Ruthless Serena Williams underlined her dominance at the top of women’s tennis on Sunday, completing her year in style with a 6-2 7-6 defeat of big sister Venus in the final of the WTA Championships.
The two Americans, facing each other across the net for the 22nd time in their glittering careers, provided nearly an hour [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Doha’
Serena beats Venus to win WTA C’ships
November 2nd, 2009 |
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A fair price
October 17th, 2009 |
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Deliberative buyers and young artists at London’s Frieze Art Fair
The work on display at London’s Frieze Art Fair, which opened to VIPs on October 14th, was as covetable and intellectually intriguing as ever. The gallerists had come from New Delhi to Doha, from San Francisco to Seoul—not to mention that well-flown axis from New York to Berlin and the East End of London. Sales were reportedly much better than last year, when shopping was stalled by the shock of financial freefall. As Andrew Silewicz, a director at Spruth Magers Gallery, admitted, “You know that you’re in a recession but, for a recession, it’s not at all bad.”
Artists seemed to have responded to recent times. Zero, a Milan gallery, had a completely empty white-walled stand except for a small painting by Victor Man of a hand and a puff of smoke. New York’s Gavin Brown’s Enterprises devoted its booth to canvases by Rirkrit Tiravanija that were covered in newspapers with the phrase “THE DAYS OF THIS SOCIETY IS NUMBERED” written in large colourful letters. Madrid’s Galeria Helga de Alvear displayed a sculpture by Elmgreen and Dragset that evoked one of Giacometti’s walking men, but this one dragged a ball and chain. “The Giacometti estate are making so many, we thought we’d join in,” joked Michael Elmgreen. …
India asks Australia to clarify statement on climate change measures
October 12th, 2009 |
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India has asked Australia’s Environment Minister Penny Wong to clarify a proposal that she had put forward at a climate change conference in the US last month, and said Australia’s attempt to break the deadlock between developed and developing countries over a global climate change agreement ahead of the Copenhagen summit in December is unacceptable [...]
Global recession affecting Third World initiatives: Patil
September 19th, 2009 |
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President Pratibha Patil said on Saturday that the economic slow down has affected the efforts of developing countries to eradicate poverty and hunger.
Addressing the International Law Association’s (ILA) regional conference on “International Trade Law and Legal Aspects of Trans-Border Investment,†here Patil said: “The slowdown was accompanied by a phase of volatility in oil prices [...]
Manmohan Singh meets visiting WTO trade ministers
September 5th, 2009 |
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Visiting trade ministers of more than 30 countries including US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and WTO director general Pascal Lamy met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.
During the meeting, the ministers held a discussion regarding various vital issues.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Pascal Lamy said that that certain differences existed between rich countries and developing [...]
Badminton team quits after threat
August 9th, 2009 |
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The England team has withdrawn from the World Badminton Championships in India because of "a specific terrorist threat" made by extremists.
The championships are being played in the city of Hyderabad.
The eight-strong squad pulled out of the tournament, which starts on Monday, following reports of a threat by the Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said it was "an incredibly tough decision".
He added: "After the Olympic Games, this is the most prestigious championships in the world but we were not prepared to risk the safety of our players, coaches and staff in what we felt could have been a very volatile environment."
Mr Christy said the team, which included Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson, had "carefully considered" information from local police authorities.
And after taking advice from the Foreign Office and British High Commission, the conclusion made by Badminton England was "that safety is of paramount importance," he added.
Performance director Ian Moss said: "It is a disappointing outcome, especially after we had enjoyed a very good preparation at our holding camp in Doha, Qatar, last week.
"Our athletes were extremely well prepared for these championships but, at the end of the day, personal safety must take priority over performance.
"This was a unanimous squad decision and is not reflective of the efforts made by the organising committee to create the safest environment possible for all athletes."
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Darfuris ‘face election hurdles’
July 25th, 2009 |
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People in the Darfur region of Sudan could be left out of next year’s election, according to the head of the United Nations peacekeeping force.
Alain Le Roy said millions might not get to vote because of a dispute over a new census and large scale displacement of people caused by the conflict.
Mr Le Roy said this would disenfranchise people already disempowered by the fighting.
But he also said the security situation in Darfur had improved substantially.
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, Mr Le Roy said that large-scale violence and civilian deaths and displacement associated with attacks were "no longer hallmarks of the crisis".
