as many matches
the man charged with ending britain year grand slam drought in men tennis
disposed of th ranked frenchman marc gicquel in ruthless fashion in one hour
and minutes
it followed the fifth seed easy win over south african qualifier kevin
anderson on monday in which he dropped just four games
including his hopman cup preparation for the australian open the year old
has only dropped two sets in six singles matches in
all the facets of his game were on display against gicquel with his great
groundstrokes deft touch and superb athleticism too much for the determined
frenchman
murray who had also won his only previous encounter with gicquel hit
winners and sent down aces
encouragingly his first serve percentage was also vastly improved on his clash
with anderson
gicquel showed plenty of fight in the third set recovering from being break
down early and he was unlucky to be on the wrong end of bad line call when
the scot made critical second break in tight seventh game
gicquel bravely staved off two match points but at his third attempt pushed
backhand long
murray is seemingly headed towards fourth round clash with french th seed
gael monfils and then quarter final against world number two and defending
australian open champion rafael nadal
bank of england policymakers united in rate call minutes
london jan afp
bank of england policymakers voted unanimously to keep british interest rates at
record low and maintain credit easing plans minutes of their meeting showed
on wednesday
the central bank monetary policy committee voted in favour of keeping the
status quo at their last meeting held on january
the mpc decided to leave the bank key interest rate at percent and
maintain its so called quantitative easing qe plans that seeks to boost
lending by commercial banks
the boe key task is to keep annual british inflation close to government set
target of percent
official data showed tuesday that annual inflation in recession hit britain
surged to percent last month owing to taxation changes and other
exceptional factors which had boosted the december figure
however the mpc minutes showed wednesday that the bank expected inflation to
fall below target in the coming months
committee members continued to expect inflation to fall below the target for
period once the various near term price level shocks to inflation had worked
through the minutes read
committee members agreed that recent developments did not provide grounds for
substantially changing their views about the medium term prospects for
activity
earlier this month the boe said it would continue to pump out up to billion
pounds billion euros billion dollars of new money under its qe
project that is also aimed at helping to lift britain out of recession
britain is the last major world economy officially in recession but data due
next week is widely expected to show that the nation returned to growth in the
fourth quarter of or three months to december
alert
air strikes hit home of al qaeda leader in yemen tribal source
moscow racist attacks kill in police
moscow jan afp
thirty one people of non slavic appearance were killed in attacks police
classified as racist crimes in moscow last year the russian capital police
chief said wednesday
last year there were attacks perpetrated on people of non slavic
appearance including murders and cases of grievous bodily harm five of
which led to death police chief vladimir kolokoltsev told interfax
police raided extremist youth groups and arrested people in probes into
racist crimes including murders he added
attacks motivated by racism rose sharply after the fall of the soviet union in
about people were killed in such attacks between and according to
the moscow bureau for human rights an ngo that collates crime statistics
survey published in december by independent pollster levada found that
percent of russians support the nationalist slogan russia for russians
president dmitry medvedev said soon after the survey publication that severe
punishments were necessary to curb growing xenophobia in the country
last year moscow figures were down on year that saw hate crimes
triple in the city city police registered racist murders and cases of
grievous bodily harm in
deadly racist attacks fell in russia as whole last year when people were
killed compared with in the moscow bureau for human rights said in
report
deutsche boerse takes mln euro charge
frankfurt jan afp
deutsche boerse will book million euros million dollars in charges on
last year accounts owing to problems at us derivatives unit ise the german
stock market operator said late tuesday
the action would result in around million euros being cut from deutsche
boerse earnings since the group will partially offset the charge with
deferred tax liabilities statement said
the charge resulted from stagnation in us stock option markets and revenue
decline at the international securities exchange last year the statement added
the private german bank merck finck maintained its sell recommendation on
deutsche boerse shares which lost percent to euros in morning
trading
the dax index of german blue chips on which they are listed was percent
lower overall
hong kong china shares tumble on liquidity fears
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares fell percent wednesday amid renewed weakness in banks due
to continued uncertainties over beijing monetary policy dealers said
the benchmark hang seng index rose points to turnover was
billion hong kong dollars billion us
chinese banks led the hong kong decline after liu minkang chairman of the china
banking regulatory commission said beijing plans to control the pace of credit
growth this year
new yuan loans are expected to fall to trillion yuan this year from
trillion yuan in he said at forum in hong kong
citic bank tumbled percent to hong kong dollars bank of china lost
