U.S. does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan

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• U.S. does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan
• Exhausted Egyptians count cost of political turmoil
• Pakistani women turn to once-taboo divorce to escape abuse
• India lashes out at Pakistan after deadly Kashmir encounter
• India rape accused seek trial, plead not guilty
• Police fire rubber bullets at South Africa farm strikers
• Crowds of Filipinos pray to statue for health, blessings
• Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez
• Insight: Aleppo misery eats at Syrian rebel support
• Apple CEO visits China for second time in less than a year
• Milder temperatures ease Australian wildfire fears
• AP Exclusive: Richardson pressing NKorean test ban
• Venezuela lawmakers postpone Chavez swearing-in
• Management, reporters defuse China censorship spat
• 'Lincoln' leads race for British Academy Awards
• South African farmer workers stage strike
• Italy: 4 sailors kidnapped off Nigeria freed
• Winter storm brings more misery to Syrian refugees
• 2 Palestinians die from Mideast storm flash flood
• Gunmen kill 2 local Afghan officials in north
• Britain debates: What should European welfare look like?
• Karzai meets Obama: How will they shape a post-2014 Afghanistan?
• Poaching crisis escalates with 'targeted, efficient' slaughter of 12 Kenya elephants
• Border raids give India-Pakistan peace process a reality check
• Hagel nomination: Israelis ask 'what's the big deal?'
• Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe?
• Do French women need feminism?
• France's 'boys will be boys' mentality challenges gender equality
• British soldier killed in latest 'insider attack' in Afghanistan

U.S. does not rule out removing all troops from Afghanistan Posted: 08 Jan 2013 04:48 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration does not rule out a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said on Tuesday, just days before President Barack Obama is due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The comments by U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes were the clearest signal yet that, despite initial recommendations by the top military commander in Afghanistan to keep as many as 15,000 troops in the country, Obama could opt to remove everyone, as happened in Iraq in 2011. ...

Exhausted Egyptians count cost of political turmoil Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:37 PM PST ZAGAZIG, Egypt (Reuters) - These days, craftsmen, shopkeepers and other inhabitants of the Egyptian Delta town of Zagazig are often too busy making ends meet to ponder why life seems to be getting harder every day. But when, exhausted, they finally come home and sit down to their evening meal, conversations inevitably turn to growing hardship and the frightening prospect of cuts in food subsidies as the economy slides further into crisis. ...

Pakistani women turn to once-taboo divorce to escape abuse Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:08 PM PST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani women are slowly turning to divorce to escape abusive and loveless marriages, once taboo and still a dangerous option in this strict Muslim nation even as more women become empowered by rising employment and awareness of their rights. But the number of women with the courage to seek divorce remains small in the face of Pakistan's powerful religious right and growing Islamic conservatism, and in a male-dominated nation where few champion women's rights. ...

India lashes out at Pakistan after deadly Kashmir encounter Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:42 PM PST JAMMU, India (Reuters) - India slammed arch-rival Pakistan on Wednesday over a firefight in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which two of its soldiers were killed, and said the mutilation of one of the bodies was "inhuman". India also summoned Pakistan's envoy to New Delhi to protest over Tuesday's incident, in which - according to India - Pakistani troops crossed the territory's heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC) and fired at one of its army patrols. The body of one of the soldiers was found "badly mutilated" in a forested area on the side controlled by India, Rajesh K. ...

India rape accused seek trial, plead not guilty Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:09 PM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Three of the men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student in a moving bus will plead not guilty to the charges, their lawyer said on Wednesday, citing lapses in the police investigation. Five men have been charged for the assault on the woman in a case that has provoked such outrage that lawyers in the district where the case is being heard have refused to defend the men. ...

Police fire rubber bullets at South Africa farm strikers Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:37 AM PST DE DOORNS, South Africa (Reuters) - Police fired rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of striking farm workers in South Africa's prime grape-growing region on Wednesday after a protest for higher wages turned violent. Scores of police clad in riot gear fired rubber bullets at the strikers, who hurled stones from behind barricades of burning tires, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene in De Doorns, a farming town 100 km (60 miles) east of Cape Town. ...

Crowds of Filipinos pray to statue for health, blessings Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:34 AM PST MANILA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of barefoot Filipinos crowded around a black statue of Jesus Christ believed to bring miracles to the faithful, seeking the answer to prayers in a day-long procession through old Manila on Wednesday. Roman Catholic devotees flocked around the carriage with the wooden, life-sized statue known as the "Black Nazarene" as it crawled through the city, praying that a slight touch would bless them, healing their illnesses and those of their relatives. Others participated to give thanks for answered prayers, such as a new job, a baby and even winning lotteries. ...

Venezuela postpones inauguration for cancer-stricken Chavez Posted: 08 Jan 2013 05:43 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez for a new term due to health problems, the government said on Tuesday, another sign the socialist leader's cancer may be bringing an end to his 14 years in power. The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American OPEC nation since 1999 has not been heard from since surgery on December 11 in Cuba - his fourth operation since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in June 2011. ...

