AP Photos: Falconers hunting on outskirts of Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Like his ancestors, Iraqi-born falcon trainer Abu Badr al-Anazi swings the carcass of a pigeon to attract a falcon released a few hundred meters (yards) away. The bird of prey arcs over the desert outskirts of Dubai before sinking its talons into the lure.While the methods to develop top-quality hunting falcons date back to antiquity, its transition into a modern...

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Syrian interior minister leaves Beirut hospital

 Syria's interior minister, wounded in a Damascus bombing, headed home on a private jet Wednesday after treatment in Beirut, airport officials said, despite calls from some Lebanese to put him on trial for Syrian actions in their country.Mohammed al-Shaar's departure coincided with the defection of the commander of Syria's military police.Officials at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport...

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Iran ex-president's family sues radical critic

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Four children of an influential ex-Iranian president are suing a radical lawmaker for describing his family as a corrupt "octopus," heating up a struggle between hard-liners and moderates simmering since a contested 2009 election.The latest salvo has rekindled the bitterness between backers of the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and moderates headed by the former leader,...

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Egypt's government sets priorities after charter

 Egypt's government set legislative priorities for parliament on Wednesday as it convened for the first time since a new constitution was passed, asking lawmakers to focus on setting rules for upcoming elections, regulating the media and fighting corruption.The official confirmation Tuesday that the Islamist-drafted constitution passed in a referendum ushered in a new chapter in Egypt's two-year...

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Syria minister leaves Beirut for fear of arrest

 Syria's wounded interior minister rushed home from a Beirut hospital on Wednesday for fear he would be arrested after some Lebanese called to put him on trial for his role in a 1986 crackdown by Syrian troops in Lebanon.In another blow to President Bashar Assad, his commander of military police defected.The defector, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, is one of the most senior members of...

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Wiesinger and Reutershahn take over at Nuremberg

* Bundesliga strugglers act quickly to replace Hecking* Wiesinger will have final say on team matters (Adds quotes, detail)BERLIN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Michael Wiesinger and Armin Reutershahn were appointed joint coaches of struggling Nuremberg on Monday following Dieter Hecking's decision to take over at Bundesliga rivals VfL Wolfsburg at the weekend.Wiesinger, 39, who has recently been working with...

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Soccer-Jeunechamp appeals against ban for hitting reporter

Montpellier defender Cyril Jeunechamp is appealing against a one-year ban for hitting a reporter after a Ligue 1 game last month, the French club said on Monday."Cyril Jeunechamp has decided to appeal his one-year ban," Montpellier said in a statement on their website (www.mhscfoot.com)The French Football League said after a meeting of its disciplinary committee this month that the sanction would...

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Soccer-Radnicki officials arrested in corruption raid - police

Two senior officials at Serbian first division club Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac and a soccer agent were arrested on Monday on suspicion of fraud and abuse of power, the Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) said."FC Radnicki vice-president Nebojsa Vasiljevic and general secretary Darko Stojanovic as well as Zoran Pavlovic, a soccer agent with a FIFA licence, have been arrested on suspicion of illegal dealings...

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Soccer-Zambia retain faith in winning squad

All but two of the squad who took Zambia to the last African Nations Cup title have been retained by coach Herve Renard for their defence in South Africa next month.Renard named a provisional list of 26 players on Monday for the tournament, keeping faith in the rump of the squad who won a first continental championship for Zambia.The only players left out are defender Nyambe Mulenga, who has lost...

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Soccer-Israeli championship preliminary round results and standings

Dec 24 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Israeli championship Preliminary round matches on MondayMonday, December 24Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0 Maccabi Haifa 0Sunday, December 23Hapoel Beer Sheva 0 Beitar Jerusalem 0Saturday, December 22Ashdod 1 Bnei Sakhnin 2Hapoel Akko 0 Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon 2Hapoel Haifa 2 Hapoel Tel Aviv 2Hapoel Ramat Gan 1 Bnei Yehuda 0Maccabi Tel Aviv...

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Venezuela VP hopes Chavez can be sworn in Jan. 10

 Venezuela's vice president said on Wednesday that the government is still aiming for President Hugo Chavez to be sworn in for a new term as scheduled next month, saying his condition has been improving after his cancer surgery in Cuba.Vice President Nicolas Maduro declined to speculate when asked about scenarios if the ailing president is unable to take the oath of office on Jan. 10. He took...

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YPF, Chevron sign Argentina shale pact

Argentina's cash-strapped state energy company signed a partnership deal Wednesday with Chevron Corp. for a "massive development" of the South American country's vast nonconventional oil and gas resources.YPF President Miguel Galuccio and Chevron's Latin America and Africa chief, Ali Moshiri, signed a letter of intent to start on a shale pilot project by drilling more than 100 wells within 12 months...