percent to china construction bank fell percent to and icbc was
down percent at
retailer esprit fell percent to leading the day blue chip decliners
after worse than expected economic data from germany the clothes maker single
biggest market
investors also eyed china scheduled report on fourth quarter gross domestic
product december and inflation data and other major economic indicators
thursday
liu comments also contributed to sharp decline in the shanghai composite
index where shares tumbled percent
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was down
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
industrial and commercial bank of china the nation biggest lender dropped
percent to yuan
expectations of slower loan growth also hit real estate developers which relied
on relatively high leverage ratios to achieve business growth
china vanke declined percent to yuan
china liquidity fears unsettle investors
hong kong jan afp
uncertainty over beijing monetary policy weighed on shares in shanghai and
hong kong wednesday overshadowing strong lead overnight from wall street as
asian markets fell
shanghai tumbled percent with banks leading the losses on renewed concerns
over tighter controls on lending dealers said
china will rein in credit after explosive growth last year top regulator said
wednesday as the nation vies to cool its red hot economy
this year we will continue to control the pace of the credit supply banking
regulator liu minkang told the asian financial forum in hong kong
however he downplayed report by the official china securities journal that
major banks had been told to stop extending new loans for the rest of january
given mainland investors acute sensitivity to policy changes the tumble in
stocks we ve seen today isn that surprising zhou lin an analyst at huatai
securities said
industrial and commercial bank of china the nation biggest lender dropped
percent to yuan
expectations of slower loan growth also hit real estate developers which relied
on relatively high leverage ratios to achieve business growth
china vanke declined percent to yuan
hong kong hang seng index where mainland lenders are also listed dived
percent by midday
other markets were mixed following wall street overnight percent rise
us shares were helped higher on news british confectioner cadbury agreed to
sweetened billion dollar takeover bid from american giant kraft foods
tokyo shed earlier gains to end down percent as investors turned cautious
ahead of another batch of us corporate earnings results
the nikkei fell points to close at
investors continued to dump shares in japan airlines day after the debt
ridden carrier filed for bankruptcy and announced it would delist its shares
next month in move expected to wipe out investors
jal ended at record low of two yen two us cents down three yen or
percent
investors were eyeing upcoming chinese economic data and fourth quarter us
earnings reports from companies including bank of america and wells fargo after
citigroup on tuesday posted net losses of billion dollars for the final
quarter of
australian shares moved marginally higher but earlier gains led by major miner
bhp billiton were eroded by uncertainty over beijing monetary policy
the amp asx index added points or percent to
it was pretty solid open with the financial and materials sectors adding
good points but then about midday those reports came out of china ig markets
research analyst ben potter said
shares in bhp billiton rose percent to dollars us after it
reported record iron ore production in the six months to december
seoul closed percent higher led by telecom and utility stocks the kospi
gained points to
mounting worries over the outlook for the european economy in light of weak
german data and greece fiscal woes hit the euro in asian trade
the european currency slid to dollars in tokyo hitting its lowest
against the greenback this year from in new york late tuesday it
weakened to yen from
the dollar strengthened to yen from
oil was lower new york main contract light sweet crude for february
delivery was down cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for delivery in march dipped cents to
hong kong gold finished at us dollars down from tuesday
close of dollars
in other markets
singapore straits times index closed down percent or points
lower at
singapore investors have turned more cautious because of uncertainty in
overseas markets due to factors such as china tightening and mixed recent us
economic data and results said an analyst with local brokerage
dbs bank fell cents to and capitaland climbed two cents to while
singapore telecom edged up one cent to dollars
taipei fell points or percent to on profit taking
dealers said
malaysia kuala lumpur composite index gained points or percent
to close at
the market has stayed resilient despite mixed picture around the region and
this augurs well for it to rise further in the mid term dealer said
telecoms company axiata rose percent to ringgit as food company nestle
slid percent to ringgit
indonesian shares were flat gaining points to
carmaker astra international fell percent to plantation firm astra
agro lost percent to and bank rakyat dropped percent to
wellington closed flat with the nzx index edging points lower to
on low summer holiday volumes
air new zealand rose five cents to dollars after the consumer price index
showed percent seasonal increase in international airfares
manila ended flat shedding points to as investors took profits
on key blue chips
philippine long distance telephone was unchanged at pesos
bangkok fell percent or points to close at
energy firm ptt plc fell to close at baht while coal producer banpu
closed unchanged
us envoy discusses mideast process with lebanese leaders
beirut jan afp
us mideast envoy george mitchell met with lebanese president michel sleiman on
wednesday and reiterated washington commitment to the stalled middle east
