American ‘JihadJane’ charged with terror recruiting ( March 10th, 2010 )
WASHINGTON (AFP)
A US woman operating online under the name “JihadJane” has been indicted for recruiting people in the United States, Europe and Asia in a bid to carry out terror plots.
Pennsylvania resident Colleen LaRose, 46, faces charges of “conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists,” among other charges, the indictment said.
She sought to recruit men [...]
Troussier, Hiddink ‘bidding for Ivory Coast job’ ( March 10th, 2010 )
TOKYO (AFP)
French coach Philippe Troussier is vying with Dutchman Guus Hiddink for the job to guide the Ivory Coast through this year’s World Cup, a Japanese newspaper reported Wednesday.
“I got an offer (from the Ivory Coast). But there is another candidate that is Mr. Hiddink,” Troussier, who led Japan to the World Cup last-16 round [...]
Oil prices claw back ground ( March 10th, 2010 )
LONDON (AFP)
World oil prices firmed on Wednesday before the eagerly-awaited weekly snapshot on US energy inventories in leading consumer the United States.
Traders meanwhile digested news that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has lifted its forecast for world oil demand growth.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, added 32 cents to [...]
Russians suspend gymnastics star for doping ( March 10th, 2010 )
MOSCOW (AFP)
Rising Russian gymnastic star Kristina Goryunova will not be able to compete in the 2012 Olympics after being suspended for a year by her national federation on Wednesday for using banned medication, local media reported.
Reports said that the samples taken from the 17-year-old at the national championships in November 2009, contained traces of the [...]
Freed Spanish hostage returns home from Mali ( March 10th, 2010 )
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP)
Spanish aid worker Alicia Gamez returned home Wednesday hours after she was freed from a four-month kidnapping ordeal at the hands of Al-Qaeda in Mauritania.
A smiling Gamez stepped off a plane at Barcelona’s airport, and said she was “happy to be home” but needed “time to recuperate”.
“What I want now is to rest [...]
Top Sunni cleric Tantawi dies of heart attack ( March 10th, 2010 )
CAIRO (AFP)
Sunni Islam’s top cleric Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, a controversial figure in Egypt, died on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia of a heart attack suffered while boarding a plane, state media said.
Tantawi, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar — Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning — had been in Riyadh to attend the King Faisal awards [...]
Euro dogged by downbeat German exports data ( March 10th, 2010 )
LONDON (AFP)
The euro pulled lower against the dollar on Wednesday in the wake of disappointing data in Germany, while traders tracked Europe’s public debt woes, analysts said.
In morning London deals, the European single currency eased to 1.3586 dollars from 1.3598 dollars late in New York on Tuesday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose to 90.39 [...]
Asia falls flat at hockey World Cup ( March 10th, 2010 )
NEW DELHI (AFP)
Former Olympians and coaches on Wednesday lamented the poor showing by Asian teams at the men’s field hockey World Cup, saying Europe and Australia were now the masters of the game.
None of the three Asian teams in the 12-nation tournament - South Korea, India and Pakistan - qualified for Thursday’s semi-finals, the first [...]
Russian tycoon wins libel case over radiation murder ( March 10th, 2010 )
LONDON (AFP)
Exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky won £150,000 ($220,000, 165,000 euros) in libel damages on Wednesday over a claim he was linked to the murder of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko.
A judge in London said there was “no evidence” that Berezovsky — a fierce critic of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin — was behind the poisoning by [...]
Nigerian activists seek sack of Yar’Adua’s cabinet ( March 10th, 2010 )
ABUJA (AFP)
Around 5,000 Nigerian activists staged a march Wednesday to demand the sacking of the cabinet and a public appearance by ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua, two weeks after he returned to the country.
The police stopped the protesters — led by prominent Lagos pastor Tunde Bakare — near the presidential villa where they had planned to [...]