At least nine people were killed across Afghanistan on Wednesday, including two children who were struck by a bomb blast while gathering firewood, officials said.
	The fatal blast took place in the Zhari district of the southern Kandahar province. A separate bomb blast in the Shahwali Kot district of Kandahar wounded another 10 children, leaving seven in critical condition, said Samim Khopalwaq, the spokesman for Kandahar's governor.
	"Our children were there to collect wood to burn when they were hit by this bomb," said Bismallah Jan, the father of one of the wounded children. "The government should have cleared the area, it their duty to protect us."
	Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and children are often killed or wounded while playing, collecting firewood or tending animals.
	In the eastern Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, a bomb blast killed Judge Mohammad-ul Hassan and wounded two of his daughters in the provincial capital Jalalabad, ...

Afghanistan: Children among 9 killed in attacks

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When Pope Francis visits the Philippines next week, traffic enforcers won't let the capital's streets get gridlocked while they answer the call of nature.
	The chief of traffic management in Manila is requiring that traffic enforcers use adult diapers while they work. About 2,000 traffic enforcers will be on duty during the January 15-19 papal visit.
	Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino also encourages people who will wait for hours just to see the pope to also wear diapers.
	Tolentino said today the prospect of wearing diapers while on duty was "well received" by his men.
	Tolentino says the idea will be tested on Friday by 800 traffic enforcers who work shifts during the nearly 24-hour annual procession of the Black Nazarene.

Manila traffic enforcers to wear diapers during pope's visit

Boxing great Muhammad Ali has won his bout with a severe urinary tract infection.
     The three-time world heavyweight champion was released from an undisclosed hospital last night, family spokesman Bob Gunnell said today.
     Ali is back home and looking forward to celebrating his 73rd birthday on Jan. 17 with his family and friends, Gunnell said.
     "He's in great spirits and enjoying being back home," Gunnell said. "He's back in his daily routine."
     Ali has been waging a battle with Parkinson's disease for years.
     Ali was hospitalized Dec. 20 with what was initially believed to be a mild case of pneumonia. Doctors later determined Ali was suffering from a severe urinary tract infection and not pneumonia, Gunnell said.
     The Ali family appreciates the outpouring of support and well wishes, and also thanked his team of doctors and nurses, he said.
     Ali and his wife, Lonnie, have homes in Paradise Valley, Arizona; Berrien Springs, Michigan; and in Louisville. ...

Boxing great Muhammad Ali released from hospital

A Saudi-linked newspaper is reporting that at least two of the four gunmen involved in an attack along the kingdom's border with Iraq earlier this week were Saudi nationals.
	The al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper today quoted unnamed officials saying that one of the two Saudis believed to be involved in Monday's attack had a prior security record. The officials say DNA tests are being performed to confirm the attackers' identities.
	The pan-Arab daily has close ties to the royal family. It is published by a firm whose chairman is the son of Saudi Arabia's crown prince.
	The attack on the Saudi security patrol near the country's border with Iraq killed three soldiers and wounded at least three more. All four militants died. No group has claimed responsibility.

Report: Saudis behind attack along Iraq border

Thai police have arrested a man they say posted messages and photos on Facebook that insulted the king, adding to the skyrocketing number of lese majeste cases in the country.
	Thailand's lese majeste law is the world's harshest, mandating long prison sentences for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the monarchy. The charges have often been used to harass political enemies.
	National police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri said today that 47-year-old Pongsak Sribunpheng broke the lese majeste law and a related computer crime law by posting the insulting Facebook content in 2012.
	Prawut said Pongsak confessed to the crimes and said he took part in the Red Shirt political movement. The Red Shirts were allied with the former Thai government, which was ousted by a military coup last year.

