Asian Cup 2011 Qualifiers, The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ Finals jigsaw puzzle was completed Wednesday after Australia, Kuwait and Jordan took up their places for next year’s continental footballing extravaganza.

The trio’s qualification ticked off the final 16 names in the hat for the April 23, 2010, draw in the host city of Doha, the capital of Qatar.

The Socceroos were the first to breast the tape yesterday with a 1-0 defeat of Indonesia at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

That left Kuwait needing a point off Oman in Muscat later and this was duly accomplished, thanks to a goalless draw.
Jordan beat Singapore 2-1 and their victory combined with the other group match result in which Iran beat Thailand by a solitary goal saw the West Asians rejoice at the packed King Abdullah Stadium in Amman.

The group standings were also finalised after the match day 6 action.

QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR AFC ASIAN CUP QATAR 2011™ FINALS

Direct bye to the Finals
AFC Asian Cup 2007: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Korea Republic
AFC Challenge Cup 2008: India
AFC Challenge Cup 2010: DPR Korea
AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ hosts: Qatar

Eligible through qualifying
Group A: Japan, Bahrain
Group B: Australia, Kuwait
Group C: UAE, Uzbekistan
Group D: Syria, China PR
Group E: IR Iran, Jordan

BEIJING CHINA: China’s military warned the United States on Thursday to “speak and act cautiously” to avoid reigniting tensions between the two powers, denying the People’s Liberation Army played a part in Internet hacking.

Huang Xueping, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defence, said his government would not reverse its decision to suspend “bilateral military plans” with Washington after it said in late January that it would sell $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

In January, the giant Internet search company Google Inc threatened to pull back from China after complaining of censorship and hacking attacks on it and other companies.

Analysts said those attacks were sophisticated operations, possibly overseen or abetted by the Chinese military.

The hacking dispute has added to tensions with Washington over quarrels ranging from trade and the Chinese currency to a meeting last week between U.S. President Barack Obama and exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, who China reviles as a “separatist” for demanding self-rule for his homeland.

Huang’s remarks, reported by the official Xinhua news agency, shed no new light on how China plans to act on its threats to punish U.S. companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan.

But his comments indicated China has not entirely put aside public ire with Washington, despite allowing a U.S. aircraft carrier to visit Hong Kong last week.

“China demands that the U.S. speak and act cautiously, to avoid causing further damage to relations between the two countries and their militaries,” said Huang.

“Linking Internet hacking activities to the Chinese government and military is totally unfounded and utterly irresponsible,” he said. “This is stirring up a fuss for ulterior motives.”

The Internet hacking dispute made fresh headlines recently after reports that the attacks had been traced to two schools in China, and that the writer of the spyware used had been identified as a Chinese cyber-security consultant.

The prestigious Shanghai Jiaotong University and the previously little-known Lanxiang vocational college, a high-school level institution, have both denied any role.

strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck at sea off the border between North Korea, China and Russia on Thursday but there were no reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued, seismologists said.

The quake hit at 10:13 am (0113 GMT), 111 kilometres (69 miles) northeast of the North Korean city of Chongjin at a depth of 562 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

The Hawaii-based US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake, around the same distance from Vladivostok in Russia and Yanji in China’s Jilin province, did not generate a destructive tsunami.

The Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul confirmed the quake but said it had no impact on South Korea. The office said it relied on US data for details.

An official at the seismological bureau in Changchun, the capital of Jilin province on the border with North Korea, said the quake had not been felt there due to its depth.

While destructive quakes in the region are rare, other parts of China are frequently badly-hit. An 8.0-magnitude quake rocked southwest China’s Sichuan province in May last year, leaving more than 68,500 people dead.

HONG KONG: The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz sailed into Hong Kong on Wednesday despite a Chinese pledge to suspend military exchanges with the United States after its pledge of arms sales to Taiwan.

Speculation had swirled on whether China might prevent the Nimitz from visiting over the arms sales and in retaliation for a planned meeting between the Dalai Lama and U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House later this week.

