Mali official: French military arrived to help

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — French military personnel are now helping Mali's military to fight radical Islamist rebels who control northern Mali and have advanced into the country's center, a Malian official said Friday.Col. Abdrahmane Baby, a military operations adviser for the foreign affairs ministry confirmed that French troops had arrived in the country but gave no details about how many were there...

Read More..

French troops in Mali to fight extremists

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — France's military started an air operation Friday to help Malian soldiers fight radical Islamists, drawing the former colonial power into a military intervention to oust the al-Qaida-linked militants nine months after they seized control of northern Mali.The arrival of the French dramatically ups the stakes in a conflict taking place in a swath of lawless desert where kidnappings...

Read More..

Peace deal announced for C. African Republic

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Central African Republic President Francois Bozize and the rebels who sought to overthrow him have reached a deal that will allow him to stay in office until his term ends in 2016, officials said Friday.The announcement came after several days of peace talks in Gabon, which were organized after an alliance of rebels groups swept through the north of the country and seized...

Read More..

A lesson in pop culture via Guantanamo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An Afghan man who is being held with the most significant terrorism suspects in U.S. custody has apparently gained extensive knowledge of western pop culture in an unlikely place: the top secret prison-within-a-prison in Guantanamo Bay.Nearly five years ago, Mohammed Rahim al-Afghani became the last prisoner sent to Guantanamo. He was accused of helping Osama bin Laden...

Read More..

Chavez suffers new complications in cancer fight

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez's new complications after cancer surgery prompted his closest allies to call for Venezuelans to pray for him on Monday, presenting an increasingly bleak outlook and prompting growing speculation about whether the ailing leader has much longer to live.Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked weary and spoke with a solemn expression as he announced in a televised...

Read More..

Venezuelans offer prayers, songs for Hugo Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans gathered on plazas and in churches to pray for President Hugo Chavez amid what seems an increasingly gloomy outlook for the ailing leader in his fight against cancer.Following an announcement that Chavez had suffered "new complications" from a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, people were out in the streets of Caracas on Monday talking...

Read More..

New child soldier fears in C. African Republic

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The U.N. children's agency says it's concerned about a growing number of children being recruited by armed groups in Central African Republic as President Francois Bozize's government faces a rebellion in the north.UNICEF said Friday it has received "credible reports that rebel groups and pro-government militias are increasingly recruiting and involving children...

Read More..

Bolivia expropriates Spanish energy subsidiaries

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Evo Morales nationalized the Bolivian electricity distribution subsidiaries of the Spanish energy company Iberdrola in a public ceremony Saturday.Morales issued a decree allowing the takeover of shares in Empresa de Electricidad de La Paz (Electropaz) and Empresa de Luz y Fuerza de Oruro (Elfeo), which supply energy in this Andean nation.Soldiers guarded the installations...

Read More..

Mexico City orders prison in animal cruelty cases

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City lawmakers have approved prison terms for animal cruelty, previously considered a civil offense sanctioned with fines and detentions.The capital's legislative assembly unanimously agreed that people who intentionally abuse and cause animals harm will face up to two years in prison and pay up to $500. If the animal is killed, they can face up to four years in prison and...

Read More..

Argentina to court: revert order on debt holdouts

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina is asking a US appeals court to reverse an order for the country to pay $1.33 billion to "holdout" creditors who refused to join two swaps for the country's defaulted debt.Argentine government lawyers said in papers filed late Friday that the order violates the country's sovereignty. The lawyers said the order also threatens service on at least $24 billion...

Read More..

Venezuelan VP heads to Cuba to visit ailing Chavez

HAVANA (AP) — Venezuela's vice president arrived in Havana to visit President Hugo Chavez as he recovers from cancer surgery, Cuban official media said early Saturday.Communist Party newspaper Granma published online a photo of Vice President Nicolas Maduro being greeted at the airport in the Cuban capital by the island's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez."From there, (Maduro) went directly to the...

Read More..

Iraq Sunni rallies gather steam

 Thousands of protesters from Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority kept up a week-old blockade on a key highway on Thursday and readied mass rallies for Friday to demand concessions from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.Protests flared last week after troops loyal to Maliki, who is from the Shi'ite majority, detained bodyguards of his finance minister, a Sunni. Many Sunnis, whose community dominated Iraq...

Read More..

Egypt's opposition leaders under investigation

 Egypt's chief prosecutor ordered an investigation on Thursday into allegations that opposition leaders committed treason by inciting supporters to overthrow Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The probe by a Morsi-appointed prosecutor was launched a day after the president called for a dialogue with the opposition to heal rifts opened in the bitter fight over an Islamist-drafted constitution...

Read More..

Iran's Ahmadinejad sacks only female government minister

 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday dismissed his only female cabinet minister, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, after she criticized her colleagues for failing to provide funds to import vital medicines.Appointed in 2009, Dastjerdi was the first woman government minister since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. While seen as politically conservative, the gynecologist...

Read More..

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

 President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans.In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his...

Read More..

India gang rape spurs national dialogue

The Indian government’s crackdown on the anti-rape protests that have continued for nearly two weeks in New Delhi has only aggravated public anger and concern about women’s safety. The protests were sparked by the gang rape and brutal assault of a 23-year-old student on a bus in the elite South Delhi district on Dec. 16. As the girl battles for her life in a Singapore hospital, Indians are debating...

Read More..

Soccer-Australia maul Taiwan to qualify for 2013 East Asian Cup

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Australia routed Taiwan 8-0 in Hong Kong to leapfrog North Korea and qualify for the 2013 East Asian Cup on Sunday. After the Koreans had blanked hosts Hong Kong 4-0 in Sunday's other match, Australia needed to win by five goals or more. The Socceroos did much more than that to top the qualifying tournament and join Japan, China and hosts South Korea...

Read More..

U.S. trade-human rights link tests Obama-Russia ties

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's passage of legislation to punish Russians who violate human rights is the first big test of Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama's resolve to improve relations since each won elections. Obama, who launched a "reset" in relations with Russia less than four years ago, is likely to sign the law even though Moscow sees it as "aggressively unfriendly". Damage to U.S.-Russian...

Read More..

Afghan leader says to raise attack on spy chief with Pakistan

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday a suicide bombing that wounded his intelligence chief was planned in the Pakistani city of Quetta and that the issue would be raised with Islamabad. Karzai stopped short of blaming the Pakistani government directly. But he said the attack would be raised with neighboring Pakistan, a regional power seen as critical to U.S. efforts to...

Read More..

Feted in Gaza, Hamas leader to attend "victory rally"

GAZA (Reuters) - After receiving a hero's welcome on his return from decades in exile, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal will attend a rally in Gaza on Saturday to mark the founding of his Islamist group and celebrate "victory" over Israel. At least 200,000 Palestinians are expected to attend the outdoor event, which is likely to be used by Meshaal to promote Hamas's growing stature in the Arab world and...

Read More..