A Palestinian protester throws a Molotov cocktail towards Israeli soldiers, not pictured, during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron, Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

Men aged 17 and 18 killed as confrontations enter a third day following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail Clashes flared after the death on Tuesday of Maysara Abu Hamdeya, 64, who was serving a life sentence in an Israeli jail….
photo: AP / Nasser Shiyoukhi

A man wades through a flooded street in La Plata, in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

The government in Argentina has declared three days of national mourning after flash floods killed 54 people. One of the heaviest storms recorded moved through the province hitting both the capital, Buenos Aires, and the city of La Plata. At least 48…
photo: AP / Natacha Pisarenko

A South Korean Marine stands on a K-55 self-propelled howitzer during a military exercise against possible attacks by North Korea near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

Hagel says Pyongyang poses ‘real and clear danger’ to US allies as Pentagon sends battery to Guam to strengthen defences North Koreans attend a rally against the US and South Korea in Nampo, North Korea, on Wednesday. Photograph: Kcna/Reuters The…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

FIn this Jan. 31, 2013 file photo, former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington. A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is calling North Korea‘s development of nuclear weapons a “growing threat” to the U.S. and its allies. In a…
photo: AP / Scott Applewhite

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, accompanied by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, inspect the Honor Guards during a welcome ceremony at the Istana or presidential palace on Friday May 22, 2009 in Singapore.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has dissolved parliament ahead of a general election. Mr Najib, whose National Front (BN) coalition has been in power for over 50 years, made the announcement in a…
photo: AP / Wong Maye-E

An Egyptian protester throws a tear gas canister back at riot police, not seen, during clashes near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

BRADLEY KLAPPER Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is warning that Egypt may be backsliding in its transition to democracy. Secretary of State John Kerry says…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Palestinians walk past murals depicting slogans for Hamas in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on March 21, 2013. Two rockets launched from the Gaza Strip which hit the southern city of Sderot, rockets fired by militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip hit southern Israel as US President Barack Obama was visiting the Jewish state, police said. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military says its warplanes have struck targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire toward southern Israel. The air strikes early Wednesday morning were the first launched by Israel since an…

Hagel cites ‘growing threat’ from NKorean nukes

FIn this Jan. 31, 2013 file photo, former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington. A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is calling North Korea‘s development of nuclear weapons a “growing threat” to the U.S. and its allies. In a…
photo: AP / Scott Applewhite

Malaysian PM Najib Razak paves way for general election

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, accompanied by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, inspect the Honor Guards during a welcome ceremony at the Istana or presidential palace on Friday May 22, 2009 in Singapore.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has dissolved parliament ahead of a general election. Mr Najib, whose National Front (BN) coalition has been in power for over 50 years, made the announcement in a…
photo: AP / Wong Maye-E

US warns Egypt’s transition may be backsliding

An Egyptian protester throws a tear gas canister back at riot police, not seen, during clashes near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

BRADLEY KLAPPER Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is warning that Egypt may be backsliding in its transition to democracy. Secretary of State John Kerry says…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Israeli Planes Strike Gaza After Rocket Fire

Palestinians walk past murals depicting slogans for Hamas in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on March 21, 2013. Two rockets launched from the Gaza Strip which hit the southern city of Sderot, rockets fired by militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip hit southern Israel as US President Barack Obama was visiting the Jewish state, police said. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military says its warplanes have struck targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire toward southern Israel. The air strikes early Wednesday morning were the first launched by Israel since an…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Serbia-Kosovo talks fail to reach accord in Brussels

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic addresses the media at the end of a meeting, at the European External Action Service( EEAS) office in Brussels, Wednesday, April 3, 2013.

EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo have broken up without a deal. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said he had not been able to reach agreement with his Kosovo counterpart, Hashim Thaci, on normalising ties. An EU official said talks in…
photo: AP / Yves Logghe

Trial to revisit Michael Jackson’s life

A fan of Michael Jackson cries while holding a poster with his likeness ahead of the premiere of the documentary "This Is It" in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Jury selection has began in a Los Angeles civil trial that will revisit the chequered life and sudden death of superstar Michael Jackson before a planned comeback that he had hoped would revive his tattered personal and musical reputation. Jackson’s
photo: AP / Elizabeth Dalziel

North Korea Says It Will Restart Reactor to Expand Arsenal

In this image from television, foreign reporters and workers in protective gear are seen at North Korea's main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, Friday, Feb. 22, 2008.

Correction Appended SEOUL, South KoreaNorth Korea said on Tuesday that it would put all its nuclear facilities — including its operational uranium-enrichment program and its reactors mothballed or under construction — to use in expanding its…
photo: AP / APTN

Venezuela campaign starts to elect Chavez’s successor

Supporters of opposition Presidential candidate Henrique Capriles hold up posters of him prior to the start of a march against violence in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, April 1, 2013.

The official election campaign to replace the late President Hugo Chavez is getting under way in Venezuela. The two main candidates have already been holding events in the month since Mr Chavez died of cancer. On Monday, opposition candidate Henrique
photo: AP / Fernando Llano

Hamas re-elects Khaled Meshaal as political leader

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshaal waves goodbye, alongside Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, upon his departure from the Gaza Strip in Rafah, on the border with Egypt on December 10, 2012. Meshaal tours the Gaza Strip, ending 45 years of exile from Palestinian land with a visit that underscored the Islamist group's growing confidence following a recent conflict with Israel.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has re-elected Khaled Meshaal as its political leader, officials said. Mr Meshaal has headed Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip,…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

6,000 Syrians killed in March, deadliest month yet

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Revolution Against Assad's Regime which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies on a street in Aleppo, Syria Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

March was the bloodiest month yet in Syria’s two-year-old conflict with more than 6,000 documented deaths, a leading anti-regime activist group said on Monday, blaming the increase on heavier shelling and more violent clashes. Rami Abdul-Rahman, who…
photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime

The Ku Klux Klan in Memphis: ‘White people have rights too’

Ku Klux Klan members supporting Barry Goldwater's campaign for the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, San Francisco, California, as an African American man pushes signs back,USA.

