Buffon plays down Italy repeat chances
ROME: Italy and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon on Thursday played down the world champions' chances of retaining their title in South Africa. Italy claimed victory in the World Cup in…
Maradona in charge: Argentina braces itself
BUENOS AIRES: With Diego Maradona coaching the nation's pride in the World Cup, Argentines are bracing themselves for bombshells: a startling outburst, a scandal or even the unspeakable — a…
Baghdad's trade in wildlife anything but tame
BAGHDAD: A dozen fluffy white kittens with piercing blue eyes frolic in a wire cage, perched perilously atop a pen containing two African lion cubs. Neighborhood schoolchildren stop to…
Pakistanis create rival Muslim Facebook
ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis outraged with Facebook over "blasphemous" caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed have created a spin-off networking site that they dream can connect the world's 1.6 billion Muslims. A group…
US reaches 1,000 death marker in Afghan war
KABUL: The American military death toll in Afghanistan has passed the 1,000 mark at a time when President Barack Obama's strategy to turn back the Taliban is facing its greatest…
Hamas faces rising anger after bulldozing Gaza homes
RAFAH: Huddled in a tent near the mound of rubble that used to be his home, Eissa Al-Sidudi says out loud what many Gazans would only mutter in private: Hamas…
Lebanese leaders delay defense strategy talks
BEIRUT: Rival Lebanese politicians have postponed to June 17 talks that were set to resume next week on a national defense strategy, the government said in a statement on Friday.…
US Senate passes $60-billion funding for Afghan war
WASHINGTON: The US Senate has passed a supplementary funding bill worth some $60 billion to finance the conflict in Afghanistan and other key projects including aid to quake-hit Hait. The…
Israel partly opens West Bank road to Palestinians
BEIT SIRA, West Bank: The Israeli military partially opened a West Bank highway to Palestinian drivers on Friday to comply with a ruling of the country's highest court. The road,…
Trial of 3 Tanta Flax officials postponed to June 16
CAIRO: The trial of three Tanta Flax and Oils officials accused of violating the rights of workers at the company was postponed to June 16, 2010 on Wednesday, following a…
