bulgarian tsvetana pironkova
she good player wozniacki said of the israeli she gets lot of balls
back and she fighter she never gives up
know she has lot of supporters out here so will have to stay focused
nba sixers dalembert returns from haiti
philadelphia pennsylvania jan afp
samuel dalembert rejoined the philadelphia ers wednesday but the images of
his brief trip to his native haiti remained burned in his mind
tried to be strong said dalembert who visited his earthquake torn homeland
with former nba star alonzo mourning as part of project medishare
he watched people having surgery on kitchen tables observed leg amputation
and saw how quake survivors struggled to find water amid the wreckage left by
the quake
there no recovery room after surgery forget about that dalembert said
you hear screaming they re numbing people down there not enough alcohol
there glass from broken windows everywhere people haven had water for
days
the people there are so strong salute them all god is watching over us and
will help us get through this
the philadelphia center landed at philadephia international airport less than an
hour before the sixers met portland in an nba contest on wednesday night
he arrived at the arena minutes before tip off but got the nod to start
dalembert scored points with rebounds his sixth double double in his past
eight games
dalembert had been excused from tuesday practice to make the trip to haiti
and left the caribbean nation before the strong aftershock that shook the
country on wednesday
he great person he doing lot for his country and lot for his
teammates ers teammate allen iverson said he got lot on his shoulders
but he carrying the load
dalembert said he had spoken with his father since returning to the states
while the player has brother sister and grandmother in miami his father said
he would stay in haiti
he going to do whatever he can to help down there dalembert said we need
to work together to make this thing happen do my best can try and raise as
much money as possible and make sure it going to the right place
dalembert has donated dollars to relief efforts and filmed public
service announcement seeking aid donations but said much more is needed
there are lot of homeless children looking for families and the situation is
so critical there so many people lost everything know people are doing their
best to help but it crazy over there
know not going to save the whole country but know deep inside that we
need to do more he said maybe we can save some lives and make others just
little bit better
the sixers fell to the trail blazers who were able to overcome the early
departure of brandon roy with thigh injury
tennis shorter season high players priority djokovic
melbourne jan afp
the highest priority in men tennis was to shorten the demanding playing
season world number three novak djokovic said on thursday
djokovic is on the atp players council along with roger federer and rafael
nadal and they are considering revolutionary plan for world cup which could
signal the end of the year old davis cup
the players see potential world cup nations playing once every two years
as one way of streamlining the burgeoning season and giving them longer off
season to rest and recover
that is the highest priority because players feel like the season is just too
long djokovic said after progressing to the third round of the australian
open
think the most important thing is that the top players are together right
now and they share more or less the same opinion he said
and we are fortunate enough to have the present leadership of the atp very
understandable on the issues that we have and on our problems that we want to
solve
so we are all working towards the future and making this sport better for
players and better for everybody
djokovic said the players would have to be mindful to balance the demands of
tournaments and sponsors with the players wishes
can say more than that because everything is still in the process and it
pending he said hopefully in the next couple of months we can make some
decisions
djokovic who played his last match at the atp world tour finals in london
in late november said he had little time to rest and prepare for the new
season
we were unfortunate because we didn have lot of time in the off season he
said
tried to use it in the best way that short off season period was one of the
reasons why didn participate in the opening tournaments in
tried to work really intensively came days before the australian open
started and spent lot of hours in the heat
criticism grows after vietnam jails dissidents
hanoi jan afp
vietnam faced growing criticism thursday after it jailed group of dissidents
for up to years for trying to overthrow the communist regime
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
after day long trial in southern ho chi minh city on wednesday human rights
lawyer le cong dinh french trained computer expert and blogger nguyen tien
trung internet entrepreneur tran huynh duy thuc and le thang long
were convicted of activities aimed at subverting the people administration
thuc received year sentence trung seven years while dinh and long each
got five years prompting swift criticism from britain and the us
british foreign office minister ivan lewis said he was deeply concerned by the
sentences and us consul general kenneth fairfax who monitored the trial called
for the dissidents release
nobody should be imprisoned for peacefully expressing their opinions freedom