Thai man accused of insulting king with Facebook postings

Insurgent attacks today across Afghanistan killed seven people, including a provincial judge, police said.
	In eastern Nangahar province bordering Pakistan, a bomb blast killed Judge Mohammad-ul Hassan and wounded two of his daughters in the provincial capital Jalalabad, police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal said. The judge served in neighbouring Laghman province.
	In another attack, police spokesman Jawed Basharat said insurgents killed six people working on a road project, including the head of a construction company, in northern Baghlan province.
	Basharat said the attack also wounded one person and two remain missing.
	In eastern Khost province, three suicide bombers attacked a police academy, with one blowing himself up in a car and the other two shot by police, a statement from the provincial governor's office said. It said the attack wounded three police officers.
	The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks in Nangarhar and Khost provinces.
	Taliban insurgents ...

Insurgent attacks across Afghanistan kill 7, including judge

Snow fell today across the Middle East as a powerful winter storm swept through the region, forcing Syrians who have fled their country's civil war to huddle for warmth in refugee camps.
	The storm dumped rain and hail on Lebanon's coast and heavy snows in the mountains and central Bekaa Valley, where gas stations, banks, schools and most shops closed.
	While the storm disrupted life for everyone, it proved particularly trying for the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who live in tents and makeshift shelters in the Bekaa.
	Near the town of Anjar, men used brooms and sticks to try to clear the heavy snow from the tops of refugee tents, fearing the weight might cause the shelters to collapse.
	Inside the tents, adults could be seen huddling around the wood burning stoves to try to keep warm.
	Elsewhere, Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip declared a state of emergency over the storm.
	An 8-month-old Palestinian infant in the Tulkarem refugee camp killed in a ..

Snow falls in Middle East as strong winter storm strikes

Parts of Southeast Asia are suffering slow Internet connections after an undersea cable linking the region to the US was cut earlier this week.
	Viettel Mobile, Vietnam's largest mobile service operator, said today that repairing the broken cable, located in the Vietnamese section of the 20,000-kilometre system, will take from three weeks to one month and depends on weather conditions.
	The cable is part of the Asia-America Gateway linking Southeast Asian countries with the United States through Guam and Hawaii. The cause of damage was unknown.
	Military-owned Viettel said it has transferred its international Internet traffic to other cable networks.
	A Vietnamese news report said Internet traffic between Vietnam and Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the US has been slowed.

Parts of SE Asia suffer slow Internet as undersea cable cut

All 13 people aboard a New Zealand skydiving plane that suffered an apparent engine failure today managed to leap out in parachutes moments before the plane plunged into a lake, according to authorities.
	Police spokeswoman Kim Perks said there were six passengers, six crew members and a pilot aboard the plane operated by Skydive Taupo. She said all of them landed safely and that some had been checked by medical staff but she didn't believe any suffered significant injuries.
	She said each of the crew members had planned to tandem dive with one of the passengers, and they managed to do just that as they abandoned the aircraft after the apparent engine failure. She said the pilot also leaped to safety in a parachute.
	Roy Clements, the chief executive of Skydive Taupo, said in a brief statement the plane encountered an engine problem shortly after it had taken off. He said transport authorities were on their way to the crash site to begin an investigation.
	On its website, the company .

All 13 on New Zealand skydiving plane leap out before crash

Boston residents in the newly-formed United States valued a robust press as much as their history and currency if the contents of a time capsule dating back to a decade after the Revolutionary War are any guide.
	When conservators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston gingerly removed items from the box yesterday, they found five tightly folded newspapers, a medal depicting George Washington, a silver plaque, two dozen coins, including one dating to 1655, and the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
	While some of the coins appeared corroded, other items were in good condition and fingerprints could be seen on the silver plaque.
	The capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts Statehouse when construction began in 1795. It was placed there by Revolutionary era luminaries including Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, governor of Massachusetts at the time.
	The contents were shifted to what was believed to be a copper box in 1855 and placed back into the foundation of the ...