peace process and lebanon independence
senator mitchell conveyed the commitment of president barack obama and
secretary of state hillary clinton to comprehensive peace in the middle east
which includes peace between israel and the palestinians israel and syria and
israel and lebanon and the full normalisation of relations between israel and
the arab states the us embassy in lebanon said in statement
it added that the us envoy in his meeting with prime minister hariri late
tuesday confirmed that washington would not support the full naturalisation as
lebanese citizens of an estimated palestinian refugees living in
lebanon
senator mitchell reiterated that lebanon would play key role in the long term
effort to build lasting and comprehensive peace and stability in the middle east
region and that there would not be lasting solution reached at lebanon
expense the statement said
mitchell was headed to damascus following his meeting with sleiman and was also
due to visit israel and the palestinian territories
mitchell latest mideast tour comes less than week after us president barack
obama national security adviser james jones held talks with palestinian and
israeli leaders aimed at furthering us led peace efforts
obama has been struggling to get the two sides back to the negotiating table
since he assumed office nearly year ago but has thus far failed to get israel
to completely halt settlements or secure arab concessions to the jewish state
the palestinians have said they will not resume talks suspended year ago
during israel war on hamas in gaza until israel halts all settlement
building in the occupied territories
israel has declared month moratorium on new settlement projects but has
excluded mostly arab east jerusalem public buildings and projects already under
way the palestinians have rejected the move as insufficient
tennis murray blitzes into open third round
melbourne jan afp
scotland andy murray is yet to drop set at the australian open after the
fifth seed easily won his second round clash with france marc gicquel
flights cancelled due to irish air controllers strike
dublin jan afp
airlines cancelled more than flights wednesday due to four hour strike by
irish air traffic controllers affecting ireland three main airports the
carriers said
the irish aviation authority iaa said significant numbers of flights will be
disrupted and warned the industrial action by the controllers is likely to
escalate
aer lingus said it had cancelled flights affecting some passengers
while budget carrier ryanair cancelled flights affecting over
passengers
the action is unlikely to have major impact on international flights through
irish airspace which will probably be re routed around the country said an iaa
spokeswoman
labour union impact said the action at dublin shannon and cork airports follows
the suspension of controllers for refusing to engage in disputed new work
practices it expects further suspensions by the iaa
impact official michael landers said the core issues in the dispute have been
referred to the country labour court and staff should not be suspended while
the process is ongoing
the iaa called for return to normal working and urged the union to suspend
six percent pay claim and pay pension contribution like everyone else in the
public service
it said the controllers are among the best paid public servants in recession hit
ireland
on average they cost the irish aviation authority euro
dollars each earnings for the top percent of controllers in the country
last year ranged from euros to euros
the iaa said increased costs would have to be passed on and with the aviation
industry on its knees airlines cannot afford to pay any increases in the
current economic climate
nigerian court remands biafran leader in custody
lagos jan afp
nigerian court has remanded in police custody the leader of banned biafran
separatist group pending the transfer of his kidnapping case to higher court
the spokesman of his group said wednesday
madu uchenna spokesman for movement for the actualisation of the sovereign
state for biafra massob told afp the chief magistrate court in owerri
southern imo state on tuesday declined jusrisdiction in the kidnapping case
against ralph uwazuruike
the magistrate court ordered uwazuruike to be remanded in police custody
pending the transfer of the matter to high court which it said has
jurisdiction to hear the case madu said
he said the massob leader who was arrested on january was arraigned on
tuesday and charged with kidnapping man named pascal okorie and keeping him in
his house without his consent
uchenna told afp last week okorie was using the name of massob to disrupt the
february governorship election in anambra state and uwazuruike tried to stop
him by keeping him in his house
he said massob was founded in to revive the idea of an independent igbo
homeland and to carry out non violent campaign for self determination the
movement was neutral in the february poll
nwazuruike was acquitted of treason charge in after spending three years
in jail for leading the group which was outlawed
massob accuses the federal government of marginalising and neglecting igbos and
of excluding their leaders from national institutions
the igbo are one of the three largest ethnic groups in nigeria
igbo separatists attempted to breakaway from nigeria in to form mini
state of biafra move that plunged the nation into month long civil war
which claimed more than one million lives mostly due to disease and starvation
the war ended in january with the surrender of the biafra forces
grisly massacre footage shown at philippine trial
manila jan afp
philippine politician accused of massacring people displayed no emotion
wednesday as grisly footage was shown in court of the victims mangled and
bloodied bodies being pulled from mass graves