of expression and the free flow of ideas are essential for flourishing economy
and society verdicts like these only serve to harm vietnam international
standing lewis said
months before the trial began state linked media reported that the accused had
all admitted their guilt
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 and called for their immediate release
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
japan wwii sinking of hospital ship illegal australia
adelaide australia jan afp
japan torpedoing of an australian hospital ship in world war ii was illegal
and violated fundamental humanitarian principles australian prime minister
kevin rudd said thursday
but while condemning the sinking of the centaur with the loss of lives
rudd stressed the japan of today was vastly different and that australia must
deepen ties with its key asian trading partner
the action to sink the centaur by the japanese navy at the time was in our
view complete breach of international law rudd told reporters in the
southern city of adelaide
let be clear cut about it the decision to sink an unarmed hospital ship
clearly marked with red cross symbols as it was was violation of
international law and was complete violation of the most humanitarian
principals
but the prime minister said the actions of the japanese vessel were the actions
of the war and that the matter had been put to rest by the australia
government in the
the japan of today is vastly different japan and think it important also
that we continue to build our future relationship with japan rudd said
the clearly marked centaur was sunk on may and only found off
australia northeast coast last month when high tech search uncovered it at
depth of metres miles
the japanese embassy in canberra issued statement when the wreck was found
which said the circumstances in which the centaur went down were not conclusive
rudd denied newspaper report that the australian defence department had warned
him to remain silent about the sinking because of fears that any comments could
damage canberra relations with japan
defence minister john faulkner said defence department briefing paper on the
centaur had been prepared in but that its aim was not to gag rudd
that brief wasn of course about silencing the prime minister faulkner
said that is not the case at all he said adding that it was about making
contact with japan over plans to find the hospital ship
in particular there was hope that there might be some involvement of the
japanese government in terms of assisting with archival research he said
gates warns of dangers in pakistan militant havens
islamabad jan afp
us defense secretary robert gates warned thursday that taliban safe havens along
the pakistan afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would suffer
more lethal and more brazen attacks
writing in pakistan the news ahead of visit to islamabad gates stressed
washington commitment to pakistan and praised military offensives launched
against the pakistani taliban in recent months
but us officials have made clear that washington is anxious to see islamabad
also target the afghan taliban operating within its borders and al qaeda linked
militants holed up in the lawless northwest tribal region
it is important to remember that the pakistani taliban operates in collusion
with both the taliban in afghanistan and al qaeda so it is impossible to
separate those groups gates wrote
if history is any indication safe havens for either taliban on either side of
the border will in the long run lead to more lethal and more brazen attacks in
both nations he added in the editorial
gates wrote that making distinctions between the different extremist groups was
counterproductive
only by pressuring all of these groups on both sides of the border will
afghanistan and pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge for good
to destroy those who promote the use of terror here and abroad
the pentagon chief visit comes at time of diplomatic tension as volley of
us drone missile strikes hit the tribal belt and washington presses pakistan to
crack down harder on islamist extremists
the bombing strikes by unmanned us aircraft targeting militants in pakistan
northwest fuel anti american sentiment in pakistan and have drawn public
condemnation from the government in islamabad
gates said he would be meeting with civilian and military leaders on his trip
during which he will emphasize that the united states wishes to relinquish the
grievances of the past
gates has lamented that washington lost interest in the region after the soviets
withdrew from afghanistan and lost the trust of pakistani armed forces after
us ban on military aid over islamabad nuclear program in the
president barack obama administration views pakistan as central part of its
fight against al qaeda and taliban militants operating in the region
in new delhi wednesday gates warned that south asian militant groups were
seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger war between
nuclear armed pakistan and india
new quake triggers panic in haiti
port au prince jan afp
powerful new earthquake rumbled across the ruins of haiti wednesday sending
thousands of traumatized survivors running through the streets screaming in
terror
but despite the latest quake elated rescuers unearthed baby two
children and other survivors from the rubble of the ruined country
the biggest aftershock yet struck as dawn broke eight days after the haitian
capital was leveled by massive magnitude earthquake that killed at least
people and left million homeless
