KONNA, Mali (Reuters) – French forces in Mali have seized the airport and the bridge over the Niger River at the Islamist rebel-held stronghold of Gao, the French Defence Ministry said on Satu rday. French and Malian troops have advanced rapidly against al Qaeda-allied Islamist militant fighters holding the Saharan north of the West African state after France intervened earlier this month at the request of the Malian government. … Cricket-Australia v Sri Lanka - first T20 scoreboard
Jan 26 (Reuters) – Scoreboard of the first Australia v SriLanka Twenty20 International at the Sydney Olympic Stadium onSaturday. Australia: D. Warner not out 90 A. Finch c K. Perera b Kulasekara 1 S. Marsh run out 6 G. Bailey c Dilshan b T. Perera 11 A. Voges not out 25 Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-1) 4 Total (for 3 wickets in 20 overs) 137 Did not bat: M. Wade, G. Maxwell, B. Cutting, M. Starc, X.Doherty, B. Laughlin. Fall of wickets: 1-8 2-31 3-53. Bowling: Mathews 4-0-39-0 (w-1), Kulasekara 4-0-21-1,Malinga 4-0-19-0, T. Perera 4-0-29-1, Mendis 4-0-26-0. Sri Lanka: K. Perera c Wade b Maxwell 33 T. …
Iraq: 2 soldiers killed near rally shooting site
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) -- Gunmen killed two Iraqi soldiers and abducted three others in Fallujah on Saturday as hundreds of mourners gathered in the restive western city for the funeral of protesters killed during a shooting by army troops a day earlier, according to officials. Cricket-Sri Lanka beat Australia by 5 wickets in first T20
Jan 26 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka beat Australia by five wickets in the first Twenty20 International in Sydney on Saturday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series. Melbourne hosts the second and final match on Monday. Score: Australia 137-3 in 20 overs (D. Warner 90 not out) v Sri Lanka 139-5 in 18.5 overs (A Mathews 35 not out, K Perera 33). (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Topless protesters take on elite Davos forum
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Three women angry over sexism and male domination of the world economy ripped off their shirts and tried to force their way into a gathering of corporate elites in a Swiss resort. Syrian troops fight rebels in Damascus suburb
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria's state-run news agency says troops have raided an opposition stronghold near Damascus, killing an unspecified number of rebels and uncovering tunnels used by them to move about and smuggle weapons. 16 die in Egypt riot after soccer violence verdict
CAIRO (AP) -- An Egyptian court sentenced 21 people to death Saturday on charges related to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence, touching off an attempted jailbreak and a riot that killed 16 in the Mediterranean port city that is home to most of the defendants. Mali residents detail civilian casualties in Konna
KONNA, Mali (AP) -- Residents of a Malian town are describing civilian casualties from airstrikes used by France to drive out Islamic militants. UPDATE 2-Tennis-Azarenka retains Australian Open title
* Li Na suffers two ankle injuries * Azarenka overcomes nerves to seal second grand-slam title (Adds quotes) MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Victoria Azarenka retained her Australian Open title on Saturday with a tense 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory over China’s Li Na, who suffered a sickening ankle injury in the second set and hit her head in the third when she twisted the joint for a second time. Li dominated the first set but Azarenka raced out to a 3-1 lead in the second before Li slipped and twisted her left ankle. She had it strapped but had problems pivoting and Azarenka won the set 6-4. …
5 Indian sailors held hostage in Nigeria are freed
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- A spokesman says five Indian sailors kidnapped last month off of Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta have been released.
Child soldier's tale illustrates Mali's dirty war
SEVARE, Mali (AP) -- The boy sits with his knees tucked under his chest on the concrete floor of the police station here, his adolescent face a tableau of fear. He's still garbed in the knee-length tunic he was ordered to wear by the Islamic extremist who recruited him. Garment factory fire kills 6, injures another 5 in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Police say a fire in a garment factory has killed six female workers and injured another five in the Bangladesh capital, just months after more than 100 died in another factory fire.
