Japan's Abe to visit Southeast Asia to boost economic ties

26, 2012. REUTERS/Toru HanaiTOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first overseas trip will see him visit Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand in January, aiming to bolster ties with the growing Asian economies as relations with Beijing stay tense.Abe had hoped to first visit Washington in order to strengthen Japan's alliance with the United States, but the visit was postponed due to President...

Read More..

China newspaper publishes after deal ends standoff

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — An influential weekly newspaper whose staff rebelled to protest heavy-handed censorship by China's government officials published as normal Thursday after a compromise that called for relaxing some intrusive controls but left lingering ill-will among some reporters and editors.The latest edition of the Southern Weekly bore no hints of the dispute that erupted last week over...

Read More..

US missiles kill 5 suspected militants in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan intelligence officials say U.S. drone-fired missiles have hit a house in the country's northwest tribal region, killing five suspected militants.The officials say the attack occurred Thursday in a village near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Pakistan.The officials spoke...

Read More..

Cricket-South Africa beat New Zealand by an innings and 27 runs

CAPE TOWN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Africa beat New Zealand by an innings and 27 runs on the third day of the first test on Friday.Scores: New Zealand 45 (V. Philander 5-7) and 275 (D. Brownlie 109, B. McCullum 51); South Africa 347 for eight declared (A. Petersen 106, A.B. de Villiers 67, H. Amla 66, J. Kallis 60). (Reporting by Michael Todt; Editing by John Mehaff...

Read More..

Cricket-South Africa v New Zealand 1st test scoreboard

CAPE TOWN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Scoreboard on the third day ofthe first test between South Africa and New Zealand at Newlandson Friday.New Zealand first innings 45 (V. Philander 5-7)South Africa first innings 347 for eight declared(A.Petersen 106, H.Amla 66, J.Kallis 60, AB de Villiers 67)New Zealand second inningsM. Guptill c Amla b Steyn 0B. McCullum lbw b Peterson 51K. Williamson c Petersen b Kallis...

Read More..

UPDATE 1-Cricket-South Africa complete innings victory

CAPE TOWN, Jan 4 (Reuters) - South Africa completed an innings victory over New Zealand on Friday in a result which was never in doubt after the visitors collapsed to 45 all out before lunch on the opening day of the first test.Dean Brownlie's maiden test century helped New Zealand to 232 for five at lunch on the third day after South Africa had declared their first innings closed at 347 for eight...

Read More..

Chefs offer their take on Jerusalem

LONDON (AP) — Two London-based chefs with roots in Jerusalem one day. The next, poster boys for peace.Such has been the reaction to "Jerusalem," a bestselling cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi, an Israeli, and Sami Tamimi, a Palestinian, built on their memories of a shared city and its delicious food."Regardless of all the trouble, food is always there," Tamimi said.The men run gourmet delis and restaurants...

Read More..

Iran says talks with big powers to be held in January

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Iran has agreed to hold talks with six major powers about its atomic program in January but the date and venue has yet to be decided, the country's top nuclear negotiator said on Friday.The six powers want to rein in Iran's uranium enrichment program to ensure it is geared only for civilian energy, through a mix of diplomacy and sanctions. Iran denies Western assertions it is...

Read More..

Victims: I. Coast stampede caused by barricades

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Two survivors of the New Year's stampede in Ivory Coast that killed 61 people say barricades that were set up unofficially created the crush of thousands of people who were leaving a fireworks display.The two survivors, who are hospitalized at Cocody Hospital, said Wednesday that after the fireworks they were prevented from moving along the Boulevard de la Republic by wooden...

Read More..

Angola: Stampede kills 13 at religious gathering

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The death toll in a stampede on New Year's Eve at a sports stadium in Angola has risen to 13, and some of the victims were children, Angolan media reported Wednesday.Officials said about 120 people were also injured in the incident, which happened when tens of thousands of people tried to enter a stadium in the capital, Luanda, for a religious gathering, according to Angop, the...

Read More..

C. African Republic leader dismisses son

DAMARA, Central African Republic (AP) — The embattled president of Central African Republic has dismissed his son as the country's defense minister.The move late Wednesday comes as President Francois Bozize faces a coalition of rebel groups who are seeking his ouster.National radio announced that his son Francis Bozize will no longer be the defense minister.Chief of Staff Gen. Guillaume Lapo is also...

Read More..

Ivory Coast stampede survivors blame barricades

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Survivors of a stampede in Ivory Coast that killed 61 people, most of them children and teenagers, after a New Year's Eve fireworks display said Wednesday that makeshift barricades stopped them from moving along a main boulevard, causing the crush of people.Ivory Coast police said unknown people put tree trunks across the Boulevard de la Republique where the trampling took...

Read More..

C. African Republic leader faces rebel threat

DAMARA, Central African Republic (AP) — More than 30 truckloads of troops from Chad line the two-lane highway just outside of Damara, supporting Central African Republic government forces who want to block a new rebel coalition from reaching the capital.In a display of force, the turbaned fighters hold their rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons they threaten to use if the rebels seeking to...

Read More..

Strict Gun Control - Fewer Shootings in Australia, Japan and the UK; Would It Work in US?

Six days after the tragic shooting in Newtown and one day after President Obama announced a gun control task force, hundreds of you wrote in asking about future legislation and the consequences of this new task force.Pam Ramagano tweeted asking "What can the president really do? Doesn't he need the approval of Congress to do anything?"Kevin Boutelle wondered "What about the support that is so desperately...

Read More..

Cricket-NZ board to meet former captains to improve communication

Dec 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will meet with former skippers in a bid to improve communication within the national set-up in the wake of the controversy surrounding the handling of Ross Taylor's demotion from the captaincy.Taylor was stripped of the one-day and Twenty20 captaincy this month at the recommendation of head coach Mike Hesson following their tour of Sri Lanka and the disgruntled...

Read More..

Australian boy's egg collection turns into snakes

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 3-year-old Australian boy was lucky to escape uninjured after a collection of eggs he found in his yard hatched into a slithering tangle of deadly snakes.Reptile specialist Trish Prendergast said Friday that young wildlife enthusiast Kyle Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes — the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's...

Read More..

3-year-old Australian boy's egg collection hatches into slithering tangle of 7 deadly snakes

CANBERRA, Australia - A 3-year-old Australian boy was lucky to escape uninjured after a collection of eggs he found in his yard hatched into a slithering tangle of deadly snakes.Reptile carer Trish Prendergast said Friday that young wildlife enthusiast Kyle Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes — the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's inland...

Read More..

Tennis-Zvonareva misses Australian Open with shoulder injury

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Former world number two Vera Zvonareva of Russia has pulled out of the Australian Open with a shoulder injury, organisers of the opening grand slam of the season said on Friday."Sorry to report that Vera Zvonareva has withdrawn from the AO due to a continuing right shoulder injury," organisers of the Jan. 14-27 event said on their Twitter account.The injury-prone 28-year-old 2010...

Read More..