Iraq: New protests break out in Sunni stronghold

RAMADI, Iraq (AP) — Large, noisy demonstrations against Iraq's government flared for the third time in less than a week Wednesday in Iraq's western Anbar province, raising the prospect of a fresh bout of unrest in a onetime al-Qaida stronghold on Syria's doorstep.The rallies find echoes in the Arab Spring. Protesters chanted "the people want the downfall of the regime," a slogan that has rippled across...

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Egypt's Morsi: Constitution sets up a new republic

 Egypt's president said Wednesday that the disputed constitution just approved in a referendum establishes a new republic and he called on the opposition to join a dialogue to heal rifts over the charter and shift the focus to repairing the economy.In the first speech since official results a day earlier showing the constitution was approved, Mohammed Morsi said he acknowledges the "respectable"...

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Syrian minister leaves Beirut for fear of arrest

 Syria's wounded interior minister cut short his treatment at a Beirut hospital Wednesday and returned home for fear of being arrested by Lebanese authorities, while Syria's chief of military police defected to the opposition, becoming one of the highest-ranking officers to switch sides.The twin developments reflected the deepening isolation of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, which...

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Egypt's Morsi: constitution dawn of new republic

 Egypt's Islamist president proclaimed the country's newly adopted constitution as the dawning of a "new republic" in a television address Wednesday, calling on the opposition to join a dialogue with him after a month of violent turmoil and focus on repairing a damaged economy.Mohammed Morsi sought to present the Islamist-drafter charter as the turning of a historic page for Egypt, but his speech...

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New turmoil hits Egypt's tourism

At Egypt's Pyramids, the desperation of vendors to sell can be a little frightening for some tourists.Young men descend on any car with foreigners in it blocks before it reaches the more than 4,500 year-old Wonder of the World. They bang on car doors and hoods, some waving the sticks and whips they use for driving camels, demanding the tourists come to their shop or ride their camel or just give money.In...

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Benitez demands more after Chelsea smash eight

LONDON (Reuters) - Rafael Benitez was still scribbling notes towards the end of Chelsea's 8-0 rout of Aston Villa on Sunday and after the game, the Spaniard said there was plenty of room for improvement.As Chelsea made it 13 goals from two games since returning empty-handed from a 12,000-mile (19,312-kilometre) round trip to Japan for the Club World Cup a week ago, Benitez demanded even more from...

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Soccer-Van Persie has made same impact as Cantona, says Ferguson

MANCHESTER, England, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Robin van Persie's impact at Manchester United has been similar to the stunning transformation brought about by the signing of Eric Cantona, according to manager Alex Ferguson.Dutch striker Van Persie has scored 15 goals since signing from Arsenal, drawing comparisons with Frenchman Cantona whose arrival at Old Trafford was the catalyst for United to win the...

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Soccer-Inter defender Chivu snubs calls for Romania return

BUCHAREST, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Inter Milan defender Cristian Chivu has refused to come out of international retirement to help Romania in next year's 2014 World Cup qualifiers."I was clear and concise two years ago and I do not know why every time I have to repeat the same thing," Chivu, capped 75 times by the Balkan country, told local media on Monday.The versatile 32-year-old defender, who joined...

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Van Persie has made same impact as Cantona, says Ferguson

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Robin van Persie's impact at Manchester United has been similar to the stunning transformation brought about by the signing of Eric Cantona, according to manager Alex Ferguson.Dutch striker Van Persie has scored 15 goals since signing from Arsenal, drawing comparisons with Frenchman Cantona whose arrival at Old Trafford was the catalyst for United to win the league...

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Soccer-Wiesinger and Reutershahn take over at Nuremberg

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 been working with the club's youth academy for a year and a half, and Reutershahn, 52, an assistant under Hecking, will take the reins for the second half of the season."In Michael...

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In Mexico, New Agers hope Dec. 21 brings new era

Doomsday hour is here, at least in much of the world, and so still are we.According to legend, the ancient Mayans' long-count calendar ends at midnight Thursday, ushering in the end of the world.Didn't happen."This is not the end of the world. This is the beginning of the new world," Star Johnsen-Moser, an American seer, said at a gathering of hundreds of spiritualists at a convention center in the...