the video clips were part of evidence introduced by prosecutors against andal
ampatuan jnr who is charged with murder over the election related killings in
the southern province of maguindanao in november
what they did was too brutal it was worse than demonic said emmy intia
coordinator with volunteers against crime and corruption who was one of several
people who left the court after finding the footage unbearable
filmed by local government employee who accompanied police as they retrieved
the victims from the mass graves in the two days after the murders the video
showed bloodied bodies some of which were already decomposing
while the case has attracted global publicity and dominated local media it was
the first opportunity for many people linked to the case to see the minutes
of footage of the bodies being hauled out of the mass graves
as the footage was shown sister of one of the female victims broke down and
had to be helped out of the courtroom
male lawyer representing the victims also rushed out of the silent courtroom
covering his mouth as he headed for the bathroom to vomit
however ampatuan jnr who has pleaded not guilty had no visible reaction
sitting in lavender shirt and flanked by security escorts and lawyers
ampatuan jnr watched the footage impassively as body after body was dug up from
the earth
at one point he casually applied liniment to his neck while stifling yawn
he looked bored it was like the most ordinary thing to watch lilian de lima
head of the government commission on human rights who was in the courtroom
told reporters
prosecutors allege ampatuan jnr and about of his gunmen abducted and shot
dead the victims to stop rival esmael mangudadatu from running against him
for the post of maguindanao governor in may elections
mangudadatu wife and pregnant sister as well as at least journalists
travelling with them were among the killed mangudadatu had sent his
relatives to an election office to register his candidacy
police have said ampatuan jnr father and namesake the patriarch of the clan
who was then governor of maguindanao should also be charged over the killings
ampatuan snr and several other clan members were arrested after martial law was
briefly imposed in maguindanao and charged with rebellion
however no date for his rebellion trial has been set and prosecutors have yet
to lay murder charges against him
before the killings the ampatuans were close political allies of president
gloria arroyo who armed and used them to help contain muslim separatist rebels
in the southern philippines
they were expelled from arroyo ruling party after the massacre and the
government broke up their private armies
ampatuan jnr trial is expected to last months if not years as there is no
death penalty in the philippines he faces maximum penalty of life in jail
greek farmers extend roadblocks
athens jan afp
greek farmers on wednesday threw up more roadblocks in the centre and north of
the country in bid for state funds which has cornered the country cash
strapped government and fuelled anger in neighbouring bulgaria
bulgarian prime minister boyko borisov asked the european commission tuesday to
help end the protests after farmers blocked the main border crossings at kulata
promahon and ilinden exohi stranding dozens of lorries on either side
borisov press office said the premier complained to eu commission president
jose manuel barroso that the unacceptable blocking of an internal eu border
breached basic rights and freedoms of other eu citizens as well the principles
of the common eu market
borisov recalled that similar protests last year cost bulgarian hauliers
million euros million dollars
on wednesday tractors blocked roads around greece second city of thessaloniki
and nearby kavala as well as the motorway to turkey
however border crossings with turkey at evros kipi and ormenio were unaffected
in the morning police said
those linking greece to macedonia and albania at evzonon and doiranis and
krystallopigis were open throughout the night
more roadblocks also went up in the central thessaly et beotia regions in the
peloponnesus peninsula and the southern island of crete
demanding hundreds of thousands of euros dollars in state support to
counterbalance low produce prices farmers began setting up roadblocks in the
thessaly region in the country centre and in east macedonia in the north at
the weekend
the farmers are seeking financial assistance because of drop in prices for
products including wheat cotton and milk
they are also asking for price cuts on fertilisers pharmaceutical products and
seeds rebate on the price of electricity and petrol and three year freeze
on their debts to the greek agricultural bank
but the recently elected socialist government which is already labouring to fix
the country ailing national finances under pressure from brussels says it
gave financial aid to farmers last month and could afford no more
katerina batzelis minister of rural development and food has invited the
farmer unions to roundtable talks on monday and tuesday
greece is in recession and has been hit by major financial crisis with debt
constituting percent of gross domestic product
greek farmers protested at the same time last year for similar reasons putting
down roadblocks that lasted over two weeks
yemeni air strike hits qaeda hideout military source
sanaa yemen jan afp
yemeni aircraft carried out an air strike on suspected al qaeda hideout in
maarib province east of the capital sanaa on wednesday military source said
the attack occurred at wadi obaida in the province al shabwan region the
source explained without elaborating
urgent yemeni air strike hits qaeda hideout military source
sanaa jan afp
yemeni aircraft carried out an air strike on suspected al qaeda hideout in
maarib province east of the capital sanaa on wednesday military source said
grisly massacre footage shown at philippine trial
