Storm leaves Gaza man dead, Jerusalem snowed in

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. In Gaza, civil defense spokesman Mohammed al-Haj Yousef said …more JERUSALEM (AP) — A Gaza health official says a Palestinian man was electrocuted after being struck by a power cable snapped loose by ferocious winter winds, while a rare snowstorm paralyzed traffic in Jerusalem, its suburbs and the nearby West Bank.Ashraf al-Kidra says the 24-year-old died late Wednesday in...

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Iraqi officials say car bomb near bus stop kills 5

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi police say a car bomb explosion near a bus stop has killed five people and wounded 15 others in the capital, Baghdad.The officials say the blast took place on Thursday morning near a bus stop in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Hurriyah as commuters were gathering to catch rides to different parts of Baghdad. Five minibuses were damaged or burnt in the attack.Medics in a nearby...

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Bad weather strands released Iranians at airport

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Bad weather has stranded Iranians freed by Syrian rebels at an airport in Damascus.A Syrian official says the Iranians left the Damascus Sheraton hotel early Thursday. But the plane to take them home after months in captivity could not take off because of strong winds from a fierce winter storm that has hit the Middle East in recent days.The official spoke on condition of anonymity...

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Cricket-Clarke's Australia far from the finished article

SYDNEY, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Australia wrapped up a home series sweep over supine sub-continental opposition for the second season in a row on Sunday but captain Michael Clarke admits they are a work in progress as they embark on their toughest ever year of test cricket.Fragility in the top order, the retirement of Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey from the middle order and injuries to the pace bowling unit...

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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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Officials can't rule out casualties after Australian wildfires destroy 100 homes and buildings

HOBART, Australia - 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 acres)...

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God's good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.Benedict celebrated New Year's Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter's Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season...

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Pope convinced of peace in 2013 despite world woes

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday he is convinced that peace will prevail in 2013, despite the inequality, terrorism and "unregulated financial capitalism" that afflict the world today.Benedict celebrated a New Year's Day Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the church's world day of peace. His target audience was in the front pews: diplomats accredited to the Holy See, who next week...

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France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year's Eve

 Hundreds of empty, parked cars go up in flames in France each New Year's Eve, set afire by young revelers, a much lamented tradition that remained intact this year with 1,193 vehicles burned, Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday.His announcement was the first time in three years that such figures have been released. The conservative government of former President Nicolas Sarkozy had decided...

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Trade, tax, transparency on June G8 meet agenda - UK

Trade, tax compliance and promoting greater transparency will be the main focus of the next meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight major economies in June, Britain said on Wednesday as it assumed the group's rotating presidency.Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the group's seven other member nations - the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Canada and Germany - would join Britain...

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Instant View - Manufacturing PMI jumps to fifteen-month high in December

LONDON (Reuters) - British factory activity jumped unexpectedly in December to grow at its fastest pace since September 2011, a survey showed on Wednesday, raising the chance that the economy eked out growth at the end of 2012.****************************************************************- Highest headline manufacturing PMI index since September 2011- Highest output component since April 2011- Highest...

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Ofwat backs down on water licence changes

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's water regulator Ofwat backed down over controversial changes to make water company licences more flexible after the firms affected rejected the original proposals.Ofwat, which oversees Britain's water and sewage operators, is trying to change licences to increase the flexibility it has over controlling water prices, but on Friday compromised on some of those changes.Pennon...

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Pope takes anti-gay marriage stance to new level

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope took his opposition to gay marriage to new heights Friday, denouncing what he described as people manipulating their God-given gender to suit their sexual choices — and destroying the very "essence of the human creature" in the process.Benedict XVI made the comments in his annual Christmas speech to the Vatican bureaucracy — one of his most important speeches of the year....

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UK High Court blocks drone intelligence challenge

LONDON (AP) — Britain's High Court on Friday blocked a legal bid for an inquiry into the possible role of the country's spy agencies in aiding covert CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's northwest tribal region.Noor Khan, a 27-year-old whose father was killed by a drone strike in northwest Pakistan in March 2011, had asked the High Court to examine whether Britain intelligence officials assisted the action...

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Russian parliament wants winter time restored

MOSCOW (AP) — On the darkest day of the year, Russia's parliament is pleading with the government for a little more light.The Duma on Friday formally asked Speaker Sergei Naryshkin to query the government about abandoning year-round daylight-savings time.The 2011 decision by then-President Dmitry Medvedev to keep Russian clocks set as if the country enjoyed perpetual summer was one of the least popular...

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UK told to add break-up threat to bank reform

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain needs to introduce legislation that could break up banks if standards slip because current reform proposals fall short of what is needed, an influential parliamentary panel said.The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards also said on Friday the government could set tougher rules for how much leverage banks were allowed, adding that the committee itself would consider...

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