of those arrested were living in nairobi eastleigh district home to many
somalis or kenyans of somali origin kenya also hosts some somali
refugees in camps in the north of the country
muslims took to the streets friday to demand the release of abdullah al faisal
who is on global terror watchlist and served four years in british jail for
inciting racial hatred he has been in kenyan custody for more than week after
the authorities tried and failed to deport him
the police swoop in eastleigh followed claims by the government that somalia
hardline islamist shebab group had infiltrated the demonstration
tennis feisty henin outlasts dementieva in epic
melbourne jan afp
justine henin kept her fairytale comeback on track as she beat fifth seeded
russian elena dementieva in marathon second round match at the australian open
on wednesday
playing just her second tournament since returning from an month retirement
an emotional henin outlasted dementieva in two hour minute
classic on the rod laver arena
the year old showed enormous mental strength to recover from wasting match
point while leading in the second set then to come back from being down
in the second set tiebreak with her body about to start cramping
when missed that match point when she came back to thought about
brisbane and the opportunities got there when she lost the final to kim
clijsters henin said
and today thought it was going to happen again
really thought in the tie break wouldn be strong enough and when got
the opportunities and the way finished on serve and volley mean it was
the best could dream of
henin said when she got into the tie break she decided she had to go all out to
end the match in two sets
felt all right let go for it she said it was brief but that what
needed
was almost cramping at the time physically was bit exhausted at the
end so it was the good thing to do
both women played some spectacular attacking tennis over the two sets with the
quality of the match more suited to final than the second round
either would have made worthy winner but henin just managed to keep her
composure on the big points to eke out the narrowest of victories despite her
first serve falling away badly as the match wore on
henin said later she couldn recall ever playing such an intense match at this
stage of grand slam
not second round don think so she said
maybe had difficult matches winning in three sets but not playing top
player like that
dementieva who has never won grand slam could be forgiven for cursing the
vagaries of the draw that saw her matched against the seven time grand slam
winner so early in the tournament
but she said she didn see it that way
don take it as bad luck there is never an easy draw dementieva said
came here not to pass the second round came here to be in the final
you have to be ready facing justine if you want to win the whole title so
don take it as bad draw
despite her time away from the tour henin showed she has lost none of her shot
making ability or her legendary tenacity but she was matched almost point for
point by the russian world number five
dementieva had her opportunities with three set points in the first set and
another in the second but henin managed to save them all and then convert her
chances when they came
both henin and dementieva attacked from the outset with service breaks coming
thick and fast in both sets
there was no indication as to the likely winner when dementieva skipped away to
lead in the tiebreak
but henin was not to be denied and she came storming back to level the scores
saving set point at in the tiebreak then winning the next two points to
take the match
it magical to win this kind of match in this kind of atmosphere henin said
said the other day wasn feeling old well ll see tomorrow morning
acd mp
saudi aramco to build new refinery in remote southwest
riyadh jan afp
state oil company saudi aramco is to build multi billion dollar refinery in
the remote southwest port of jizan following weak private sector interest in
the project saudi media reported on wednesday
oil minister ali al naimi said on tuesday that aramco was to build the refinery
in the red sea port far from the company oil and gas production and that
budgeting had already been fixed
the ministry appreciates and values the companies that made serious attempt
to compete vigorously for the licence of the project naimi said
but due to the size and circumstances this important development project in
the jizan region will be commissioned by saudi aramco and the implementation of
the project is fully financed he said
the project expected to have refining capacity of between and
barrels per day was proposed several years ago but encountered regular delays
two saudi consortiums had submitted bids by its november deadline
the government has stepped up efforts to develop the impoverished jizan region
after fighting along the nearby frontier with yemen forced the permanent
relocation of more than residents away from the border
planners hope the refinery project will create long term jobs and stimulate the
region economy
tennis del potro edges blake in five set thriller
melbourne jan afp
us open champion juan martin del potro battled for over four hours before
winning titanic five setter against james blake to reach the third round of
the australian open on wednesday
the argentine fourth seed prevailed after an epic struggle
in four hours minutes on hisense arena
del potro will now face german florian mayer in the next round and is projected
to face american seventh seed andy roddick in the quarters
really showed the crowd the people were so excited all the time we played
very good match del potro said
blake was fast he played very strong with his forehand he never missed easy
points easy forehand
was trying every game with my serve then when had the opportunity to break
his serve sometimes did sometimes not
