Chad says kills Algeria hostage mastermind in Mali

Chadian soldiers in Mali have killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the al Qaedacommander who masterminded a bloody hostage-taking at an Algerian gas plant in January, Chad's military said on Saturday.

The death of one of the world's most wanted jihadists would be a major blow to al Qaeda in the region and to Islamist rebels already forced to flee towns they had seized in northern Mali by an offensive by French and African troops.

http://news.yahoo.com/chad-says-kills-algeria-hostage-mastermind-mali-081914233.html

Islamists sweep early results in Egypt vote

Muslim Brotherhood and hardline Salafis win more than half of seats in first round of parliamentary election.

Islamist parties captured an overwhelming majority of votes in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, setting up a power struggle with the much weaker liberals behind the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak 10 months ago.

The Nour Party, a hardline religious group that wants to impose strict Islamic law, made a strong showing with nearly a quarter of the ballots, according to results released on Sunday.

The tallies offer only a partial indication of how the new parliament will look. There are still two more rounds of voting in 18 of the country's 27 provinces over the coming month and runoff elections on Monday and Tuesday to determine almost all of the seats allocated for individuals in the first round.

But the grip of the Islamists over the next parliament appears set, particularly considering their popularity in provinces voting in the next rounds.

The High Election Commission said the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party garnered 36.6 per cent of the 9.7 million valid ballots cast for party lists. The Nour Party captured 24.4 per cent.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/201112320622436522.html

U.S. official says no sign Iran shot down drone

Iranian media reported on Sunday that their country's military had shot down a U.S. reconnaissance drone in eastern Iran, but a U.S. official said there was no indication the aircraft had been shot down.

NATO's U.S.-led mission in neighbouring Afghanistan said the Iranian report could refer to an unarmed U.S. spy drone that went missing there last week.

The incident comes at a time when Tehran is trying to contain foreign outrage at the storming of the British embassy on Tuesday, after London announced sanctions on Iran's central bank in connection with Iran's nuclear enrichment programme.

Iran has announced several times in the past that it shot down U.S., Israeli or British drones, in incidents that did not provoke high-profile responses.

"Iran's military has downed an intruding RQ-170 American drone in eastern Iran," Iran's Arabic-language Al Alam state television network quoted a military source as saying.

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-military-shoots-down-u-drone-state-tv-142804389.html

Tax cut extension would help economy - Boehner

The top U.S. Republican in Congress, in an abrupt shift, agreed with President Barack Obama on Thursday that extending a popular payroll tax cut would boost the struggling U.S. economy.

"I don't think there is any question that the payroll tax relief, in fact, helps the economy, in allowing more Americans ... to keep more of their money," said John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Boehner's comments were in sharp contrast to what members of his party were saying just days ago. Some Republican lawmakers are skeptical that extending the tax cut beyond this year will help job creation and say it will have only a temporary effect on the economy.

http://news.yahoo.com/boehner-says-tax-cut-extension-help-u-economy-184708409.html

S. African court blocks Zuma choice to lead prosecutions

South Africa's highest appeals court on Thursday declared that President Jacob Zuma's choice to lead national prosecutions was unfit for the job, ordering him out of office.

The unanimous decision dealt a blow to Zuma, who has launched a major anti-corruption drive but whose own past is chequered with unanswered questions about his role in a $5-billion arms deal.

Zuma's appointment of Menzi Simelane as national director of prosecutions was "inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid", the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled.

http://news.yahoo.com/african-court-blocks-zuma-choice-lead-prosecutions-000132343.html

NBA lockout ends, players get played

The end of the NBA lockout has left fans disappointed over the delay and the money sharing of the 1 per cent.

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/11/2011112993728332260.html

 

China cuts bank reserves in policy shift to lift economy

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank cut reserve requirements for commercial lenders on Wednesday for the first time in three years, a policy shift to ease credit strains and shore up an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.

China's policy change came just hours before coordinated action by major central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, to ease credit strains in world markets buffeted by the euro zone debt crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-cuts-bank-ratio-112207152.html