god wants to destroy all haitians because they are bad because they are
cursed eleude joseph shell shocked mother of two told afp at squalid
camp of survivors in the place saint pierre
there were no reports of anyone being killed or wounded by the aftershock
but some severely damaged buildings did come tumbling down including the last
surviving wall of the main cathedral
despite the latest threat rescuers kept up their grim search through the
rubble elated by finding survivors who had defied the odds including day
old baby girl five year old boy and an year old girl on wednesday
the baby was found alive in the rubble of house in jacmel in southern haiti
tuesday after surviving for week without food french radio reported
the survival of the year old dug from the wreck of her family home by
neighbors truly is miracle said doctors at clinic run by french
charities adding that she came back to life bit by bit
the girl mother cleaning lady at the un mission in port au prince said one
of her five children five year old boy was killed in the quake
out of her daughter earshot she added haven told her yet that her
favorite little brother died she still very weak
other survivors dug out on tuesday included woman found in the ruins of
supermarket and year old woman who sang as she left behind the wreckage of
the port au prince cathedral
but rescue efforts are likely to start being pulled back as massive aid
operation swings into gear to help hundreds of thousands trying to survive with
little water in putrid makeshift camps where diarrhoea was rife
the united states poured in more troops who had been due to deploy to the
middle east and europe while us general said the capital main port vital
to moving in tonnes of aid should be up and running again on friday
backed by three amphibious ships and squadron of helicopters the new troops
should be in place by the weekend as the total us force helping out in haiti
swells above in coming days
brazil was also looking to add troops to its peacekeeping contingent in
haiti boosting its force to at least while france and canada both said
they would send more police
we will be here as long as it takes because now we have even more reason to
stay said colonel joao batista bernardes the officer in charge of brazil
battalion leading the un stabilization force
international efforts are also focusing on rebuilding the country with major
donor conference set for monday in montreal
imf chief dominique strauss kahn called for multilateral aid plan for haiti on
the scale of the us marshall plan that rebuilt europe after world war ii
haiti ambassador to spain yolette azor charles said reconstruction could
take years and warned the death toll could top as help has yet to
reach many villages
bed capacity us naval hospital ship meanwhile arrived off haiti
wednesday with about medical personnel and was ready to start taking on
board the worst of the injured
the tonne usns comfort will treat to patients at time chosen by
haitian officials from the thousands thronging hospitals and makeshift clinics
after marines dramatically dropped in from helicopters above the presidential
palace on tuesday troops were out in force early wednesday patrolling streets
in the business district of haiti quake ravaged capital
they ignored the looters picking through the debris for many scavenging from
the collapsed buildings was the logical way to survive but ensured the
situation did not degenerate into riots
look when you are hungry and poor nobody helps you have to steal said one
defiant young man named vincent as looters plunged into the ruins of
flattened supermarket
aid was still in short supply for tens of thousands of survivors haunted by
despair and the fear of more aftershocks as they inhabited the squalor of the
rubble where countless bodies still lie buried
the catholic relief services aid group was forced to pull trucks full of flour
wheat sugar and beans out of leogane flattened town west of port au prince
on wednesday because of scuffles as they tried to hand it out
tennis australian open results day four rd update
melbourne jan afp
results from day four of the australian open at melbourne park here thursday
denotes seeding
men singles
nd round
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
marcis baghdatis cyp bt david ferrer esp
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 zvonereva 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
two missing in solomons islands flooding
honiara jan afp
two children were missing thursday as flooding cut off parts of the solomon
islands most populated island and authorities warned the situation was expected
to worsen
police said they had evacuated around people from the fringes of the capital
honiara after the lunga river broke its banks on the main island of guadalcanal
we re still in volatile situation according to the meteorological
information we re in for lot more rain solomon islands police commissioner
peter marshall told press conference
two children were reported missing late wednesday after they were swept away
while crossing the lunga river in bid to escape rising floodwaters
the boys mother told local television in the south pacific nation her family
was crossing the river from their home when they were hit by logs and dragged
under water
the solomon islands meteorological service said low depression was affecting
the east of the country and was expected to linger in the region
last year west guadalcanal was badly affected by flash floods that killed
people