it very difficult to keep trying keep going you have to be focused every
point every time and try to take your chance had my chance in the last
set
del potro said he was still experiencing some discomfort with wrist injury
which forced him out of last week kooyong classic lead up exhibition
tournament in melbourne
yes pain little bit but can play he said
think have many good things right for the next match
the argentine giant who beat roger federer in last september us open final to
claim his first grand slam title needed all his fighting qualities to overcome
the gallant th ranked american
only five points separated the pair in del potro favour over the course of the
gripping contest to
blake who was quarter finalist here in fought every bit of the way and
belied his ranking to keep the pressure on the year old rising star
blake battled on courageously throughout most of the marathon match limping from
bandaged right knee
had my chances made couple of mistakes he said
you miss couple of balls by an inch he makes couple of balls by an inch
he moving into the next round and not
he broke blake serve seven times and gave up his serve five times as the match
ebbed and flowed before an enthralled crowd
del potro is bidding to become the first man in the open era to win his first
two grand slam titles back to back
the argentine twice had service breaks in minute long final set with blake
quickly breaking back in the third before he gave up his serve in the th game
del potro became sports hero in argentina when he became the first south
american to win us open since compatriot guillermo vilas in
his accomplishment was all the greater for ending federer five year us open
title run after eclipsing rafael nadal in the semi final
urgent britain suspends direct flights with yemen pm
london jan afp
britain has ordered the suspension of direct flights from yemen until further
security measures are agreed following the detroit bombing scare prime
minister gordon brown said wednesday
dutch filmmaker in court over anti islam hate speech
amsterdam jan afp
dutch far right lawmaker geert wilders on wednesday appeared in an amsterdam
court for the first time in connection with charges of inciting racial hatred
against muslims
wilders who has compared the koran to hitler mein kampf has always made his
statements in his capacity as public representative his lawyer bram
moszkowicz argued at the start of the hearing held amid heavy security
the year old mp creator of the controversial anti islam film fitna was
greeted outside the amsterdam district court by about supporters some of
whom came from belgium and germany to attend the proceedings
wednesday hearing was to work out the modalities for wilders trial for which
no date has been set and which he claims is political process
moszkowicz argued that this court had no jurisdiction to hear the case arguing
the supreme court was the competent authority for allegations involving
misconduct by an mp
but prosecutor birgit van roessel said that expressing his opinion in the media
or through other channels is not part of an mp duties lawmakers only enjoy
immunity for their utterances when these are made in the confines of parliament
wilders faces five charges of religious insult and anti muslim incitement after
court last week dismissed his final challenge against the pending prosecution
he stands accused of insulting muslims by describing islam as fascist religion
and calling for the banning of the koran
he is also charged with inciting hatred and discrimination for stating that
moroccan youths were violent calling for dutch borders to be closed to all
non western immigrants and advocating an end to what he terms the islamic
invasion
wilders faces up to one year in jail if convicted
his minute film fitna was called offensively anti islamic by un
secretary general ban ki moon after its screening in the netherlands in
prompted protests in much of the muslim world
the prosecution service had initially declined to charge wilders dismissing
dozens of complaints from around the country in the context of freedom of
speech
but an appeals court last january ordered prosecutors to put the mp on trial
saying politicians should not be permitted to make statements which create hate
and grief
wilders party for freedom has nine seats out of in the dutch parliament
the politician under hour surveillance following death threats said on his
website that he has done nothing wrong am convinced that this trial can only
result in my acquittal
the prosecuting authority meanwhile said it had not yet decided on its end
strategy
not having wanted to prosecute wilders in the first place it is possible that
we may ask for an acquittal at the end of the trial spokesman otto van der
bijl told afp outside the court
alert
britain suspends direct flights with yemen pm
nigerian inflation slows to percent agency
lagos jan afp
nigeria annual inflation dropped to percent in december from percent
in the preceding month the national bureau of statistics said wednesday
the composite consumer price index or cpi rose percent year on year in
december and it is slower than percent increase recorded in the
previous month the agency said giving no reason for the decrease
the monthly change of the cpi was an percent increase in december when
compared with november of the same year it added
the drop in inflation followed string of rises in recent months in africa
most populous country of million people
nigeria the world eighth biggest oil exporter with some two million barrels
per day had managed to slow inflation for most of and through belt
tightening measures to achieve single digit rate including stable exchange
rate for the national currency
football ribery should stay at bayern says robben
munich germany jan afp
dutch midfield star arjen robben said on wednesday franck ribery should stay at
