alcohol outside homes or licensed premises
it is illegal to drink alcohol in public and we will enforce the law western
australia assistant police commissioner michelle fyfe told state radio earlier
this month
there is no wriggle room because it australia day
temperatures are expected to soar above degrees celsius degrees
fahrenheit across australia on the public holiday marking the anniversary of
the arrival of the first fleet of convict ships from britain in
drug and alcohol expert professor margaret hamilton of the university of
melbourne said australians needed to lose the long held attitude that if it is
holiday we must have drinks
think it not so much whether we drink or don drink it how we drink
she told afp on sunday
what is it about our culture that says we have to drink until we get drunk
curbing excessive drinking has been stated goal of the government which has
set aside million dollars million us to stop what prime minister kevin
rudd described as binge drinking epidemic among the young
tv channel five other stations stop broadcasting in venezuela
caracas jan afp
the opposition rctv cannel and five other cable tv stations have stopped
broadcasting in venezuela spokeswoman for rctv told afp early sunday
the stations cited as the chief reason their non compliance with recent edict
issued by the government of president hugo chavez
urgent tv channel five other stations stop broadcasting in venezuela
caracas jan afp
the opposition rctv cannel and five other cable tv stations have stopped
broadcasting in venezuela spokeswoman for rctv told afp early sunday
alert
opposition tv channel five other stations stop broadcasting in venezuela
tennis third seed kuznetsova out of australian open
melbourne jan afp
nadia petrova beat her second grand slam champion in succession when she bundled
third seed svetlana kuznetsova out of the australian open on
sunday
petrova destroyed us open champion kim clijsters in the third round and suffered
no let down as she outlasted fellow russian kuznetsova the french open
champion in shade over two hours to make the quarter finals
kuznetsova the world number three struggled in the third round to beat german
qualifier angelique kerber in match that started late on friday night and
finished early saturday morning
she appeared distracted in the first set against petrova losing her first
service game and struggling to make an impression after that
she fought back in the second set and looked far more composed breaking petrova
at and holding her own serve to level the match
and when she opened the third set by breaking petrova she seemed back on track
and headed for the last eight
but that was as good as it got for the third seed with the year old petrova
storming through the set without dropping another game to record her second win
over kuznetsova in seven meetings
the win also put petrova who was once ranked number three in the world into
the quarter finals of the australian open for only the second time having lost
in to maria sharapova
she now faces either justine henin or yanina wickmayer with the two belgians
facing each other later sunday
football honduras beat usa in world cup tuneup
los angeles jan afp
honduras trounced the united states saturday in friendly football match
between two teams bound for the world cup in south africa in june
honduras had goals from carlos pavon who converted penalty in the th
minute jerry palacios in the th and roger espinoza in the rd
clarence goodson scored the americans lone goal in the th
the hosts were man down for much of the match after defender jimmy conrad was
ejected by mexican referee benito archundia in the th minute for his second
yellow card
it tough to fight back especially man down said american jonathan
bornstein the closest to regular in the us lineup the match just didn go
our way this time
the crowd of at the home depot center was largely pro honduras and they
were delighted by palacios header off cross from pavon as well as espinoza
crisp strike
for the americans the match concluded day training camp that included
largely us based talent pool trying to play their way onto the world cup squad
ten players from similar camp in made the final us world cup squad
the americans preparing for sixth consecutive world cup appearance will face
england on june in their opener in south africa and also face slovenia and
algeria in first round matches
honduras which qualified for the first time since will open june
against chile and also face spain and switzerland
cycling germany greipel wins tour down under
adelaide australia jan afp
germany andre greipel won his second tour down under on sunday as he made
strong finish to the last stage to preserve his overall lead
the htc columbia rider who started the day with an second advantage crossed
narrowly behind team sky stage winner chris sutton to reclaim the title he won
in
tennis isner boosts davis cup chances
melbourne jan afp
power server john isner has put his hand up to help rescue america under
manned davis cup challenge this year
the united states are without both their cup stalwarts andy roddick and james
blake for this year team competition and captain patrick mcenroe is looking
for replacements for the opening round against serbia in march
isner along with sam querrey mardy fish and taylor dent are in contention to
play
he enhanced his chances by reaching the fourth round of the australian open
where he was beaten in straight sets by scottish fifth seed andy murray on
sunday
the towering isner won the lead up auckland tournament and three rounds at the
year opening grand slam to push his name forward for davis cup duty for the
march tie in belgrade
if selected to play going to go isner said
this is great start to the year would have liked to have kept on going in