nba suns down nets as lopez twins face off in nba
phoenix arizona jan afp
jason richardson scored to help phoenix beat new jersey in game that
saw twins robin and brook lopez facing each other for the first time in their
nba careers
robin lopez was the twin celebrating suns victory
his brother brook led the nets with points and rebounds but it wasn
enough to stop new jersey from falling to against western conference
opponents
visit from the lowly nets who fell to overall proved just what the suns
needed after their own disappointing road trip
the contest matched up the league highest and lowest scoring teams the suns
averaging points and the nets
amare stoudemire scored for phoenix on of shooting steve nash added
points and assists
robin lopez set career best for the second time in two games with points
it was the second game in row that suns coach alvin gentry started lopez
instead of channing frye and leandro barbosa ahead of richardson
korea aims to create over new jobs this year
seoul jan afp
south korea said thursday it aims to create more than new jobs this year
because the employment market remains fragile despite growing economic
recovery
the figure is higher than an earlier target of the government said in
statement after meeting of economy related ministries
about people were officially listed as jobless at the end of last year
but the government estimates the actual number at million including people
with only temporary jobs and others who are not actively looking for work
despite the fast recovering economy employment conditions remain in slump as
they usually lag behind the pace of rebound the statement said
finance minister yoon jeung hyun said the government would provide tax and other
benefits to small and medium sized companies to support recruitment
by placing top priority on job creation the government will do its best to
create more than new jobs this year he said
official data showed about million people applied for unemployment benefits
last year and received trillion won billion dollars an all time
high since the system was launched in
the figures are reflection of the employment ice age or the era of growth
without employment that the country is faced with the joongang daily said in
an editorial
behind the nation fast recovery amid the global financial crisis is hidden
gloomy shadow
japan leaders feud with prosecutors in funds scandal
tokyo jan afp
japan new centre left leaders are going to war with the country powerful
prosecutors over probe into funding scandal they say is aimed at undermining
their administration
the target of the investigation is the ruling party heavyweight many observers
consider more powerful than the prime minister secretary general ichiro ozawa
often dubbed the government shadow shogun
prosecutors have raided his offices and arrested three of his former or current
aides to investigate whether he took millions of dollars in bribes from
construction firms and invested the money in tokyo property
ozawa year old veteran of japanese backroom politics and the architect of
last summer landslide election win has angrily professed his innocence and
publicly questioned the motivation of the prosecutors
he has suggested the timing of the raids and arrests just before the annual
convention of his democratic party of japan dpj last weekend and the start of
the parliamentary session this week was not accidental
don know if they did it intentionally but the arrests took place in step
with our party convention and absolutely cannot accept that he said if
this is accepted it will cast shadow over the nation democracy
prime minister yukio hatoyama who faces his own money scandal for dipping into
his family fortune to fund political activities expressed his support for
ozawa telling him to please fight the prosecutors
the premier has since denied trying to strongarm investigators into going easy
on ozawa who is now expected to face questioning this week
the dpj four months ago toppled the conservative party that had dominated
politics for half century as part of an iron triangle with big business and
the bureaucracy system the new leaders have pledged to dismantle
the elite tokyo district prosecutors who are handling the ozawa case deal with
major white collar crime and have the power to investigate suspects arrest them
and hold them for up to days and then indict them
the ongoing scandal which has badly damaged support for the new government
pits the dpj against the prosecutors seen by some as fearless guardians of
justice and by others as the legal spearhead of the old establishment
this is an all out war between the prosecutors and the ruling party said
tomoaki iwai politics professor at nihon university the prosecutors are
zeroing in on ozawa
this kind of scandal is case which would usually be settled simply by
correcting the misstatement in the political donations report it surprise
that it led to arrests in the first place
sadafumi kawato politics professor at the university of tokyo agreed that
this is an unprecedented investigation by the prosecutors
they ve never targeted such big incumbent figure in the past if they fail to
indict ozawa questions will certainly arise on how the prosecutor office
should function
money scandals are as old as japanese politics and ozawa backers say he has
been singled out for special scrutiny
he would have been headed for the premier job himself but was forced to step
down as party chief last may tainted by separate donations scandal in which
prosecutors indicted his top aide