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Venezuela VP: Chavez conscious and recovering

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is conscious and progressively recovering more than a week after cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Thursday.In a televised address, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Chavez was receiving treatment for a respiratory infection and has been with his family resting."He's well. He's conscious," Maduro said during the speech in central Guarico state. "He's...

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Venezuela court could decide on Chavez swearing-in

The president of Venezuela's Supreme Court said Thursday that it could decide whether it's constitutional to postpone the date of ailing President Hugo Chavez's swearing-in as he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba.Supreme Court President Luisa Estella Morales also said the matter has not yet been brought before the court. Chavez is due to be sworn in for another six-year term on Jan. 10, but complications...

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Ecuador Central Bank president resigns over degree

 Ecuador's Central Bank president has resigned after acknowledging that he presented a fake academic degree 22 years ago — a scandal that prompted the country's leader to call for him to face justice.Central Bank President Pedro Delgado, who is a cousin of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, apologized to the nation, the government and his family on Wednesday at a news conference."With honesty,...

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Internet ayatollah: Iran's supreme leader "likes" Facebook

 Facebook - banned in Iran due to its use by activists to rally government opponents in 2009 - has an unlikely new member: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Launched a few days ago, the Facebook page "Khamenei.ir" displays photographs of the 73-year-old cleric alongside speeches and pronouncements by the man who wields ultimate power in the Islamic Republic.While there are several other Facebook...

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Shine America, Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Producing Comedy Series for Yahoo

 Shine America and Jack Black's Electric Dynamite Productions have partnered to produce "Ghost Ghirls," a new comedy series that will debut in the Spring on Yahoo! Screen, the web giant's video portal.Jeremy Konner, Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci created the show, which stars Lund and Blasucci as a pair of hapless investigators on the hunt for paranormal activity. It has begun production on a...

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As online voting begins, Oscars take extra steps not to leave voters behind

The Academy opened online voting for the first time in his history on Monday. But in the days leading up to the unprecedented move away from paper ballots, AMPAS also took measures to make sure that chunks of its membership aren't left on the sidelines by the digital revolution."We're trying to enfranchise as many members as possible," AMPAS COO Ric Robertson told TheWrap.Months ago, the organization...

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Twitter and Nielsen pair up to publish new "social TV" ratings

 Nielsen Holdings NV, the television viewership measurement company, said on Monday it will partner with Twitter to publish a new set of ratings that measure chatter on Twitter about TV programming.The new measurement, dubbed the "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating," seeks to tap into the stream of viewer commentary and armchair musings generated on "second screens" - the smartphones and tablets perched...

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Florida man sentenced to 10 years in "hackerazzi" case

A Florida man who pleaded guilty to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities to gain access to nude photos and private information was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday.Former office clerk Christopher Chaney, 36, said before the trial that he hacked into the accounts of film star Scarlett Johansson and other celebrities because he was addicted to spying...

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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the expected passage of the charter will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.Islamist President Mohammed Morsi is likely to emerge from a bruising month-long battle with a narrow victory for the constitution...

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Russia welcomes any offer to give Assad refuge

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Syrian President Bashar Assad, but has no plans to make one of its own, Moscow's foreign minister said in the latest comments to suggest a growing distance between the two allies.Sergey Lavrov's remarks on Friday night were among the clearest signs yet that Russia could be preparing for a Syria without Assad, as rebel pressure...

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Bombing kills 4, wounds 11 in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — An explosion at a shop selling CDs killed 4 people in a town northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday.Police officials say a bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded near the shop Saturday afternoon in the town of Qazaniyah. Eleven people were wounded in the attack, and the shop was completely destroyed. Qazaniyah is 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of Baghdad.A medic in...

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Egypt's disputed charter headed toward approval

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus...

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Muni tax break under threat from bipartisan scrutiny in congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The tax break that U.S. states, cities and counties get on the bonds they issue is in growing jeopardy now that Republicans, in addition to Democrats, are considering limits on the exemption.As part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations to raise more federal government tax revenue, Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in reevaluating the costly tax break, said Republican...

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Boehner plan would bring top U.S. income tax rate to 39.6 percent: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's latest "fiscal cliff" proposal to President Barack Obama would see the top income tax rates rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent for those with net incomes above $1 million a year, according to a source familiar with the talks.The source, who asked not to be identified, emphasized that the income tax rate increase would be in...

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House Republicans eye limited fiscal cliff bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With time running short before a Dec. 31 deadline, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner will begin work on legislation that simply would extend current low income tax rates for all families with incomes below $1 million a year, according to an aide.Negotiations will continue with the White House on a broader tax and spending deal, the Boehner aide said.Boehner is presenting...

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