nikolay davydenko rus bt illya marchenko ukr
novak djokovic srb bt marco chiudinelli sui
nicolas almagro esp bt benjamin becker ger
denis istomin uzb bt michael berrer ger
juan monaco arg bt michael llodra fra
alejandro falla col bt marcel granollers esp
marcos baghdatis cyp bt david ferrer esp
mikhail youzhny rus bt jan hajek cze
lukasz kubot pol bt santiago giraldo col
lleyton hewitt aus bt donald young usa
stefan koubek aut bt ivan dodig cro
tommy haas ger bt janko tipsarevic srb
fernando verdasco esp bt ivan sergeyev ukr
jo wilfried tsonga fra bt taylor dent usa
albert montanes esp bt stephane robert fra
roger federer sui bt victor hanescu rom
women singles
nd round
agnieszka radwanska pol bt alla kudryavtseva rus
gisela dulko arg bt ana ivanovic srb
carla suarez navarro esp bt andrea petkovic ger
victoria azarenka blr bt stefanie voegele sui
li na chn by agnes szavay hun
caroline wozniacki den bt julia goerges ger
vera zvonareva rus by iveta benesova cze
shahar peer isr bt tsvetana pironkova bul
tathiana garbin ita bt yaroslava shvedova kaz
samantha stosur aus bt kristina barrois ger
francesca schiavone ita bt julie coin fra
daniela hantuchova svk bt sofia arvidsson swe
alberta brianti ita bt sabine lisicki ger
venus williams usa bt sybille bammer aut
serena williams usa petra kvitova cze
thieves steal from israeli show on antiquities theft media
jerusalem jan afp
thieves stole ancient silver coins and other other items from archaeological
digs that were displayed at an exhibit called antiquities thieves in israel
the haaretz newspaper reported on thursday
the robbers made away with bronze spear two gold earrings some pottery and
coins from the hellenistic period which authorities had previously recovered
from antiquities thieves the paper said
the exhibit at the korin maman museum in the coastal city of ashdod aims at
educating the israeli public on efforts to crack down on antiquities theft
urgent gm europe to close belgian opel plant union
brussels jan afp
general motors europe announced to unions on thursday that it is to close its
opel auto production plant in antwerp with the loss of jobs belgian
union representative told afp
tennis federer welcomes prince william to centre court
melbourne jan afp
prince william made surprise visit to the australian open to watch world
number one roger federer on thursday and the swiss star turned on the style
after touring communities near melbourne affected by bushfires last year that
killed people william arrived at the rod laver arena in time to see the
time grand slam champion demolish romanian victor hanescu
the crowd gave william warm ovation as he took his seat with tennis australia
officials and he applauded enthusiastically as federer marched into the third
round
after the game federer was interviewed courtside by former grand slam champion
jim courier who asked the swiss great to officially welcome royalty to
melbourne park
federer turning to face the laughing william duly obliged
your royal highness welcome to the world of tennis he said
thank you for coming
william earlier told melbourne reception that being in australia was the
realisation of long held dream
he recalled his much loved late mother princess diana affection for australia
and the profound impression it made on her
the young royal requested the trip to australia as way to get to know the
country and its people following official duties in new zealand where he
represented his grandmother queen elizabeth ii for the first time
william last visited australia in the arms of his mother when he was just nine
months old in and commentators say his ready humour and laid back manner
gave him the diana touch with the public
tennis federer in regal form to charge into third round
melbourne jan afp
roger federer imperiously took his place in the australian open third round with
straight sets demolition of hapless romanian victor hanescu on thursday
watched by britain prince william in the official box the world number one
ripped through the th ranked hanescu in just one hour minutes winning
federer bidding for his th grand slam title and fourth australian open here
over the next fortnight will now play spanish st seed albert montanes in
saturday third round
it was stunning set of statistics for federer in thursday match
he broke hanescu serve five times and didn drop his own serve while hitting
winners of them with the forehand federer dominated the match points
to
hanescu has still to take set off federer in their four meetings as the swiss
legend stepped up gear after his muddling opening round performance against
russian igor andreev on tuesday
his opening set loss to andreev was the first time he had dropped set in
first round grand slam match since the us open
federer made his intentions known from the outset breaking hanescu opening
service and again in the eighth game to take the set in minutes
the swiss great strolled through the second set reeling off another service
break in the eighth game to take sets lead
he broke hanescu in his opening two service games of the final set to coast to
victory in quick time
federer is on track to face either former finalists lleyton hewitt or marcos
baghdatis in the fourth round and potential quarter final with russian sixth
seed nikolay davydenko
vietnam under fire over jailing of dissidents
hanoi jan afp
vietnam jailing of four dissidents for trying to overthrow the communist
regime makes mockery of justice activists said thursday urging their release
in call backed by the united states embassy
after day long trial in ho chi minh city on wednesday the four were convicted
of activities aimed at subverting the people administration prompting swift
criticism from the us and britain