Time capsule dating to 1795 included coins, newspapers

Officials in Yemen say the death toll in a suicide bombing targeting police cadets in the capital, Sanaa, has doubled, with at least 30 people killed.
	Security officials say the blast happened today morning near Sanaa's police academy as the cadets gathered. They say the death toll likely will rise.
	They say the suicide bomber drove a minibus and his attack wounded at least 40 people.
	No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Yemen's local al-Qaida branch has carried out similar attacks in the past.
	The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to brief journalists.
	At the scene of the blast, the dead and wounded lay on a sidewalk against a wall. Water sprayed by firefighters to extinguish the blaze mixed with their pooled blood. A police officer's certificate sat in it, soaked crimson. A charred taxi cab smoked near what remained of the minibus, meters (yards) from a gate for the police academy.
	"What happened is we were all ..

Officials say suicide bomber kills at least 30 in Yemen

New Zealand wrapped up a 193-run victory over Sri Lanka today to complete a 2-0 win in the two-test series and continue its fine form in test cricket.
     Mark Craig took 4-53 as New Zealand bowled out Sri Lanka for 196 with a session to spare at the Basin Reserve. The Black Caps have not lost a test series since defeat in England in March, 2013.
     Since then New Zealand has record home series wins against India, the West Indies and Sri Lanka, defeated the West Indies away and has drawn series in Bangladesh and against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
     The latest test win -- having trailed by 135 runs on first innings -- followed an eight-wicket victory in the first test and was its seventh in 10 tests since February.
     "The last little while we've played some outstanding cricket," New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said. "To be able to fight our way out of an incredibly precarious position and not just save the test, to go on and win it in the manner that we did is .

New Zealand completes 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka

German luxury automobile maker Mercedes-Benz has said that it's moving its US headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta, in part to be closer to its manufacturing facility in Alabama.
	Georgia Gov Nathan Deal said yesterday the company accepted an incentive package from the state but said he couldn't discuss the details yet.
	The Fulton County Development Authority met briefly yesterday to discuss its own incentive package for Mercedes' estimated USD 93 million facility but provided no details.
	The decision comes after weeks of lobbying some of it public by New Jersey officials who sought to keep the company in Montvale, at a campus that's about a five-minute drive from BMW's North American headquarters.
	About 1,000 jobs are to be moved starting in July. The company said it will move first to a temporary facility in Atlanta before moving into a new space in about two years.
	Deal and Georgia economic development officials would not discuss the location Mercedes is pursuing in metro ...

Mercedes moving headquarters from New Jersey to Atlanta

Rescuers say an avalanche in the Italian Alps set off a chain of smaller avalanches that have killed one skier and injured another.
	The Aiut Alpin volunteer rescue service said the avalanche occurred while around 20 people were skiing down the South Tyrol peak known as Cima della Neve in the Rives di Tures at midday yesterday.
	Helicopters flew the survivors from the mountain. Avalanche warnings of "high danger" had been posted because of strong winds and fresh snow in the area.
	The rescue service said it wasn't authorised to identify the victim. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that he was an experienced Italian skier from the South Tyrol area.

Avalanche in Italian Alps kills 1 skier, injures another

Former Virginia Gov Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to two years in prison for taking money and gifts in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement while he was in office.
	McDonnell, a Republican, was once on the short list to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate in 2012. He was sentenced today after being convicted of 11 counts of corruption.
	The former governor and his wife, Maureen, were found guilty in September. She was convicted of eight counts and will be sentenced in February.
	Lawyers for the former governor asked a judge to order three years of community service.
	Prosecutors recommended a sentence of at least 10 years in prison.
	The six-week jury trial exposed details of the former first couple's strained marriage and shaky finances.