this tournament
but won my first atp tournament last week and to make the final here
won eight matches in row at this level it great accomplishment
know that if can continue that this type of consistency my ranking is
going to continue to climb
isner has reached career high ranking of after finishing last year at
some places higher from
urgent cycling germany greipel wins tour down under
adelaide australia jan afp
germany andre greipel won the tour down under on sunday as he made strong
finish to the last stage to preserve his overall lead
us telethon raises more than million for haiti
new york jan afp
us telethon to help earthquake victims in haiti has raised more than
million dollars setting new donation record by the general public organizers
announced saturday
the public has set new standard of giving for relief telethon with hope
for haiti now and the donations continue to come in people can still
contribute via phone web and text said lisa paulsen president and chief
executive officer of the entertainment industry foundation non profit
organization providing philanthropic support to hope for haiti now
the event led by hollywood actor george clooney was broadcast by all major
television networks in the united states
it featured performances by wyclef jean madonna bruce springsteen jennifer
hudson beyonce coldplay bono jay and rihanna
internet social networks facebook and myspace contributed to funds collection
the january earthquake has left more than haitians dead and about
homeless according to the latest figures released by the haitian
interior ministry
china taiwan trade talks to start on tuesday report
beijing jan afp
the first round of expert level talks on major trade pact between china and
taiwan will be held in beijing this week state press reported on sunday
the discussions on the economic cooperation framework agreement will begin on
tuesday and are aimed at boosting commercial ties between the two rivals by
normalising trade arrangements xinhua news agency said
according to reports from taiwan huang chih peng head of the bureau of foreign
trade would head up taiwan delegation while tang wei ministry of commerce
department head would negotiate for china
taiwan and china have been governed independently since the end of civil war
in but beijing considers the island part of its territory and has vowed to
get it back by force if necessary
taiwan china friendly government is eager to conclude the trade pact which it
says could lift growth and boost employment
but the opposition democratic progressive party which favours independence from
china fears it would increase taiwan reliance on china and endanger the
island de facto separate status
relations have improved since taiwan current administration assumed power in
may pursuing programme of increased economic ties
alert
germany andre greipel wins tour down under
us telethon raises more than million for haiti
new york jan afp
us telethon to help earthquake victims in haiti has raised more than
million dollars setting new donation record by the general public organizers
announced saturday
the public has set new standard of giving for relief telethon with hope
for haiti now and the donations continue to come in people can still
contribute via phone web and text said lisa paulsen president and chief
executive officer of the entertainment industry foundation non profit
organization providing philanthropic support to hope for haiti now
the event led by hollywood actor george clooney was broadcast by all major
television networks in the united states
it featured performances by wyclef jean madonna bruce springsteen jennifer
hudson beyonce coldplay bono jay and rihanna
internet social networks facebook and myspace contributed to funds collection
the january earthquake has left more than haitians dead and about
homeless according to the latest figures released by the haitian
interior ministry
figure skating flatt wins us title cohen falters
spokane washington jan afp
rachael flatt won the ladies title at the us figure skating championships on
saturday surging to victory with solid free skate as sasha cohen comeback
hit the skids
flatt who was lying third after the short programme behind mirai nagasu and
olympic silver medallist cohen turned in clean free skate to rachmaninoff
that included seven triple jumps
the year old won with total of points while nagasu was second with
ashley wagner the only us woman to reach the grand prix final this season
jumped from fourth to third with total of while cohen the charismatic
skater who hadn competed since taking bronze at the world championships
settled for fourth after free skate marred by one fall and assorted errors
two us women were headed to the vancouver olympics with flatt and nagasu having
the inside track thanks to their showing here when selectors finalized the
nominations later saturday
earlier saturday meryl davis and charlie white won their second straight us ice
dancing title this one coming with the extra satisfaction of victory over
tanith belbin and ben agosto
davis and white won their first national title last year with belbin and agosto
the five time national titlists and olympic silver medallists sidelined by
injury
but with the vancouver olympics beckoning davis and white showed they had what
it took against their illustrious compatriots winning all three phases of the
ice dance competition and capping their win with dramatic free dance to music
from phantom of the opera
they garnered points for the free dance for total of
there nothing quite like skating your best davis said after so many days
and weeks and years training so hard to put in performance like that in front
of home crowd is just amazing
belbin and agosto were second earning for their free dance for total