american ambassador michael michalak expressed concern about the apparent lack
of due process in the conduct of the trials and urged their immediate release
along with other prisoners of conscience
the convictions also raise serious questions about vietnam commitment to rule
of law and reform he said
nobody should be imprisoned for peacefully expressing their opinions british
foreign office minister ivan lewis said
verdicts like these only serve to harm vietnam international standing
internet entrepreneur tran huynh duy thuc was sentenced to years in
prison while blogger nguyen tien trung received seven years human rights
lawyer le cong dinh and le thang long were each given five years
months before the trial began state linked media reported that the accused had
all admitted their guilt
the accused had already been convicted in the pages of the newspapers before
the trial started said shawn mchale director of the sigur center for asian
studies at washington george washington university
some observers see their case as linked to next year communist party congress
when high ranking leadership posts will be determined
it was the most high profile case in series of arrests and convictions of
dissidents and bloggers over the past year
london based human rights watchdog amnesty international said the convicted men
were prisoners of conscience who should be immediately freed
the trial made complete mockery of justice disregarding fundamental human
rights such as the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to
defence said brittis edman amnesty vietnam researcher
the prosecution gave no evidence to support the indictment edman added
mchale in an emailed response to questions from afp said the indictment
strained belief
judge nguyen duc sau convicted the men of well organised non violent campaign
in collusion with overseas exile reactionary organisations aimed at
overturning the government with the help of the internet
supporters of trung french trained computer expert have set up website
where they denounced this sham of trial while paris based press freedom
watchdog reporters without borders called it travesty of justice
the us based vietnam reform party also known as viet tan which vietnam
calls terrorist group said the convictions showed vietnam was being held
back by its current system
in country where the legal system is an extension of the ruling communist
party charges and trials against democracy activists are nothing but
crackdown on political freedom and vietnam progress the group said
the case sends message that political pluralism outside of the ruling party
will not be tolerated mchale added but even though one party rule may continue
for long time more pluralistic environment is evolving
think that the government and in particular the communist party misfired on
this one he said
unlike in the the vietnamese government has hard time controlling what
its citizens read and think as they travel more widely and explore the internet
he said
alert
gm europe to close belgian opel plant belgian union
suzuki cool on idea of volkswagen raising stake
tokyo jan afp
suzuki motor chief executive indicated thursday that he would oppose any move
by germany volkswagen to lift its stake in the japanese group above
percent
as suzuki becomes more successful it is only natural perhaps that volkswagen
will say we think you are great company we want more of your shares
osamu suzuki told news conference in response to question
when that day comes probably suzuki will respond by saying look we have
been able to succeed so well until now because of this current relationship we
have with you let not to do anything to change it he added
volkswagen announced in december that it would buy percent of suzuki for
more than billion dollars suzuki said at the time that it would invest up
to half the money in volkswagen shares
europe biggest car maker which hopes to unseat world leader toyota already
has strong presence in china but wants to expand its asian reach in an
alliance with suzuki small car maker with strong presence in india
tennis verdasco storms into third round
melbourne jan afp
spanish ninth seed fernando verdasco stormed into the third round of the
australian open with an easy win over ukrainian qualifier ivan
sergeyev on wednesday
two muslim prayer halls attacked in malaysia police
kuala lumpur jan afp
two muslim prayer halls in malaysia were set on fire thursday police said
following spate of violence against churches triggered by row over the use
of the word allah
eleven churches across the mainly muslim nation have been pelted with molotov
cocktails stones and paint in recent weeks in attacks that have escalated
ethnic tensions
the two muslim prayer halls both in muar in the southern state of johor
suffered only minor fire damage said the town deputy police chief lee choon
guan
in the first incident an arsonist threw diesel at the building window
damaging the frame and curtain but passing motorists noticed the fire and
managed to put out the blaze he said
in the second incident about kilometre less than mile away fire damaged
the door carpet and curtain of prayer room which also had its window broken
with stones
police are investigating to identify the suspects and motive lee said in
statement urging all parties not to exploit the assaults
the church attacks broke out after december court ruling that overturned
ban on non muslims using allah as translation for god the ruling has been
suspended pending an appeal
the row is the latest in string of religious disputes that have erupted in
recent years straining relations between muslim malays and minority ethnic
chinese and indians who fear the country is being islamised
police said wednesday they had arrested eight people over the first of the
