Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins

ALLAHABAD, India (AP) — Millions of devout Hindus plunged Monday into India's holy Ganges River in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins.Monday is considered the most auspicious day of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, which lasts 55 days and is one of the world's largest religious gatherings.Over 110 million people are expected to take a dip at the Sangam, the place where three rivers...

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AP PHOTOS: Finding the salt of the soil of Benin

DJEGBADJI, Benin (AP) — In this village in Benin, the salt of the Earth means business.The women of Djegbadji, a village near the town of Ouidah, wake up in the morning to dig away the surface of the marshy soil near the Atlantic Ocean. They put the soil into large pots, then draw water from local wells to pour through the dirt.Small spigots at the bottom of each pot allow the water to escape after...

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Zimbabwe: Zimplats agrees to sell shares to gov't

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's largest platinum mining company says it has signed a deal to sell off its majority shareholding to the government as part of the country's black empowerment laws.South African-owned Zimplats chief Terence Goodlace said Friday the sale, worth $971 million, was "non-binding" until the end of June when the Zimbabwe government must pay $153 million for what he called...

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Venezuela VP: Chavez suffers 'new complications'

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" following his cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Sunday, describing the Venezuelan leader's condition as delicate.Vice President Nicolas Maduro spoke with a solemn expression in a televised address from Havana, saying he had spoken with Chavez and that the president sent greetings to his homeland. Maduro did not give...

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Venezuela's official statement on Chavez's health

English translation of statement read by Vice President Nicolas Maduro in Havana on Sunday about the health of President Hugo Chavez:"The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela fulfills its duty by informing the Venezuelan people about the course of President Hugo Chavez's medical treatment after the surgery performed in Havana, Cuba on Dec. 11."As is known, on December 28 we traveled...

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President's brother speaks out on Colombia talks

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A brother of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has revealed that the country's largest guerrilla group had initially proposed to hold peace talks within Colombia or in neighboring Venezuela, rather than in Cuba.Enrique Santos said in an article published in the newspaper El Espectador on Sunday that the government's team had insisted that the talks not be held in Colombia."We...

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Venezuela VP in Cuba to visit ailing Chavez

HAVANA (AP) — Venezuela's vice president arrived in Havana on Saturday in a sudden and unexpected trip to visit President Hugo Chavez as he recovers from cancer surgery.Communist Party newspaper Granma published online a photo of a smiling Vice President Nicolas Maduro being greeted at the airport in the Cuban capital by the island's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez."From there, (Maduro) went directly...

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AP's Honduras correspondent navigates violent land

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Every Saturday morning, one of my taxi drivers pays about $12 for the right to park his cab near a hospital, about two blocks from a police station.But it's not the government that's charging.An unidentified man pulls up in a large SUV, usually brandishing an AK-47, and accepts an envelope of cash without saying a word. Jose and nine other drivers who pay the extortionists...

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Brazil debates treatment options in crack epidemic

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Bobo has a method: Cocaine gets him through the day, when he cruises with a wheelbarrow around a slum on Rio's west side, sorting through trash for recyclables to sell. At night, he turns the day's profit into crack."Sometimes I don't sleep at all; I'm up 24 hours," says Bobo, a former soldier who doesn't use his given name for safety reasons. "I work to support my addiction,...

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President's brother speaks out on Colombia talks

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A brother of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has revealed that the country's largest guerrilla group had initially proposed to hold peace talks within Colombia or in neighboring Venezuela, rather than in Cuba.Enrique Santos said in an article published in the newspaper El Espectador on Sunday that the government's team had insisted that the talks not be held in Colombia."We...

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Venezuela's official statement on Chavez's health

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" following his cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Sunday, describing the Venezuelan leader's condition as delicate.Vice President Nicolas Maduro spoke with a solemn expression in a televised address from Havana, saying he had spoken with Chavez and that the president sent greetings to his homeland. Maduro did not give...

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Unprecedented east Jerusalem building in pipeline

Israel is planning its biggest construction surge in east Jerusalem in decades in a move that critics argue would cement its grip on the contested territory, further complicate any prospects for peace with the Palestinians, and badly rattle Israel's already rocky relations with the rest of the world. With more than 9,000 apartments in various stages of planning and construction, Prime Minister Benjamin...

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Egypt's Mubarak moved to army hospital on health concerns

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian strongman ousted last year after 30 years in power, was moved to an army hospital from a prison hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised fresh concerns about his fragile health. Mubarak, 84, was forced out in a 2011 uprising and sentenced to life in prison in June of this year for his role in killing protesters during the revolt. He was admitted to a prison hospital...

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Secret UK files lift lid on Thatcher-Reagan Falklands contacts

Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote an emotional letter to U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1982 Falklands War calling him the "only person" who could understand her position, formerly secret documents showed on Friday. Newly declassified files from 1982 lift the lid on contacts between the two leaders over the crisis and reveal the extent of the pressure Thatcher felt...

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Japan voters back new PM cabinet, economy top priority

More than half of Japanese voters support new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, media surveys published on Friday showed, with the country's stagnant economy topping the list of problems voters want the hawkish new leader to tackle. Abe took office on Wednesday, after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) landslide election victory this month, promising to revive the world's third-biggest...

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Thatcher papers: 'worst moment' of her life

She called it, simply, the worst moment of her life. It came in March 1982 during the days before the Falklands War, after Argentina established an unauthorized presence on Britain's South Georgia island amid talk of a possible invasion of the Falklands, long held by Britain. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher realized there was little that Britain could do immediately to establish firm control of the...

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Cricket-New Zealand level series thanks to Guptill century

EAST LONDON, South Africa, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A brilliant, unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill led New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory off the final ball against South Africa in the second T20 international on Sunday.Chasing 169 for victory in 19 overs at Buffalo Park, Guptill helped erase the memory of Friday's embarrassing capitulation to 86 all out in Durban with a stunning batting display...

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PREVIEW-Cricket-Australia hobble into Boxing Day test

A last-gasp victory over Sri Lanka in Hobart gave Australia a sorely needed boost after disappointment against South Africa, but a mounting injury toll has tempered the hosts' Christmas cheer in the lead-up to the second test in Melbourne.Captain Michael Clarke, in white-hot form with the bat, remains a doubt to play the Boxing Day test after suffering a hamstring strain at Hobart, while front-line...

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New Zealand level series thanks to Guptill century

A brilliant, unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill led New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory off the final ball against South Africa in the second T20 international on Sunday.Chasing 169 for victory in 19 overs at Buffalo Park, Guptill helped erase the memory of Friday's embarrassing capitulation to 86 all out in Durban with a stunning batting display as the tourists reached their target for...

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Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws?

Almost two weeks after a shooting spree stunned Australia in 1996, leaving 35 people dead at the Port Arthur tourist spot in Tasmania, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country’s gun laws. There hasn’t been a mass shooting since. Now, after the recent shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Australia’s National Firearm Agreement (NFA), which saw hundreds of thousands of automatic...

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