Hagel nomination: Israelis ask 'what's the big deal?'

President Obama’s choice of Chuck Hagel for secretary of Defense, hotly contested by the American Jewish community, has received a muted response in Israel. While some echo concerns that the former Republican senator is dangerous or anti-Semitic, others here ask, “Who’s that?”To be sure, the appointment of a man who is seen as soft on Iran and eager to talk to terrorist groups on Israel’s borders...

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Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe?

French movie star Gerard Depardieu has returned to his native habitat in western Europe following a tumultuous Russia visit that has left behind a nation collectively scratching its head over the instinctively authoritarian Vladimir Putin's quirky decision to bestow Russian citizenship upon a cantankerous foreign tax rebel, and the equally odd spectacle of Mr. Depardieu accepting it amid a fusillade...

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Poaching crisis escalates with 'targeted, efficient' slaughter of 12 Kenya elephants

Kenya has suffered its worst single loss of elephants to poachers on record, with 12 members of one family slaughtered and their tusks hacked out in just a few hours last weekend.Eleven adults and one infant calf died in a “targeted and efficient” attack highlighting the growing professionalism of poachers bankrolled by international criminals supplying soaring demand for ivory in the Far East. The...

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Cricket-Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in third test

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets on the fourth day of the third test at Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday to sweep the series 3-0.Scores: Australia 141-5 (R. Herath 3-47) & 432-9 dec (M. Wade 102 not out, P. Hughes 87, D. Warner 85, M. Clarke 50; R. Herath 4-95) v Sri Lanka 278 (Dimuth Karunaratne 85, D. Chandimal 62 not out, M. Jayawardene 60; M. Johnson 3-34,...

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Cricket-Australia v Sri Lanka - third test scoreboard

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Scoreboard after Australia beatSri Lanka by five wickets after tea on the fourth day of thethird test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday:Australia won the toss and chose to bowl firstSri Lanka first innings 294Australia first innings 432-9 dec.- -Sri Lanka second innings (overnight 225-7)D. Karunaratne c Wade b Bird 85T. Dilshan c Hughes b Johnson 5M. Jayawardene c Clarke...

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UPDATE 4-Cricket-Hussey finishes on a high with Australia sweep

* Australia win by five wickets* Sweep series 3-0 (updates after Australia win)SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Michael Hussey ended his test career on a high on Sunday when Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets with a day to spare in the third test to sweep the series 3-0.The 37-year-old was deprived of the ultimate fairytale ending when his batting partner Mitchell Johnson scored the winning run but...

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Venezuelans take in shifting news on Chavez health

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans began 2013 with a respite from shifting news about the health of President Hugo Chavez, who hasn't been seen in public since his fourth cancer-related surgery three weeks ago.The country was largely peaceful Tuesday after a New Year's Eve that saw a main government-organized celebration canceled due to Chavez's illness.Jorge Rodriguez, a Chavez ally and mayor...

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Venezuelan VP says he has visited Chavez twice

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president says he has visited ailing President Hugo Chavez twice in Cuba and plans to return home to Caracas.Vice President Nicolas Maduro says he spoke with Chavez during their visits. Maduro says the president has "the same strength as always," despite a health situation that he described as complex three weeks after his cancer surgery.Maduro says he will...

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Venezuelans on edge amid shifting news on Chavez

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez alike nervously welcomed the new year Tuesday, left on edge by shifting signals from the government about the Venezuelan leader's condition three weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba.With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised interview in Cuba that he had...

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Chavez's VP says ailing leader still 'delicate'

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's vice president is returning home Wednesday from a visit with Hugo Chavez in Cuba and says the ailing president's condition remains "delicate" three weeks after his cancer surgery.With rumors swirling that Chavez had taken a turn for the worse, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that he had met with the president twice and had spoken with him."He's totally...

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Venezuela opposition: Chavez secrecy feeds rumors

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's opposition demanded that the government reveal specifics of President Hugo Chavez's condition Wednesday, criticizing secrecy surrounding the ailing leader's health more than three weeks after his cancer surgery in Cuba.Opposition coalition leader Ramon Guillermo Aveledo said at a news conference that the information provided by government officials "continues...

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Asia stocks fall as US budget negotiations stall

BANGKOK (AP) — Heightened uncertainty about the outcome of budget negotiations in Washington among President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers drove Asian stock markets lower Friday.If a compromise is not in place by Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and spending cuts will kick in automatically — a one-two punch to the economy that many experts fear will...

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Pakistani polio workers get police protection

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Under police guard, thousands of health workers pressed on with a polio immunization program Thursday after nine were killed elsewhere in Pakistan by suspected militants who oppose the vaccination campaign.Immunizations were halted in some parts of Pakistan and the U.N. suspended its field participation everywhere until better security was arranged for its workers. The violence...

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Japan's next leader wants freer rein for military

TOKYO (AP) — Imagine that North Korea launched a missile at Japan. Tokyo could — and would certainly try to — shoot it down. But if the missile were flying overhead toward Hawaii or the continental United States, Japan would have to sit idly by.Japan's military is kept on a very short leash under a war-renouncing constitution written by U.S. officials whose main concern was keeping Japan from rearming...

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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...

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AP PHOTOS: A photo journey through N.Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — My window on North Korea is sometimes, quite literally, a window — of a hotel room, the backseat of a car, a train. Fleeting moments of daily life present themselves suddenly, and they are opportunities to show a side of the country that is entirely at odds with the official portrait of marching troops and tightly coordinated pomp that the Pyongyang leadership presents...

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