of emily samuelson and evan bates were third with an overall total of
points
the united states will send three ice dance teams to the vancouver olympics next
month
the men and pairs olympic contenders were decided here last weekend with
jeremy abbott world champion evan lysacek and johnny weir punching their
tickets to vancouver along with pairs caydee denney jeremy barrett and amanda
evora mark ladwig
world climate event set for march
sydney jan afp
millions of people from sydney to sweden are set to switch off their lights on
march as part of the global earth hour campaign to highlight climate
change organisers said sunday
some cities around the world have already signed up for the symbolic energy
saving exercise which in saw landmarks such as the sydney harbour bridge
and new york empire state building plunged into darkness
the event will be held at pm saturday march in cities and towns all
over the world conservation group wwf australia chief executive officer greg
bourne said
earth hour began in sydney in when million people switched off the
lights in their homes offices and businesses for minutes to make point
about electricity consumption and carbon pollution
the campaign went global the following year and by some cities
villages and localities across the globe elected to cut their lights in aid of
the environment
organisers said numerous cities and towns in australia would be joined by many
in canada the united states singapore russia sweden belgium bolivia south
korea new zealand switzerland and turkey for the event
moscow rio de janeiro rome seoul manila singapore toronto hong kong and
dallas are the latest to confirm their commitment but more cities are expected
to join the campaign closer to the date spokeswoman said
in its fourth year earth hour is asking participants to do something more than
the one hour of darkness which reduces the amount of fossil fuels burned to
create electricity and think about their total carbon footprint
we re asking people to go beyond turning off lights and instead make an earth
hour resolution to start something bigger said bourne
switching off your lights is great first step but your true environmental
impact is much bigger than just your energy bill
scientists have warned that global warming caused by burning fossil fuels on
massive scale could devastate the planet hitting the poorest countries hardest
with floods droughts and disease
tennis australian open results day seven st update
melbourne jan afp
results from day seven of the australian open at melbourne park here sunday
denotes seeding
men singles
th round
andy murray gbr bt john isner usa
women singles
th round
zheng jie chn bt alona bondarenko ukr
nadia petrova rus bt svetlana kuznetsova rus
police detain nine over south china land riot
beijing jan afp
police in southern china have detained nine people linked to violent riot over
land dispute and issued an arrest warrant for the suspected ringleader local
authorities said sunday
club wielding rioters fearing forced evictions from their homes tossed petrol
bombs and torched vehicles in clash with police in guangdong province
yangshan county on tuesday last week
up to people were injured in the clashes and several vehicles destroyed or
damaged in the riot state press reports said of the latest in rash of violent
incidents linked to land disputes
police have taken in nine people for questioning over the riot and issued an
arrest warrant for huang qiusheng the suspected ringleader who remains at
large the county government said in notice on its website
before the unrest erupted police had gone to tongru village to arrest huang
who opposed the pending eviction and demolition of his home and was suspected of
illegally manufacturing fire bombs the government said
during the riot up to villagers clashed with more than police officers
who responded with non lethal riot guns and tear gas
the government said items found in the village included barrel of gasoline and
several sacks of empty bottles including empty plastic water bottles
police also confiscated two bullets and three bullet shells it added
china has seen slew of violent clashes over land many sparked by forced
evictions as officials and property developers seek to cash in on soaring real
estate market
earlier this month police in guangxi province shot and wounded at least five
demonstrators in clashes over land dispute that also left law enforcement
officers injured state media reports and local official said
and one person was killed and scores injured when police clashed with villagers
in eastern china jiangsu province over the forced eviction of farmers
residents and human rights group said
india fast tracks highway expansion plans
new delhi jan afp
india is ramping up its road infrastructure quadrupling highway construction
in six months in bid to accelerate economic growth in asia third largest
economy
revving up the pace from two kilometres miles of new roads day before he
took office to nine kilometres at present is the energetic roads minister kamal
nath
two to nine does not sound too much but two to nine means percent
jump nath former trade minister told afp
as india moves on its growth trajectory the biggest issue we have to address
is the infrastructure deficit
our aim is to scale up construction to kilometres of new roads day by
april he said ahead of trip to the annual world economic forum at the swiss
ski resort of davos where he hopes to sell india as an infrastructure
investment hub
connectivity is priority not least because it will impact trade agriculture
and industry by adding two percent to india gdp and creating billions of
dollars worth of economic activity according to nath
as it stands india is expected to clock almost eight percent growth up to march
