Jets coach Claude Noel says goaltending and injuries key in short NHL season

WINNIPEG - Head coach Claude Noel said goaltending and managing injuries will be the Winnipeg Jets key to success in the lockout shortened season.Winnipeg has a new backup goaltender — Al Montoya — behind starter Ondrej Pavelec.Noel says he can't say how much either will play right now.He spoke after an open practice where about 5,000 fans showed up to watch the start of the Jets' training camp.Forward...

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March to protest Russia's adoption ban draws 20,000, energizing anti-Putin opposition

MOSCOW - Thousands of people marched through Moscow on Sunday to protest Russia's new law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, a far bigger number than expected in a sign that outrage over the ban has breathed some life into the dispirited anti-Kremlin opposition movement.Shouting "shame on the scum," protesters carried posters of President Vladimir Putin and members of Russia's parliament...

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Witnesses to a failed rescue by French commandos in Somalia describe mayhem, night of terror

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The night of mayhem and death started with the sound of helicopters above pitch-black fields. When it was over, the French intelligence agent who had been held hostage for more than three years was almost certainly dead, as was at least one French commando, and the home that served as the agent's final jail was destroyed. And now the Somalis living in the muddy farm town had...

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Indian police charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities filed rape and murder charges Thursday against five men accused of the gang rape of a 23-year-old university student on a New Delhi bus, a crime that horrified Indians and provoked a national debate about the treatment of women.Police said they plan to push for the death penalty in the case, as government officials promised new measures to protect women in the nation's...

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Authorities charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape

NEW DELHI (AP) — Five men accused of raping a university student for hours on a bus as it drove through India's capital were charged Thursday with murder, rape and other crimes that could bring them the death penalty.The attack on the 23-year-old woman, who died of severe internal injuries over the weekend, provoked a fierce debate across India about the routine mistreatment of females and triggered...

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US drones kill senior Taliban figure in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An American drone strike in Pakistan has killed a top Taliban commander who sent money and fighters to battle the U.S. in Afghanistan but had a truce with the Pakistani military, officials said Thursday.While the death of Maulvi Nazir was likely to be seen in Washington as affirmation of the necessity of the controversial U.S. drone program, it could cause more friction in already...

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Report: Iran plans Hormuz Strait naval maneuvers

Iran is planning naval maneuvers in international waters near strategic Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of world oil supply passes, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.The report quoted Iran's navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the maneuvers will begin Friday from the Strait of Hormuz to the northern part of Indian Ocean in an area of about 1 million square kilometers (400,000...

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In Egypt Islamists' bastion, discontent creeps up

When election-time rolls around, this impoverished province of farmlands south of Cairo has proven one of the most die-hard bastions of support for Islamists in Egypt, producing lopsided victories for the Muslim Brotherhood and its ultraconservative allies.Last weekend's referendum that approved Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution was no exception. According to final results released Tuesday, nearly...

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Israel to build 942 more homes in east Jerusalem

 Israel has advanced the process of building 942 more settler homes in east Jerusalem under a new fast-track plan to tighten its grip on the territory, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.A government planning committee on Monday moved the project to the advanced stage of asking contractors to submit bids to build them, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. Once a bid...

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Israel revisits ban on female prayer at holy site

 Israel's prime minister has instructed a quasi-governmental Jewish organization to find a solution for non-Orthodox Jewish female groups wishing to pray at one of Judaism's holiest sites.An official said Tuesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency, to look into the matter. The official spoke anonymously according to government regulations.Last...

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Pope decries slaughter of 'defenseless' Syrians

 Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate and encouraging China's new leaders to allow more religious freedom.Delivering the Vatican's traditional Christmas day message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict also encouraged Arab spring...

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Highlights from Egypt's draft constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's draft constitution, which is being voted on in a referendum Saturday, is made up of an introduction, an 11-part preamble and 236 articles. Critics have raised concerns over issues including Islamic law and women's rights:— Shariah (Islamic) lawLike a previous constitution, the draft states, "Principles of Islamic Shariah are the principal source of legislation." For the first...

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Oman holds first municipal elections

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Oman says more than 1,400 candidates are competing in the Gulf nation's first municipal elections, a concession following Arab Spring-linked unrest.Oman has seen sporadic protests demanding more job opportunities and a greater public voice in the tightly run sultanate.The official Omani News Agency says the candidates, including 46 women, are vying Saturday for 192 seats on local...

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Egyptians vote on disputed 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 result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following...

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Correction: Bahrain-Security Summit story

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — In a story Dec. 8 about a security summit in Bahrain, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah said in a speech that Gulf states should quash any Arab Spring-inspired unrest. Prince Abdulaziz said, "Tampering with the stability and security of any Gulf Arab state is considered as tampering with the security...

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Yemen court sentences 3 militants to up to 6 years

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's state security court has sentenced three al-Qaida militants to up to six years in prison for planning attacks on security forces, foreign diplomatic missions and state institutions.The court on Saturday gave the three militants between two and six years each. They have the right to appeal.The judge also accused the three of running a training camp for al-Qaida in the southern...

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Hanukkah festivities begin with candle lighting

JERUSALEM (AP) — Jews around the world ushered in the eight-day Hanukkah festival Saturday evening, lighting the first candles of ceremonial lamps that symbolize triumph over oppression.In Israel, families gathered after sundown for the lighting, eating traditional snacks of potato pancakes and doughnuts and exchanging gifts.Local officials lit candles set up in public places, while families displayed...

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Egypt panel recommends referendum be held on time

CAIRO (AP) — A national dialogue committee said a referendum on a disputed draft constitution will be held on schedule, but President Mohammed Morsi has agreed to rescind the near-absolute power he had granted himself.The statement came after a meeting that was boycotted by the main opposition leaders who are calling for the Dec. 15 vote to be canceled.Morsi had called for the dialogue to try to...

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Syrian rebels get new leadership in bid to unite

BEIRUT (AP) — Rebel commanders from across Syria  have joined forces under a united command they hope will increase coordination between diverse fighting groups and streamline the pathway for arms essential to their struggle against President Bashar Assad.While many of the brigades involved in the fighting are decidedly Islamist in outlook and some have boasted about executing captured soldiers,...

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Egypt's military returns to the political fray

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's powerful military, sidelined last summer by the newly elected Islamist president, edged back Saturday into a political fray boiling over with tensions between secular forces and a government determined to pass a constitution enshrining a central role for religion.A military statement warning of "disastrous" consequences should the standoff continue was widely interpreted as pushing...

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