Former Virginia governor gets 2 years for corruption

Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal returns today to Iowa, a small heartland state that plays an outsized role in the presidential nominee process, where he'll meet with pastors and again look for support among Christian evangelicals for a possible White House campaign.
	Today's trip to Iowa will be his fifth since June. Jindal has also spoken to pastors in New Hampshire, another state that is one of the first to hold presidential nominating contests, at a gathering of faith leaders and conservative activists in Washington.
	Jindal, the first Indian-American governor, is Catholic convert raised by Hindu parents. He has fostered relationships with religious conservatives since taking office in 2008.
	Jindal opposes abortion and gay marriage, and pushed for the creation of a voucher program in Louisiana that uses tax dollars to pay for children to attend religious schools.
	The stated reason for Jindal's Iowa trip is to talk about his headlining appearance later this month at a prayer rally that 

Weighing 2016 bid, US Gov. Jindal travels to Iowa

A monitoring group expressed concerns today that the military presence in the former war zone of northern Sri Lanka may lower voter turnout in the presidential election Thursday.
	Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu from the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said that concerns have been raised about the vote in the north in particular and about the deployment of security forces that could have "an adverse impact on the voter turnout."
	Sri Lanka's military has been accused of intimidating opposition voters in previous elections and campaigning for President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
	Amnesty International also urged the authorities to ensure that the people's right to political participation is respected.
	"Reports of a potential organized plan to obstruct voters on election day - allegedly orchestrated by the government through the military - is also a matter of grave concern," the group's Deputy Asia Pacific Director David Griffiths said in a statement.
	Many violent incidents, most against the 

Monitors: Military presence may deter Sri Lankan voters

Francesca Hilton, the daughter of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor and Hilton Hotel founder Conrad Hilton, has died in Los Angeles at age 67.
	Publicist Edward Lozzi says Francesca Hilton was pronounced dead yesterday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after an apparent heart attack and stroke.
	Hilton in recent years battled stepfather Frederik von Anhalt over control of her mother's finances, with a judge at one point ordering von Anhalt to allow Hilton to visit Gabor.
	Gabor is now 97 and requires around-the-clock care after health crises including a broken hip, a leg amputated because of gangrene, blood clots and other ailments.
	Lozzi says Hilton worked as a professional photographer, actress and as a publicist in the 1980s.

Daughter of Zsa Zsa Gabor dies in Los Angeles

A powerful winter storm began striking across the Middle East today, bringing a bitter cold to Syrian refugees huddled in Lebanon and blanketing Cairo in a sandstorm.
	In Lebanon, officials said they expected a snowstorm tonight in the Bekaa Valley, where hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria's civil war live, many in tents.
	Outside some makeshift tents near the Lebanese town of Anjar, some refugees collected wood or cleaned their wood-burning stoves in anticipation of the storm, while others placed sandbags at the base of their tents to help anchor the shelters and protect against flooding.
	The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said it would "keep vulnerable refugees as warm as we can" in Jordan, which also hosts many who fled the war in Syria.
	A sandstorm engulfed Egypt's capital Cairo today afternoon, blocking out the sun as rush-hour traffic began.
	Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said major roads leading in and out of the city would be closed to prevent a repeat of the ..

Wintry weather strikes Middle East, bringing cold, sandstorm

An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian to life in prison after convicting him of masterminding the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers, which sparked a chain of events that led to last summer's Gaza war.
	The court handed Hussam Qawasmeh three life sentences, one for each teen, today.
	Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, were abducted and killed in June while hitchhiking home in the West Bank.
	Israel launched an extensive search operation and arrested hundreds of Hamas members in the West Bank.
	Hamas stepped up rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting a military response that escalated into a 50-day war.
	More than 2, 100 Palestinians and 72 Israelis were killed.

Palestinian behind killings that sparked Gaza war sentenced

The federal security commissioner for the western state of Michoacan says nine civilians have been killed in two clashes between the army and armed civilians.
	Alfredo Castillo says the confrontations in the town of Apatzigan began this morning when the army tried to take control of city hall, which had been held for days by civilians.
	Castillo says in the first clash, one civilian was killed and authorities detained 44 people with 13 long-barreled guns and 23 vehicles.
	He says that soldiers were attacked by armed men as they were transporting the seized vehicles, and eight civilians died in that confrontation.

AP

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