infrastructure bottlenecks and the global economic downturn
notwithstanding
given india track record nath proposals are revolutionary
india boasts the second largest road network in the world after the united
states at million kilometres
but most projects have been mired in controversy over rigging of contracts and
allegations of corruption resulting in inordinate delays and cost overruns
the booming auto sector is making matters worse adding nearly million
vehicles to road traffic last year alone in rural areas crumbling single lane
roads make it difficult to get agricultural products to market
we must recognise that in country which has young age profile country
which is growing at eight percent there is bound to be an increase in vehicular
traffic said nath
think we will need another or years to meet that new demand that is
being created on daily basis
even as trade minister nath was involved in planning large infrastructure
projects case in point being the delhi mumbai industrial corridor an indo
japanese collaboration
the project envisages clusters of special economic zones and ports on slender
road corridor over the kilometres connecting india political and
financial capitals
when prime minister manmohan singh was re elected in the april may general
elections he cited infrastructure as key area during his second term in
office said political analyst rasheed kidwai
and kamal nath regarded as efficient businesslike and with an eye for
detail was seen as the ideal man take on the challenging task said kidwai
in his new incarnation nath has promised to add kilometres of road to
the existing kilometre network of highways by besides thousands of
kilometres of district and village roads
he has begun streamlining procedures making it easier for investors to exit
investments introducing stricter penalties for firms overshooting deadlines
inviting domestic and foreign firms for feasibility studies designing
construction and management of roads
but some are wondering whether his goals were not trifle unrealistic
china has only managed to build to kilometres of roads day after
decades of economic development so think the targets are highly ambitious
said nitin bhasin analyst at the london based investment bank noble group ltd
think kilometres day would be more realistic he told afp
others say nath optimism is not entirely misplaced
think kilometres day is doable said economist paranjoy guha
thakurta
the investments of up to billion dollars in foreign and domestic private
capital over the next few years that nath is hoping to net will not prove too
difficult said thakurta columnist at the economic times
the indian economy is doing better that most so india is good place to
invest corruption has been one of the major reasons why india has been lagging
behind in infrastructure
hopefully india will learn from its past mistakes he added
india scrambles security for republic day
new delhi jan afp
new delhi faces virtual security lockdown for grand annual parade on tuesday
as india celebrates republic day amid warnings that islamic militants could be
plotting an attack
south korean president lee myung bak will be the guest of honour at the
celebrations in the indian capital where officials are vowing show of
strength in the face of threats
we are making elaborate arrangements to provide comprehensive ground to air
security city police department spokesman rajan bhagat told afp
we promise safe republic day he said adding his member police force
will be on the streets in the city alongside the heavily armed paramilitary
troopers who have already taken up positions at intersections malls and on the
underground rail network
the preparations took on new urgency after us defense secretary robert gates
warned last week that islamist south asian militant groups could try to trigger
war between pakistan and india through provocative act
india on friday also stepped up airport security and alerted its embassies in
neighbouring countries of possible passenger plane hijacking attempts by islamic
militants following western intelligence tip offs
the indian military said it aimed to thwart possible airborne attacks at the
parade where president lee will be accompanied by his indian counterpart
pratibha patil prime minister manmohan singh and scores of western diplomats
anti aircraft guns snipers and mobile hit squads will be deployed while
squadron of fighter jets and helicopters will be on standby military officer
involved in the preparations told afp
city traffic police chief satyendra garg said sweeping restrictions would be
imposed on motorists and on public transport including new delhi metro
service which daily carries more than people
insurgency wracked indian kashmir is also focus of high security as troops
comb the himalayan state for islamic militants seeking to disrupt the annual
celebrations which are staged is every part of india
the united news of india news agency said authorities feared attacks by suicide
bombers in the run up to republic day in kashmir where tens of thousands of
people have died in anti indian unrest since
india restive northeast too braced for trouble as regional militant groups
with demands ranging from autonomy to outright secession threatened to strike
on tuesday
we are on full alert and shall see to it that we are able to foil any attack
attempts by militants said shankar baruah police chief of assam the largest
of the seven insurgency wracked states
republic day marks the date in when india new republican constitution
came into effect india gained independence from britain in but went
through transitional phase when it was still classed as dominion
india also uses the occasion to showcase its latest military hardware acquired
as part of massive modernisation drive costing tens of billions of dollars
