MELBOURNE - RAFAEL Nadal reduced Roger Federer to tears as he won a classic Australian Open final to secure his first hard-court Grand Slam title and stop the Swiss equalling the all-time Majors record on Sunday.
Nadal, the world number one, miraculously recovered from Friday's five-hour semi-final to take the gripping five-setter 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-2 in four hours and 23 minutes.
SANTA CLARA (California) - BANKS collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the US for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.
The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than US$150 billion (S$227 billion), requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists.
BEIJING - CHINA'S 750 million-strong farming population faces a tough 2009, the government warned on Sunday, vowing price support, land controls and curbs on imports to shore up flagging rural incomes and ward off unrest.
The Communist Party government customarily focuses its first major policy statement each year on rural development and this one was accompanied by a sobering warning about the pressures from the global financial crisis, falling commodity prices and rising migrant worker unemployment.
DAVOS (Switzerland) - HERE'S yet another danger from the global economic crisis. It could breed more corruption, as recession-starved officials increasingly demand bribes and hungry companies compete for shrinking resources.
Yet few words were dedicated to fighting graft at the World Economic Forum of business and political decision-makers last week. Instead, new financial rules, the US stimulus plan and trade barriers dominated speeches and small talk.
