Massive And Catastrophic Yasi Approaches Queensland

Queensland is preparing itself for yet another slap from mother nature as Cyclone Yasi is bearing down on the coast south of Cairns. Currently 250 miles off the coast it is expected to make landfall before midnight tonight, local time.

With current wind speeds of up to 295 km/h (183 mph) Yasi is being described as a storm of catastrophic proportions and is already classified as a category five storm. Forecast to dwarf Cyclone Tracy which struck Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 and left in its wake 71 dead and destroying the majority of buildings in the capital of the Northern Territory.

From satellite images the cyclone looks massive and is much bigger than anything ever seen before, and it is possible that it remains a cyclone after it moves well inland into the outback. Because of the La Nina weather pattern ocean surface temperatures in the southwestern Pacific are warmer than normal giving Yasi more fuel.

Queensland was hit by Cyclone Tasha on Christmas Day which was classified as a category one cyclone but dumped 279mm of rainfall in 24 hours in some places. Torrential rain in the first two weeks of this year caused more widespread floods to an already saturated state.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has told residents on TV that they should prepare to live without essential services as the cyclone approaches and should a safe room in their houses fitted out with food, water. mattresses, wet weather clothing and a safety survival kit and to stay there for their own safety even if the roof is blown of the house. They should also prepare their houses by taping up windows and turning off all power supplies.

Premier Bligh also warned people that emergency services would not be able to respond in the first instance as they will need to stay safe as well and that residents themselves must become first responders and look after the safety of their families and neighbours.

Local airports will be closed by mid afternoon after extra flights were put on to evacuate some residents and tourists from resort islands. Ports, railways and mines have already been closed and 250 patients from hospitals in Cairns have been flown south the state capital Brisbane.

In Townsville 10,000 homes are considered at risk as a storm surge from the approaching Yasi could add another 3 metres of sea water on top of high tides of over 4 metres due in the area at 9pm on Wednesday.

Fernando Torres Joins Chelsea For UK Record Fee

Chelsea and their extremely wealthy owner Roman Abramovich set a new British recored by paying a reported £50m ($80) to sign the Liverpool and Spanish international Fernando Torres from Liverpool. They followed this up by paying a reported £21.3m ($34) for Benfica (Portugal) Brazilian player David Luiz.

Liverpool did not keep hold of the proceeds of the Torres sale for very long as the immediately spent £35m ($56) on capturing Andy Carroll from Newcastle and also spent £22.7m ($36.5) on Uruguayan Luis Suarez from Dutch team Ajax.

Twenty six year old Torres, a member of the Spanish World Cup winning team of 2010 and the European champions in 2008 had been at Liverpool for three and a half years after moving from Spanish team Athletico Madrid for a fee of £20m.  During his time at Liverpool he played 142 games and scored 81 goals but was beset by injuries in each season he spent at the club.

Chelsea had previously been interested in signing Torres before, making a bid in May 2010. Last week Torres made a transfer request and it is widely believed that he was encouraged by Chelsea who were fully aware of a £50m release clause in his contract that allowed him to move away if Liverpool did not finish in the top four positions and qualify for European  football competitions next year. Liverpool are currently seventh in the premier League.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said earlier in the day when the Torres transfer was being negotiated: “Movement is part and parcel of football but the most important people at Liverpool Football Club are the ones who want to be here.”

Although setting a new record for money paid by a British club, Torres’s transfer ranks fourth on the world scene. Manchester United received the largest transfer fee when Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in July 2009. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kaka also moved to Spanish teams for fees in excess of £50m.

Djokovic's Power And Incredible Movement Wins The Day.

The first men’s tennis Grand Slam title of the year has been won by Serbian world number three, Novak Djokovic who outplayed Britain Andy Murray to claim the title in Melbourne. Djokovic reclaims the title he previously won in 2008 and condemned Murray to his third defeat in a Grand Slam final.

In the post match on court interview with former champion Jim Courier Murray said about Djokovic: “He had an unbelievable tournament and deserved to win”. Djokovic replied in turn: “I want to congratulate Andy for a great two weeks, it was really difficult to play against you tonight. Hopefully you will have another chance to win a Grand Slam trophy and, with your talent, I’m sure you will.”

Seeded three, Djokovic, with a 4-3 head to head advantage over Murray started as slight favourite after a fine performance in beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals by three straight sets. Murray, seeded fifth, had laboured to wins in his last two matches and never hit top form in the final.

The opening game with Murray serving lasted 15 minutes with Djokovic hammering heavy forehands from the start. The first set lasted 58 minutes with the assertive style and greater power of Djokovic coming out on top to win 6-4.

Murray was not helping his cause making less than 50% of his first serves and producing several unforced errors was set point and 5-0 down when he rallied to break and then hold serve before the relentless Djokovic served out to win 6-2.

Murray who had not won a single set in Grand Slam finals started the third set in better style breaking Djokovic only to give it back in the next game. Murray seemed to be becoming angry and was shouting at his mother and coaching team in the player’s box as Djokovic heaped on the pressure moving ahead to 3-1.

