winners on her forehand and backhand in the second set while dulko hit
ivanovic did have break point in the second set to go ahead and serve for
the match but dulko staved off the challenge and then won three straight games
to turn the match
fittingly successive double faults handed dulko the leveller
although ivanovic fended off five match points in the third set dulko finally
prevailed after two hours and minutes
the disappointing exit for ivanovic came as she tries to rejuvenate her career
after battling indifferent form and injuries last year
she slipped down the rankings to be outside the top for the first time in
five years finishing the season at
her best performances were reaching the fourth round at wimbledon and the french
open making the third round here and bowing out in the first round at the us
open
it was the sixth time in her past seven tournaments where she had failed to
advance beyond the second round
ivanovic clashed with australian umpire kerrilyn cramer over line calls several
times although she was unlucky to be on the wrong end of poor call to hold
serve in the fifth game of the deciding set
the error helped dulko hold serve to lead and all but sealed the serbian
fate and she was broken again in the next game as the year old took an iron
grip on the match
while it was another dark day for ivanovic it is the first time dulko has
advanced beyond the second round here in seven attempts
dollar rises against yen in asia
tokyo jan afp
the dollar rose against the yen in asian trade thursday as investors bought the
safe haven currency due to speculation that china may take further steps to
prevent its economy overheating dealers said
the dollar gained to yen in tokyo morning trade from in new york
late wednesday
the euro climbed to dollars from wednesday when it had fallen
below briefly for the first time since august due to weak german economic
data and greece fiscal woes the euro rose to yen from
gains in the dollar were initially spurred by talk china was taking further
action to tighten liquidity in order to prevent bubbles in its property and
stock markets nab capital strategist john kyriakopoulos said
china reported its economy expanded by blistering percent in the fourth
quarter of compared with the same period year earlier and by percent
in
the economy is growing firmly and this is an outcome china wants said
patrick bennett currency analyst at societe generale in hong kong
nevertheless the government policy will be tweaked to ensure the economy
does not grow too fast he added
speculation that beijing will move to cool its economy grew after chinese state
media reported the central bank had called on lenders to balance their lending
this year
china top banking regulator said it would roll back china overall loan
growth in
while the euro rebounded on position squaring greece debt woes kept traders
cautious about the currency outlook
iranian champ seeks to revive old persian chess glory
tehran jan afp
iranian chess grandmaster morteza mahjoob who holds the world record at
least until this weekend for the most number of simultaneous matches is bent
on reviving old persia passion for the ancient game
chess was outlawed for nearly decade after the islamic revolution that
overthrew the shah sidelining iran from the international chess map
the year old mahjoob one of seven iranian international grandmasters five
men and two women has worked to reverse this and promote this sport
nationwide he told afp
this fueled his bid to break the record for simultaneous games when he played
opponents in tehran enghelab sports complex last august in feat
monitored by fide the world chess federation
had less than five seconds for each move while each competitor had
minutes for his or hers and had to walk more than meters yards for
each round
it actually took hours from am until am the next day and given
the high temperatures that month it was quite challenge he said
though mahjoob was really worried he won games and broke the record
recorded in the guinness book of records confirmed dave jarrett of fide in an
email this sidelined bulgarian grandmaster kiril georgiev who set the world
record only six months months earlier playing opponents
now filipino international grandmaster rogelio antonio will try to break
mahjoob score on friday and saturday by playing simultaneous matches at
ninoy aquino stadium in manila according to organisers
but mahjoob is undaunted always knew that this record would some day be
broken but did not expect it would be this fast if sidelined by antonio he
said he is already working to regain the world record again during the coming
summer
don know how many more players but hopefully one hundred more he said
meaning simultaneous games
mahjoob trained for more than year for last august event including an
exhaustive physical fitness regime in this kind of competition as well as
having trained mind one has to be in good physical shape
but his real start came as youngster when he saw his first game
chess was outlawed in because it was thought to encourage betting which is
forbidden in islam but in the islamic republic founder ayatollah
ruhollah khomeini issued fatwa or islamic religious decree permitting chess
as long as no gambling was involved
the game driven underground made vigorous comeback
one day went to park near my home to get notebook from my friend and
saw two grown ups playing chess on bench mahjoob told afp
to kill time gazed at them moving their pieces around the board and it was
there and then that learnt chess asked one of them if could play
told him had just learnt it by watching him but the man let me play and
beat him in my first game
was then and it made me realise that had potential in chess he
recalled
mahjoob won grandmaster status in and today ranks in fide list of
