Tomic and Stosur carry Australian hopes in Melbourne

men's final match at the Sydney International tennis tournament January 12, 2013. …more MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Take a walk around the Grand Slam Oval at Melbourne Park and it is easy to see why Australia has such high expectations of tennis success.A long semi-circle of bronze busts of the likes of Rod Laver, Margaret Court, Roy Emerson and Evonne Goolagong bear witness to an era when Australian winners...

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Cricket-Australia 170 all out in second ODI against Sri Lanka

ADELAIDE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Australia stumbled to 170 all out after being asked to bat first in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka on Sunday, giving the tourists a chance to level the five-match series.Rain in Adelaide delayed the start of the match by about an hour and Sri Lanka's bowlers made use of cloud cover and moisture in the pitch to tie down the batsmen with the swinging...

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UPDATE 2-Cricket-New Zealand batting in disarray again

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Jan 12 (Reuters) - New Zealand collapsed again against the South Africa pace attack when they staggered to 47 for six in their first innings in reply to the hosts' 525 for eight declared on the second day of the second test at St. George's Park on Saturday.The pace duo of Dale Steyn and Rory Kleinveldt ended the day with figures of two for 14 and two for 18 respectively...

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Pakistan says 1 dead in border clash with India

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and India traded accusations Sunday of violating the cease-fire in the disputed northern region of Kashmir, with Islamabad accusing Indian troops of a cross-border raid that killed one of its soldiers and India charging that Pakistani shelling destroyed a home on its side.The accusation of a border crossing resulting in military deaths is unusual in Kashmir, where a cease-fire...

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Suicide bombers kill 5 at Afghan district compound

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers penetrated a government compound in the country's south Sunday, killing five people, Afghan officials said. There were no reports of foreign troops or civilians at the site.In neighboring Helmand province, a bomb planted at a bus station killed one policeman and wounded another person, a provincial official said.The suicide attack was in the district...

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Philippine army, police kill 13 suspects in clash

ATIMONAN, Philippines (AP) — Philippine army special forces and police killed 13 suspected criminals in a fierce gunbattle in a northeastern province in the latest recent violence in the country.A police officer was wounded in Sunday's shootout, which raged for about 20 minutes in the coastal town of Atimonan in Quezon province, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Manila, the capital, according...

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Pope pardons Vatican butler

Pope Benedict XVI granted his former butler a Christmas pardon Saturday, forgiving him in person during a jailhouse meeting for stealing and leaking his private papers in one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times.After the 15-minute meeting, Paolo Gabriele was freed and returned to his Vatican City apartment where he lives with his wife and three children. The Vatican said he couldn't...

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Aleppo's fledgling government reflects a society shaped by war

Members of the Syrian opposition in Aleppo are preparing to unveil what will be the most ambitious transitional government effort to come from inside Syria since the revolution began 21 months ago.Aleppo’s Transitional Revolutionary Council, a civilian effort to provide government services in areas of northern Syria under opposition control, has created a 224-person Grand Assembly with representatives...

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Uruguay postpones vote on 'state as dealer' approach to drug regulation - but not for long?

Uruguay has been on the vanguard of drug policy reform in the Americas, proposing a state regulatory market for the cultivation and consumption of marijuana. (See our cover on “Latin America reinventing the War on Drugs” here).But last week the project’s No. 1 proponent – and perhaps the globe’s most trailblazing reformer – Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, told Parliament to postpone the vote.President...

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South Korea charges North building missile that could reach US

South Korean defense officials say they have evidence showing a recent North Korean missile launch was to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).South Korean navy divers have recovered more than three tons of debris from the first stage of a missile Korean analysts say was fueled by a type of nitric acid developed in the former Soviet Union over 40 years ago for firing missiles with warheads...

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Muslim scholars and clerics: suicide bombings are un-Islamic.

Suicide bombers in Afghanistan have shown little restraint: Wedding parties and even mosques and children have witnessed gruesome targeting by the Taliban against civilians.But as attacks soared in the summer and fall, killing scores of civilians every week – including at least 40 Muslim devotees at a mosque in late October –public revulsion has turned into unprecedented condemnation.For the first...

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Correction: Peru Quake Unreadiness Story

In a story that moved Dec. 9 and 23 about earthquake readiness in Lima, Peru, The Associated Press incorrectly listed the year and the magnitude of a quake that killed about 70,000 people. The 7.9-magnitude Peru quake occurred in 1970.A corrected version of the story is below:The earthquake all but flattened colonial Lima, the shaking so violent that people tossed to the ground couldn't get back up....

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Chilean street dogs are protesters' best friends

They don't have demands, but they're loyal to the cause and are always on the front lines of the fight. They run with protesters, lap up shots from water cannons, bark at police in riot gear and sometimes even bite officers.Stray dogs are truly Man's Best Friend for thousands of students and workers who demonstrate and clash with police nearly every day to press demands for education improvements,...

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Bolivia's Morales visits Cuba after Chavez surgery

 Bolivian President Evo Morales has made a lightning trip to Havana where key ally Hugo Chavez is convalescing after cancer surgery.Morales did not speak to foreign journalists during his weekend visit. Cuban state-run media didn't confirm that he visited Chavez, but said he came "to express his support" for the Venezuelan president. The Cuban government had invited media to cover Morales' arrival...

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Prosecutor killed in Guatemala along with 6 others

 Guatemala's attorney general dispatched a special team Monday to investigate the slaying of a federal prosecutor and six other people in an attack near the Mexican border.Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz said she was sending prosecutors and investigators to the area of northern Guatemala where Irma Yolanda Olivares, who worked in one of the prosecutor's regional officers, was slain along with...

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FBI question Benghazi consulate attack suspect

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — After months of asking, agents from the FBI questioned the only known suspect in the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed four diplomats, the suspect's Tunisian lawyer told The Associated Press Saturday.Ali Harzi, a Tunisian, was detained in Turkey and extradited to Tunisia in October where authorities have said he is "strongly suspected" of being involved...

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Rebels threaten to storm 2 Syrian Christian towns

BEIRUT (AP) — Rebels have threated to storm two predominantly Christian towns in central Syria if residents do not "evict" government troops they say are using the towns as a base to attack nearby areas.A video released by rebels showed Rashid Abul-Fidaa, who identified himself as the commander of the Ansar Brigade for Hama province, calling on locals in Mahrada and Sqailbiyeh to rise up against President...

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Egypt's vice president quits

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state TV says Vice President Mahmoud Mekki has resigned.Mekki's Saturday resignation was announced with more than five hours to go of voting in the second and final phase of a referendum on a disputed, Islamist-backed constitution. Mekki, a career judge, has said he intends to quit once the charter is adopted. The new constitution eliminates the post of vice president.However,...

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Ex-Tunisian dictator's property goes under hammer

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian authorities are putting property confiscated from ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali up for auction. That includes a pair of miniature gold sphinxes, a diamond-encrusted pen and a staggering 39 luxury cars.Officials hope the sale, which was inaugurated by Tunisia's Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali in Tunis Saturday, will fetch some 20 million dinar ($12.9 million)...

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Egypt's central bank governor quits

CAIRO (AP) — State television says Egypt's central bank governor has resigned.Farouq el-Oqdah's resignation is the second such high profile move on Saturday. Earlier on the day, Vice President Mahmoud Mekki resigned, saying he realized that politics did not suit his professional background as a judge.The brief TV report did not say why el-Oqdah quit, but it ends days of media speculations about his...

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