bayern munich despite the frenchman being target for spanish giants real
madrid
having played his last game in bayern colours on october the frenchman is
expected to take part in saturday bundesliga clash at werder bremen and ex
real player robben has urged his midfield partner to stay in munich
ribery has been courted by real despite having bayern contract until june
but robben says the frenchman should stay to help munich who face
fiorentina in the last of the champions league on february in munich
it is his choice but hope that he stays here robben told sports press
agency sid having signed for bayern for million euros million us
dollars last summer
here he is the big star there he is one of many otherwise the two clubs are
almost the same associations
while bayern are third in the table and unbeaten after games while bremen
have lost their last four and are five games without win
saturday game in bremen promises to be battle royal and robben says it is
important they have ribery in the side after the frenchman knee injury
it is important for the team that he returns and will be glad when he does
franck is world class player said robben
and germany defender philipp lahm says ribery presence raises bayern game
he lifts the crew to another level because he brings so much quality said
the germany star
he pulls several players out of position and creates space for other players
robben and lahm were involved in training ground bust up on monday but after
brief altercation the pair were pulled apart by rising star thomas mueller and
croatia striker ivica olic but soon made up
we have drawn line under the issue we spoke after training and everything is
settled said lahm
things can sometimes get out of hand in training it is very competitive
and robben said the pair had shaken hands over it
there is no problem at all shook hands and hugged him the matter is over
philipp is friend and colleague
us crime shooting ndlead wrap
washington jan afp
attention editors our us crime shooting ndlead wrap has been delayed it will
now move by gmt
yemen jets again hit suspected qaeda hideout witnesses
sanaa jan afp
yemeni jets wednesday afternoon again hit an orange grove thought to be an al
qaeda hideout near the eastern city of maarib following wave of air strikes
earlier in the day witnesses told afp
the witnesses said the jets twice sent missiles smashing into the orange grove
and afterwards continued to fly in the area
there were no immediate reports of casualties
opposition walks out of debate on angola constitution
luanda jan afp
angola main opposition party unita walked out of parliament wednesday in
protest at proposed constitution expected to end uncertainty over long
awaited presidential election
fourteen members of the union for the total independence of angola unita all
dressed in black stood up and left the national assembly denouncing the
constitutional process as illegal and fraudulent and refusing to take part in
vote
we walked out because we didn want to be part of this constitution which is
complete fraud unita lawmaker raul danda told afp on the steps of luanda
parliament building
this is very sad day for democracy in angola and that why we are all
wearing black because it like going to the graveyard to bury democracy
unita is unhappy with the proposed charter plans for the abolition of
presidential elections leaving the head of state to be chosen from the top of
the parliamentary list
the party also disputes proposed laws over land ownership and national symbols
like the county flag
the proposed constitution was drafted by commission tasked with compiling
ideas from all of angola parliamentary parties the ruling popular movement
for the liberation of angola mpla had an percent majority on the
commission as it does in parliament
unita claims its old civil war enemy the mpla has bulldozed opposition and
public views to implement its own constitution to serve its own ends
the mpla has large majority and majorities are part of the democratic
process we accept that but what the mpla is doing is to use their majority to
destroy democracy danda said
after unita members left the building parliament took short break and then
resumed with the remaining lawmakers voting on specific articles in the charter
the final vote on the document as whole is due on thursday
analysts have suggested the government is rushing the vote which was not
expected until march in bid to stifle debate as the country is currently
hosting the africa cup of nations football tournament
rugbyu bastareaud road to international rugby redemption complete
marcoussis france jan afp
stade francais centre mathieu bastareaud completed an extraordinary turnaround
in his fortunes on wednesday when he was named in france initial man squad
for the six nations opener against scotland on february in edinburgh
the year old looked to have abruptly cut short burgeoning international
career when last year he falsely claimed to have been beaten up outside the
french team hotel in wellington new zealand
it was only after the new zealand government issued formal apology for the
incident that distressed bastareaud admitted he had made the story up and had
instead fallen over table in his hotel room in drunken stupor
however after undergoing treatment in psychiatric unit and performing
community service on the orders of the french rugby federation the musclebound
youngster has returned to the fray reinvigorated and has been stade
outstanding player in what has been turbulent season
bastareaud chances of making the matchday and even the starting line up
have been enhanced because of an injury to experienced centre damien traille
squad
forwards sylvain marconnet stade fran ais thomas domingo clermont
william servat toulouse dimitri szarzewski stade fran ais nicolas mas
perpignan luc ducalcon castres romain millo chluski toulouse lionel