It was touted to be one of the largest Ku Klux Klan rallies in years, but it actually turned out to be roughly 60 Klan members who gathered at the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee this past Saturday on Mar. 30, 2013. And while the Klan…
photo: Creative Commons / Warren K. Leffler

Myanmar Police Say 13 Children Die in Fire

Muslims carry a body bag containing an unidentified victim's body to an ambulance after a fire broke out at a mosque in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Police in Myanmar say 13 children died when an electrical fire broke out at a mosque in the country’s largest city. Police officer Thet Lwin said the blaze early Tuesday in Yangon was triggered by an overheated inverter…
photo: AP / Khin Maung Win

Timbuktu tense after deadly battles

A Malian soldier takes cover behind a truck during exchanges of fire with jihadists in Gao, northern Mali, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.

The Malian city of Timbuktu is on high alert, after deadly clashes erupted there over the weekend. Malian soldiers were going house to house on Monday, searching for rebels. At least three fighters were reportedly killed. Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall,…
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

Ind. surgeon answers call of duty in Afghanistan

Ind. surgeon answers call of duty in Afghanistan

Life is funny this way: Sometimes you run across a small thing that leads you to a huge life change. That happened several years ago with Dr. Roger Shinnerl, 46, a general and vascular surgeon at Evansville Surgical Associates. For him, the “small…

Cyprus crisis: Moscow will not bail out Russian savers

People pass by a branch of the bank of Cyprus in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday, March 30, 2013.

The Russian government says it will not compensate Russian savers who have lost money in the Cyprus banking crisis. Russians are believed to have billions of euros in Cypriot accounts and deposits above 100,000 euros (£84,300; $128,200) in the two…
photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

Easter As A Religious Observance

Easter As A Religious Observance

Easter is here and a lot of the people who are celebrating are ones who are just thrilled to have this week off so that they can rest and relax. Sure, some deem cleaning their entire house from top to bottom as being “relaxing,” but I am not in that…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

March set to be coldest in 51 years

March set to be coldest in 51 years

As snow continues to blanket parts of the UK, it will come as no surprise to many that the last 31 days look set to be the coldest March in more than 50 years. Average temperatures between March 1 and 26 were just 2.5C (36.5F), three degrees below…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Computer workshops for parents slated for April

Computer workshops for parents slated for April

Elizabeth Brunscheen-Cartagena isn’t surprised to see parents leave computer workshops stunned about the scope of online dangers targeting their children. She had the same reaction herself. “Every time I left the class, I thought,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

South Africans pray for Mandela at Easter services

Children from a school close to former South African President Nelson Mandela's house sing and dance to traditional drum beat as they celebrate his birthday in Qunu, South Africa, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela had a restful day in a hospital Sunday and is improving following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the government said. The office of President Jacob Zuma thanked South Africans who prayed for…
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

Prosecutors question Egypt satirist Bassem Youssef

Popular Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef, who has come to be known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, waves to is supporters as he enters Egypt's state prosecutors office to face accusations of insulting Islam and the country's Islamist leader in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 31, 2013.

Prosecutors in Egypt are questioning the popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef over allegations of insulting Islam and President Mohammed Morsi. Mr Youssef arrived at the public prosecutor’s office on Sunday morning, a day after a warrant was…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Pope Francis to lead Easter celebrations at St Peter’s

Pope Francis, greets the faithful during the Urbi and Orbi (to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the the Vatican Sunday, March 31, 2013.
Pope Francis is set to celebrate his first Easter Sunday since his election with an open-air Mass in St Peter‘s Square. He will then deliver a speech to Rome and to the world – the “Urbi et Orbi” address – from a balcony of St…
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Karzai to hold talks on Taliban office in Qatar

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013

DOHA: Afghan President Hamid Karzai was set to hold discussions in Qatar Sunday on the possible opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf state that could facilitate peace talks to end more than a decade of war. Karzai was previously…
photo: AP / Ahmad Jamshid

Kenya’s Raila Odinga ‘to continue struggle peacefully’

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, gestures during a news conference Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, in Nairobi, Kenya on the presidency. Odinga sharply criticized incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo for illegitimately hanging on to power and urged him to step aside. Prime Minister Raila Odinga's words carry particular weight because many observers of Kenya's 2007 presidential election believe Odinga was the rightful winner, but incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was instead declared winner, sparking months of violence that left more than 1,000 people dead in this East African nation. (

Defeated Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga has said he will seek peaceful ways to end a row over poll results, which gave a narrow first round victory to rival Uhuru Kenyatta. He was speaking after Kenya‘s Supreme Court upheld Mr…
photo: AP / Sayyid Azim

North Korea declares ‘state of war’ with South


SEOUL : North Korea on Saturday declared it was in a “state of war” with South Korea and warned Seoul and Washington that any provocation would swiftly escalate into an all-out nuclear conflict. The United States said it took the announcement “seriously”, but noted it followed a familiar pattern, while South Korea largely dismissed it as an…
Korean People's Army soldiers observing the South Korean side of the DMZ. The Korean People's Army (KPA) is the name for the collective armed personnel of the North Korean military.

Hundreds of rotting ducks: First dead pigs, now dead ducks in Chinese River

Dead duck (sl1)

Officials have already cleaned up thousands of dead pigs from a river just outside of Shangahi, China, and now they have another problem on their hands. ABCNews.com reported on the morning of Friday, March 29, 2013, that officials are trying to…
photo: creative commons /

Woman accused of witchcraft is burned alive in public flogging (Photos)

In this Feb. 6, 2013 file photo, bystanders watch as a woman accused of witchcraft is burned alive in the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea.

A woman is beaten, tortured and set on fire in a public square, in Papua New Guinea , on Feb. 7, 2013. The woman is accused of being a witch by an angry mob, who bound, tortured and set her ablaze in view of hundreds of horrified spectators, a number…
photo: AP / Post Courier

Test cheating scandal: Dozens of Atlanta teachers indicted in cheating scandal

Inman Middle School

A grand jury has indicted 35 school administrators and teachers for their alleged part in the biggest standardized test cheating ring in the history of the nation. The Associated Press reported on Friday, March 29, 2013, that Atlanta‘s public school…
photo: Creative Commons

China: Landslide Buries Workers at Mine in Tibet

Rescue workers emerge from the Tunlan Coal Mine in Gujiao, in China's Shanxi province, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009. A gas explosion ripped through the mine early Sunday, killing at least 73

A huge landslide buried 83 workers at a gold mining site in western China on Friday, setting off a frantic rescue effort, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The government said more than 1,000 rescue workers had been called in to…
photo: AP / Greg Baker

Judge Dismisses Suit Over Steel Cross at 9/11 Museum

Members of the September 11th Education Trust meet in a restaurant overlooking the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 in New York. The trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching the lessons of 9/11

A judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday that sought to stop the display of a cross-shaped steel beam found in the World Trade Center’s rubble, saying it could help tell the story of the terrorist attack. Connect with NYTMetro Follow us on Twitter…
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

North Korea enters ‘state of war’ with South

University students punch the air as they march through Kim Il Sung Square in downtown Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, March 29, 2013.