church attacks firebombing that gutted the ground floor of an assemblies of
god church in suburban kuala lumpur
religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial malaysia which
experienced deadly race riots in
malaysia population is percent malay but also includes indigenous tribes
as well as the large ethnic chinese and indian communities practising
buddhism christianity and hinduism among other religions
rolls royce aims to triple asia sales in
kuala lumpur jan afp
luxury automaker rolls royce is defying the gloomy economic mood forecasting
asian sales to triple to vehicles this year and opening new dealership in
malaysia
the firm said it is expecting strong interest in its new lower cost ghost model
snip at dollars plus taxes and pent up demand from last year when
sales dropped as conspicuous consumption went out of style
this year will be very different from last year because this year we are adding
new model line in asia said south and east asia pacific head brenda pek
we are expecting to triple the volume of sales in the region with the
introduction of the ghost she told afp adding that the britain based company
moved just vehicles in asia in
in it sold vehicles globally including in asia
rolls royce is tipping worldwide sales to hit this year well up from
when it moved just of its super luxury cars as it was hit by the financial
downturn
its not case of people who couldn afford to buy the car think it just
wasn the right time to show your wealth said asia pacific director colin
kelly adding that many customers delayed their purchases as result
the lifestyle of the people who actually aspire to buy this car are people who
work very hard are extremely successful who want something that not
everybody else can have he said
rolls royce is now banking on the ghost smaller and cheaper model than the
top of the range phantom which sells for dollars
however the price tag of dollars does not include delivery costs and
taxes which can be very high in asia as well as optional extras such as
massage seats and panoramic sunroof
rolls royce has teamed up with bmw dealer quill automobiles in malaysia to
establish the company th dealership in asia
we follow very closely what we call the ultra high net worth individuals
and by definition these people have got million dollars in cash said pek
we track where these people are and we assess whether that an opportunity for
us in that market before we are present there she said
rolls royce long popular choice for malaysian sultans hopes to sell
vehicles in malaysia this year said quill automobiles director michael ong
asia markets give mixed reaction to china economic data
hong kong jan afp
news of china blistering economic growth was tempered by looming inflationary
risks and fears of further tightening by beijing as asian shares put in mixed
performance thursday
chinese data out earlier in the day showed gross domestic product in the asian
powerhouse returned to double digit growth in the fourth quarter of at
percent while the full year figure of percent beat expectations
but china biggest rise in inflation for months underlined the broader
challenges of breakneck growth amid warnings from the world bank and
international monetary fund that the country could face an economic bubble
china consumer price index the main gauge of inflation rose percent
year on year in december prompting some risk aversion among investors focusing
on the possibility that beijing will again move to put the reins on lending
hong kong shares dropped percent with the hang seng index down
points at led lower by banking stocks
icbc fell percent to hong kong dollars us dollars bank of china
dropped percent to and citic bank dropped percent to
policymakers will need to move soon to stop the economy from overheating said
brian jackson hong kong based strategist at royal bank of canada
shanghai saw volatile trade but closed up percent or points at
in contrast to hong kong financials led the gains on expectations interest
rates will rise to curb inflation with potentially higher rates boosting their
income
shenzhen development bank surged percent to yuan us dollars
china merchants bank was up percent at yuan
on wednesday beijing top regulator said that china will rein in credit this
year
comments from liu mingkang chairman of the china banking regulatory commission
followed the central bank earlier move to hike the minimum amount of money
banks must keep in reserve and increase borrowing costs
further policy tightening measures over and beyond what have already been
implemented are needed in order to control inflation in the coming months yu
song an economist at goldman sachs told dow jones newswires
the euro fell to five month low against the dollar in asia thursday as worries
that china monetary policy fears reduced demand for risk sensitive currencies
the european unit dropped to dollars at one point the weakest since
august in late tokyo trade it stood at down from late
wednesday in new york
the dollar gained to yen from the euro rose to yen from
local markets followed the biggest drop of the year on wall street which dived
percent on mixed earnings from key american banks
bank of america and morgan stanley missed analysts expectations while wells
fargo posted an unexpected profit goldman sachs was due to report thursday
japanese stocks nevertheless shrugged off new york disappointment with the
nikkei closing up percent at
shares in japan airlines were flat at two yen day after sinking to record
low following the carrier bankruptcy filing and announcement it would delist
its shares next month
sydney closed down percent or points to after hitting
three week low intraday materials and energy stocks led the fall
