Israel PM vows to proceed with disputed settlement

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel's prime minister pledged Sunday to move ahead with construction of a new Jewish settlement in a strategic part of the West Bank, speaking just hours after Israeli forces dragged dozens of Palestinian activists from the area.The activists pitched more than two dozen tents at the site on Friday, laying claim to the land and drawing attention to Israel's internationally...

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Syrian warplanes bomb rebellious Damascus suburbs

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian fighter jets on Sunday bombed Damascus suburbs in a government offensive to dislodge rebels from strategic areas around the capital, activists said, as clashes raged around army bases and airfields in the country's north.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes were hitting towns and villages around the capital, while regime forces targeted other neighborhoods...

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Palestinian premier urges Arabs to pay pledged aid

CAIRO (AP) — The Palestinian prime minister warned Sunday that his government could fail to meet its obligations to its people because of a cash crunch, and urged Arab countries to deliver on promised aid.Salam Fayyad met with Arab League members to discuss ways to raise the $100 million they pledged earlier to his Palestinian Authority. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said seven countries have responded...

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AP Interview: Palestinian PM warns of cash crisis

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.The cash crunch has gradually worsened in recent years, and the Palestinian Authority now has reached the point of not being...

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Defiant Assad pledges to continue fighting

BEIRUT (AP) — A defiant Syrian President Bashar Assad rallied a chanting and cheering crowd Sunday to fight the uprising against his authoritarian rule, dismissing any chance of dialogue with "murderous criminals" that he blames for nearly two years of violence that has left 60,000 dead.In his first public speech in six months, Assad laid out terms for a peace plan that keeps himself in power, ignoring...

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Egypt Copts mark Christmas with fear of future

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's minority Christians were celebrating their first Christmas after the election of an Islamist president and a new pope — and following adoption of a constitution many argue has an Islamist slant.Christians gathered in Cairo's main cathedral Sunday for Midnight Mass on the eve of Orthodox Christmas led by their new pope. Pope Tawadros II was elected in November to replace longtime...

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Blasts aimed at Iraqi Shiites, police kill 23

 Insurgents launched a wave of attacks across Iraq on Monday, primarily targeting Shiite communities and pilgrims and killing at least 23 people, officials said.The attacks appeared aimed at undermining security and confidence in the government by fomenting sectarian conflict. Overall violence has dropped since the nation neared a civil war several years ago, but attacks of a sectarian nature...

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Egypt arrests former Israeli soldier in Sinai

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian security officials say they have arrested a former sergeant in the Israeli army after he illegally entered from Israel into the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.The authorities say the 24 year-old unarmed Israeli entered Egypt near the Taba crossing.He was detained by Egyptian authorities Monday. The officials say he was trying to reach the Gaza Strip through Sinai to fight...

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Israel eases ban on building materials for Gaza

 Israel has started allowing long-banned building materials into the Gaza Strip, its first key concession to the territory's Hamas rulers under a cease-fire that ended eight days of intense fighting last month, the military said Monday.Israel offered an added incentive to the Islamic militant Hamas as well, with the military saying shipments will continue and a 5-year-old blockade of the Palestinian...

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Yemen: Al-Qaida offers bounty for US ambassador

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen has offered to pay tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa or an American soldier in the country.An audio produced by the group's media arm, the al-Malahem Foundation, and posted on militant websites Saturday said it offered three kilograms of gold worth $160,000 for killing the ambassador, Gerald Feierstein.The group...

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Showrooming little threat to clothiers in ho-hum holidays

 In retail, showrooming has not hit shirts yet.Showrooming, the retail term for shoppers who try a product, then buy it cheaper on Amazon.com or other websites, has driven retailers to the point of hiding barcodes, improving their own websites and coming up with methods to get people to complete their purchase in the store.But brand-name clothing retailers have an advantage over companies that...

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Canada spending growth sluggish in November, Mastercard says

 Canada's holiday shopping season got off to a slow start in November with retail sales rising only 1.3 percent from the previous year, compared with 4.2 percent growth a year earlier, according to data released by MasterCard on Thursday.Still, the shopping season was still young in November. MasterCard Advisors, the payment company's research and consulting division, found that in recent years,...

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Canadian speedskater Denny Morrison breaks leg while cross-country skiing

Canadian speedskater Denny Morrison is expected to be out of action until March after breaking his leg while cross-country skiing.Speedskating Canada says Morrison broke the fibula in his left leg Saturday while training on his own in Fernie, B.C., where he was visiting family for the holidays.Morrison, the reigning world champion in the 1,500 metres and current World Cup leader in the 1,000 metres,...

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Humperdinck's 'Haensel und Gretel' a treat for young and old at Vienna's Volksoper

At the end of the evening, the witch was toast Sunday — or more precisely a gingerbread cookie — and the audience at Vienna's Volksoper loved it.Of course, with many at the performance of "Haensel und Gretel" at Vienna's second opera house under the age of 6, one could argue that it was an easy sell. And yes, the fairy tale set to music by Engelbert Humperdinck is bound to please kids, even if the...

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Insight: Security fears dogged Canada debate on China energy bid

In September, two months after China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd made an unexpected $15.1 billion bid for Canadian energy company Nexen Inc, Canada's spy agency told ministers that takeovers by Chinese companies may threaten national security.The rare warning from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which was disclosed to Reuters by intelligence sources, did not stop the takeover. That...

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