Insight: Aleppo misery eats at Syrian rebel support Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:49 PM PST ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - At a crowded market stall in Syria, a middle-aged couple, well dressed, shuffle over to press a folded note, furtively, into the hand of a foreign reporter. It is the kind of silent cry for help against a reign of fear that has been familiar to journalists visiting Syria over the past two years. Only this is not the Damascus of President Bashar al-Assad but rebel-held Aleppo; the note laments misrule under the revolution and hopes Assad can defeat its "terrorism". ...

Apple CEO visits China for second time in less than a year Posted: 08 Jan 2013 06:41 PM PST SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Chief Executive Tim Cook is meeting with partners and government officials in China on his second visit to the firm's second-largest market in less than a year. China is Apple's fastest-growing market, with the maker of the popular iPhone and iPad opening a raft of retail stores last year. Last month, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in the country in just three days, the company's best ever smartphone launch in the country. ...

Milder temperatures ease Australian wildfire fears Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:50 PM PST COOMA, Australia (AP) — Record temperatures across southern Australia cooled Wednesday, reducing the danger from scores of raging wildfires but likely bringing only a brief reprieve from the summer's extreme heat and fire risk.

AP Exclusive: Richardson pressing NKorean test ban Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:36 PM PST PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that his delegation is pressing North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests and to allow more cell phones and an open Internet for its citizens.

Venezuela lawmakers postpone Chavez swearing-in Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:03 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's decision to postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez as he remains in Cuba battling cancer has prompted furious accusations from the opposition that the government is violating the constitution and should tell the country how ill the socialist leader really is.

Management, reporters defuse China censorship spat Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:30 PM PST GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — Communist Party-backed management and rebellious staff at an influential weekly newspaper stepped back Wednesday from a contentious standoff over censorship that spilled over to the wider public and turned into an unexpected test of the new Chinese leadership's tolerance for political reform.

'Lincoln' leads race for British Academy Awards Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:50 AM PST LONDON (AP) — Historical biopic "Lincoln" leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, with 10 nominations at the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars, including best picture.

South African farmer workers stage strike Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:49 AM PST JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa media say striking farmer workers in Western Cape province are blocking roads in several areas as part of a protest for higher wages.

Italy: 4 sailors kidnapped off Nigeria freed Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:45 PM PST ROME (AP) — Italy's foreign minister says three Italian shipmen and one Ukrainian kidnapped Dec. 23 off Nigeria's coast have been freed.

Winter storm brings more misery to Syrian refugees Posted: 08 Jan 2013 12:58 PM PST ZAATARI, Jordan (AP) — A winter storm is magnifying the misery for tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the country's civil war, turning a refugee camp into a muddy swamp where howling winds tore down tents and exposed the displaced residents to freezing temperatures.

2 Palestinians die from Mideast storm flash flood Posted: 09 Jan 2013 12:44 AM PST RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian official says the fiercest storm to hit the area in a decade has claimed the lives of two West Bank women who drowned after their car was caught in a flash flood unleashed by torrential rains.

Gunmen kill 2 local Afghan officials in north Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:57 PM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Police say gunmen have killed two local government officials in separate attacks in northern Afghanistan.

Britain debates: What should European welfare look like? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 12:30 PM PST On Tuesday, the British government pushed through a parliamentary vote to temporarily cap welfare benefits, setting down a dividing line on an issue that will be pivotal in determining who wins the UK's next general election.

Karzai meets Obama: How will they shape a post-2014 Afghanistan? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:50 AM PST Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington this week will shape the future of Afghanistan, as he and Obama determine the number and role – if any – of US forces in Afghanistan post-2014.

Poaching crisis escalates with 'targeted, efficient' slaughter of 12 Kenya elephants Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:10 AM PST 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.

Border raids give India-Pakistan peace process a reality check Posted: 08 Jan 2013 10:53 AM PST Two days after the Pakistani Army claimed that a cross-border Indian raid killed a Pakistani soldier and wounded another, the Indian Army claimed that Pakistani soldiers crossed its side of the line in Jammu and Kashmir state today and killed two Indian soldiers.

Hagel nomination: Israelis ask 'what's the big deal?' Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:31 AM PST 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?"

Does Depardieu herald Russia as a tax haven for Europe? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:41 AM PST 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 of lavish praise for Mr. Putin's regime.

Do French women need feminism? Posted: 08 Jan 2013 06:41 AM PST When ex-model and former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy made comments in the December issue of Paris Vogue declaring, "My generation doesn't need feminism," Anne-Cécile Mailfert, one of many French women catching the news on her iPhone, was aghast.

France's 'boys will be boys' mentality challenges gender equality Posted: 08 Jan 2013 06:30 AM PST The flip side of feminism in France is a very flip attitude that being macho is an excuse that rightly covers many sins.

British soldier killed in latest 'insider attack' in Afghanistan Posted: 08 Jan 2013 06:07 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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