Hong Kong has been a favourite destination for U.S. sailors on R&R since the Vietnam War. The Nimitz and four accompanying ships will send more than 5,000 sailors ashore on this visit.

Tensions with Washington have arisen over issues ranging from trade and currencies to the U.S. plan to sell $6.4 billion of weapons to self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province.

While U.S. warships have long made periodic port calls to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, China has barred U.S. ships from entering at sensitive moments.

In 2007, the USS Kitty Hawk was denied entry to Hong Kong as it neared the city’s waters for a Thanksgiving visit.

Analysts linked the denial to then U.S. President George W. Bush awarding the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, one of the country’s highest honours, to the Dalai Lama, whom China brands a separatist.

“Hong Kong is a vibrant city and a favourite port of call for our sailors,” said Commander Carrier Strike Group 11 Rear Adm. John W. Miller in a statement.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered above $74 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors looked for signs of improving global crude demand amid light holiday trading.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 9 cents at $74.22 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. With markets closed Monday in the U.S. for the Presidents Day holiday, the contract last settled on Friday, falling $1.15 to $74.13.

Trading volume was light in Asia as markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Oil has traded between $69 a barrel and $84 for the last few months as investors struggle to gauge global crude demand.

On Monday, Japan said its economy grew an annualized 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter while China raised reserve requirements for banks last week in a bid to slow economic growth
and avoid asset bubbles.

“There are some signs of improvement in OECD countries as a whole with strong Japanese growth data,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “Worries about softening in China’s commodity demand are overblown.”

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil was steady at $1.9203 a gallon, and gasoline fell 0.47 cent to $1.9248 a gallon.

Natural gas rose 4.6 cents to $5.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 35 cents at $72.86 on the ICE futures exchange.

India will test a nuclear-capable missile with a range of over 5,000 kilometres within a year, its top military scientist said Wednesday, risking a rise in regional tensions.
“The next series of missiles is Agni-V, which has left the drawing board and is moving toward the first flight trial within the year,” the country’s chief military scientist, V.K. Saraswat, told a news conference in New Delhi.
“The missile system will be fully inducted into the armed forces,” Saraswat said. “It is the full deterrence that the country needs”.
The Indian-built Agni-III –Agni means fire in Sanskrit – was first tested in 2006 and brings major Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, within striking distance, defence analysts say. India kicked off its guided missile project in 1983 and has developed an array of weapons systems, including the Prithvi, which means “earth” and Agni-I, which is meant for possible use against neighbouring Pakistan.
India, which fought a brief, bloody war with China in 1962, has unresolved border issues with its giant neighbour. The Agni-III is “a real mobile system and hence it has a strategic advantage,” Saraswat said. Avinash Chander, who heads India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, said both Agni-III and Agni-V would be able to carry 1.5-ton conventional or nuclear warheads.
The government scientists said Agni-III was declared operational after three flight tests and numerous computer-simulated trials. The most recent test was held Sunday, when the missile was fired from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern Indian state of Orissa.
Chander said the Agni-III, which he called a “100-percent indigenous system,” hit its “target with pinpoint accuracy and met all mission objectives.”

Toyota Recall Models Affected, Toyota Recall List updates :-  Toyota Motor Corp.’s (TM) quality concerns in the U.S. have spread to the China, with a potential accelerator pedal flaw prompting the recall of 75,552 RAV4 sport-utility vehicles sold in the East Asian nation.

On January 21, the number of vehicles affected was at 2.3 million. Now

LIST:
Camry 2007 – PRESENT
RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010
Sequoia 2008-2010
Tundra 2007-2010
Avalon 2005-2010
Highlander 2010

Toyota is a significant player in China’s passenger vehicle market, with sales rising 21% in 2009 from a year earlier to 709,000 units. The RAV4, along with the Corolla and Camry sedans, helped to drive sales, it said in an earlier statement.

The RAV4 vehicles were made at Toyota’s joint venture with China FAW Group Corp. between March 19, 2009, and Jan. 25, the company said. The Chinese company could not be immediately reached for comment. The recall is effective Feb. 28.