active world players and among active asian players he runs two chess
schools with dozen coaches and trainees
both his website and that of the iranian chess federation feature picture of
khomeini hand written fatwa it paved the way for iran progress in the
world of chess mahjoob said
the country which had no grandmasters and only three international masters
prior to the revolution now ranks on fide list of the top chess
countries and has some residents playing competitively according to
national chess officials
budding champions and chess classes abound both privately and in city hall run
cultural centres competitions are held on every level from national down to
local schools and state run television broadcasts key games also showing women
players in islamic dress
mahjoob father of three year old girl and married to chess coach has been
wooed by neighboring united arab emirates to train their national team even
more so since his world record but says he not interested
like any athlete love to reach the summit said mahjoob who cites
legendary russian grandmaster garry kasparov as role model
would love to become the world chess champion
hunger looms as zimbabwe planting season ends
bindura zimbabwe jan afp
in dusty field in northern zimbabwe villagers clapped and sang as they
received desperately needed seed and fertilizer for their crops their only
source of food and income
in this poor village in bindura district about kilometres miles north
of harare families live and die by the seeds they plant and the rains that
fall
donors have given million dollars in aid to zimbabwe traditional sustenance
farmers windfall for communities like bindura
the un food and agriculture organisation predicts that donor funded projects
could produce tonnes of grain about one quarter of the nation needs
we had no hope of getting seed and at the same time we did not know how we
would get seed in time for the planting season said christopher mafusire who
received kilos of seed from the scheme
the year old said he could now plant two acres of land which should be
enough to feed his family if rains come on time
this village had hunger but now we will not starve mafusire said
many zimbabwean farmers aren so fortunate
once an exporter of grain zimbabwe had relied on international food aid for the
last decade
the food crisis peaked in with about half the nation million people
needing aid as the failure of crops and the collapse of the economy left fields
barren and store shelves empty
last year the food crisis eased thanks to better rains and economic reforms by
the unity government that took office last february
but at least million people are still expected to need aid this year
according to initial un estimates
bindura was once part of vibrant farming sector that until was able to
feed the nation and export cash crops accounting for about percent of the
economy
decade ago president robert mugabe launched controversial land reforms to
forcibly resettle mainly white commercial farms with new black farmers in
process tainted by widespread political violence
donors haven provided seeds to the new farmers who complain that government
hasn given them enough help to get their crops into the ground raising
questions about how big the national harvest will be
without aid the resettled farmers have little means of financing their
operations mugabe land reforms did not give the owners title to the property
leaving them unable to access loans from commercial banks
the unity government plans to conduct land audit this year to determine who
really owns the land and then issue deeds so banks can again finance farming
that security of tenure has got be worked out this year in conjunction with the
audit so that people can feel secure economic planning minister elton mangoma
told afp
government is committed in seeing this through he said
bringing zimbabwe farms back to their productive peaks will be expensive
finance minister tendai biti says billion dollars is needed to return the
overall economy to its peak when agriculture was the backbone of the economy
charles taffs vice president of the mainly white commercial farmers union said
zimbabwe farms haven grown enough food to feed the nation since
we borrowed billion dollars in order to get that crop this year we see
situation where finance is very limited he told afp
nationally he estimated that about million dollars was available from
donors government and the private sector for farming this year
he predicts this year harvest will yield at most tonnes of the staple
maize only about one third of the nation food needs
the fao says it impossible to predict the size of the harvest so early in the
season
but the united nations has already asked donors for million dollars to aid
zimbabwe this year partly to feed those who will certainly face hunger again
prince william visits fire hit australian towns
whittlesea australia jan afp
britain prince william reflected thursday on the terrifying force of the
wildfires that devastated southeastern australia last year during tour of
towns hit by the blazes
william flew to the southern city of melbourne where he spoke to people
about last february so called black saturday firestorm which killed
people and flattened entire towns
it terrifying what it can do isn it he remarked leafing through
photographs of the damage
the second in line to the british throne released video tribute to survivors
and signed book of condolences following the fires and he asked that tour
of the worst hit areas form key part of his visit down under
he quizzed victoria state premier john brumby about the firefighting operation
and reconstruction efforts at meeting in the town of whittlesea where
hundreds of homeless and traumatised victims took refuge last february
scores of people perished in the area including in the worst hit town of
kinglake where lost their lives