nallet racing metro bastien chabal racing metro pascal pap stade
fran ais louis picamoles toulouse imanol harinordoquy biarritz thierry
dusautoir toulouse capt fulgence ouedraogo montpellier alexandre lapandry
clermont julien bonnaire clermont
backs jean baptiste elissalde toulouse morgan parra clermont benjamin
boyet bourgoin fran ois trinh duc montpellier fabrice estebanez brive
yannick jauzion toulouse mathieu bastareaud stade fran ais david marty
perpignan aurelien rougerie clermont julien malzieu clermont clement
poitrenaud toulouse alexis palisson brive vincent clerc toulouse
benjamin fall bayonne
tennis henin back with bang as nadal strides on
melbourne jan afp
tenacious justine henin returned to big time tennis with bang wednesday by
downing fifth seed elena dementieva at the australian open while rafael nadal
kept his title defence on track
playing only her second tournament since making comeback from an month
retirement the seven time grand slam champion showed she still has what it
takes in epic that lasted almost three hours
the belgian who won the australian open in and made this year tournament
as wildcard said she didn think she would ever experience emotions like
that again
it was special night that why came back on the tour to live these kind
of matches relieved henin after making the third round
it was very emotional for me on the court at the end because there was so much
intensity
she next plays th seed alisa kleybanova with potential quarter final looming
against fellow belgian kim clijsters who was given thorough examination by
thai veteran tamarine tanasugarn
clijsters also on the comeback trail after break to start family triumphed
but it was harder than the score suggested for the th seed
her serve was broken in each set before she dug deep to win
physically feel good she said
feel like good enough on the day to beat my opponents it not with my
best tennis yet but hopefully can save that when it really necessary
spanish second seed nadal was in rip roaring form as he smashed hapless slovak
lukas lacko to stay on track for potential last eight meeting
with andy murray
the scotsman also looked ominous form with flawless mauling of
frenchman marc gicquel
second round always is easier to play you are more adapted to the conditions
and everything think improved little bit said nadal who relinquished
his number one ranking to roger federer last year
my real goal right now is just try to be competitive in every tournament that
play and feel when go on court can win against everybody
fourth seed juan martin del potro of argentina was given huge scare by
american james blake
the us open champion battled for over four hours before winning titanic five
setter to reach the third round
other top names also showing their credentials included dinara safina andy
roddick and svetlana kuznetsova
safina the second seed who was beaten in the final last year by serena
williams posted win over the czech republic barbora zahlavova
strycova but struggled
she made nine more unforced errors to than her th ranked opponent and
had problems with her serve facing multiple break points each time
overall there were too many unforced errors she admitted
unlike the high profile clijsters and henin russian third seed kuznetsova is
flying under the radar and looked impressive in her defeat of
countrywoman anastasia pavlyuchenkova
the french open champion said she had prepared well in the off season and was
ready to make an impact
think ve done good pre season ve worked hard and ve enjoyed it she
said
danish fourth seed caroline wozniacki downed canada aleksandra wozniak
while belarussian seventh seed victoria azarenka blasted her way past
france stephanie cohen aloro
in the men draw roddick ranted at the umpire after completing straight sets
win over brazilian thomaz bellucci
the american seventh seed had just served out victory when he
continued to argue over hawk eye video review decision which narrowly went
against him on the first of his two match points
he later apologised
urgent yemen jets again hit suspected qaeda hideout witnesses
sanaa jan afp
yemeni jets wednesday afternoon again hit an orange grove thought to be an al
qaeda hideout near the eastern city of maarib following wave of air strikes
earlier in the day witnesses told afp
un emergency food agency chief to go to haiti wfp
rome jan afp
the head of the un world food programme will travel to quake devastated haiti to
assess the situation on the ground the emergency food agency said wednesday
wfp executive director josette sheeran who would leave on thursday will spend
two days in the capital port au prince to meet earthquake victims and government
and relief agency officials including wfp staff the agency said in
communique
many wfp staff members were injured or lost their homes in the january
earthquake and continue to work around the clock in tremendously difficult
conditions the statement said
according to the latest haitian government toll at least people were
killed another were injured and more than million lost their homes in
the magnitude quake
the wfp has launched million euro million dollar relief effort to
reach two million haitians and provide logistical and telecommunications support
to the overall international relief effort in the impoverished country it said
so far wfp has distributed about one million food rations to around
people in and around the haitian capital wednesday statement added
on monday sheeran appealed for contributions of million ready to eat meals
needed over the next days
sheeran said the wfp hoped to open total of five humanitarian corridors to
channel aid to the quake victims we can bring everything in through port au
prince she said
the food agency is setting up distribution hubs in the capital and another
to elsewhere in the country sheeran said adding that security at the
hubs would be concern