North Korea has said it is entering a “state of war” with South Korea in its latest escalation of rhetoric against its southern neighbour and the US. A statement carried on state media promised “stern physical actions” against…
photo: AP / Jon Chol Jin

Car bombs kill 18 at Iraq Shiite mosques

Fire fighters extinguish a fire at the Great Prophet Shiite mosque after a suicide car bomb attack in Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 29, 2013.

BAGHDAD: A series of car bombs near Shiite mosques targeting worshippers attending weekly prayers killed at least 18 people on Friday, the latest in a spike in unrest ahead of Iraq’s first polls since 2010. The blasts,…

 

 

Hagel: US B-2s not intended to provoke N. Korea

Republican Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for defense secretary, testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.

WASHINGTON — The unprecedented U.S. decision to send nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers to drop dummy munitions during military drills with South Korea this week was part of normal exercises and not intended to provoke a reaction from North Korea,…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Russia opposes Syrian opposition seat at UN

Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, briefs correspondents following the Security Council consultation on the situations in the Middle East.

UNITED NATIONS – Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday Moscow opposes any attempt to seat the Syrian opposition as the representative of Damascus in the world organization. The statement was made by Churkin,…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

General Breedlove named NATO’s European commander

Crewmembers assigned to the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force E-3A component, head toward their aircraft in preparation for a Joint Task Force exercise off the coast of Southern California.

US President Barack Obama has nominated General Philip Breedlove to be NATO‘s next Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The 57-year-old four-star general needs Senate approval to take up the role. US President Barack Obama and the North Atlantic Treaty
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brian K. Fromal

Mali conflict: Hollande sets French troop timetable

French President Francois Hollande, center, reviews troops, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, of the twelfth cuirassiers regiment in the military base of Olivet, near Orleans, central France, before delivering his New Year's greetings to French army forces.

France will reduce the number of its troops fighting in Mali to 1,000 by the end of the year, President Francois Hollande says. “We have achieved our objectives,” Mr Hollande said in a TV interview. He said troop levels would be halved to…
photo: AP / Jacques Brinon

For a Night at Least, Soccer Unites Iraqis and Syrians

Iraq's national football team, in green, in action against the Syria national football team, in red, during their international friendly soccer match at the al-Shaab stadium in Baghdad, Tuesday, March 26, 2013.

BAGHDAD – Iraq‘s national soccer team played Syria on the greenest patch of grass in Baghdad the other night, under bright lights that mostly stayed lit, before tens of thousands of Iraqis cheering on their own and the Syrians, too. The…
photo: AP / Khalid Mohammed

S&P 500 climbs to all-time high: 1,569.19

A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 11,000 after the opening bell, Monday, April 12, 2010

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 set an all-time closing record Thursday in a sign of growing confidence in the US economy. The widely-watched, broad-based index, a bellwether of US markets and the US economy, closed at 1,569.19, up 6.34 points, or 0.41 per…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Obama: Mandela as Strong Physically as Personally

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, left, sits next to his wife Graca Machel as they are driven across the field ahead of the World Cup final soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, July 11, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s concerned about Nelson Mandela‘s health, but that the anti-apartheid leader is as strong physically as he has been in leadership and character. Obama says he’s sending his thoughts and prayers…
photo: AP / Luca Bruno

 

 

Guantanamo hunger strikers ‘denied water’

In this file photo made June 27, 2006, reviewed by a U.S. Department of Defense official, U.S. military guards walk within Camp Delta military-run prison, at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba.

Prisoners participating in a hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre have lodged new complaints about their military jailers to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Wednesday’s charges come as an ICRC team made a fact-finding…
photo: AP / Brennan Linsley

Bachelet announces Chile presidential bid

 Chilean President Michelle Bachelet returned on Saturday to the place where she was imprisoned and tortured more than 30 years ago under military rule -- Agregó, además, que en su regreso al recinto de detención, lo encuentra transformado en Parque de la

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Former President Michelle Bachelet says she will run again for Chile’s top office in November elections as the candidate of the country’s center-left and…
photo: Presidencia de la Republica de Chile/Alex Ibanez

Chile ex-president Bachelet to run for re-election

Press Conference: UN Women- The future women want  Participants:  Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women and Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway  Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Climate Change.     Moderator:  Deborah Seward, Director, Strategic Communications Division, UN Department of Public Information

The former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, has said she will run for a second mandate in the November poll. Mrs Bachelet became the first female president of Chile in 2006, serving out her term in 2010. She has spent the last three years in…
photo: UN / Maria Elisa Franco

Cyprus reopens banks, under strict restrictions

Bank of Cyprus

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriots are expected to descend in their thousands on Thursday on banks, which reopen with tight controls imposed on transactions to prevent fleeing depositors from cleaning out the vaults in a catastrophic bank run. The east…
photo: Creative Commons

Accused Colorado theatre gunman offers guilty plea

James E. Holmes appears in Arapahoe County District Court with Public Defender Tamara Brady Monday, July 23, 2012, in Centennial, Colo.

Defence attorneys for the former graduate student accused of killing 12 people at a Denver area movie theatre last July have offered to have him plead guilty in exchange for a life prison term, according to court documents filed today. Public
photo: AP / Denver Post, RJ Sangosti

Navy SEALs in media dispute over who shot Bin Laden

Police officers secure the perimeter, with a sealed gate into the compound and a house where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was caught and killed late Monday, in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

A NEW version of the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden sharply contradicts earlier claims by a Navy SEAL who said he pulled the trigger. Esquire magazine published a long interview in February with a man identified only as “the…
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

With Trial Suddenly Looming, Russian Activist Expects the Worst

Alexei Navalny

MOSCOW — Since his earliest days as an opposition blogger, Aleksei A. Navalny has known that a prison sentence loomed as a possibility. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List:…
photo: Creative Commons

 

‘Largest ever’ cyber attack jams Internet

File - A teenage girl in front of a computer using the internet, India.