manila jan afp
philippine politician accused of massacring people displayed no emotion
wednesday as grisly footage was shown in court of the victims mangled and
bloodied bodies being pulled from mass graves
the video clips were part of evidence introduced by prosecutors against andal
ampatuan jnr who is charged with murder over the election related killings in
the southern province of maguindanao in november
what they did was too brutal it was worse than demonic said emmy intia
coordinator with volunteers against crime and corruption who was one of several
people who left the court after finding the footage unbearable
filmed by local government employee who accompanied police as they retrieved
the victims from the mass graves in the two days after the murders the video
showed bloodied bodies some of which were already decomposing
while the case has attracted global publicity and dominated local media it was
the first opportunity for many people linked to the case to see the minutes
of footage of the bodies being hauled out of the mass graves
as the footage was shown sister of one of the female victims broke down and
had to be helped out of the courtroom
male lawyer representing the victims also rushed out of the silent courtroom
covering his mouth as he headed for the bathroom to vomit
however ampatuan jnr who has pleaded not guilty had no visible reaction
sitting in lavender shirt and flanked by security escorts and lawyers
ampatuan jnr watched the footage impassively as body after body was dug up from
the earth
at one point he casually applied liniment to his neck while stifling yawn
he looked bored it was like the most ordinary thing to watch lilian de lima
head of the government commission on human rights who was in the courtroom
told reporters
prosecutors allege ampatuan jnr and about of his gunmen abducted and shot
dead the victims to stop rival esmael mangudadatu from running against him
for the post of maguindanao governor in may elections
mangudadatu was unharmed but his wife and pregnant sister as well as at least
journalists travelling with them were among the killed mangudadatu
relatives had been on their way to an election office to register his candidacy
police have said ampatuan jnr father and namesake the patriarch of the clan
who was then governor of maguindanao should also be charged over the killings
ampatuan snr and several other clan members were arrested after martial law was
briefly imposed in maguindanao and charged with rebellion
however no date for his rebellion trial has been set and prosecutors have yet
to lay murder charges against him
before the killings the ampatuans were close political allies of president
gloria arroyo who armed and used them to help contain muslim separatist rebels
in the southern philippines
they were expelled from arroyo ruling party after the massacre and the
government broke up their private armies
ampatuan jnr trial is expected to last months if not years as there is no
death penalty in the philippines he faces maximum penalty of life in jail
alert
yemeni air strike hits al qaeda hideout east of sanaa military source
somali pirate town fears growing violence
mogadishu jan afp
once quiet somali fishing town harardhere has earned the dubious title of
piracy capital of the world and its residents now fear their village is too
small for its ruthless guests and their money
like any gold rush town sitting on rich vein harardhere has seen the arrival
of gaggle of armed highly competitive entrepreneurs who have started
buccaneering careers and are willing to die for big ransom
residents and pirates alike fear that the delivery of an estimated seven million
dollars in cash for the release of greek supertanker which could fit the
whole of harardhere on its deck has now brought the town to the brink
the largest ransom ever paid out to somalia sea bandits touched off cycle of
raids and revenge killings that has already left seven people dead since sunday
including civilian
the fighting had stopped by wednesday but tension was still running high among
harardhere once united pirate fraternity
we asked the pirates to cease fire and so far it holding but the problem is
that trust has been shattered suspicion is rife and growing among the pirates
now and we expect another disaster yusuf moalim ali local elder who tried
to mediate for an end to the violence told afp
rival gangs from the saleban sub clan on monday rode through the streets in
toyota surfs pirate favourite wielding machine guns
we had been expecting things to turn ugly in our town we had it coming these
boys are accustomed to easy money but when you enter mafia you know you ll end
up killing or being killed said mohamed sandhere another elder
the pirates themselves seemed to admit that the problem risked spiralling out of
control explaining the issue with this paradox too much ransom money gets in
the way of piracy
my group did not directly take part in the fighting but we are severely
affected by the clashes we cannot go about our usual business said pirate
abdi yare
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 but
the size of the share handed to every pirate follows strict scale from the
first man to board the hijacked ship down to the last onshore sentinel
some pirates argue that internal rules were broken when small plane dropped
the bumper ransom for the maran centaurus supertanker third of kilometre
long and laden with two million barrels of crude oil for america
this big ransom was unfairly divided said pirate who gave his name as
ilkacase lost two of my friends on monday today all the pirates are staying
on base and nobody is going out to sea
while pirates have been known to redistribute part of their share to friends and
locals residents have long complained that the modern day buccaneers have
brought inflation alcohol and prostitution to the region