bhp billiton fell percent to australian dollars and rio tinto shed
percent to
south korean shares closed percent higher with the kospi gaining
points to
oil rose ahead of key us inventory report later in the day new york main
contract light sweet crude for march delivery was up cents to dollars
barrel reversing earlier losses
brent north sea crude advanced cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed at us dollars an ounce down from
wednesday finish of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed down percent or points at
the singapore market is getting whacked because of weakness in hong kong said
local house trader
companies that depend on china as key market were among the losers
capitaland was cents down at dollars global supply chain manager noble
group dipped cents at
taipei dropped points or percent to after overnight
declines on wall street
the market was also weighed by the government decision to sell shares that
state funds purchased last year to stabilise the market dealers said
kuala lumpur rose points or percent to
concerns over global economic growth and regional weakness affected sentiment
giving some players the excuse to take profit but we still think the market
will rise further in the mid term dealer said
gainers included glove manufacturer top glove which added percent at
vehicle manufacturer proton rose percent at
jakarta lost points or percent to
bangkok fell percent or points to close at
coal producer banpu plunged baht to close at and energy firm ptt
plc lost to baht
wellington closed flat as lower local currency and stronger than expected
retail sales figures offset falls in overseas markets
the nzx fell points to
the market is holding up quite well considering what happened in overseas
markets overnight hamilton hindin greene broker grant williamson said
manila was flat after weak opening the composite index added points
to
philippine long distance telephone dropped percent to pesos
korea largest life insurer to go public
seoul jan afp
south korea biggest life insurer has applied to launch what would likely be
the country largest ever initial public offering the stock exchange said
thursday
samsung life insurance will begin listing procedures once it gets approval from
the korea exchange which could take up to two months spokesman at the bourse
told afp
the share sale is expected to be worth between four and five trillion won
billion dollars according to news reports
day earlier shareholders approved to one share split plan to pave the
way for the listing the decision will reduce the face value of samsung life
shares to won from won
the stock split is aimed at preventing downward pressure on stock prices
stemming from shortage of trading shares the life insurer said earlier
goldman sachs morgan stanley bank of america merrill lynch korea investment
and securities and shinhan investment corp are managing the offering
samsung life is key subsidiary of south korea largest conglomerate samsung
group
the stock exchange said samsung life posted billion won in net profit and
trillion won in operating profit for fiscal
flurry of life insurers plan to become publicly traded companies this year
third largest player korea life insurance will become the first to go public on
the bourse
first glimpses of lost metropolis film in berlin
berlin jan afp
film buffs got their first glimpse on thursday of parts of the groundbreaking
german classic metropolis thought to have been lost forever with new
exhibition ahead of triumphant homecoming next month
full version of fritz lang silent expressionist epic was found in
argentina in and after months of painstaking work what is possibly
germany best known movie has now been restored to almost its original state
it will be shown at berlin brandenburg gate on february as part of the th
berlin film festival with simultaneous gala screenings in berlin and frankfurt
with an orchestra playing gottfried huppertz original score
an exhibition at the berlin film and television museum the complete
metropolis includes excerpts from some of the long lost scenes as well as
some of the innovative techniques used to make the film
the film is set in teeming towering city of the future where downtrodden
working class slaves away on huge machines while the sons of the rich idle away
their time in luxury and decadence
but the son of the city boss rebels and falls in love with proletarian
prophet while scientist called rotwang causes mischief with frankenstein
like maschinenmensch machine person
at the time the most expensive movie ever made lang two and half hour
futuristic vision of st century dystopia was flop when it first came out
panned by critics and moviegoers alike
science fiction writer wells said at the time it gave in one eddying
concentration almost every possible foolishness cliche platitude and
muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general served up with
sauce of sentimentality that is all its own
but the film is now seen as science fiction mother ship inspiring directors
including george lucas whose po robot bears strong resemblance to the
maschinenmensch and blade runner maker ridley scott
around quarter of the film ended up on the cutting room floor in an attempt to
make it success on both sides of the atlantic but the shorter version which
made the already complicated plot more confusing also bombed
sections that were cut were thought lost forever and in remastered
version came out restoring the full story with additional title cards explaining
to viewers the missing action
luckily for posterity it turned out that an argentinean film distributor had
taken the film back to buenos aires after its premiere sensationally an