But Murray was not done for, yet and with a hint of a smile fought back to 3-3 but it did not last and Djokovic powered ahead with fearsome forehands and Murray netting the ball at crucial moments. Djokovic won the edgy ninth game of the third set to take the title for the second time.

Could Mohamed ElBaradei be The Next President of Egypt

Could Mohamed ElBaradei the former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who joined thousands of protestors in defying a curfew imposed by under pressure Egyptian President Mubarak become the next president of Egypt.

In the sixth day of protests across Egypt demanding the resignation of Mubarak, ElBaradei addressed thousands of people in Tahrir (Liberation) Square in central Cairo and urged the crowd to be patient, telling them “change is coming”.

As aircraft flew low overhead ElBaradei told the crowd that “You have taken back your rights and what we have begun cannot go back. I bow to the people of Egypt in respect. I ask for you patience, change is coming in the next few days”.

It is reported that ElBaradei has been asked by some opposition groups, but not all, who issued a joint statement that they wanted him to negotiate with representatives of the present regime on forming a new government of national unity.

A curfew of 4pm to 8am had been introduced by the authorities before the weekend and late on Sunday is was altered to 3pm to 8am but ignored by thousands on the streets of Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.

Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei, who’s face is known to millions around the world from his work with the IAEA in Iraq and Iran is the son of an attorney who in his time opposed President Nasser and was a supporter of democratic rights, free speech and an independent legal system some 45 years ago.

Educated and qualified in international law in Egypt, Switzerland and the US, ElBaradei began his diplomatic career in his early twenties in Egypt’s Ministry of External Affairs and soon was working at the United Nations in New York. In the 80s he was an adjunct (part time) professor at the International Law at New York University School of Law as well.

In 1984 he became a member of the IAEA Secretariat, eventually becoming its Director General in late 1997 and held the position for three terms until 2009 during which time he had difficult dealings with the regime in Iraq and later with Iran over its nuclear program.

ElBaradei’s name has been mentioned by opposition groups in Egypt as a possible  candidate to succeed President Hosni Mubarak since 2009. ElBaradei on his part did not confirm his intentions but he has demanded that certain conditions regarding fair elections and changes to the constitution that will allow more freedom for independent candidates would have to be met before he would consider running for president.

Now with the sudden turn of events in Egypt following those in Tunisia ElBaradei’s time might be coming quicker than he ever imagined, and with no other obvious candidates in place ElBaradei might soon have important work to do in stabilizing Egypt and the whole Arab region.

Somali Pirates Flown to South Korea

The five Somalis capture onboard a hijacked ship when it was stormed by South Korean commandos have been flown to Busan in South Korea to face possible criminal charges. Eight other Somalis were killed in a shoot out during the rescue action.

Korean officials have said that the five suspected pirates will face charges including maritime robbery and attempted murder but it is reported that they deny involvement in the hijacking and were acting on the orders of their boss and did not shoot the captain of the ship.

Captain Seok Hae-kyun aged 58 was shot during the gunfight with the pirates when the special forces stormed the mv Samho Jewelry to rescue the ship and crew. He had an operation in Oman to remove two bullets from his stomach and was flown back to South Korea on Saturday for more treatment to his injuries. The rest of the crew consisting of South Koreans, Indonesian and Burmese were not injured during the storming of the ship.

The Yonhap news agency in South Korea has reported that the investigations are taking place in Busan because the hijack took place in international waters but the ship and the captain were from Busan according to Kim Chung-kyu, chief of the local coastguard office. The five Somalis have already been interviewed by officials in the presence of state appointed lawyers supported by translators.

The cargo ship Samho Jewelry, 11,500 tonnes was carrying chemicals from the United Arab Emirates when it was boarded by pirates whilst on passage towards Sri Lanka on January the 15th. The next day a South Korean warship on anti-pirate patrol in the area was dispatched to track the hijacked ship which was eventually stormed on the 20th.

Previous hijacked South Korean ships have all been released after ransom money has been paid but now it appears that the government is taking a more active and aggressive stance by using the military to recover the ship and crew.

Only last week a piracy advisor to the UN Secretary General proposed that special piracy courts be set up in the Somalia area to try captured pirates as many pirates were being set free as it was difficult to prosecute pirates in the countries where hijacked ships were registered.

Li Na is First Chines Player to Appear in a Grand Slam Final

The eyes of China will be on the  Australian Open ladies final today as Chinese tennis player Li Na becomes the first Chinese player to appear in a Grand Slam final. After defeating world number one player Caroline Wozniacki in the semi finals, she steps out onto the court in Melbourne today in an attempt to go one step further and beat Kim Clijsters to the trophy.

Her progress has encapsulated the Chinese population and filled the airwaves and web pages across the country with news and views and reportedly songs have already been written about her success.

Born in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in 1982 Li Na was playing badminton at the age of six when her coach noticed that she had the actions of a tennis player and she switched to playing tennis by the time she was aged nine.