A squabble between a group fighting spam and a Dutch company that hosts websites said to be sending spam has escalated into one of the largest computer attacks on the Internet, causing widespread congestion and jamming crucial infrastructure….
photo: WN / Aruna Mirasdar

 

Egypt elections may be held in October, Morsi says

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, center, attends the opening session of the Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, March 26, 2013.

Egypt President Mohammed Morsi sees parliamentary elections being held in October, state media reported on Wednesday, driving the country deeper into political turmoil. A court earlier this month already suspended elections scheduled for April. By…
photo: AP / Ghiath Mohamad

Obama gives Secret Service its 1st female director

 Flanked by Secret Service agents, US President George W. Bush and First Lady, Laura Bush travel the inaugural parade route inside an armored limousine headed toward the White House after renewing the oath of office earlier in the day at the nation´

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency’s first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal….
photo: US Navy file/JO2 Mark O´Donald

UN chief proposes peacekeepers as option for Mali

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon posed for a group photo with staff members of United Nations Radio to mark World Radio Day, which is observed on 13 February. Mr. Ban (right) is shown speaking to the UN’s radio journalists. At left is UN Radio Chief Executive Producer Ben Dotsei Malor.

EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press= UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed a U.N. peacekeeping force for Mali with 11,200 troops working alongside a non-U.N. force that would conduct major combat and counter-terrorism operations…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Strong earthquake sways buildings in Taiwan

South of Zhongli City. The city of Zhongli is mainly centered around the TRA Zhongli Station. The TRA station is the 3rd busiest station of Taiwan. In addition, there is also a Neili station stop of the TRA.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A strong earthquake has been felt throughout Taiwan, but no casualties or damage has been reported yet. The Central Weather Bureau says the quake Wednesday registered at magnitude 6.1. The tremor struck a rural township in Nantou…
photo: Creative Commons / Ted chou12

Hiring freeze leads to 800 Air Force Life Cycle Management Center job vacancies

Hiring freeze leads to 800 Air Force Life Cycle Management Center job vacancies

A civilian hiring freeze has opened more than 800 job vacancies nationwide that the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has been unable to fill because of sequestration, a top Air Force commander said. Lt. Gen. C.D. Moore, AFLCMC commander…
photo: DOD / Public Domain

Over 50 killed in Afghan violence in two days

Over 50 killed in Afghan violence in two days

KABUL, March 26 (Xinhua) — More than 50 people, mostly militants, have been killed in attacks and bombings across Afghanistan since Monday morning, authorities said Tuesday. At early Tuesday morning, five Afghan policemen and eight militants were…
photo: U.S. Marine Corps / Public Domain

British Ex-Foreign Secretary Miliband Plans to Quit Politics

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrives to speak at the Iraq Inquiry in London, Monday, March 8, 2010.

MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) – David Miliband, a former head of the British Foreign Office, is planning to step down as a member of the parliament and move to the United States to lead a charity organization there, BBC
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

 

 

Cyprus’ banks to remain closed until Thursday

26 Mar 2013
Cyprus ordered banks to remain closed for two more days over fears of a run by customers trying to get their money out, after striking a pre-dawn bailout deal on Monday that averted the country’s imminent bankruptcy. The sudden midnight postponement of the much anticipated on Tuesday bank opening by all but the country’s two largest…
A man uses the ATM machine as another man sits outside of a closed branch of Laiki bank in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, March 25, 2013.

 

Immigrant wins $338M Powerball jackpot in US

People line up to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets at the Bluebird Liquor store in Hawthorne, Calif. on Friday, March 30, 2012.

A 44-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic is the winner of a $338 million Powerball lottery jackpot in the U.S., and he’s telling reporters in Spanish that he’s “very happy.” Several media outlets were at the New Jersey liquor store, where…
photo: AP / Damian Dovarganes

The President and First Lady love ‘The Bible’ series despite controversy

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama share a dance during the Commander-In-Chief Inaugural ball at the Washington Convention Center during the 57th Presidential Inauguration Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington.

The Bible’ series that airs weekly on the History Channel has been a huge success. Hollywood couple Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice, The Voice) and Roma Downey (Touched By an Angel) are the producers of the series that is drawing a large…
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Supporters of Guatemalan ex-dictator deny genocide

Guatemala's former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt, left, smiles as he attends his hearing in Guatemala City, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A group of retired soldiers and their relatives launched a campaign Monday to deny that a genocide was carried out in Guatemala and to demand a fair trial for former dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt. About 24 people began…
photo: AP / Moises Castillo

He Has Millions and a New Job at Yahoo. Soon, He’ll Be 18.

Nick D'Aloisio

One of Yahoo’s newest employees is a 17-year-old high school student in Britain. As of Monday, he is one of its richest, too. That student, Nick D’Aloisio, a programming whiz who wasn’t even born when Yahoo was founded in 1994, sold…
photo: flickr / Calodemarchis

Bill Gates offers $1million to reinvent the condom

Microsoft founder Bill Gates delivers a speech during the "Microsoft Research Asia 10th Anniversary Innovation Forum," Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008 in Hong Kong, China

Bill Gates, the world’s second richest man, is offering up to $1 million to anyone who can re-invent the condom. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to improve the lives of the world’s poorest Photo: Andrew Crowley for the Telegraph By…
photo: AP / Jerome Favre

US Stocks Fall on Broad Concern About Europe

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, July 23, 2009 in New York

Stocks reversed an early rise on Wall Street Monday as traders returned to worrying about the European economy. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @NYTNational for breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors Optimism about a deal…
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

Israel to unblock Palestinian funds

Israel to unblock Palestinian funds

JerusalemIsrael is to resume the transfer of revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, frozen last year in retaliation for the Palestinians winning upgraded UN status, the premier’s office said on Monday. The decision came after…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

 

Cypriot, European officials express relief at last-ditch bailout agreement

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, right, speaks with Chief Executive Officer of the European Financial Stability Facility Klaus Regling during a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, March 4, 2013.

Cyprus has struck a last-minute agreement with international lenders to save its banks from insolvency and keep it in the eurozone. The deal, though, comes at a significant cost for some. The deal, which came in the early hours of Monday after more…
photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

Buddhist-Muslim violence spreads in Myanmar

A man walks among debris of buildings destroyed during ethnic unrest between Buddhists and Muslim in Meikhtila, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) north of Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, March 25, 2013.

