British soldier killed in latest 'insider attack' in Afghanistan

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.A man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform opened fire on on fellow Afghan troops and British coalition forces in Helmand Province yesterday, killing at least one British soldier in the first insider attack of 2013. The shooting shines the spotlight once again on concerns about the Afghan National Army's ability to assume responsibility for...

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France's 'boys will be boys' mentality challenges gender equality

The flip side of feminism in France is a very flip attitude that being macho is an excuse that rightly covers many sins.The French may duly proclaim and agree with gender equality and modern feminist notions. But in practice, those ideas run up against a powerful, culturally sanctioned "old-boy mentality" in Paris – an attitude, often held among power elites of both sexes, that "boys will be boys."Recommended:...

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Do French women need feminism?

When ex-model and former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy made comments in the December issue of Paris Vogue declaring, "My generation doesn't need feminism," Anne-Cécile Mailfert, one of many French women catching the news on her iPhone, was aghast."What? No way! We have to do something," she characterizes the collective response of the organization she serves as spokesperson for, Osez Le Féminisme...

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Cricket-Sri Lanka not good enough in Australia, says Jayawardene

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Mahela Jayawardene signed off his second stint as Sri Lanka captain in disappointment on Sunday after a 3-0 series sweep in Australia and said the bottom line was his team had just not played well enough.After arriving in Australia confident they could finally win a first test Down Under, Sri Lanka fell to defeat by five wickets in Sydney following an innings and 201 humiliation...

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Tennis-Kvitova thrashed in final Australian Open warmup

Jan 6 (Reuters) - World number eight Petra Kvitova's preparations for the Australian Open suffered another setback when she was thrashed by Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the Sydney International on Sunday.The fifth-seeded Czech, who had lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Brisbane International last week, was thumped 6-1 6-1 by her Slovak opponent at the Sydney Olympic...

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Kvitova thrashed in final Australian Open warmup

(Reuters) - World number eight Petra Kvitova's preparations for the Australian Open suffered another setback when she was thrashed by Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the Sydney International on Sunday.The fifth-seeded Czech, who had lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Brisbane International last week, was thumped 6-1 6-1 by her Slovak opponent at the Sydney Olympic...

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French panel overturns 75 percent tax on ultrarich

PARIS (AP) — Embattled French President Francois Hollande suffered a fresh setback Saturday when France's highest court threw out a plan to tax the ultrawealthy at a 75 percent rate, saying it was unfair.In a stinging rebuke to one of Socialist Hollande's flagship campaign promises, the constitutional council ruled Saturday that the way the highly contentious tax was designed was unconstitutional....

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Berlusconi criticizes Monti's campaign about-face

ROME (AP) — Ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi sharply criticized the decision by Mario Monti to run in Italy's general elections and vowed Saturday to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the 2011 fall of his government and appointment of Monti as Italy's premier.Berlusconi spoke out after Monti ended weeks of hedging and announced Friday he would head a coalition of centrist forces, businessmen and pro-Vatican...

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4 dead in Moscow airliner crash

MOSCOW (AP) — A passenger airliner careered off the runway at Russia's third-busiest airport and partly onto a highway while landing on Saturday, broke into pieces and caught fire, killing at least four people.Officials said there were eight people aboard the Tu-204 belonging to Russian airline Red Wings that was flying back from the Czech Republic without passengers to its home at Vnukovo Airport.Emergency...

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Central Asian migrants change the face of Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) — Timur Bulgakov has a black belt in karate, two university degrees, a powerful SUV and a small yet thriving construction company. The 28-year-old's success is impressive for a Muslim migrant from Uzbekistan whose first job in Moscow 10 years ago was as a delivery boy.But his story is no longer that unusual.The old Moscow, populated largely by Slavs, is rapidly giving way to a multi-ethnic...

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Putin says he will sign anti-US adoptions bill

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will sign a controversial bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, while the Kremlin's children's rights advocate recommended extending the ban to the rest of the world.The bill is part of the country's increasingly confrontational stance with the West and has angered some Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political...

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Malala asks Pakistan not to rename college for her

MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) — A 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has urged Pakistan to reverse a decision to rename a college in her honor to avert militant attacks on students, an official said Friday.Malala Yousufzai, who became a symbol of youth resistance to the Taliban, made the request after students broke into the school, tore down Malala's pictures...

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AP PHOTOS: A photo journey through North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — My window on North Korea is sometimes, quite literally, a window — of a hotel room, the backseat of a car, a train. Fleeting moments of daily life present themselves suddenly, and they are opportunities to show a side of the country that is entirely at odds with the official portrait of marching troops and tightly coordinated pomp that the Pyongyang leadership presents...

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World stocks fall as US budget negotiations stall

BANGKOK (AP) — Heightened uncertainty about the outcome of budget negotiations in Washington among President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers drove world stock markets lower Friday.If a compromise is not in place by Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and spending cuts will kick in automatically — a one-two punch to the economy that many experts fear will...

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Delhi police say they will protect women on buses

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian officials announced Friday a broad campaign to protect women in New Delhi following the gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in the capital.Police arrested a boy Thursday night, the fifth person detained in connection with the crime, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said. Authorities were hunting for the final assailant, he said. Those...

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Russia's Gazprom to buy Kyrgyz state gas company

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Kyrgyzstan's state-owned natural gas company says it is to be sold to Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom, raising hopes of an end to debilitating energy shortages in the impoverished Central Asian nation.Kyrgyzgaz general director Turgunbek Kulmurzayev said Friday that the sale of the company to the Russian gas giant would be completed by April 1.Last week, gas and electricity...

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