Ray Lewis' last ride has at least 1 more stop

DENVER (AP) — Deflated and nearly defeated, Ray Lewis slumped on the heated bench on the sideline, the hood of his heavy jacket pulled over his head. The final seconds of his brilliant career were slipping away, just like Demaryius Thomas had escaped his grasp minutes earlier."I've never been a part of a game so crazy in my life," he said.Thomas' go-ahead touchdown had given Denver a 35-28 lead and...

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Ravens show their spirit with stunning win in Denver

(Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens fell behind the Denver Broncos four times on Saturday and each time they battled back to level the game with the final rally paving the way for a stunning playoffs win which epitomizes the team's fighting spirit."This is a team of destiny," said running back Ray Rice, who rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown in the thrilling 38-35 double overtime AFC divisional playoff...

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Ravens stun Broncos in double overtime playoff thriller

(Reuters) - The Baltimore Ravens fought back for a 38-35 overtime win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday in a thrilling playoff encounter that puts them one win away from their first Super Bowl berth in 12 years.The visiting Ravens, who entered the game as 9-1/2 point underdogs, grabbed victory when Justin Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal in the second overtime, six plays after Broncos quarterback...

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Libyan cop in Benghazi kidnapped

Abdelsalam al-Mahdawi, the head of Benghazi's criminal investigation department, was kidnapped on his way to work today by gunmen at an intersection in Libya's second largest city.Benghazi was the heart of the uprising against Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, and since then it has failed to bring the militias that fought on the side of the revolution – some Islamist, some not – under any kind of government...

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Amid bloodshed and chaos, Syrian wages a war for neutral reporting

While Syria's state-run news outlets run a steady stream of reports about "terrorists" and international conspiracies against President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists roll out their own endless barrage of footage highlighting atrocities and destruction by regime forces, with little in the way of context.With media access difficult or impossible in most of the country and no tradition of balanced...

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Good Taliban, Bad Taliban? Pakistani commander's killing exposes blurry lines

The US drone killing of Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir threatens to unleash new anti-government violence against the country’s weak government or civilian targets, and expose fractures in the country’s military and security forces, analysts say.Mr. Nazir was traveling in a car in troubled South Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, Thursday, when his vehicle was hit by a missile, according...

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Syrian moderates fear being edged out of uprising

Abdul Rahman, a quiet, even-tempered man, leads a collection of moderate Free Syrian Army battalions in Aleppo. He says groups like his are becoming harder to find as the 21-month uprising drags on and more groups lean either secular or Islamist extremist.At a time when opposition fighters live and die by their ability to get equipment, Mr. Rahman says it’s become more difficult for those in the middle...

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Tunisia seeks gold in former dictator's assets

On a crisp December morning in Tunis, a finance ministry official named Mohamed Hamaied was demonstrating the horsepower of maroon V-12 BMW on the runway of a national guard airfield. Beside him sat an agent for a potential buyer.“You know, this is the same runway that Ben Ali fled from,” remarked another passenger, automotive expert Mourad Bouzidi, from the back seat.The BMW is among the seized possessions...

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Russia's adoption ban exposes political rift

Russia's upper house of parliament today unanimously approved a ban on US citizens adopting Russian children, a highly charged move that appears to have prompted an unusual public split among government officials.The Dima Yakovlev bill, named after one of 19 Russian children to die due to abuse or negligence at the hands of adoptive US parents in the past two decades, now goes to the Kremlin for President...

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Italians, backed by the Catholic Church, aim to stop Sunday shopping

Italians are fighting a government lift of regulations on business operation hours, insisting that the move will eventually hurt the small shops and values that have long been the foundation of the Italian business community.The deregulation, put into effect January 2012, removes restrictions on business operating hours, including Sundays and holidays. It is intended to stimulate competition in what...

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A year after being literally wiped out, a Russian hockey team flourishes

Wooden hockey sticks smack into rubber pucks as the metal blades of skates slice through the ice. The sounds echo through an empty arena in the Czech capital Prague in late November as a visiting hockey team prepares for another game in the Kontinental Hockey League.But this is no ordinary squad. This is Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a Russian team that was literally wiped out last year in an air tragedy that...

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Pakistan says 29 nationals beaten by Afghans

Afghan officials say they are investigating allegations by neighboring Pakistan that Afghan forces severely beat Pakistani nationals. The Saturday protest note from Islamabad's Foreign Office provided no details other than to say that all 29 had valid travel documents. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai says he has no information about the allegations, but Kabul will try to investigate...

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Bombing at political rally kills 8 in Pakistan

 Pakistani police say a suicide bomber attacked a political rally in the country's northwest, killing eight people. Police officer Arfan Khan says the bombing Saturday in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, also wounded more than 20 people. Khan says the rally was being held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. A provincial...

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Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said. The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. Among the dead was Bashir Bilour, the...

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Gang rape protesters clash with Indian police

Police in India's capital used tear gas and water cannons for a second day Sunday in a high-security zone to break up protests by thousands of people demonstrating against the gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus. Police chased angry protesters with batons some of whom fought pitched battles with steel rods and rocks as they tried to get past steel barricades and a wall created...

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In Afghan Taliban birthplace, US troops step back

President Barak Obama will decide in the coming weeks how many American troops to send home from Afghanistan next year. A major factor in his decision will be the question of how successful U.S. troops have been in preparing the Afghans to secure their country at bases like this one, located in one of the country's most violent areas — the birthplace of the Taliban. There have been calls in Congress...

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