Li turned professional in 1999 and won three of her first four singles tournaments and and all seven of the doubles tournaments that she entered on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. In 2000 she won fifty two singles matches on the ITF circuit including eight titles, which resulted in her world ranking rising to 136 and gaining direct entry into her first WTA Tour event.

In mid 2002 she disappeared from the tennis circuit for two years, there were rumours that she had health reasons but others say that she split from the national team when officials barred her from a relationship with the man who is now her husband and coach, Jiang Shan.

However she was back on the tennis circuit in 2004 winning five more ITF tournaments before winning her first WTA tournament and has remained in the WTA circuit ever since rising to number five in the world by the time of the Australian Open.

Her success in Melbourne, win or lose in the final, will doubtless inspire many more Chinese youngsters to play tennis and will boost her popularity as she stamps a Chinese presence on a major sporting event, following in the footsteps of Ding Junhui who won the The Masters snooker final in London recently against another Chinese player, Marco Fu from Hong Kong.

E-Books Are Outselling Paperback ay Amazon

Amazon have just published their figures for the final quarter of 2010 when their sales passed $10bn for the first time, reaching 12.95bn but still below analysts expectation causing a drop in the share price. What was revealed at the same time was that e-books out sold paperbacks during that same period.

In the US, e-books for Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader are outselling paperbacks by 15% since the start of the year but at the same time sales of paperbacks are growing as well.

Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos said that Kindle books have now overtaken paperbacks as the most popular format on Amazon.com and that Amazon had sold “millions” of third-generation Kindle e-book readers without specifying actually the amount sold.

He also said that Amazon announced last July that e-books had outsold hardbacks in the US and predicted that paperbacks would be outsold by the 2nd quarter of 2011 but it has happened sooner than expected.

The Kindle accounts for 41.5% of the e-reader market and are expected to sell more than 8 million of the Kindles this year, well over a three-fold increase on 2010 according to analysts.

The e-reader market is fast expanding around the world with all the major electronic brands having their own models. There are currently 36 different models available. The demand for stand alone e-readers is growing even in the face of growing demand for iPad tablets which offers much more functionality to the user. Apple sold almost 7.5 million iPads in the first six months where as 6 million e-readers in total were sold in 2010.

While it does not have the iPad’s versatility to play games like the ones found here, the Kindle Wi-Fi sells for $139 and can hold up to 3500 books, has a 6” screen and weighs in at only 8.5onces (242gms). And it probably won’t be long before you can play games on Kindle too.

Amazon have over 700,000 e-books available for sale with the majority available foe less than $10. There are also 1.8 million free, out of copyright books also available including many of the classics. Before purchasing an e-book you are able to download and read one or two chapters to see if you like it.

Three Survivors Charged Over Christmas Island Shipwreck

Three Indonesian men who survived the shipwreck of the boat carrying asylum seekers to Christmas Island have been charged with people smuggling offences following the death of forty-eight people in the shipwreck that occurred in mid December.

The three men ranging in age from 22 to 60 were crew members on the frail boat carrying about 100 people who were washed on to the rocks of Christmas Island killing 48 of the Iraqi, Iranian and Kurdish asylum seekers making their way to Australia by way of Indonesia.

The tree men appeared in court in Perth, Western Australia and face sentences of 20 years in jail and fines of up to A$220,000 ($219,500) if convicted. They were charged with “Facilitating the bringing to Australia of a group of five or more persons,” according to the court papers.

The un-seaworthy boat, known as SIEV 221, had made the crossing of 186 miles (300km) from Indonesia to Christmas Island in unsuitable weather and arrived of the island in what locals described as some of the heaviest sea conditions seen for months. The boat was on the weather side of the island and it is believed the engine failed at the worst possible time resulting in the boat being washed onto the rocks.

The court appearance came one day after an official report into the sinking was published by the Customs and Border Protection Service in which it was said that the boat was only detected when only a few hundred meters away as at the time two ships patrol ships were sheltering from the bad weather in the lee of Christmas Island. ACV Triton had asylum seekers on board who were being transferred to Christmas Island but were unable to land because of the conditions and HMAS Pirie was escorting another people smuggling boat that was awaiting to be destroyed and sunk some 10km offshore.

When the plight of the Indonesian boat was known the two Australian ships launched rigid inflatable rescue boats in conditions that were above normal operating conditions to assist in the rescue with the crews  performing courageously and saving the lives of the three charged men.

The report made several safety related recommendations including the installation of long-range radar that can be used for surveillance of the marine approaches when the weather is not suitable for the Customs ships to be patrolling the area. The report also stated that the agency did not have any intelligence to indicate the doomed boat had left Indonesia.

Asylum seeker from the Middle East enter Malaysia, where they are taken to the south coast before making a short ferry crossing to the Indonesian island of Batam. From there, it is not difficult to reach Jakarta in Java from whose southern coast they embark on boats for Christmas Island or from other Indonesian islands further east for Australia.

Indonesia police say they have arrested an alleged people smuggler thought to be behind the boat of asylum seekers shipwrecked off Christmas Island. Police say the man, who claims to be an Australian citizen, had been involved in running people smuggling operations for some time.