many of the thousands whose homes were destroyed have resettled in whittlesea
and an enthusiastic crowd lined the streets to greet the young prince whose
visit comes just two weeks from the tragedy first anniversary
think it lifts everyone spirits and puts smile on your face and that
what it all about these days resident natasha skehan told state radio
think we realised that after last year
william took in the fire damage in driving tour of affected towns before
attending barbecue lunch with survivors he wore yellow ribbon in memory of
those who died in the blazes
he is due to return to melbourne to deliver his only official speech of the
visit at an evening reception to celebrate australia day the january
national holiday that commemorates the arrival of white settlers in
media reports suggest he will briefly drop in at the australian open tennis
before taking late night commercial flight back to britain
several thousand well wishers gathered in sydney harbour district wednesday
hoping to catch glimpse of the young prince on his way to barbecue lunch on
the waterfront
in brief speech william thanked the australian public for embracing him with
such enthusiasm and joked he had been so thrilled with his reception he was
thinking about buying house in the harbour city
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 popular late mother princess
diana when he was just nine months old in and commentators have said his
ready humour and laid back manner gave him the diana touch with the public
his popular tour has reignited debate over whether australia should become
republic with some opinion formers suggesting he had boosted the monarchist
cause
but deputy prime minister julia gillard said there were no present plans to
have referendum on becoming republic move the australian people voted
against in
swiss pilots aim to circle world in solar powered plane
abu dhabi jan afp
bertrand piccard is no conventional environmental activist he hopes to raise
awareness about the potential of renewable energy by flying solar powered
aircraft around the world
what we want to do is to fly day and night to show that with renewable
energies you can have unlimited duration of flight no restriction piccard
told afp at the world future energy summit in abu dhabi where he had booth to
promote his venture
the year old swiss psychiatrist plans to fly his one of kind solar impulse
around the world over to days traveling at an average of kilometres
miles an hour
he will split the flying time with andre borschberg former swiss fighter
pilot
we believe that if an airplane can fly around the world with no fuel nobody
can say after that it impossible to do it for cars for heating systems for
air conditioning for computers and so on he said
the prototype of solar impulse made its first test flight near zurich in
december the plane is made of carbon fibre with solar panels along the top of
its roughly metre foot wingspan
the aim is for the solar panels to absorb energy to power the aircraft during
the day and at the same time store energy in lithium polymer batteries to run
the engines at night
after aircraft manufacturers said piccard specifications would be impossible
to meet he turned to racing yacht manufacturer to build the airframe
they did not know it impossible so they did it he said
the plane is powered by four electric engines each making maximum of
horsepower piccard said that despite having wingspan close to that of an
airbus solar impulse weighs only kilogrammes pounds
asked what led him to try this unorthodox method of promoting renewable energy
piccard pointed to his family history
come from family of explorers who always had lot of concern for the
environment and for natural resources he said
my grandfather was the first man to explore the stratosphere to climb above
the atmosphere in balloon and my father made in the deepest dive
ever in submarine he said
piccard has already demonstrated penchant for adventure in he and
briton brian jones became the first men to complete non stop flight around the
globe in hot air balloon
that flight gave me the fame to do useful things piccard said including
finding sponsors money and support for his current project
the project which will cost total of million euros million dollars
has been underway for around seven years and still has way to go the
attempted flight around the world won take place until or
this year the aircraft will undergo high altitude testing and will also be
tested in daytime and nighttime flight if that goes well the prototype will
either be modified or new one built for trans atlantic flight
we have to reproduce lindbergh flight with no fuel piccard said referring
to charles lindbergh the first man to fly across the atlantic ocean
the one man aircraft will land at different points during the flight around the
world so the pilots can switch off piccard said
in addition to the switch the landings will be an opportunity to present the
technology of this airplane to encourage people to use the technology also
for their daily life he said
for piccard the solar impulse project is new positive tack in promoting
renewable energy and conservation
was in copenhagen for the recent climate change conference and see
people are fed up with the alarmists the catastrophists he said
people need solutions not problems so we have to demonstrate the solutions
we have to show that it possible to do great things
and aviation piccard said is good vector to push messages
corrected researchers claim death toll in dr congo far less than cited
vancouver canada jan afp
researchers claimed wednesday that the common estimate of million deaths due
to war in the democratic republic of the congo is vastly inflated
the human security report released wednesday at the united nations in new