Toyota’s global recall affects eight models, including Corollas and Camrys. However, the auto maker does not expect to recall other models in China for this flaw, Niu said, as the problematic part was only used in RAV4s.

Thursday’s announcement compounds Toyota’s public relations woes in China. It follows a massive recall in August, when Toyota recalled nearly 700,000 cars here because of faulty window-control systems. It has also had to recall in China Camry sedans for a brake problem.

Though Toyota has a respectable share of China’s market, its sales last year lagged those of its rivals.

General Motor Co.’s sales soared 67% to 1.83 million units in 2009. Sales in China’s overall auto market rose 46% to 13.6 million units, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Abdul Razzaq May Take Part in IPL-3, All rounder Abdul Razzaq claimed that the Indian Premier Leauge had contacted him. However nothing has been yet finalized regarding his participation in the tournament. Abdul Razzaq said that he had informed the PCB regarding this development.
Razak said that if an agreement is reached between him and the IPL body he would only take part in the tournament if the Government and PCB allowed him. PCB has said that Razak failed to produce a copy of the contract with the IPL. After reviewing the details of the contract he may be allowed to take part in the contract with the consent of the government.

Watch Live Cricket

MELBOURNE: Serena Beats Li to Reach Australian Open Final, Top seed and defending champion Serena Williams reached the final of the Australian Open when she beat China’s Li Na 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1) in a thrilling semi-final on Thursday.

Williams will now play either Belgian Justine Henin or China’s Zheng Jie in Saturday’s decider.

MELBOURNE: Australian Open: Venus Williams, Li Na Into Quarters, Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the seventh time to set up a meeting with China’s Li Na, who has never gone this far at the Australian Open.

Seven-time Grand Slam singles winner Williams had a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Francesca Schiavone on Monday, recovering after dropping a set to the Italian for the first time since 2003.

Li had a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 4-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, the U.S. Open finalist, in a 98-minute match featuring 12 service breaks. Li held when it counted, saving three break points in an 11-minute opening game and serving it in the last, on her second match point.

Along with 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, who is on the other half of the draw at Melbourne Park, it’s the first time two Chinese players have reached the quarterfinals at the same Grand Slam tournament.

Williams reached the final of the Australian Open in 2003, losing to her younger sister Serena, in her best run at season’s first major.

The Williams are on track to meet in the semifinals here, with defending champion and No. 1-ranked Serena playing in a fourth-round match later Monday against Australia’s Sam Stosur.

Venus struggled to hold serve in the first set against Schiavone but was in command by the end, when she won the last six games after the 29-year-old Italian broke her to open the third set.

On Sunday, four days after an angry outburst over the rules relating to replays and line calls, Andy Roddick got a crucial call in his favor in his fourth-round win over Fernando Gonzalez.

Roddick held off the 2007 Australian Open finalist 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarters for the sixth time in eight years. He’ll meet No. 14 Marin Cilic of Croatia, who ousted U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in five sets.

Roddick bucked the trend on a day of upsets that also resulted in fourth-round exits for two of the top women: No. 2 Dinara Safina, last year’s runner-up, and No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the reigning French Open champion.

Roddick said the knee problem that sidelined him at the end of last season was bothering him a bit, but it didn’t affect the game.

Safina had to retire because of the recurrence of a back injury when she was serving at 5-4 down and 30-40 against Maria Kirilenko, who had upset 2008 champion Maria Sharapova in the first round.

Kuznetsova lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to Nadia Petrova, who went into the match after a 6-0, 6-1 third-round victory over U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.

While the seeded players dropped, former No. 1 Justine Henin continued her run in her first Grand Slam tournament in two years with a 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-3 win over fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, keeping her on track for a quarterfinal meeting with Petrova.

Defending champion Nadal and No. 5 Andy Murray held off two of the tallest men and biggest servers in tennis to set up a quarterfinal match up.

Nadal, who beat Roger Federer in the 2009 final, had a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, and Murray overcame 6-foot-9 American John Isner 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.