Golf: Oosthuizen reels in Jamieson to win by one in Durban

DURBAN (Reuters) - World number six Louis Oosthuizen fired a six-under-par 66 to overhaul third-round leader Scott Jamieson and win the Volvo Golf Champions by one shot on Sunday.Jamieson had held a five-stroke advantage after 54 holes but seven birdies from the 2010 British Open champion Oosthuizen gave him a sixth European Tour win on 16-under 272 ahead of Briton Jamieson (72), who nearly holed...

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Golf-Rookies reign supreme at Waialae

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Rookies ruled for a third consecutive day in record style at the Sony Open in Hawaii as good friends Russell Henley and Scott Langley ended Saturday's third round in a tie for the lead.Overnight pacesetter Henley fired a flawless three-under-par 67 at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu while fellow American Langley carded a 65, the pair posting a tournament low of 17-under 193 after...

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Golf-European Tour Volvo Golf Champions scores

Jan 13 (Infostrada Sports) - Scores from the European Tour Volvo Golf Champions at the par-72 course on Sunday in Durban 272 Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 68 64 74 66 273 Scott Jamieson (Britain) 69 64 68 72 274 Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 65 68 73 68 276 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 70 71 67 68 277 Danny Willett (Britain) 69 70 70 68 Julien Quesne (France) 72 67 67 71 278 Branden Grace (South...

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Poll: Spike in Palestinian support for military operations against Israel

Palestinian support for military operations against Israel has registered its most significant jump in 10 years, spurred by the recent Gaza conflict, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, and frustration over a peace process that has been essentially deadlocked for more than four years.The percentage of Palestinians supporting such operations has reached 50.9 percent, up from 29.3 percent in January...

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Pakistani officials say US drones kill 9 militants

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected American drones fired several missiles into three militant hideouts near the Afghan border on Sunday, killing nine Pakistani Taliban fighters, intelligence officials said.The strikes targeted the group's hideouts in the South Waziristan tribal region, the three officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to...

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Pakistan says 1 dead in border clash with India

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and India traded accusations Sunday of violating the cease-fire in the disputed northern region of Kashmir, with Islamabad accusing Indian troops of a cross-border raid that killed one of its soldiers and India charging that Pakistani shelling destroyed a home on its side.The accusation of a border crossing resulting in military deaths is unusual in Kashmir, where a cease-fire...

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UN envoy: Without deal in Syria, think Somalia not Yugoslavia

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.After a week of attempting to craft a peace plan that both President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition would agree to, the United Nations' envoy to Syria said the situation will not stabilize on its own and that a political deal is no closer.“People are talking about a divided Syria being split into a number of small states like Yugoslavia,”...

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Obama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013.

Nearly four years ago, President Barack Obama addressed a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Cairo University and promised a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.In that speech, Mr. Obama outlined a vision for a new era of economic cooperation in the Middle East, one of steadfast US support for democracy, and of reset priorities."I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning...

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On cusp of new year, Chavez's health keeps Venezuleans fixated on future

Dec. 31 is typically a time to recap the biggest events of the year. But in Venezuela this year, news that President Hugo Chavez has suffered “new complications” after surgery on Dec. 11 has kept Venezuelans anxiously fixated on what’s to come in 2013.In downtown Caracas, an annual free concert in Plaza Bolivar to welcome the New Year has been canceled, government officials said. They instead called...

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Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeats

When a controversial constitutional draft went to a vote earlier this month, the Egyptian opposition was, as usual, in disarray.It waffled for weeks between boycotting the referendum and calling for a no vote. When it finally chose the latter only days before the first round of voting on Dec. 15, it was too late to overcome the Muslim Brotherhood and their salafist allies’ strong campaign for a "yes."But...

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Happy new year, Cairo?

I'm back in Cairo after well over a year away, and my first thought was that little has changed.Getting out of Cairo airport is still a chaotic mess of taxi and hotel touts, though easy to navigate if you know the drill. Traffic was worse than I'd have expected for midday on Saturday, but Cairo zahma hardly has a predictable rhythm anyway. Parts of the city are always one flat tire away from being...

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Pressure mounts on Obama to change tactics on Iran

Arguing that further sanctions "are unlikely to stop Iran's nuclear pursuits," a group of Iran experts and senior former officials are calling on the White House to pursue realistic, "serious, sustained negotiations" with Tehran that they say are the best chance to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. The letter to President Obama, from 24 signatories whose professional careers have often been marked by...

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South Korea's president-elect promises 'new era of change'

South Korea’s President-elect Park Geun-hye signaled today the tough policy toward North Korea that she’s likely to pursue when she embarks on her five-year term as president in February. She began the day after winning the presidential election by visiting the national cemetery, bowing before the grave of her father, Park Chung-hee, the long-ruling dictator who was assassinated by his intelligence...

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In India, a Hindu nationalist rebuilds image with Muslim votes

The Hindu nationalist leader of the western state of Gujarat, known for his alleged role in the 2002 riots in which 1,000 Muslims were killed, won his fourth consecutive term as chief minister in a landslide on Thursday. The victory puts the controversial figure on track to be a strong contender for prime minister of India in 2014. Despite the controversy surrounding Chief Minister Narendra Modi,...

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Estela de Carlotto hunts for Argentina's grandchildren 'stolen' decades ago

Estela de Carlotto isn't like most grandmothers. Instead of easing herself into retirement and enjoying the slower pace of life it affords, she remains a dogged workaholic. Every weekday she rises early without fail in order to make the 70-mile round trip from her hometown of La Plata to an office in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. "I had other ideas about what I'd be doing with my life, such...

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Syria fires more Scud missiles as refugee projections climb

A daily summary of global reports on security issues. The head of NATO condemned the Syrian government's return to firing Scud-type missiles yesterday, saying they were "acts of a desperate regime approaching collapse." NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that surveillance captured evidence of the firing of fresh rounds of missiles yesterday morning, Reuters reports, while American officials confirmed...

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