almost complete copy was found there by film historian two years ago
even in the first days of its existence it was considered to be masterpiece
it was adored but not loved said rainer rother artistic director of the
film and television museum
the understanding of what this film represents now is far higher at that time
the film really had no chance rother told afp
the exhibition runs until april
latvian government wins new bailout mandate
riga jan afp
the government of crisis hit latvia won new mandate thursday for talks with
international lenders but parliamentary revolt threw into doubt the future of
the fractious ruling coalition
in vote lawmakers approved bill empowering the centre right coalition
to continue talks with the international monetary fund european union and other
lenders who are steering billion euro billion dollar bailout to
keep the baltic state afloat
think it was very significant decision for the country financial
stability prime minister valdis dombrovskis told reporters
but the largest player in his five party coalition the people party broke
ranks and he had to rely on the opposition to win
dombrovskis played down the revolt however
like to underscore that this is not vote about the government but on the
international loan programme he said adding that he would hold talks with the
people party
on wednesday president valdis zatlers chided the people party and
dombrovskis new era movement saying they must stop punching each other at the
expense of state interests
under the terms of the rescue package agreed in december latvia has
slashed public spending and raised taxes to try to plug gaping hole in state
coffers
payouts of tranches of the funding depend on the belt tightening which has
sparked regular coalition infighting
the people party has made angry public statements about the bailout
conditions and said lawmakers should have more say
the government turned to parliament after latvia top court ruled last month
that it had violated the constitution by cutting pensions to save money
requiring changes to the bailout
latvia which had double digit boom after joining the european union in
is in one of the steepest recessions in the nation eu authorities estimate
its economy shrank by up to percent last year
the country of million people broke from the soviet union in
cricket mishra sharma shape india victory
chittagong bangladesh jan afp
bowlers amit mishra and ishant sharma shared seven wickets in india crushing
run victory over bangladesh in the first test on thursday
leg spinner mishra finished with and paceman sharma took as bangladesh
were bowled out for in their second innings before tea on the final day
while chasing an improbable target of runs
the only consolation for bangladesh was an entertaining by wicket keeper
mushfiqur rahim who smashed one six and fours in his maiden test century
rahim completed his hundred off balls the fastest by bangladeshi in
tests before becoming the last man to be dismissed when he holed out in the
deep off mishra
rahim gave spectators plenty to cheer about with his exciting strokeplay
once hammering sharma for runs in an over and then hitting paceman
shanthakumaran sreesanth for six and boundary off successive balls
he was involved in rollicking run stand for the eighth wicket with shahadat
hossain which ended when shahadat failed to read mishra googly and was
bowled
but rahim knock came too late for bangladesh as india were virtually assured
of victory after reducing the hosts to in the afternoon session
bangladesh chances of saving the match receded sharply when they lost three
wickets in the morning after adding only to their overnight total of
with sharma taking two and part time off spinner virender sehwag one
india strengthened their position when mishra had bangladeshi skipper and key
batsman shakib al hasan caught by sehwag at silly point few overs after
lunch
india began on an impressive note with sharma removing mohammad ashraful and
raqibul hasan in lively opening spell and sehwag dismissing well set tamim
iqbal to put the hosts under pressure
iqbal caught by rahul dravid in the slips just before lunch executed some
handsome shots during his ball knock he reached his third test half century
when he reverse swept mishra for his sixth four
sharma struck in the day fourth over when he had ashraful caught by dravid at
second slip after the batsman added only to his overnight score of
raqibul was beaten by the movement before being trapped leg before by
sharma leaving his team struggling at
the second and final test starts in dhaka on sunday
tennis federer sweeps into third round
melbourne jan afp
swiss top seed roger federer coasted into the third round of the australian open
with demolition of romanian victor hanescu on thursday
angolan parliament approves constitution for stronger president
luanda jan afp
angola parliament thursday approved the nation first constitution which
gives more power to the head of state and declares all land is officially owned
by the state
the charter passed with votes in the seat parliament announced fernando
da piedade dias dos santos president of the national assembly drawing loud
applause and chants of angola angola in the chamber
the session was boycotted by the main opposition unita party which claimed the
constitutional process was flawed and undermines democracy
the document still needs approval from the constitutional court and president
eduardo dos santos both steps seen as formalities
the charter replaces an interim constitutional law in effect in the southern
african country since independence from portugal in
its articles set out how the country is to be governed and defines the
rights of citizens but notably strengthens of the powers of the president