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Mexico's Maya heartland awaits dawn of new era

 In the darkness before dawn Friday, spiritualists prepared white clothes, drums, conch shells and incense ahead of the sunrise they believe will herald the birth of a new and better age as a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar comes to an end.No one was quite sure at what time the Mayas' 13th Baktun would officially end on this Dec. 21. Some think it already ended at midnight Thursday....

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Puerto Rican TV show faces scrutiny amid outcry

A TV station in Puerto Rico that broadcasts a popular news and gossip show featuring a puppet has announced that the program will now be prerecorded.Joe Ramos, president of WAPA TV, told reporters late Thursday that the SuperXclusivo show will be taped two hours before it is broadcast. The announcement follows a recent outcry over comments that the controversial puppet, known as La Comay, made about...

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Court strikes down Costa Rica in-vitro ban

A Costa Rican ban on in-vitro fertilization has been struck down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a decision that reproductive health groups said could lead to greater access to abortion and some contraception in other Latin American countries.The court said in a ruling late Thursday that a long-standing Costa Rican guarantee of protection for every human embryo violated the reproductive...

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Mexico's Maya heartland greets dawn of new era

Dec. 21 started out as the prophetic day some had believed would usher in the fiery end of the world. By Friday afternoon, it had become more comic than cosmic, the punch line of countless Facebook posts and at least several dozen T-shirts.At the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza, thousands chanted, danced and otherwise frolicked around ceremonial fires and pyramids to mark the conclusion...

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U.S. gun website sued for alleged ties to slayings

 A prominent U.S. gun control group on Wednesday sued a gun auction website it says is linked to a mass shooting at a Wisconsin spa in October and the stalker slaying of a woman near Chicago in 2011.The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence alleges that the design of armslist.com facilitates illegal online sales to unlawful gun buyers with no background checks, and enables users to evade laws...

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Ten Commandments join Isaac Newton's notes online

A copy of The Ten Commandments dating back two millennia and the earliest written Gaelic are just two of a number of incredibly rare manuscripts now freely available online to the world as part of a Cambridge University digital project.The Nash Papyrus -- one of the oldest known manuscripts containing text from the Hebrew Bible -- has become one of the latest treasures of humanity to join Isaac Newton's...

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CERN students make "scientist fiction" zombie film

Murderous zombies are stalking the dark underground passageways of the renowned CERN physics centre near Geneva, hunting young scientists who have survived a devastating failure in its world-famous particle collider.Gaunt men with peeling faces and stony-eyed women dripping blood from their mouths leer around corners and loom from behind wrecked equipment, impervious to the bullets from a gun wielded...

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Fandango launches Oscar-themed web series with Dave Karger

 Fandango is elbowing into the Oscar horse race.The movie-ticket seller launched its first original digital video series Wednesday, "The Frontrunners," which will cover the major contenders for the top awards. The show will feature conversations with a star-studded group of Oscar hunters that includes Richard Gere ("Arbitrage"), Amy Adams ("The Master"), Hugh Jackman ("Les Miserables") and Ben...

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Pope needs help sending out blessing in first tweet

After weeks of anticipation bordering on media frenzy, Pope Benedict solemnly put his finger to a computer tablet device on Wednesday and tried to send his first tweet - but something went wrong.Images on Vatican television appeared to show the first try didn't work. The pope, who still writes his speeches by hand, seems to have pressed too hard and the tweet was not sent right away. So, he needed...

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Egypt's draft charter gets 'yes' majority in vote

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution received a "yes" majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, 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...

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Basic facts on Egypt's constitution referendum

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians vote Saturday in the second round of a highly contentious referendum on a new constitution to replace the one suspended after the 2011 revolution. Here are some basic facts and figures on the vote.— Saturday's vote takes place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces, with some 25 million people eligible to vote. Polls open at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and close at 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), although...

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Egyptian Islamists, opponents clash ahead of vote

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) — Violence erupted between Egypt's divided camps on Friday, the eve of the final round of a referendum on a constitution that has polarized the nation, as Islamists and their opponents pelted each other with stones while police fired tear gas in the streets of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.The contentious referendum, which would bring a greater implementation of Islamic...

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Key events in Egypt's revolution and transition

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians are voting Saturday in the second round of a referendum on disputed draft constitution that has polarized the country and plunged it into its worst crisis since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in last year's uprising.The referendum and draft charter have pitted supporters of the Islamist Morsi against liberal parties, youth groups, Christians and a large group of moderate...

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