AYE AYE WIN Associated Press= YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Anti-Muslim mobs rampaged through three more towns in Myanmar’s predominantly Buddhist heartland over the weekend, destroying mosques and burning dozens of homes despite government efforts to stop…
photo: AP / Khin Maung Win

U.N. chief condemns rebel seizure of power in Central African Republic

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) addresses a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. He is flanked by Oscar Fernandez-Taranco (left), Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs; and Abdou Salam Diallo, Committee Chair and Permanent Representative of Senegal to the UN.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned the “unconstitutional seizure of power” in Central African Republic and demanded the restoration of constitutional order in the country. “The…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Cyprus Reaches Bailout Deal With International Lenders

Angela Merkel with Nicos Anastasiades in 2007 at the EPP summit.

* Deal to shut Laiki bank, transfer insured deposits * Clinched hours before Monday deadline to seal EU bailout * Without deal banks faced collapse, possible euro zone exit By Jan Strupczewski and Annika Breidthardt BRUSSELS, March 25 (Reuters) -…
photo: Creative Commons

Kerry Appeals to Laos in Case of a Missing Man

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., sits before the committee he has served on for 28 years and led for the past four as he seeks confirmation as U.S. secretary of state, on Capitol Hill in Washington

VIENTIANE, Laos — On the 100th day since the disappearance of a prominent American-educated Laotian agriculture specialist, Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged the government here to make public the results of an investigation into…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Boris Berezovsky, 67, Russian tycoon left country amid feud with Putin

 Russian exile Boris Berezovsky, a close friend of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by Polonium 2-10, speaks to the media in a news conference in London, Wednesday, July 18, 2007. Berezovsky claims he was advised, three weeks ago

LONDONBoris Berezovsky, a self-exiled and outspoken Russian tycoon who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead in southeast England on Saturday. He was 67. In recent years, the one-time Kremlin…
photo: AP/Sang Tan

Syria’s Weapons of Mass Desruction

This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed Monday, July 30, 2012, purports to show Free Syrian Army soldiers in Anadan 16 kilometers (10 miles), from Aleppo, Syria.

Syria has been accused of conducting the research and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Syria admitted to having a stockpile of chemical weapons reserved for national defense against foreign countries on July 23, 2012. They restarted their…

Kerry in Iraq to press on Iran flights to Syria

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., shown after a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving him to become America's next top diplomat, replacing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Kerry, who has served on the Foreign Relations panel for 28 years and led the committee for the past four, is expected to be swiftly confirmed by the whole Senate later Tuesday.

MATTHEW LEE Associated Press= BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Iraq on an unannounced visit to urge Iraqi leaders to stop Iranian overflights of arms and fighters heading to Syria and to overcome sectarian differences that…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Pervez Musharraf ‘unworried’ by death threats

Ali Abbas Hasanie and Pervez Musharraf in a Fund Raising Dinner in Montreal on October 12, 2012.

Ex-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he is not worried by Taliban death threats, ahead of his planned return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile….
photo: Ali Abbas Hasanie

UN Myanmar envoy visits ruined city after violence

Vijay Nambiar, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s special adviser on Myanmar, looks at debris of the buildings destroyed during the ethnic unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in Meikhtila, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) north of Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, March 24, 2013.

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar (AP) — The United Nations‘ top envoy to Myanmar on Sunday toured a central city that was destroyed in the country’s worst explosion of Buddhist-Muslim violence this year, visiting some of the nearly 10,000 people forced from their…
photo: AP / Khin Maung Win

Bodybuilder Weider dies aged 93

Warren Chaney (left) and Joe Weider discuss plans for the first Ms. Olympia Women's Bodybuilding Contest of 1980.

Joe Weider, a legendary figure in bodybuilding who helped popularise the sport worldwide and played a key role in introducing a charismatic young weightlifter named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, has died aged 93. His publicist, Charlotte
photo: Creative Commons / Sinclairindex

Cyprus has only hard choices left, says EU’s Olli Rehn

Press conference by Olli Rehn

Cyprus has only “hard choices left” and must agree terms on Sunday for a crucial bailout for its ailing banks, the EU’s commissioner for economic affairs Olli Rehn says. Mr Rehn said there were no longer any “optimal…
photo: EC / EC

Suspected Islamists kill 25 in northeast Nigeria: Police

Nigerian police officers stand guard in the area were the military are battling gunmen in Kano, northern Nigeria, Wednesday April 18, 2007.

KADUNA/KANO: Suspected Islamist gunmen have launched a series of gun and bomb attacks in a remote town along Nigeria‘s border with Cameroon, killing at least 25 people, police said on Saturday. The gunmen carried out four simultaneous assaults on…
photo: AP / George Osodi

US prepares for transfer of strategic base to Afghans

US prepares for transfer of strategic base to Afghans

FOB SWEENEY, AfghanistanThe Americans are leaving town, and the Afghans will inherit a new base. Soldiers from Combined Task Force Raider are packing up Forward Operating Base Sweeney in Zabul province and heading out. But unlike some other bases…

Experts call for inclusion of water security as part of UN Sustainable Development Goals

Experts call for inclusion of water security as part of UN Sustainable Development Goals

Tweet Washington, Mar 23 (ANI): Amid changing weather and water patterns worldwide and forecasts of more severe transformations to come, the UN Security Council is being increasingly urged by experts to include water security issues on its agenda….
photo: UN / UN

Russia refuses to help Cyprus until EU bailout is agreed

Russia refuses to help Cyprus until EU bailout is agreed

Russia has sent Cyprus ’s finance minister home emptyhanded and said it will only consider helping the stricken island once it has sealed a bailout deal with the EU. Michael Sarris failed in his two-day mission to Moscow to secure a financial…
photo: EC / EC

Putin rolls out red carpet for new China leader

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping smile during their press briefing after talks in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2013.