the dpj seismic poll victory has again raised ozawa clout especially
among the more than rookie lawmakers dubbed ozawa children who owe
their political careers to the master strategist
new york based political risk consultancy eurasia group this week named ozawa
leader to watch placing him third on an international list after chinese
premier wen jiabao and us president barack obama
ozawa holds no cabinet position but he is the most powerful politician in the
dpj controlling its finances electoral strategy and the candidate selection
process as its secretary general the group said
the latest funds scandal has damaged the ruling party with support ratings
dropping into the percent range this week but many observers say that losing
ozawa would be an even bigger blow for the dpj
mr ozawa is an architect of dpj policies and an election guru said kawato
he is also adept at management of parliament and the government no one else
inside the dpj has his capabilities
tennis djokovic feels the heat but passes test
melbourne jan afp
former champion novak djokovic believes he can only improve after overcoming an
early stumble to get past dogged marco chiudinelli to reach the third round of
the australian open on thursday
the serbian third seed needed four sets and almost three hours to wear down the
world number swiss as the heat cranked up on rod laver
arena
he dropped the opening set but eventually dominated chiudinelli to set up
third round encounter with uzbekistan denis istomin
djokovic has painful memories of his ill fated australian open title defence
last year when he retired during his quarter final with andy roddick through
cramping and heat fatigue
he was wary of the potential pitfalls in the early rounds and was at odds with
himself in the opening set as he struggled to find rhythm and form
there are some things that obviously have to improve in order to play
better djokovic said
but the opening rounds especially at australian open are tricky and where
lot of surprises happen
you re playing against the players who really have nothing to lose and have
played more matches than you
kind of feel that little pressure this is what felt little today
djokovic was off his game in the opening set conceding two service breaks and
hitting double the number of unforced errors of chiudinelli
was frustrated especially at start of the match because he was really
giving it to me he said
he was very aggressive and stepping in and using ever opportunity that has been
given to him
automatically just became too defensive and didn really make too much
just waiting for his mistakes
djokovic said he made the transition to being offensive and gradually took
control breaking the swiss twice in the second four times in the third and in
the eighth game of the final set
try not to put too much pressure on myself try to take one match at
time he said
really had some bad experiences last year unfortunately it finished the way
did
so just trying to focus on my own matches and put in the best possible
effort believe that can even play better
it was an erratic performance from the australian open champion offering
break point opportunities on his servce and committing unforced errors
chiudinelli making only his fourth grand slam appearance dropped serve in six
consecutive games during the second and third sets and needed constant running
repairs on troublesome right ankle
djokovic looked affected by the heat and resorted to an ice pack draped around
his neck during changeovers late in the match
djokovic quarter of the draw has opened up following the first round
elimination of french open finalist and eighth seed robin soderling and the
highest ranked seed left in his section is frenchman jo wilfried tsonga
he beat tsonga in the australian open final for his first career grand slam
title
tennis life according to davydenko
melbourne jan afp
tennis fans of the world are finally getting to know the real nikolay davydenko
usually publicity shy the russian world number six has opened up in his press
conferences at the australian open and unveiled quirky sense of humour that is
little reminiscent of another former russian star marat safin
after his first round win he talked of not wanting to have huge public
profile like paris hilton his desire to invest rather than splurge money on
wife irina and how he was inspired to improve by his own character on
playstation game
after advancing to the third round on wednesday he again held court to talk
about the best way to drink vodka having children life after tennis his
relationship with his wife again and why money is so important
because we are russian he said with smile when asked about his passion for
money russians always talking about money
and you know all russians can get only cash not like you guys with credit
cards also
davydenko said he needed to make as much money as possible during his playing
days to provide for his children although he is not sure he wants to have any
yet
yes no yes and no he said when asked about his desire for children
really would like have kids now like roger federer or lleyton hewitt
who have two
we are the same age but my wife doesn want to stay at home and she travels
with me now
top and she scared about if start with kids ll lose my hunger for
tennis and go down
maybe for me it better be with my wife at this time no kids if out of
top maybe kids for sure
davydenko also offered some tips on one of safin favourite pastimes drinking
vodka
don drink so much because you see skinny he said
