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Cricket: Pakistan's Asif loses match-fixing appeal

Three Court of Appeal judges in London on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif against his conviction for spot-fixing. In their ruling, the judges said they were "not persuaded that there are any grounds, arguable or otherwise, for attacking the safety of the convictions of this applicant (Asif)". "The renewed applications are accordingly dismissed," they added.

Gulf Shi'ites fear rising sectarian rhetoric over Syria

By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Shi'ite Muslims in the Gulf, alarmed by the shrill sectarian rhetoric of some Sunni clerics after Lebanon's Hezbollah militia entered Syria's civil war, fear they will be blamed and may be victimized for the bloodshed. "Hate language is on the rise, in the press, on social media and even at lectures in mosques. Shi'ites in general are being blamed for what's happening in Syria," said Waleed Sulais, a researcher at the Saudi Adalah Centre for Human Rights.

Thailand mulls ceding power to end deadly rebellion

After nearly a decade of conflict that has left thousands dead, Thailand is considering handing over limited powers to its Muslim-majority south in an effort to persuade rebels to lay down their arms. Thai officials will meet with the two main insurgent groups on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur for a third round of talks that have so far failed to end near-daily violence in the region bordering Malaysia.

Australia's Gillard accused of playing gender card

Australia's opposition on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of playing the gender card amid continued speculation on her leadership ahead of the September federal election. In a speech she gave at a Women for Gillard Labor Party fundraiser on Tuesday, the prime minister warned that women would "once again (be) banished from the center of Australia's political life" under a government led by opposition leader Tony Abbott.

Greeks battle to stop axing of state broadcaster

Greek political parties and unions battled Wednesday to reverse the shutdown of state broadcaster ERT, a shock decision the government took to meet Greece's debt bailout requirements. The broadcaster's TV and radion stations were taken off the air after 2000 GMT on Tuesday and an affiliated Communist channel also went black later in the night. Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras will ask the country's President Carolos Papoulias on Wednesday to refuse to sign the order for ERT's demise, a move affecting nearly 2,700 jobs.

Early, forced marriages haunt Jordan's Syrian refugees

With no end in sight to Syria's conflict, some refugees in Jordan are offering their daughters for early marriage in the hope of securing them protection as they face growing economic pressure. Syrian refugee Abu Mohammad says he reluctantly opted to marry off his teenage daughter to a rich 40-year-old Saudi man, hoping to give her a better life and ease his family's financial hardships.

Spanish police leverage Twitter to fight crime

Spain's national police has built up an army of over half a million followers on Twitter, using them to help swoop on fugitives and get tip-offs on drug dealers in an open dialogue that has helped bring the force closer to the people. Since it was set up four years ago, the Spanish feed has become one of most popular police Twitter accounts in the world, with the force regularly sending humorous tweets to attract followers.

The concert that transformed Mandela from terrorist to icon

So revered is Nelson Mandela today that it is easy to forget that for decades he was considered a terrorist by many foreign governments, and some of his now supporters. The anti-apartheid hero was on a US terror watch list until 2008 and while still on Robben Island, Britain's late "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher described his African National Congress as a "typical terrorist organisation." That Mandela's image has been transformed so thoroughly is a testament to the man's achievements, but also, in part, to a concert that took place in London 25 years ago this week.

The concert that transformed Mandela from terrorist to icon

So revered is Nelson Mandela today that it is easy to forget that for decades he was considered a terrorist by many foreign governments, and some of his now supporters. The anti-apartheid hero was on a US terror watch list until 2008 and while still on Robben Island, Britain's late "Iron Lady" Margret Thatcher described his African National Congress as a "typical terrorist organisation." That Mandela's image has been transformed so throroughly is a testament to the man's achievements, but also, in part, to a concert that took place in London 25 years ago this week.

Palestinian boycott leaders say peace talks 'useless'

Leaders of a growing Palestinian movement to boycott Israel oppose any peace talks, even if they include a long-demanded freeze of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. "We have no faith... in the so-called negotiations," said Omar Barghouti, head of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which lobbies worldwide for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.
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