(The Independent) China’s new leader began his first overseas trip as president with a much anticipated visit to Russia today – a symbolic trip that underlines China’s desire to ensure its energy supply while showing defiance in…
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

Pakistan stage set for Musharraf comeback

Pervez Musharraf - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos

Pakistan‘s former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf is finally coming home in time to stand in elections, due in May. He left the country in late 2008 and has since been living in self-imposed exile in London. With arrest warrants issued…
photo: Creative Commons / Remy Steinegger

Israel PM ‘apologises’ for flotilla incident

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 28, 2010

Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said he “expressed apology” to Turkey for any error that led to the death of nine Turkish nationals in 2010 in the Gaza flotilla incident. Netanyahu also said on Friday that Israel has also agreed to…
photo: AP / //Ronen Zvulun

Rebels advance toward C. African Republic capital

Rebels in northern Central African Republic in June 2007. The Central African Republic Bush War (2004–2007) began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) in North-Eastern CAR, led by Michel Djotodia, after the current President of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé, seized power in 2003

BANGUI, Central African RepublicWitnesses confirmed that Central African Republic rebels took the town of Damara, located 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the capital, Bangui. Damara marked the “red-line” drawn by regional forces in January, when the…

Italy-Indian row: Marines travel to India for trial

Italian marines Salvatore Girone, left, and Massimiliano Latorre, arrive at a military prosecutor's office in Rome Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen are on their way back to Delhi for trial, Indian officials say, as diplomatic tensions ease. India had allowed them to travel to Italy to vote in last month’s election. When they failed…
photo: AP / Riccardo De Luca

President Obama targets young, old in Mideast

President Barack Obama talks about health care reform as he announces his nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, not pictured, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009

JERUSALEM — President Barack Obama, appealing to disparate audiences to solve one of the world’s thorniest problems, moved closer Thursday to the Israeli government‘s position on resuming long-stalled peace talks with the Palestinians,…
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

Australia’s Kevin Rudd in party leadership vow

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is seen during a press conference after signing a Social Security Agreement with Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, not seen, at the Royal Palace of Godollo, in the town of Godollo, east of Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, June 7, 2011.

Kevin Rudd has ruled out any return to the Australian Labor Party leadership, as ructions continue after Thursday’s abortive ballot. In a statement, Mr Rudd said there were “no circumstances” under which he would seek the party’s…
photo: AP / Bela Szandelszky

Bombing at Syria mosque kills at least 41 plus pro-Assad preacher

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, the Eman Mosque is seen destroyed after a suicide bomber

Updated: March 21, 2013 8:26PM BEIRUT — A suicide bomb ripped through a mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital Thursday, killing a top Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of President Bashar Assad in one of the most stunning…
photo: AP / SANA

Nicolas Sarkozy under investigation for ‘exploiting’ L’Oréal heiress

French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks during a joint news conference with President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Former French president could face jail and fine for ‘taking advantage’ of Liliane Bettencourt, France‘s richest woman Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly denied taking campaign funds from Liliane Bettencourt. Photograph: Abdullah
photo: AP / Alex Brandon

Justin Welby installed as 105th Archbishop of Canterbury

Britain's bishop of Durham Justin Welby speaks during a news conference following the announcement that he will become the next archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace in London, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012.

CANTERBURY, EnglandJustin Welby, the 57-year old former oil executive who quit the world of high finance in 1992 to become a priest, was enthroned Thursday (March 21) as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the…
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

North Korea threatens to attack US bases

APRA HARBOR, Guam (Aug. 21, 2011) The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) enters Apra Harbor for a scheduled port visit.

Kim Jong-un oversees mock drone strike as North Korea threatens military bases in Japan and on Guam Link to video: North Korea threatens US airbases in Japan North Korea has said it will attack US military bases on Japan and the Pacific island of…

Cyprus scraps bank levy in new bailout plan

21 Mar 2013
Political leaders in Cyprus have dropped an unpopular levy on bank deposits in a new bailout…
People queue at an ATM outside a closed Laiki Bank branch in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, March 21, 2013.
photo: AP / Petros Giannakouris

UN votes on Sri Lanka resolution today, India likely to move amendments

	UN votes on Sri Lanka resolution today, India likely to move amendments

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in Geneva will vote on Thursday on a resolution to press the Sri Lankan government for a more thorough probe into allegations of human rights abuse against ethnic Tamils in the last days of its war against LTTE in…
photo: UN / UN

Hollande vows to restore Mali sovereignty in few days

French President Francois Hollande speaks as he visits housing construction at the urban redevelopment site in Ermont-Eaubonne, near Paris, Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. President Francois Hollande says he’ll discuss when France will reduce troop levels in Mali during a trip there Saturday, nearly four weeks after a French-led operation against Islamic extremists began in the vast West African nation.

PARISMali‘s sovereignty over almost all of its territory will be restored within “a few days”, French President Francois Hollande promised as French troops prepare to pull out. The announcement came as Paris scrambled Wednesday to verify a claim…
photo: AP / Philippe Wojazer, Pool

Marines killed in training were young, passionate about the Corps

Marines killed in training were young, passionate about the Corps

Pfc. Josh Martino is seen in this undated photo provided by his brother Tony Perry. Martino, 19, a native of Dubois, Pa., was killed along with six others by an explosion during a training exercise at Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada Monday March 18,…
photo: Shane Hamann / Public Domain

Kashmir attack: Three Indian soldiers wounded

Indian Army soldier cordoned area after suspected militants attacked a Border Security Force (BSF) convoy at Nowgam Srinagar- Jammu National Highway in Srinagar, India, on Thursday. Three BSF jawans were injured in the attack.

At least three Indian soldiers have been critically wounded in Indian-administered Kashmir in an attack, the second such assault in a week. Police said militants fired at a convoy of Border Security Force (BSF)…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

UN studies Syria’s chemical attack probe request

A Free Syrian Army soldier walks in the rubble of houses destroyed from Syrian government forces shelling, in Azaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

United Nations: The UN has received Syria‘s request to create a group of independent investigators to probe an alleged chemical attack in the country, according to the UN secretary general‘s press service. “A written request has now been received…
photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

Scottish independence: Salmond to announce referendum day

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, second left, arrives for a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron,at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh, Scotland Thursday, Feb 16, 2012.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond will reveal the precise date of the independence referendum in a statement to parliament later. Draft legislation on holding the vote is due to be brought before Holyrood. The SNP previously only said it would…
photo: AP / Scott Heppell

Optimism as Serbia and Kosovo seek to patch up differences

A woman walks by the graffiti reading "Kosovo is Serbia", Thursday, May 21,2009, in Belgrade. U.S Vice President Joe Biden offered Serbia "a strong, new relationship" with the U.S. on Wednesday, along with help in its European Union membership bid, despite deep differences over independence for Kosovo. Biden, the first senior U.S. official to visit Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year has arrived in Kosovo to boost the new country's statehood in the face of strong opposition from Serbia.

