Saudi activist: Female minister ‘first step’ but more needed

The appointment of a woman to Saudi Arabia’s influential council of ministers is a "first step" for women’s rights in the country, but it’s unclear if she will have any real power, an outspoken advocate said Sunday. “It is something really great, and we are very proud of our king that he took this decision,” said Wajeha al-Huwaider, a prominent Saudi activist and writer

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Murray defeats injury-hit Nadal in final

Second seed Andy Murray collected his 10th career title after defeating world number one Rafael Nadal, who was hampered by a knee injury, 6-3 4-6 6-0 in the final of the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday. World number four Murray was himself carrying an ankle injury he picked up during his quarterfinal win over Marc Gicquel, but showed little signs of early discomfort as he raced around the court before burying two forehands to take his first service game. Nadal held before spurning his first break point to allow Murray to take a 2-1 lead and the match stayed with serve as Murray let a 0-30 lead slip to lose the fourth before he thundered an ace down on the way to take a 3-2 lead despite his second double fault of the game.

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Air Force One is one ‘spiffy ride,’ Obama says

During the first couple of weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has made good use of his "spiffy" new ride. The president, who has made several trips around the country in Air Force One, was particularly excited during his first trip on the plane as commander in chief, when he flew to the House Democrats’ annual retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, last week. “Thanks for giving me a reason to fly Air Force One,” he told the House Democrats after his flight, which took him away from a week of fighting for the economic stimulus bill

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Nosediving plane damaged just one house

A commuter airliner whose crash late Thursday killed 50 people was in such a sharp nosedive when it hurtled into a residential area that only one house was damaged, local authorities said Saturday. “All the damage was specific to that one property and that one structure,” Erie County Emergency Coordinator David Bissonette said at a morning news conference. “There was a garage to the immediate south that had a little bit of exposure damage, but other than that, limited to the one property.” A 61-year-old man in that house died — as did all 49 people aboard Continental Connection Flight 3407 — when the 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop pierced the property like an arrow into a bull’s eye.

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Search for answers begins in Buffalo plane crash

The pilots of a commuter airliner that crashed late Thursday about 6 miles from a Buffalo, New York, airport discussed "significant ice buildup" on the plane’s wings and windshields before the plane plunged to the ground, killing 50. Continental Connection Flight 3407 was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo Niagara International Airport when it went down about 10:20 p.m. ET Thursday.

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City duo Elano and Robinho tame Italy

Manchester City duo Elano and Robinho fired Brazil to a 2-0 victory in their prestige friendly international against world champions Italy at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. More than 60,000 fans saw Elano open the scoring after 13 minutes with Robinho finding the target on 27 in an encounter that brought an end to Italy coach Marcello Lippi’s unbeaten run. Lippi suffered a first loss with Italy in 32 games since defeat against Slovenia during his first spell in charge in 2004

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