0 Court Lifts Media Ban on Delhi Gang Rape Trial: Lawyer

An Indian court overturned a gag order on Friday that prevented media access to the trial of four men charged over the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi last December, lawyers said. The case has led to months of soul-searching over endemic sex crime, resulted in new tougher laws to punish rapists and focused global attention on violence against women in India. Amid conflicting reports about the ruling, Meenakshi Lekhi, a Supreme Court lawyer who filed the plea to overturn the ban in the Delhi High Court, explained that access would be limited and come with safeguards.  "The Delhi High Court has allowed one person from...

0 Golf: Rose Blooms in Woods Pairing for Palmer Lead

Justin Rose, thriving in the spotlight that comes with playing alongside Tiger Woods, fired a seven-under 65 on Thursday to seize a two-shot lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. England's Rose had an eagle and six birdies in his tour of Bay Hill. He held a two-stroke first-round lead over American John Huh. John Rollins and Canadian Brad Fritsch shared third place on four-under 68, with 14-time major champion Woods in a group of 10 players four off the lead on three-under 69.  Rose said the marquee pairing with Woods "elevates the day" and he made the most of it despite their early tee time that had them heading off the 10th tee in...

0 Bank Indonesia Official to Become IMF Executive Director

An official with Indonesia’s central bank, Wimboh Santoso, has been appointed a new executive director at the International Monetary Fund. Wimboh currently serves as Bank Indonesia’s chief representative officer in New York. “Pak Wimboh will become the IMF’s executive director for the Southeast Asia [voting] group,” BI director for strategic planning and public relations Difi Ahmad Johansyah told journalists on Friday in Jakarta.  “Pak Wimboh will be based at the IMF headquarters in Washington DC, starting from April 2013,” he added. The position at the IMF was held in 2009 by Perry Warjiyo, who was recently elected to become a new deputy...

0 Football: Injuries Robbed Me of My Lethal Speed, Says Retiring Owen

Michael Owen enjoyed a stellar career as a prolific striker for England and Liverpool but said he would reflect in retirement on "what might have been" had he not been robbed of his incredible speed due to injury. Owen, who said on Tuesday he would hang up his boots at the end of the season, burst onto the scene at Liverpool as a 17-year-old and also played at Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United before signing for Stoke City last year.  Owen regularly terrorised defences with his breathtaking speed, most memorably with a stunning goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, although in the latter part of his career he...

0 Japan's No. 2 Yakuza Jailed For Extortion

A "one-eyed" gangster, the number-two man in Japan's biggest yakuza crime organization, was convicted of extortion on Friday, winning a high--profile victory for the country's anti--mob police. Kiyoshi "Mekkachi" Takayama, 65, who reputedly lost the use of his eye in a swordfight early in his career, was jailed for six years. His underworld nickname of "Mekkachi" means "one-eyed" in the dialect of western Japan.  Takayama is second in command of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a vast organized crime syndicate that had 27,700 members at the end of 2012, according to the National Police Agency. He had been on 1.5 billion yen ($15.7 million) bail for...