‘Enormous risks’
Last month Sudan said its nationwide elections would be delayed for two months until April 2010, the second time the date has changed.
They were postponed after former rebels in the south disputed new census results.
The poll in Africa’s biggest country will be the first in more than two decades.
It was agreed under a 2005 peace deal – the Comprehensive Peace Agreement -that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan.
Mr Le Roy said: "The contested census, large-scale displacement and volatility – particularly in the area bordering Chad – create enormous risks that the people of Darfur will not be in a position to participate in the electoral process. "
He said the Sudanese election results would have an "enormous impact" on the distribution of political power in Darfur where millions of displaced refugees who fled the fighting live in camps.
The US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that the possibility that Darfuris would be left out of the electoral process was a real concern.
The fighting in Darfur in western Sudan dates back to 2003, when mostly non Arab rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of neglecting the region.
The government deployed troops and mostly Arab militias to crush the uprising.
The UN says the conflict has claimed 300,000 lives. Khartoum disputes the figure, saying only 10,000 people have lost their lives.
Mr Le Roy said that the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force was now in the final phase of its deployment and would have most of its 26,000 troops in place by the end of the year.
He said the troops would soon be able to provide a sustained presence around the camps set up for the two million people displaced, providing a much greater degree of security for them.
But BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says that at a political level there is little movement.
Talks in Doha with one of the main rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM, appear to have ground to a halt.
The rebels earlier this month released 60 government troops and police, but there has so far been no reciprocal gesture from the Khartoum government. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi: The Gulf States Already Have Links with Israel
July 24th, 2009 |
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Should the Gulf countries maintain contacts with Israel if this would make life easier for Palestinians? Could having such ties propel the Middle East peace process forward?
Journalism Boot Camp: Booming Islamic Antiquities Market in the Gulf Leads to Thefts in Old Cairo Mosques
July 21st, 2009 |
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Despite denials that the buying of pieces by Qatar helped fuel a black market, Egyptian officials say Gulf collectors are the reason Islamic heritage sites are being looted.
Journalism Boot Camp: Middle East Christians Vie For Religious Freedom In Qatar, Egypt
July 20th, 2009 |
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The estimated 175,000 Christians in Qatar are cautiously building the foundation to practice their faith within this conservative country in the Muslim world.
Al-Jazeera closed in West Bank
July 15th, 2009 |
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<img src=”http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46063000/jpg/_46063391_007652659-1.jpg” align=”left” width=”226″ height=”170″ alt=”The Al Jazeera offices in Ramallah” border=”0″ vspace=”4″ hspace=”4″>
The Palestinian Authority has closed down the West Bank offices of Arabic satellite news channel Al Jazeera.
The self-rule body said al-Jazeera promoted a negative view of its work and that the coverage is biased.
The move comes a day after a guest on the station accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of being involved in the death of Yasser Arafat.
The channel – based in Doha – said it was "stunned" by the Palestinian Authority’s decision.
The al-Jazeera bureau chief in Ramallah, Walid al-Omary, said the station firmly rejected the accusations of bias.
"We regret this decision, which harms the freedom of expression and the press in this country," Mr Omary said.
In the Ramallah office, al-Jazeera employees were seen removing equipment before Palestinian security officials arrived to close it, Associated Press reported.
Allegations
The BBC’s Katya Adler, in Jerusalem, says relations between al-Jazeera and the Palestinian Authority – dominated by political party Fatah – soured some time ago.
The Authority has long accused the satellite news channel of siding with Fatah’s bitter rival, Hamas, she says.
In a statement announcing the decision, the information ministry said the station’s coverage was "unbalanced".
"Despite our repeated calls to remain neutral when it covers the Palestinian issue and to be balanced when it comes to the internal Palestinian situation, the channel continues to incite against the PLO and the PA," the statement said.
It said it was taking the satellite channel to court and its operations would be suspended while this process was under way.
In a letter to the channel it said al-Jazeera had broadcast "false news" on Tuesday night.
The accusation appeared to relate to a programme in which Farouk Kaddoumi – one of Fatah’s founding members – alleged that Mr Abbas had collaborated with Israel to kill Mr Arafat.
Mr Kaddoumi has released what he says were the minutes of a meeting between former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mr Abbas as evidence.
Other Fatah officials have denounced the document as a forgery, saying Mr Kaddoumi’s behaviour was an attempt to split Fatah, the oldest political organisation among the Palestinians which was, until the emergence of Hamas, the dominant force.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.