Google's Schmidt urges Internet openness in NKorea

BEIJING (AP) — Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Thursday it's up to North Korea to shed its self-imposed isolation and allow its citizens to use the Internet and connect with the outside world, or risk remaining way behind other countries.Schmidt was returning from a private trip to North Korea with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that was not sanctioned by the U.S. government and...

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Bill Richardson says didn't meet detained American on North Korea trip

BEIJING (Reuters) - Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt failed to secure the release of a Korean-American held in North Korea during a controversial trip to the secretive state that ended on Thursday.Richardson told a media briefing at Beijing's airport he was unable to meet Korean-American Kenneth Bae, a 44-year-old tourist who was detained late...

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Lowered UK flag sparks Protestant fury in Belfast

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — At Belfast City Hall, the flagpole is bare — and the streets are filled with nighttime fear and fury.These are dangerous times in Northern Ireland, a long-divided corner of the United Kingdom that is supposed to be at peace after decades of unrest thanks to its hard-won cease-fires and a Catholic-Protestant government. But the lowering of a single Union Jack has exposed...

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PGA Tour opener delayed _ again _ by wind

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — On the third attempt at starting the PGA Tour season, Matt Kuchar stepped to the 10th tee at Kapalua and could barely hear his name through the wind. When he finally steadied himself, a gust blew his golf ball off the tee. And then it happened again."We had a powwow and took us five or six minutes to laugh it off and say, 'We're really going to go through with this?'" Kuchar...

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AP Source: Browns moving on from Oregon's Kelly

CLEVELAND (AP) — Chip Kelly wouldn't jump. So the Browns bailed.Oregon's visor-wearing coach isn't coming to Cleveland.A person familiar with Cleveland's coaching search said the team is no longer considering Kelly for its coaching vacancy after the offensive mastermind nearly reached an agreement with the Browns on Friday. The 49-year-old Kelly was indecisive about making the leap to the NFL and...

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Column: Wilson stands tall as only rookie QB left

This was always going to be one of those once in a decade quarterback classes, even before Russell Wilson announced his arrival from what is arguably the loneliest outpost in the NFL.Everyone expected big things out of Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. Wilson was more of a pleasant surprise, catapulted from third-round obscurity to what passes for football stardom in a city far removed from the...

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More French troops go to Central African Republic

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — As rebels advance in Central African Republic, France has deployed an additional 180 troops to protect its interests.The French reinforcements arrived Sunday from nearby Gabon, bringing the total French military force in the capital, Bangui, to nearly 600, Col. Thierry Burkhard told The Associated Press Sunday. The troops are to protect French residents in the...

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African Union head visits Central African Republic

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The leader of the African Union, Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, has proposed a government of national unity to resolve the rebel conflict in Central African Republic.Boni Yayi arrived here Sunday to try to find a negotiated resolution to the country's crisis. The president of the African Union met with President Francois Bozize and then made an appeal to...

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AU warns of sanctions if rebels take over CAR

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Rebels advancing to the capital of the Central African Republic of will face sanctions and the country suspended from activities of the African Union if they seize power, an AU official warned Monday.Chairwoman of the Commission of the AU Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said the AU rejects any attempt to seize power forcefully. Any attempt to seize power unconstitutionally will...

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Nigeria president likens nation's unrest to Syria

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has likened attacks by a radical Islamist sect in his West African nation to the ongoing civil war in Syria, an unlikely acknowledgment from the seat of power about the violent unrest gripping the country.Jonathan's comments Sunday are widely viewed here as hyperbole because the estimated 45,000 people killed in the Syrian uprising is far...

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South Africa: Mandela convalesces, legacy secure

 South Africa's agonizing past swept over Alex McLaren, who stepped into sunlight with tears in his eyes after a tour of the Apartheid Museum, an unsparing study of white minority rule and the costly fight against it.Yet South Africa-born McLaren, an American citizen, also found inspiration in the museum's exhibition about Nelson Mandela, former prisoner, South Africa's first black head of state...

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McLemore's 22 gives Kansas huge road win, 74-66

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — It's not supposed to be this easy for a kid playing his first collegiate road game. Kansas' Ben McLemore, a redshirt freshman surrounded in the starting lineup by seniors, didn't let the raucous crowd, the travel or sleeping in a strange bed bother him. McLemore scored 22 points and No. 9 Kansas proved it was more than just a bully at home by beating seventh-ranked Ohio State...

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AP source: Pirates, Red Sox near deal for Hanrahan

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Boston Red Sox are pursuing another burly right-hander to shore up their bullpen. A person familiar with the talks said the Red Sox and Pirates are close to completing a trade that would send All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan to Boston for a handful of prospects. Pittsburgh would ship Hanrahan and another player to the Red Sox in exchange for four players, including outfielder-first...

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Ross, Diamondbacks agree to $26 million, 3-yr deal

PHOENIX (AP) — Cody Ross and the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a $26 million, three-year contract Saturday that includes a club option for 2016. Ross, who turns 32 on Sunday and lives in nearby Scottsdale, adds to the abundance of outfielders on the Arizona roster, leading to speculation a trade might be coming. Ross batted .267 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs last season for the Boston Red Sox. He's...

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AP source: Ibanez, Mariners agree to $2.75M deal

NEW YORK (AP) — Raul Ibanez and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a $2.75 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday night. The deal allows Ibanez to earn an additional $1.25 million in performance bonuses, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. Ibanez returns to the team he...

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Heat beat Jazz to break clear atop Eastern Conference

(Reuters) - LeBron James jammed home 30 points as the NBA champion Miami Heat silenced the Utah Jazz 105-89 on Saturday to move past the New York Knicks atop the Eastern Conference. Miami turned a four-point lead at intermission into a double-digit cushion by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter helped by a pair of three-pointers by Shane Battier. The lead was stretched to 20 points...

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Chavez back in Venezuela after Cuba treatment

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived back home early Friday after 10 days of medical treatment in Cuba, but his failure to attend a regional meeting in Brazil raised new questions about his health.State television showed Chavez arriving at Caracas' airport and walking down the steps from the presidential jet wearing a track suit. He smiled and laughed heartily as he...

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Lawyer: McAfee better, hopes to stay in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A lawyer for software company founder John McAfee  said Friday that the self-styled fugitive is feeling better after suffering chest pain and that he has filed three separate legal appeals in hopes his client can stay in Guatemala, where his political asylum request was rejected.Attorney Telesforo Guerra told reporters outside the detention center where McAfee is being...

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After long disdain, Jamaica gets 1st patois Bible

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — When English teacher Faith Linton  first proposed translating the Bible into Jamaica's patois tongue in the late 1950s, most people who heard the idea shook their heads.Some on the deeply Christian island believed it was sacrilegious. Others opposed it because the unique mixture of English and West African languages was widely disdained by the elites as a coarse linguistic...

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Puerto Rico governor to push for statehood

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico's governor will call a special legislative session to push for approval of a resolution urging the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama to honor the results of a recent referendum on changing the island's political status.Gov. Luis Fortuno, who backs seeing statehood, said Saturday that Puerto Rican voters embraced statehood and rejected the current U.S....

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