UPDATE 1-Tennis-Azarenka retains Australian Open title
* Li Na suffers two ankle injuries * Azarenka overcomes nerves to seal second grand-slam title (Adds details and byline) MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Victoria Azarenka retained her Australian Open title on Saturday with a tense 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory over China’s Li Na, who suffered a sickening ankle injury in the second set and hit her head in the third when she twisted the joint for a second time. Li dominated the first set but Azarenka raced out to a 3-1 lead in the second before Li slipped and twisted her left ankle. She had it strapped but had problems pivoting and Azarenka won the set 6-4. …
Fire guts Bangladesh garment factory, six killed
DHAKA (Reuters) – Fire raced through a small garment factory in the Bangladesh capital on Saturday, killing at least six employees and injuring 10, firefighters and witnesses said, two months after the country's worst factory b laze killed 112 workers. Fire service officials said the fire at Smart Fashions, housed in the upper floor of a two-storey building in the suburb of Mohammadpur, appeared to start in a tire repair and welding shop downstairs. But the exact cause was still to be determined. … Greeks protest transport workers' pay cuts
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek workers have marched to parliament to protest upcoming pay cuts for transport workers and the government emergency decree that forced subway employees to end their strike. Daughters demand contact with detained Iran opposition couple
DUBAI (Reuters) – Two leading Iranian opposition figures held under house arrest f or almost two years have been denied contact with their children, their daughters said in a statement published on Saturday. Mirhossein Mousavi stood in presidential elections in 2009 and became one of the figureheads of the huge street protests over allegations of vote rigging that followed. He was detained with his wife Zahra Rahnavardstood in February 2011. … Azarenka secures back-to-back Australian titles
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Victoria Azarenka has won her second straight Australian Open title, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a dramatic final that included a break for fireworks and two medical timeouts. Tennis-Australian Open women's singles champions
MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) – List of Australian Openwomen’s singles champions since the event began in 1922(Australian unless stated): 2013 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt Li Na (China) 4-6 6-4 6-3 2012 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt Maria Sharapova (Russia)6-3 6-0 2011 Kim Clijsters (Belgium) bt Li Na (China) 3-6 6-3 6-3 2010 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Justine Henin (Belgium) 6-4 3-66-2 2009 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-0 6-3 2008 Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 7-5 6-3 2007 Serena Williams (U.S. …
CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptian security officials say the military is being deployed to the Mediterranean city of Port Said after eight people were killed in riots outside the main prison following a controversial verdict related to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence. 
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Algeria's foreign minister acknowledged that security forces made mistakes in a hostage crisis at a Saharan gas plant in which many foreign workers were killed by Algerian military strikes. 
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – China' s Li Na used her powerful groundstrokes and a strong return of serve against Victoria Azarenka to take the first set of their Australian Open final 6-4 on Saturday. Perhaps weighed down by expectation from the most populous nation in the world and with an estimated 100 million people watching on television in China, Li had a shaky start, serving a double fault on the first point and having her serve broken. … 
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Novak Djokovic remembers when he was about 11 and meeting a boy his age named Andy Murray. 
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Chile's government would support any intervention by the country's independent central bank to weaken the strong peso, Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said on Saturday. "The central bank may decide to intervene but it is their own decision …if they do, we would certainly support them," Larrain told Reuters in a television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We're trying to prevent further appreciation," he said. … 
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi insurgents are trying to capitalize on the rage of anti-government protesters and the instability caused by rising civil unrest, complicating the government's efforts to stamp out a resurgent al-Qaida and other militants. 
SEVARE, Mali (AP) -- The Obama administration is seeking an additional $32 million to train African troops to fight Islamic extremists in Mali. 
BEIJING (Reuters) – The m ayor of the scandal-plagued southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chongqing said on Saturday that local authorities had banished the malign influence of the city's former top official Bo Xilai, and vowed never to never allow a repeat of his crimes. Once a contender for China's top leadership, Bo was ousted in the biggest political scandal in two decades last year following his wife's murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood. … 
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian protesters scuffled with police in Cairo on Saturday and troops were deployed in Suez after nine people were shot dead in nationwide protests against President Mohamed Mu rsi, exposing deep rifts two years after Hosni Mubarak was ousted. After a day of clashes on Friday, tension remained high with a court expected to rule later on Saturday in a case against suspects accused of involvement in a stadium disaster that killed 74 people. Fans have threatened violence if the court does not deliver the justice they seek. … 
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's condition has improved and he is now optimistic as he faces more treatment following cancer surgery, his vice president said Saturday. 
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Geologist David Rodriguez and actress Cristina Pascual, two of the nearly six million Spaniards left jobless in the European recession, fled to Latin America last year, figuring their futures would be brighter in the booming economies on this side of the Atlantic. 
BEIJING (Reuters) – China's economy could grow at more than 8 percent in 2013, giving some underpinning to global economic activity that is set for a mild, tortuous recovery this year, the head of China's sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday. "China's economic growth could be over 8 percent this year. China's economy supports a very large part of global demand," Lou Jiwei, chairman of the China Investment Corp. (CIC) , told a forum. China's economy expanded an annual rate of 7. … 
CARACAS (Reuters) – A jail riot in southwestern Venezuela killed dozens of people on Friday, local media reported, the latest in cident in the ongoing crisis in the South American nation's crowded prisons. Violence broke out after news of an inspection to confiscate weapons at the Centro Occidental jail, Prisons Minister Iris Varela said in a statement, without providing a death toll. Local media reports say between 26 and 54 people were killed and dozens wounded. … 
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in his "best moment" since undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba 45 days ago, the vice president said on Saturday, adding Chavez has made important economic decisions to strengthen exports. "He's got a smile that's filled with light, his thoughts are illuminated," said Nicolas Maduro in televised comments just after midnight after returning from a visit with Chavez. The normally garrulous president has not been heard from since a complex operation on December 11. …