A spirit of optimism has emerged in EU-brokered talks between Serbia and Kosovo. As prospective fellow EU member states, the two have been trying to iron out differences so they can normalize relations. Serbia and Kosovo have made significant strides…

Obama in Israel for first trip as president

President Barack Obama, center, with Israeli President Shimon Perez, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, during his arrival ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 20, 2013,

TEL AVIV, IsraelPresident Barack Obama plunged into the turbulent Middle East Wednesday, assuring Israel of the U.S. commitment to its security while cautioning that the region’s “winds of change bring both promise and peril.” Obama declared…
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Warming temperatures could multiply Katrina-like hurricanes -study

Warming temperatures could multiply Katrina-like hurricanes -study

The number of Atlantic storms with magnitude similar to killer Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, could rise sharply this century, environmental researchers reported on Monday. Scientists have long studied the…
photo: Creative Commons / Infrogmation

Sectarian Strains Pit Some Iraqis Against Their Own Leaders

 Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abu Risha, founder of al-Anbar Awakening, arrives for a meeting with tribal leaders of Iraq´s Anbar province in the provincial capital of Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007. They promise

RAMADI, Iraq — As Rafe al-Essawi, the embattled Sunni leader, sped south on a desert highway last week to attend the funeral of a political ally who was assassinated, his cellphone rang with a warning: Up ahead, Iraqi soldiers, backed by two…
photo: AP

YouTube video claims an alien is in the Secret Service

Secret Service agents keep watch as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive in Tucson, Ariz., to attend a memorial service for victims of last Saturday's shooting rampage that killed six people and left 14 injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011.

A video on YouTube claims an alien is part of President Obama‘s Secret Service detail. Can it be true? The video, published on March 19, 2013, shows the president addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and focuses on an admittedly…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Cyprus Rejects Bailout Deal, Bank Tax

Members of parliament vote against a crucial plan to seize a part of depositors' bank savings, in Nicosia, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

The Cypriot parliament has overwhelmingly rejected a bailout plan demanded by international lenders that would have taxed the savings accounts of depositors at the island nation’s banks. No lawmaker voted in favor of the $13 billion rescue package…
photo: AP / Philippos Christou

Assault Weapons Ban Is Gun Debate’s First Casualty

An assaultman disassembles the 9mm spotting rifle on a Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon.

The prospects of an assault weapons ban emerging as part of any post-Newtown gun control law looks highly unlikely after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opted not to include it in a Democratic proposal to be offered on the Senate floor in…
photo: Public Domain / Cpl. Chris Lyttle

Syria accuses rebels of ‘chemical weapon attack that killed 16’

This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network ENN, purports to show Syrian rebels gathered on their vehicle in the northern town of Kfar Nebel, in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday, June 5, 2012.

Syrian state media accused rebels of firing a chemical weapon for the first time today in the north of the country, killing 15 people. Rebels quickly denied the report and accused regime forces of firing the weapon. Neither of the accusations could…

Obama, Irish PM to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

United States President Barack Obama and Taoiseach Enda Kenny from Ireland during a meeting in the Oval Office on the morning of 20 March 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is marking his fifth St. Patrick’s Day in the White House with a schedule of Irish-themed events. Obama meets with Irish Prime Minister
photo: Public Domain / Pete Souza

Mexico’s president gathers power, pushes reform

Enrique Pena Nieto speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. Pena Nieto says he'll mount a "real fight" against production and trafficking of marijuana, despite its legalization in two U.S. states.

MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press= MEXICO CITY (AP) — New President Enrique Pena Nieto has been fast out of the blocks in attacking some of Mexico‘s toughest issues in a country often stymied by monopolies and corruption. He arrested the most…
photo: AP / Dario Lopez-Mills

Blair: Iraq uprising would have been ‘worse than Syria’

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves the High Court in London Monday, May 28, 2012 after he gave evidence to the Leveson media inquiry.

Iraqis would have rebelled against Saddam Hussein if there had been no invasion and it would have been “a lot worse than Syria“, Tony Blair has said. Iraqis previously “rose up in large numbers and were killed in very large…
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

Second computer glitch shuts down NASA Mars rover

Second computer glitch shuts down NASA Mars rover

The Mars rover Curiosity has had a second computer glitch, extending an unplanned work break for the NASA robot that discovered the first life-friendly chemistry beyond Earth, scientists said on Monday. Engineers had hoped to resume Curiosity…
photo: Creative Commons / NASA Goddard Space Flight Cente

At least 16 killed in northern Nigeria explosion

A woman stands at the scene of a bomb explosion in Kaduna, Nigeria, Monday, April 9, 2012. The weekend explosion killed at least 38 people and the target for the blast seems unclear as people from all sections of society were caught in the explosion.

By SALISU RABIU, Associated Press KANO, Nigeria (AP) — A medic says at least 16 people were killed in an explosion that hit a bus station in Kano in northern Nigeria. The medic, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

US says hunger strike grows to 21 at Guantanamo

In this Nov. 19, 2008 file photo reviewed by the U.S. Military, a Guantanamo detainee glances up while resting on a foam pad inside a fenced-in outdoor exercise area at the Camp 6 high-security detention facility on the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

By BEN FOX, Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay prison has grown and now involves at least 21 men, a U.S. military official said Monday while denying reports trickling out from prisoners through…
photo: AP / Brennan Linsley

UN chief urges approval of arms trade treaty

UN chief urges approval of arms trade treaty

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has urged the world’s nations to agree on a strong international treaty to regulate the multi-billion-dollar global arms trade in the next two weeks, saying it will save lives and make it more difficult for…

Syria arms ban debate intensifies in Europe

Free Syrian Army fighters ride a motorbike to approach Syrian Army tanks in Idlib, north Syria, Sunday, March 11, 2012.

As Syria‘s uprising enters its third year, the prospect of a protracted and painful war is concentrating minds in many places. In European capitals, a debate is growing over whether to lift an EU embargo to allow military support to Syrian
photo: AP / Rodrigo Abd

Great Barrier Reef could be destroyed ‘permanently’, warns expert

Cuttlefish, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia

Tweet Sydney, Mar 18 (ANI): Great Barrier Reef could be destroyed permanently due to climate change and the development of coal terminals on the Queensland coast, a marine expert has warned. In a speech at the David
photo: Creative Commons / Leonard Low

Australia boosts Burma aid and defence co-operation

President of Myanmar Thein Sein, right, meets with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Monday, March 18, 2013.

