Cricket-New Zealand 121 all out v South Africa

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Jan 13 (Reuters) - New Zealand were bowled out for 121 in their first innings before lunch on the third day of the second test against South Africa at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.ScoresSouth Africa first innings 525 for eight declared (Graeme Smith 54, Hashim Amla 110, AB de Villiers 51, Faf du Plessis 137, Dean Elgar 103 not out)New Zealand first innings...

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Cricket-New Zealand three without loss v South Africa - lunch

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Jan 13 (Reuters) - New Zealand reached three without loss in their second innings at lunch on the third day of the second test against South Africa at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.ScoresSouth Africa first innings 525 for eight declared (Graeme Smith 54, Hashim Amla 110, AB de Villiers 51, Faf du Plessis 137, Dean Elgar 103 not out)New Zealand first innings...

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Cricket-South Africa v New Zealand - second test lunch

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Scoreboard at lunch on the third day of the second test South Africa and New Zealand at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.South Africa won the toss and elected to batSouth Africa first innings 525 for eight declared (F. Du Plessis 137, H. Amla 110, D. Elgar 103 not out) New Zealand first innings 121 all out (BJ Watling 63; D. Steyn five...

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Indonesian anti-terror squad criticized for deaths

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's U.S.-funded police anti-terror squad has killed seven suspected militants recently, reviving allegations that the force is not trying to take suspects alive — a trend that appears to be fueling the very extremism the predominantly Muslim country is trying to counter.Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Sunday that no shots were fired against officers...

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Police among 13 suspects slain in Philippine clash

ATIMONAN, Philippines (AP) — At least three police personnel were among 13 suspected criminals who were gunned down in a shootout with Philippine security forces at a highway checkpoint, officials said Monday.Gunmen riding in three black SUVs opened fire on more than 50 army and police troopers who flagged down the vehicles late Sunday in the coastal town of Atimonan in Quezon province, about 140...

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Officials search for casualties in Australia fires

HOBART, Australia (AP) — Officials are searching for bodies among the charred ruins of more than 100 homes and other buildings destroyed by wildfires in the island state of Tasmania.Acting Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard said Monday no casualties had yet been reported. But it would take time before officials were certain that no one had died in the blazes that have razed 20,000 hectares (50,000...

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Letters To God: Kenyans appeal for peaceful election

Five years after a disputed presidential election unleashed interethnic violence that scarred this East African nation, Kenyans are bracing for a new election amid fears of a fresh outbreak of bloodletting.But a growing number of Kenyans are challenging that fear with hope, with thousands taking up the call to “Write to God” with prayers that upcoming March 4 elections will be peaceful.One of the...

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Egypt finishes constitutional vote, but irregularities delay final results

Egyptian judges were investigating opposition accusations of voting irregularities today before declaring the result of a referendum set to show that a contentious new constitution has been approved.President Mohamed Morsi sees the basic law, drawn up mostly by Islamists, as a vital step in Egypt's transition to democracy almost two years after the fall of military-backed strongman Hosni Mubarak.The...

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Lebanese border means little in Syria's civil war

The four rain-filled bomb craters all visible within 100 yards of Mahmoud Ismael’s house starkly illustrate how Lebanon’s northern border has become an active frontline in Syria’s civil war, drawing in rival Lebanese Shiite and Sunni factions.A fifth shell had struck the edge of the roof, knocking out chunks of concrete and sending heavy steel shrapnel scything into the cement parapet and the soft...

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Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws?

Almost two weeks after a shooting spree stunned Australia in 1996, leaving 35 people dead at the Port Arthur tourist spot in Tasmania, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country’s gun laws. There hasn’t been a mass shooting since. Now, after the recent shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Australia’s National Firearm Agreement (NFA), which saw hundreds of thousands of automatic...

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Doing the Lindy for fun and exercise in Moscow

As teenagers during the Soviet era, Sergey and Lyudmila Gubarev used to copy American-inspired songs onto cassette tapes that then made the rounds among their friends. The music on the tapes, spanning from the 1940s onward, offered them a peek through the Iron Curtain that closed off Western cultural imports.Today, they still love the same American tunes, but it is not such a clandestine affair.Sergey...

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VP says he spoke with Chavez, who is up, walking

 Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said late Monday night that he had spoken by telephone with President Hugo Chavez and that the leader is up and walking following cancer surgery in Cuba.It was the first time a top Venezuelan government official had confirmed speaking personally with Chavez since the Dec. 11 operation. Venezuelan officials have given few specifics on Chavez's condition,...

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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the expected passage of the charter will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.Islamist President Mohammed Morsi is likely to emerge from a bruising month-long battle with a narrow victory for the constitution...

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Russia welcomes any offer to give Assad refuge

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Syrian President Bashar Assad, but has no plans to make one of its own, Moscow's foreign minister said in the latest comments to suggest a growing distance between the two allies.Sergey Lavrov's remarks on Friday night were among the clearest signs yet that Russia could be preparing for a Syria without Assad, as rebel pressure...

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Bombing kills 4, wounds 11 in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — An explosion at a shop selling CDs killed 4 people in a town northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday.Police officials say a bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded near the shop Saturday afternoon in the town of Qazaniyah. Eleven people were wounded in the attack, and the shop was completely destroyed. Qazaniyah is 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of Baghdad.A medic in...

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Egypt's disputed charter headed toward approval

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus...

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Egypt's draft charter gets 'yes' majority in vote

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution received a "yes" majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would...

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