All Latest News Wires
Sloane Stephens upsets Serena, while Federer advances at Australian OpenThe American teenager outlasted the former Australian Open ladies champion in one quarterfinal match. Meanwhile, Roger Federer will play Andy Murray in the men's semifinals.
'French stench,' caused by gas leak, drifts to England'French stench' was what London tabloids called the gas leak from a French chemical factory. The rotten egg 'stench' came from methanethiol, a non-toxic additive used in natural gas because its sulfurous smell enables gas leaks to be detected.- 30,000 Iranian spies? Library of Congress withdraws reportA US Library of Congress report asserting that Iran's Intelligence agency has 30,000 employees has been widely quoted 鈥� and criticized. The report has been withdrawn and is now under revision.
Death sentence for UK grandmother in Indonesia drug caseShe had claimed in court that she was forced to take the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt her children.- Britain's Prince Harry back from Afghanistan deploymentIn interviews conducted in Afghanistan, the third in line to the British throne described feeling boredom, frustration and satisfaction during a tour that saw him fire at Taliban fighters on missions in support of ground troops.
Taliban suicide bombers target Afghan traffic policeA deadly nine-hour assault on the traffic police headquarters 聽was the second such attack in the heart of Afghanistan's capital in six days.- Renegade soldiers in Eritrea overrun information ministryEritrean soldiers with tanks took over the information ministry and forced state media to call for the release of political prisoners.
US death toll rises to three from Algerian hostage crisisSeven Americans made it out safely from the attack on a gas complex in Algeria. The overall death toll from the standoff has surpassed 80.- More hostages reported dead in Algerian 'final assault'Algeria's special forces launched a 'final assault' Saturday to end a four-day-old hostage crisis. The state news agency said 11 militants and seven more hostages were killed.
French forces may have captured key Mali town for second victory in warMalian officials say militants have given up their 4x4 vehicles, making them vulnerable to French air operations. Reuters journalists north of Bamako saw French and Malian flags hung side by side and one national paper ran a headline today: 'Thank you France, thank you Francois Hollande.' Still, it is early days.
Late poll surge by Berlusconi may shake, rattle, and roll Italian electionsTechnocrat prime minister and candidate Mario Monti calls rival billionaire a 'pied piper' who promises more than he can deliver. And Silvio Berlusconi will likely not win the top Italian job outright. But late surge is causing big waves in coalition building options.
Dreams of Barack Obama's half-brother inspire run for Kenya political seatMalik Obama faces Kenyan voters March 4 for governorship of rural county. But competition will be fierce among better known locals. US president tells his sibling to develop 'thick skin' for political run.
Sergei Filin, Bolshoi ballet director, injured in acid attack by masked assailantA colleague said Filin's car tires had been slashed earlier in the week and that he was targeted this month by hackers who posted his professional correspondence online.
30 hostages killed? Algerian hostage event over, casualties still uncertain30 hostages were killed, Reuters is reporting. Other sources have wildly different casualty estimates, but all agree that hostages were killed in the attempt to rescue oil workers.
30 hostages killed? Casualty counts vary in Algerian crisis30 hostages were killed, including at least seven foreigners, one source told a Reuters reporter. Other sources offer widely varying numbers of hostages taken, escaped, and killed.
Iran-IAEA wrap up nuclear talks, agree to meet againIranian media did not say if any progress was made, but a senior diplomat from an International Atomic Energy Agency member state in Vienna said shortly before talks ended that they were 'not going well.'
French forces in Mali take bridge at key north-south river divideFrench forces now number 1,400 in Mali: 'The actions of French forces, be it air forces or ground forces, are ongoing,' says a French military official in Paris.
Algerian 'Battalion of Blood' kidnapping fracas results in 6 dead, 25 escaped, reports sayReports varied wildly from Algerian military action after a hostage taking at a natural gas facility in south-east Algeria. The French government says this attack confirms why action in Mali against Islamist rebel groups is needed.
Pakistan's anticorruption board refuses to arrest prime minister, but cleric keeps pressure onPakistan's government granted talks with the Muslim cleric whose calls for the administration to resign have apparently electrified thousands of protestors camped out near Parliament.- Syrian activists report 106 killed in raid on civilians, call for UN actionActivists say聽women and children were among the 106 people killed by forces who stormed an impoverished district on the edge of Homs, where a similar raid happened in 2011.聽
