Sweden makes new push to solve premier's 1986 murder
02/03/2013 - AFP

Sweden makes new push to solve premier's 1986 murder

More than 100 people have answered a new police appeal for leads into the murder of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme 27 years ago, the Swedish TT news agency reported Saturday.The police on Thursday, the anniversary of the premier's death, opened a ...
Clermont turn on the power in Paris
02/03/2013 - AFP

Clermont turn on the power in Paris

Clermont moved ahead of long-time leaders Toulon in France's Top 14 on Saturday with a runaway 37-10 win over Stade Francais at the Stade de France.The five points they took away from Paris put them on 69 points, two clear of the Mediterranean side, ...
Saudi arrests 176 at demo for Islamist prisoners
02/03/2013 - AFP

Saudi arrests 176 at demo for Islamist prisoners

Saudi police have arrested 176 people, including 15 women, for holding an illegal protest to demand the release of Islamist prisoners, according to the official SPA news agency.The agency, quoting a police spokesman, said protesters were arrested ...
West Bank clash over fasting prisoner
02/03/2013 - AFP

West Bank clash over fasting prisoner

Hundreds of Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine supporters clashed with Israeli forces on Saturday and expressed support Palestinians held in Israel prisons.An AFP correspondent said some 300 Palestinians threw stones at soldiers and ...
Syria army captures key Aleppo airport road
02/03/2013 - AFP

Syria army captures key Aleppo airport road

The Syrian army said on Saturday it has seized control of a key road linking the central province of Hama to Aleppo international airport, scene of weeks of fierce battles with rebel fighters.The capture of the road will allow the army to deploy ...
Tsumori Chisato celebrates colour at Paris fashion week
02/03/2013 - AFP

Tsumori Chisato celebrates colour at Paris fashion week

Japan's Tsumori Chisato on Saturday feasted on colour at Paris fashion week while Australian Martin Grant oozed sophisticated chic in palate cleansing black, grey and pastel pink.Circular shapes and prints inspired by cascading water dominated the ...
Bangladesh students held for murder of blogger
02/03/2013 - AFP

Bangladesh students held for murder of blogger

Police arrested five students Saturday on charges of murdering an anti-Islamist blogger, as four people were killed in fresh protests over the sentencing to death of an Islamic party leader for war crimes.The students allegedly confessed to hacking ...
One dead in south Yemen clashes: hospital
02/03/2013 - AFP

One dead in south Yemen clashes: hospital

A Yemeni was shot dead and four others wounded on Saturday during clashes between the security forces and armed separatists in the southern city of Aden, a hospital official said.The body of a man, identified as Radwan al-Habashi, was taken to Nakib ...
Australian troops 'kill two Afghan children'
02/03/2013 - AFP

Australian troops 'kill two Afghan children'

Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan shot dead two children tending cattle, officials said Saturday, in an incident likely to escalate tensions over the conduct of international troops.Civilian casualties caused by NATO-led forces have been ...
Tensions mount as tight Kenya poll race enters final lap
02/03/2013 - AFP

Tensions mount as tight Kenya poll race enters final lap

Kenyan presidential hopefuls made a final bid to woo voters Saturday on the last day of campaigning for the tightly fought March 4 elections, the first since deadly post-poll unrest five years ago.Thousands of supporters dancing to music gathered in ...
FIFA to meet Premier League race case protagonists
02/03/2013 - AFP

FIFA to meet Premier League race case protagonists

The new head of FIFA's anti-racism drive has revealed that he intends to meet the players involved in the Premier League's recent racial abuse cases as part of a fact-finding mission.Jeffrey Webb, head of the CONCACAF federation, has been appointed ...
Syria's Assad 'legitimate president' till 2014: Iran
02/03/2013 - AFP

Syria's Assad 'legitimate president' till 2014: Iran

Close Damascus ally Iran expects Bashar al-Assad to remain Syria's president until elections next year, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Saturday."The official position of Iran is that...
Jihadists raise fears of further strife in Syria
02/03/2013 - AFP

Jihadists raise fears of further strife in Syria

Victory in Syria's civil war is still up for grabs, but some rebel commanders fear that even if they do oust President Bashar al-Assad they will then have to take on Islamists they accuse of seeking to hijack their democratic revolution.Leaders of ...
Theaux triumphs in Kvitfjell downhill
02/03/2013 - AFP