york challenged the research used to arrive at the figure saying estimates of
the democratic republic of the congo war death toll are at least twice as high
as they should be
the shocking death toll estimate has been used worldwide to bolster political
support for massive un peacekeeping mission and humanitarian aid in the heart
of africa
the estimate of million war deaths most from indirect causes including
starvation and disease since war began in was calculated from series
of five surveys by the international rescue committee and in two of the
surveys by the burnet institute of australia
but andrew mack ex strategic planning director to former un secretary general
kofi annan and now director of the human security report project at simon fraser
university in vancouver criticized the survey methods
for example he told afp the irc assumed the drcongo mortality rate before
the war was the same as the average rate in sub saharan africa but in fact
conditions in the drcongo were far worse than the regional average even before
the war
by substituting more appropriate pre war mortality rate in the irc data
mack estimated people died between and who would have lived
had there been no war far fewer than the irc estimate of million which
mack suggested included deaths that would have occurred anyway
mack did not give his own estimate for death toll
but he noted the first two of the irc surveys were not done in randomly
selected area on representative population as is standard in statistical
research
the irc and the burnet institute responded with joint email to afp that they
strongly affirm findings based on standard and scientifically grounded
methodology and which remain the best estimates available of conflict related
mortality in congo
the email said researchers previously acknowledged the criticisms raised by the
human security report which do not invalidate our findings our estimates
have been supported by numerous other studies
we believe this information is valid and that it has been and continues to be
of essential value to public health and political decision makers said the irc
and burnet
the human security report called the shrinking costs of war said estimates of
war death tolls in iraq sudan and now the dr congo have become controversial
and highly politicized
mack told afp disputes put billions of dollars in humanitarian aid at risk by
discrediting population health surveys as whole
policy makers need to have hard data anything that questions the credibility
of these surveys is bad thing
mack called on the united nations to mandate national population health survey
to provide evidence in each country where the security council launches new
peace keeping operation
afp features
paris jan afp
we will shortly move the following stories
highlights
hunger looms as zimbabwe planting season ends
iranian champ seeks to revive old persian chess glory
zimbabwe farm aid
bindura zimbabwe
in dusty field in northern zimbabwe villagers clap and sing as they receive
desperately needed seeds for their crops their only source of food and income
which may not yield enough to see the country through the year
words by dingani masuku video
chess iran mahjoob people record profile
tehran
iranian chess grandmaster morteza mahjoob who holds the world record at
least until this weekend for the most number of simultaneous matches is bent
on reviving old persia passion for the ancient game outlawed for nearly
decade after the islamic revolution
words by farhad pouladi picture
un climate switzerland aviation interview
abu dhabi
bertrand piccard is no conventional environmental activist he hopes to raise
awareness about the potential of renewable energy by flying solar powered
aircraft around the world
words by dunlop file picture
for questions email nancy shields afp com or call
tennis ivanovic flops out of open
melbourne jan afp
former finalist ana ivanovic flopped out of the australian open after being
beaten by argentinian gisela dulko in the second round on
thursday
china posts growth of percent in
beijing jan afp
china red hot economy expanded by percent in but inflation surged
towards the end of the year according to government data thursday that laid
bare the risks of overheating
gross domestic product in the world third largest economy returned to double
digit growth in the fourth quarter of at percent and over the full
year gdp surpassed the government target of eight percent
that target is seen as crucial to stave off social unrest in china population
of billion people but the country biggest rise in inflation in months
underlined the broader challenges of breakneck growth
the nation consumer price index the main gauge of inflation rose percent
year on year in december china authorities are already clamping down on bank
lending and hiking borrowing costs to keep lid on price pressures
the year was the most difficult time for china economic development in
the new century ma jiantang commissioner of the national bureau of
statistics told press conference
just over year after the global crisis erupted ma said four trillion yuan
billion dollar stimulus package held back the economic decline and
achieved the recovery and rebound of the national economy
the percent growth in the final quarter of was the best result since
the second quarter of
it followed revised growth of percent in the third quarter percent in
the second quarter and revised percent in the first three months of last
year
the full year figure exceeded analyst expectations but was down from
percent in and was the slowest full year increase in eight years
china urban fixed asset investment measure of government spending on
infrastructure and key driver of the economy rose percent in while
overall fixed asset investment rose percent thursday data showed
industrial output from china millions of factories and workshops rose
