Ivanovic, Dokic enter Brisbane International

Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic says she will return to the tour at the Brisbane International starting in January.

Ivanovic pulled out of this week’s China Open and has called an early end to her season because of a respiratory illness.

Australia’s Jelena Dokic, American James Blake and Frenchman Gael Monfils have also confirmed they will play in Brisbane.

But organisers say they have not yet confirmed the attendance of former world number one Justine Henin, whose coach has said is likely to use the tournament as her comeback event.

Ivanovic, who took top spot in the rankings after winning the 2008 French Open but has now slipped to 12th, will also join US Open champion Kim Clijsters in the women’s draw at the January 3-10 event.

“I am very excited to go back to Brisbane,” Ivanovic said in a statement. “I really enjoyed playing there and I love competing in Australia.
… Continue Reading

Dutch wary of improving Socceroos

Their minds are set on revenge, but the Dutch have arrived in Australia with a new-found respect for the Socceroos ahead of Saturday’s friendly at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The world’s third-ranked team has been unable to beat the Socceroos in two meetings, with Australia winning 2-1 in Eindhoven in September last year and drawing 1-1 in their only other clash in Rotterdam before the 2006 World Cup.

The Oranje, like Pim Verbeek’s men, have already qualified for next year’s World Cup and done so emphatically, winning all of their eight qualifiers so far.

They plan to keep that run going on Saturday night, but are not expecting an easy game against what should be a near full-strength Australia team.

Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who played in the 1-1 draw in Rotterdam three years ago, said Australian football was earning more and more respect in Europe.
… Continue Reading

Folau succumbs to foot injury

Brisbane Broncos back Israel Folau will miss the Four Nations tournament with a foot injury.

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens has declared that players must be 100 per cent fit if they are to tour.

“I’m definitely not going,” Folau said.

“It’s disappointing but I’ve got time on my side for future Australian teams.”

Folau’s place in the squad has been taken by St George Illawarra’s Brett Morris.

It gives the minor premiers some representation in the squad after they were snubbed initially.

There was better news for Parramatta forward Nathan Hindmarsh, who has been cleared by doctors despite needing shoulder surgery after the tour.
… Continue Reading

After the storm

The new economic landscape will be grim unless policymakers act to foster growth

IN THE political dictionary he first published in 1968, William Safire, who died on September 27th, devoted an entry to the word “normalcy”. The term was made popular by Warren Harding, campaigning for America’s presidency in the wake of the first world war. It was inescapable after the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. Normalcy is what people call normality when they no longer take it for granted. No surprise, then, that the word reappeared in the communiqué released by the leaders of the G20 group of big economies after their Pittsburgh summit on September 24th-25th. After the wrenching economic crisis of the past year, people crave stability and predictability—in short, normalcy. But how far off is it? And what will a “normal” world economy look like after the biggest financial bust since the Depression?

The new normal

Glance at share prices or short-term growth forecasts and you might feel comforted. Output has stopped shrinking in all the world’s big economies. In its latest forecasts the IMF reckons global GDP will expand by 3.1% next year, 1.2 percentage points faster than it forecast in April. Global stockmarkets have rallied by 64% since their trough. Corporate finance, once frozen, is thawing fast. Bearish analysts are once again having to justify their pessimism.
… Continue Reading

Attorney General and Education Secretary Call for National Conversation on Values and Student Violence

U.S. Department of Justice to Release Study on Children’s Exposure to Violence; U.S. Department of Education to Provide $500,000 Grant to Help Fenger Community

Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan today joined with Chicago city officials to call for a national conversation on values to address youth violence in the wake of the fatal beating of a Chicago high school student. The announcement followed meetings with City officials, community leaders, students, and parents.

“Youth violence isn’t a Chicago problem, any more than it is a black problem or a white problem. It’s something that affects communities big and small, and people of all races and colors. Today is the beginning of what will be a sustained, national effort on behalf of this entire administration to address youth violence and to make our streets safe for everyone,” Holder said.

“Chicago will not be defined by this incident but rather by our response to it – so we came here today to join with you and with communities all across America – to call for a national conversation on values. It’s a conversation that must happen every place in America where violence, intolerance, and discrimination exists,” Duncan said.
… Continue Reading

Earthquakes rock South Pacific

(CNN) — Two major earthquakes struck an hour and 10 minutes apart Thursday morning near Vanuatu in the South Pacific, prompting a tsunami warning that was quickly lifted, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck at 9:03 a.m. (6:03 p.m. ET) at a depth of 35 km (22 miles) and an epicenter 295 km (180 miles) north-northwest of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

The second quake, with a magnitude of 7.1, struck at 10:13 a.m. (7:13 p.m. ET) at about the same depth and an epicenter of 280 km (175 miles) north-northwest of Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

A third earthquake, with a moderate magnitude of 5.7, struck 35 minutes after the second in about the same location, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued and then quickly lifted a regional tsunami warning and watch for parts of the Pacific near the first earthquake’s epicenter.

The first data from a buoy at Luganville on Vanuatu detected a tsunami wave of 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) at Luganville on Vanuatu, said Victor Sardina, a geophysicist with the center.
… Continue Reading

Berlusconi immunity law overruled

Italy’s Constitutional Court has overturned a law granting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office.

The move opens the possibility that Mr Berlusconi, 73, could stand trial in at least three court cases, including one in which he is accused of corruption.

The judges said immunity violated the principle that all citizens were equal.

Mr Berlusconi said he had expected the ruling as the court was dominated by left-wing judges, and would not resign.

“We have a very organised minority of red [left-wing] magistrates who use justice for a political fight,” he told reporters outside his residence in Rome.

“We must govern for five years with or without the law.”
… Continue Reading

Nobel Prize for chemistry of life

The 2009 chemistry Nobel Prize has been awarded to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath.

The prize is awarded for the study of the structure and function of the ribosome – the cell’s protein factory.

The ribosome translates genetic code into proteins – which are the building blocks of all living organisms.

It is also the main target of new antibiotics, which combat bacterial strains that have developed resistance to traditional antibiotic drugs.

These new drugs work by blocking the function of ribosomes in bacterial cells, preventing them from making the proteins they need to survive.
… Continue Reading

Coming back down under

Australia is the first large, rich country to raise interest rates in more than a year

AUSTRALIA’S central bank is the first in a big, rich economy to raise interest rates since July last year. On Tuesday October 6th the overnight “cash rate” was raised by a quarter of a percentage point, to 3.25%. Glenn Stevens, the bank’s governor, explained that economic conditions in Australia have been stronger than expected and measures of confidence have recovered and that “forecasts are being revised higher…and growth in 2010 is likely to be close to trend.”

Is this the beginning of a general shift in monetary policy as central bankers around the world begin to prepare for economic recovery? In fact Australia is a special case. Interest rates remain four percentage points below their recent peak in March 2008 and local markets had been expecting a rate rise before the end of the year. The big Australian banks anticipated the central bank’s move, and have been increasing their fixed lending rates throughout the year. More rises are expected, especially as Mr Stevens has concluded that the risk of serious economic contraction in Australia has passed. Annual inflation is 1.5%, but it is 2.5% when volatile items are excluded. It seems set to go higher.
… Continue Reading