South Africa's Steyn dismantles New Zealand

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (Reuters) - Fast bowler Dale Steyn ripped through the lower order as New Zealand were bundled out for 121 in their first innings before moving to three without loss after being asked to follow on at lunch on the third day of the second test against South Africa at St. George's Park.Steyn, the world's top-ranked bowler, claimed five for 17 off 13 overs as New Zealand were...

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Cricket-Australia v Sri Lanka - second ODI scoreboard

ADELAIDE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Scoreboard in the second of five one-day cricket internationals between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday:Sri Lanka win by eight wickets.Australia inningsA Finch c J Mendis b Mathews 4P Hughes lbw b Kulasekara 3G Bailey c Thirimanne b Malinga 26D Hussey run out (Dilshan) 29S Smith c K Perera b T Perera 8G Maxwell c K Perera b Mathews 8B Haddin c Thirimanne...

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UPDATE 2-Cricket-Sri Lanka beat Australia by eight wickets

ADELAIDE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Lahiru Thirimanne struck his first one-day century as Sri Lanka levelled the one-day series against Australia with a convincing eight-wicket win on Sunday.Sri Lanka put the hosts in to bat after rain delayed the start at the Adelaide Oval and the bowlers capitalised on cloud cover and moisture in the pitch to restrict Australia to 170 all out from 46.5 overs.The tourists'...

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Angola: Stampede kills 10 at religious gathering

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Angolan media say 10 people, including four children, have died in a stampede during a religious gathering at a sports stadium in Luanda, the Angolan capital.Angop, the Angolan news agency, cited officials as saying Tuesday that 120 people were also injured. The incident happened on New Year's Eve when tens of thousands of people gathered at the stadium and panic ensued. Faustino...

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South Africa: Mandela rests at home

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's presidency says former leader Nelson Mandela is progressing with his recuperation from illness and doctors are closely monitoring his condition.Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Wednesday that "everything is moving OK" as 94-year-old Mandela rests at his home in Johannesburg after a hospital stay last month.The former president received treatment for a lung...

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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...

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A year after being literally wiped out, a Russian hockey team flourishes

Wooden hockey sticks smack into rubber pucks as the metal blades of skates slice through the ice. The sounds echo through an empty arena in the Czech capital Prague in late November as a visiting hockey team prepares for another game in the Kontinental Hockey League.But this is no ordinary squad. This is Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a Russian team that was literally wiped out last year in an air tragedy that...

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Iraq Sunnis block trade routes in protest against PM Maliki

Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims blocked Iraq's main trade route to neighboring Syria and Jordan in a fourth day of demonstrations on Wednesday against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.The massive show of force marks an escalation in protests that erupted last week after troops detained the bodyguards of Sunni Finance Minister Rafaie Esawi, threatening to plunge Iraq deeper into political turmoil."The...

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Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprising

Abdul Rahman, a quiet, even-tempered man, leads a collection of moderate Free Syrian Army battalions in Aleppo. He says groups like his are becoming harder to find as the 21-month uprising drags on and more groups lean either secular or Islamist extremist.At a time when opposition fighters live and die by their ability to get equipment, Mr. Rahman says it’s become more difficult for those in the middle...

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Berlusconi allies fire barbs at Monti, ending Christmas truce

 Italian politicians resumed their bickering on Wednesday, with supporters of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi taking aim at his successor Mario Monti despite a Christmas call from the Pope for political peace.Just before midnight at the end of Christmas Day, Monti tweeted: "Together, we saved Italy from disaster. Now we have to renew politics. Complaining won't help anything. Rolling...

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Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American

The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday.The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married an Afghan man.On Monday morning,...

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Newtown shooting cranks up Canada's gun-control debate

Though the massacre in Newtown, Conn., last week has drawn sympathy from all over the world, it has a particular resonance in Canada.The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 victims dead, including 20 children, comes just a week after the 23rd anniversary of Canada's own "Montreal Massacre," which reshaped the country's gun laws. Moreover, it occurred even as Canadians recently renewed...

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Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.Refugees have started returning to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria after fighting between rebels and government-allied forces sent them fleeing, but the status of the Palestinian refugees, along with hundreds of thousands of others displaced by the Syrian conflict, remains a top concern for observers outside the country.The Associated...

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Lessons from the Maya prophesy – whether the world 'ends' or not

Through a clearing in the jungle, visitors catch their first glimpse of the ancient Maya ruins of Yaxchilan in Mexico's southern Chiapas state. Stubborn vines have penetrated the walls of the Maya temple of the underworld. Bats hang in the cool vaulted ceiling and spiders scurry around the structure where ancient nobles once meditated and prayed to their gods.Here, like across the Maya civilization,...

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Syrian rebel infighting could take dangerous turn if Assad falls

In recent weeks, a number of opposition fighters in Aleppo have come to see the fall of the Assad government as only a matter of time. But bringing down the unpopular president may be easy in comparison to unifying an opposition that at times seems held together by little more than members' shared hatred of President Bashar al-Assad.Without him, its often unclear what will hold the disparate armed...

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Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on Iran

Arguing that further sanctions "are unlikely to stop Iran's nuclear pursuits," a group of Iran experts and senior former officials are calling on the White House to pursue realistic, "serious, sustained negotiations" with Tehran that they say are the best chance to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.The letter to President Obama, from 24 signatories whose professional careers have often been marked by dealing...

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