percent in the fourth quarter and percent for all of
retail sales jumped percent in ma put the figure at an increase of
percent after inflation
newly tested pill offers hope for multiple sclerosis patients
washington jan afp
newly tested treatment for multiple sclerosis reduces relapse and
deterioration in patients without many of the negative side effects associated
with other treatments study said wednesday
clinical study published wednesday in the new england journal of medicine
nejm said that cladribine was the first oral medication for patients suffering
from ms complex neurological condition
team led by gavin giovanonni professor at barts and the london school of
medicine and dentistry in britain followed some patients for nearly two
years monitoring them with mri scans
patients were either given two or four short courses of cladribine tablets over
the course of year or were administered placebo
the results were heartening with those taking the cladribine tablets over
percent less likely to suffer relapse and percent less likely to suffer
worsening in their disability due to ms
the disease is neurological condition that often begins in young adulthood and
involves the body immune system attacking its own central nervous system
the damage done interferes with communications between the brain and other parts
of the body leading to disability
patients are often required to undergo regular injections and intravenous
infusions but cladribine which works by suppressing the immune system only
needs to be taken for between eight to days year to work effectively the
study found
the introduction of an oral therapy particularly one that has no short term
side effects and is as easy to use as oral cladribine will have major impact
on the treatment of ms giovanonni said
the new medication is produced by pharmaceutical group merck serono division
of german group merck kgaa
merck serono request to put the drug on the market was rejected by the us food
and drug administration at the beginning of december
it is now in discussions with the us regulatory body and seeking to resubmit its
application according to statement from the company
ms usually affects people between and years old and its symptoms can be
serious and crippling
it can affect almost all of the biological functions that control movement
sensory perception and memory
an estimated one in people are affected by the disease
britain cuts terror fight in pakistan as pound falls minister
london jan afp
britain has cut back its counter terrorism programme in pakistan due to the fall
in the pound value minister has said drawing criticism major terrorist
threat was being neglected
programmes in counter terrorism and radicalisation in pakistan had been cut as
the foreign office was hit by losses of million pounds million euros
million dollars said minister baroness kinnock on wednesday
as result of exchange rate movements the foreign office faces shortfall
in of an estimated million pounds said the foreign office
minister
it is fact that counter terrorism and radicalisation projects in pakistan and
elsewhere have been the subject of these cuts that the foreign office has been
obliged to make she added
the disclosure came just hours after prime minister gordon brown said that the
crucible of terrorism on the afghan pakistan border remained the number one
security threat to the west
the main opposition conservatives hit out at the decision to cut back on the
programmes
pakistan has been identified as one of the major sources of the terrorist
threat to this country said foreign affairs spokesman william hague
cutting foreign office expenditure on counter terrorism programmes in
pakistan because of the movement of exchange rates is clearly not the way to run
an effective foreign policy
kinnock gave details of other overseas initiatives that had been cut due to the
plummeting pound including counter narcotics in afghanistan and conflict
prevention in africa
obama admits mistake after shock election loss
washington jan afp
president barack obama admitted wednesday he had neglected his direct connection
to the american people after stunning republican election win shifted the
balance of power in washington
obama aides meanwhile insisted his historic health reform drive was not dead
after massachusetts voters handed late liberal icon edward kennedy former
senate seat to republicans in stunning rebuke of democrats
there were also suggestions that obama may be contemplating stripped down
version of the mammoth health bill to salvage his bid for historic
achievement that has defied string of previous presidents
as he absorbed the stinging blow from voters which sent shock waves through the
democratic party in key election year obama admitted that his need to tackle
flurry of crises had weakened his bond with us voters
if there one thing that regret this year is that we were so busy just
getting stuff done and dealing with the immediate crises that were in front of
us that think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the american
people obama told abc news
the president said that he had assumed that if he concentrated on making good
policy decisions voters would understand them but instead they had become
consumed by feeling of remoteness and detachment from washington
that do think is mistake of mine obama said diagnosing mood of anger
and frustration in the united states over the grinding and lingering impact of
the worst recession for decades
obama admission was far cry from the euphoria of his inauguration exactly
one year ago which drew crowd of several million people and the nationwide
feeling of hope and change sparked by his election victory
the special election upset in liberal massachusetts on tuesday was seen by some
observers and republicans as referendum on obama first year and his