Theaux triumphs in Kvitfjell downhill

Adrien Theaux of France on Saturday claimed his second career World Cup win, and first of the season, in the downhill in the Norwegian resort of Kvitfjell.Theaux's time of 1min 29.1sec gave him the victory by a margin of 0.19sec from home favourite ...
Household help harder to find in booming Brazil
02/03/2013 - AFP

Household help harder to find in booming Brazil

Brazil's rising economic prosperity is transforming the lives of millions of domestic workers, who are abandoning jobs cooking and cleaning in homes to find other employment.In this huge South American country, 6.1 million women are domestic ...
Grillo urges debt renegotiation for Italy: report
02/03/2013 - AFP

Grillo urges debt renegotiation for Italy: report

Beppe Grillo, whose anti-establishment party unexpectedly captured a quarter of the vote in Italy's inconclusive elections, wants to renegotiate his crisis-hit country's debt, according to a German report on Saturday."We are being crushed -- not by ...
High-speed bullet train derails in Japan: media
02/03/2013 - AFP

High-speed bullet train derails in Japan: media

A Japanese bullet train carrying about 130 passengers and crew derailed in heavy snow in northern Japan Saturday, although there were no reports of injuries, media reports said.The first car of the "Komachi" No.
Record-breaking Maze wins Garmisch downhill
02/03/2013 - AFP

Record-breaking Maze wins Garmisch downhill

Tina Maze won the women's downhill here on Saturday to break Hermann Maier's 13-year-old record for the most World Cup points collected in a season.Maze's tally of 2024 bettered Maier's record of 2000 points, set in the 1999-2000 season, for the ...
Kenya's presidential race: a tale of two families
02/03/2013 - AFP

Kenya's presidential race: a tale of two families

Kenya's top two presidential contenders will face off against each other in polls Monday for the first time, but bring with them a long history of rivalry from political dynasties dating back more than half a century.Uhuru Kenyatta, deputy prime ...
Old families keep the secret of Timbuktu's manuscripts
02/03/2013 - AFP

Old families keep the secret of Timbuktu's manuscripts

Though armed Islamists have left their town, the grand old families of Timbuktu are still wary of revealing the secret of how they safeguarded thousands of ancient manuscripts from destruction by extremists.Before they fled the fabled desert town in ...
Russia 'concerned' over US report adopted boy died accidentally
02/03/2013 - AFP

Russia 'concerned' over US report adopted boy died accidentally

Russia's foreign ministry expressed concern Saturday over a US coroner's report that said an adopted Russian boy died accidentally, clearing his US parents of wrongdoing."Moscow with concern reviewed reports that according to the official version...
Rise of UKIP spooks Britain's Conservatives
02/03/2013 - AFP

Rise of UKIP spooks Britain's Conservatives

Once a marginal group of anti-Europeans, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is now a force to be reckoned with after its best-ever national election result spooked Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives.UKIP took 28 percent of the vote in ...
One dead, dozens hurt in Egypt Nile Delta clashes
02/03/2013 - AFP

One dead, dozens hurt in Egypt Nile Delta clashes

One person was killed and dozens injured in overnight clashes between police and protesters in Egypt's Nile Delta city of Mansura, a security official told AFP on Saturday.A week of demonstrations in Mansura turned violent late on Friday when police ...
China "fully prepared" for currency war: banker
02/03/2013 - AFP

China "fully prepared" for currency war: banker

A top Chinese banker said Beijing is "fully prepared" for a currency war as he urged the world to abide by a consensus reached by the G20 to avert confrontation, state media reported on Saturday.Yi Gang, deputy governor of China's central bank, ...
Dozens of rebels, troops die in north Syria battle: NGO
02/03/2013 - AFP

Dozens of rebels, troops die in north Syria battle: NGO

A ferocious battle on the outskirts of the northern city of Raqa, near the Turkish border, killed dozens of Syrian troops and rebel fighters on Saturday, a watchdog reported."Fierce clashes pitting rebel fighters from several battalions against ...
Thai tourist industry 'driving' elephant smuggling
02/03/2013 - AFP

Thai tourist industry 'driving' elephant smuggling

Smuggling the world's largest land animal across an international border sounds like a mammoth undertaking, but activists say that does not stop traffickers supplying Asian elephants to Thai tourist attractions.Unlike their heavily-poached African ...
Nadal reaches Mexican Open final
02/03/2013 - AFP