boxing lopez gamboa triumph in featherweight fights
new york jan afp
rising cuban star yuriorkis gamboa retained his world boxing association
featherweight title saturday with sizzling second round knockout of tanzania
rogers mtagwa
on the same card puerto rico juan manuel lopez knocked out steven luevano in
the seventh round claiming the world boxing organization belt lopez improved
to with kos
gamboa olympic gold medallist for cuba also remained unbeaten
improving to with wins inside the distance and he overwhelmed mtagwa
his first blow stunned mtagwa and he knocked the challenger down with
seconds remaining in the round
gamboa displaying devastating combinations sent mtagwa down again in the
middle of the second round and finished him off shortly thereafter
we knew he was fast but we felt we could handle his speed said mtagwa
trainer joe parella whose fighter fell to the game plan was to go
three rounds battle through it but mtagwa got caught early
mtagwa had taken puerto rico lopez the distance in october but juanma was
overpowering against luevano
he rocked luevano early in the seventh then backed him up against the ropes and
let fly with combination that ended with big left that sent luevano down
luevano managed to rise but referee benji esteves called halt
the bout drew who who of puerto rican fighters including former five time
champion felix trinidad and former welterweight champion miguel cotto
the card at madison square garden smaller arena marked the second time top
rank promotions had put lopez and gamboa on the same card and gamboa indicated
he would be ready to take on the puerto rican
love for whoever the public or maybe the press considers the number one
featherweight to have him in the ring for my next fight he said that way
can show who is the best
tennis murray ends britain year melbourne wait
melbourne jan afp
fifth seed andy murray became the first briton in years to reach the
australian open quarter finals on sunday putting his breakthrough down to
experience
murray who could face defending champion rafael nadal next tamed towering rd
seed john isner to become the only briton into the last
eight here since john lloyd in
the young scot showcased his exciting strokeplay on rod laver arena against the
big serving american and has yet to drop set in his four victories at the
year opening grand slam
murray the us open finalist has now given himself chance to have
crack at nadal in the quarters with the spanish second seed taking on unseeded
croat ivo karlovic later sunday
playing well no question about that murray said just need to play
like have been and maybe bit more if want to win the tournament
ve been moving pretty well and played some great shots out there so
haven got much to complain about so far
murray who lost to nadal in five sets in the fourth round of the
australian open said he was now benefiting from experience
lot of that comes with experience knowing what to do on the important
points he said
today when was down hit lot of winners served smart was just thinking
the whole time
sometimes in the past might have been getting worked up or not thinking about
what should be doing on the next point now it just focus on each point
ve played it through to the fourth round few times here without dropping
set not whole lot in my game changed guess it maturity thing
murray neutralised the ft in metre isner weapon serve which he rated
one of the best in men tennis
always get my coach to serve at me in the practice from the service line he
said
even if he acing you you just to get used to how the ball bouncing up and
adjust to where you re standing
it was murray greater variety of strokes including drop shots and volleys to
the feet of isner which proved decisive
he reeled off two wonderful backhands for the winning service break in the fifth
game of the final set which drew roars from the crowd
he drilled low volley to isner feet off smash and then rifled an exquisite
backhand down the line for the break
good couple of shots thought maybe he should have made the pickup off the
first one and probably he wasn expecting it to come back so low over the net
he said
the second one it tough it just instinct you just chase the ball down
and got good contact on it and it went for the winner
murray earned three service breaks and only conceded four break points in not
dropping his serve in the two hour minute contest
while the imposing isner this season after winning the auckland tournament
produced the greater number of winners murray was immaculate and only
made eight unforced errors in the games
thought it was really good performance focused well concentrated hard
and served well said the scot
isner who was bidding to reach the quarter finals of grand slam for the first
time finished the tournament with aces
tennis third seed kuznetsova out of australian open
melbourne jan afp
third seed svetlana kuznetsova was bundled out of the australian open in the
fourth round on sunday by fellow russian nadia petrova
sri lanka war allies turn enemies
colombo jan afp
sri lanka election this week features two men who emerged victorious on the
battlefield of civil war but have since become bitter political enemies
president mahinda rajapakse veteran streetfighter politician who entered
parliament aged is taking on his former army chief sarath fonseka
political novice who stepped down last year after being sidelined
rajapakse handpicked fonseka for the top military role soon after he won his
first term in and lauded him as the best army commander in the world last
year in the afterglow of their victory over tamil tiger rebels
but their friendship soured over who should take the most credit for winning the
conflict amid suspicion that fonseka was becoming too powerful and might even
stage coup