Nadal reaches Mexican Open final

Former world No.
LPGA denies malaria outbreak rumour
02/03/2013 - AFP

LPGA denies malaria outbreak rumour

Golf officials denied rumours of a malaria outbreak on the LPGA Tour on Saturday after Natalie Gulbis and Pak Se-Ri pulled out of the HSBC Women's Champions due to illness and staff members also fell sick.Tournament officials said South Korea's Pak ...
Sydney set to sparkle for gay pride parade
02/03/2013 - AFP

Sydney set to sparkle for gay pride parade

Up to 300,000 spectators were on Saturday expected to brave the rain to watch Sydney's annual Mardi Gras gay pride parade, with an emphasis on the political as the nation prepares for elections.The event, which bills itself as the world's biggest ...
Casillas wary of Barcelona backlash
02/03/2013 - AFP

Casillas wary of Barcelona backlash

Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas is expecting a backlash from Barcelona when the two meet again in the league on Saturday after Madrid's 3-1 victory over the Catalans on Tuesday.The Spanish champions booked their place in the Spanish Cup final with ...
Heat beat Grizzlies, extend win streak to 13
02/03/2013 - AFP

Heat beat Grizzlies, extend win streak to 13

LeBron James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat extended their win-streak to 13 games with a 98-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.James finished with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and had a clutch three pointer ...
Jackie Chan's China appointment draws Hong Kong ire
02/03/2013 - AFP

Jackie Chan's China appointment draws Hong Kong ire

Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan this week joins China's top political advisory body in a move analysts say highlights Beijing's growing "soft power" efforts to project unity between itself and the former British colony.But the 58-year-old actor, ...
United juggle priorities, Benitez hopes for change
02/03/2013 - AFP

United juggle priorities, Benitez hopes for change

Manchester United must weigh the prospect of a 15-point Premier League lead against the importance of next week's Champions League clash with Real Madrid when they entertain Norwich City on Saturday.United go into the weekend with a 12-point ...
Keep up censorship fight, urges Chinese filmmaker
02/03/2013 - AFP

Keep up censorship fight, urges Chinese filmmaker

Chinese filmmakers must fight censorship even if it means removing their name from their own work, one-time banned Chinese director Lou Ye told AFP in an interview ahead of this month's Asian Film Awards in which his crime thriller "Mystery" has ...
Bans appeals for calm in Guinea
02/03/2013 - AFP

Bans appeals for calm in Guinea

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for calm in the West African nation of Guinea, where political violence has left about 130 people wounded."The Secretary-General is concerned about reports of ongoing violent clashes in Guinea, which started ...
Chavez in chemotherapy but in 'good spirits': VP
02/03/2013 - AFP

Chavez in chemotherapy but in 'good spirits': VP

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in "good spirits" as he undergoes chemotherapy in a Caracas military hospital, the vice president said Friday, revealing new details about the leftist leader's treatment.Nicolas Maduro, the leftist leader's ...
Flacco agrees new Ravens contract
02/03/2013 - AFP

Flacco agrees new Ravens contract

Super Bowl most valuable player Joe Flacco has agreed to terms on a new contract with the Baltimore Ravens, the Baltimore Sun reported.The star quarterback and the Ravens are expected to finalize the deal on Monday, the newspaper said.Nothing is ...
Anti-whalers say Japanese fleet heading north
02/03/2013 - AFP

Anti-whalers say Japanese fleet heading north

Militant anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said Japan's entire harpoon fleet had left the Antarctic whale sanctuary on Saturday and was heading north, suggesting that their annual hunt may have come to an end.Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd's ...
Secret recordings played at deadly British blaze trial
02/03/2013 - AFP

Secret recordings played at deadly British blaze trial

A British man accused of killing six of his children in a house fire was heard saying "I didn't mean to do it" in secret recordings made in a prison van, prosecutors claimed on Friday.A court was played the covert recordings of Mick Philpott, 56, ...
Sick British queen cancels Wales visit
02/03/2013 - AFP

Sick British queen cancels Wales visit

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled a planned visit to Wales on Saturday due to a bout of gastroenteritis, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.The 86-year-old monarch had been due to attend a military celebration in the city of Swansea to mark ...
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