Australia said it would relax restrictions on defence co-operation with Burma, as President Thein Sein made the first visit by a Burmese head of state to Australia since 1974. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the increased engagement was in…
photo: AP / Alan Porritt

Karzai rebuke to US: What maddened the Afghan leader?

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta meets with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan December 14, 2011. Secretary Panetta stated that the U.S. is committed to working with the Afghan government to produce a free and independent country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been critical of several aspects of Nato‘s mission in his country – but his recent stinging rebuke, followed by a series of decisive moves, is unprecedented, both in terms of frequency and harshness. Within one…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

China replaces Britain in world’s top five arms exporters

A Chinese paramilitary officer gives instructions to recruits on the use of their weapons in Shanghai, China, Monday, Jan, 8, 2007.

China has become the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, a respected Sweden-based think tank said on Monday, its highest ranking since the cold war, with Pakistan the main recipient. China’s volume of weapons exports between 2008 and last year rose…
photo: AP / EyePress

Nadal beats Del Potro to clinch Indian Wells title

Rafael Nadal poses with histrophy, after defeating Tomas Berdych in the men's singles final on the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, Sunday, July 4, 2010

By Mark Lamport-Stokes INDIAN WELLS, California, March 17 (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal added another triumphant chapter to his remarkable comeback when he came from a set down to beat Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 4-6 6-3…
photo: AP / Alastair Grant

Syria rebels seize security compound near Golan

In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, smoke leaps the air from purported forces shelling in Homs, Syria.

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian rebels on Sunday seized a Syrian military intelligence compound in the southern Hauran Plain near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, stepping up attacks in the strategic region which stretches to the outskirts of the capital…

Oceanside chamber honors military heroes

Oceanside chamber honors military heroes

Oceanside — For 71 years, the city of Oceanside and its next door neighbor, the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, have had a close and mutually beneficial relationship. To thank its military neighbor to the north, the Oceanside Chamber of…
photo: US Army / Teddy Wade

Unemployment fuels Kashmir’s mistrust and discontent

Indian paramilitary troops patrol on deserted street during a curfew In Srinagar, India, 14, March 2013. A 22-year-old youth was killed on Wednesday when CRPF personnel allegedly opened fire .

Srinagar, March 17: Lack of significant employment opportunities among the youth of Jammu and Kashmir is fuelling their sense of alienation and compounds their mistrust and anger against the government and New Delhi. As per Census 2001, 71 percent of…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

In a first, Pakistan govt pulls off five-year term

Federal Minister for Interior, Senator A. Rehman Malik called on Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at PM House, Islamabad on January 30, 2013.

Zeenews Bureau Islamabad: The government of Pakistan has accomplished an unprecedented fete by pulling off the first complete 5 year-term in its political history. It is for the first time ever since 1947, when Pakistan was born as a result of…
photo: Press Information Dept. of Pakistan

For millions who served in the last decade, scars are lifelong

For millions who served in the last decade, scars are lifelong

WASHINGTON – Ten years after the United States went to war in Iraq, one of the most common numbers associated with the conflict is the tally of Americans killed: nearly 4,500. Add in the twin war in Afghanistan, and the tally goes to more than 6,600….
photo: Tammy K. Hineline / Public Domain

Cyprus president defends bailout deal amid public anger

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second right, speaks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, center, during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, March 15, 2013.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has said a big bailout – which has provoked mass public anger – was needed to avoid a “disorderly bankruptcy”. The 10bn-euro ($13bn; £9bn) deal agreed by the EU was “a painful but controlled…
photo: AP / Geert Vanden Wijnga

Aung San Suu Kyi: From icon to political player

Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar is welcomed at the International Labour Conference, Palais des Nations. Thursday 14 June 2012. Photo by Violaine Martin

The woman who was once the world’s most famous political prisoner is now wearing the less glamorous mantle of a mere politician. Aung San Suu Kyi‘s re-election last weekend as chair of the party she helped found 35 years ago was one of the…
photo: UN / Violaine Martin

Scottish independence: Referendum date set to be revealed by Alex Salmond

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, arrives for a meeting with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron,at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh, Scotland Thursday, Feb 16, 2012. A row between the British government in London and the Scottish National Party (SNP) has escalated sharply after British Prime Minister David Cameron outlined a plan to bring forward the referendum, which the SNP oppose as they want more time to rally support for a break from the United Kingdom.

First Minister Alex Salmond is expected to make public the date of Scotland‘s referendum on independence. The Scottish government will ask parliament officials if it can make a statement to MSPs on Thursday in which the autumn 2014 date will be…

US to Bolster Missile Defenses in Face of North Korea Threat

US to Bolster Missile Defenses in Face of North Korea Threat

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans on Friday to bolster U.S. missile defenses in response to “irresponsible and reckless provocations” by North Korea, which threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States last week….
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

US to boost missile defenses

US to boost missile defenses

The United States said it would bolster defenses against a possible North Korean missile strike a week after Pyongyang threatened a ‘pre-emptive’ nuclear attack against its arch-foe. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said 14 more interceptors would be…
photo: DOD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Spanish troops in Afghanistan begin withdrawal

HERAT, Afghanistan--The two members of a Spanish Army CH-47 Chinook Helicopter crew take in the view of western Afghanistan during an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, Sept. 27, 2008.

Madrid: The Spanish mission in Afghanistan began its withdrawal from Qala-i-Naw to its main base in Herat with the moving of equipment, vehicles and personnel. “Bringing forward the date originally planned, the Spanish contingent in…
photo: Creative Commons / ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office

Maryland death penalty ban goes to governor’s desk

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley testifies before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on "Tracking the Money: Preventing Waste, Fraud and Abuse of Recovery Act Funding" on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, July 8, 2009, in Washington.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. ? Maryland lawmakers approved a measure abolishing the death penalty on Friday and sent the bill to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has long supported banning capital punishment. The House of Delegates voted 82-56 for legislation already…
photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Vatican criticizes campaign against pope

In this photo made available by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis delivers his speech as he meets the Cardinals for the first time after his election, at the Vatican, Friday, March 15, 2013.

NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press= VATICAN CITY (AP) — The honeymoon that Pope Francis has enjoyed since his remarkable election hit a bump Friday, with the Vatican lashing out at what it called a defamatory and “anti-clerical left-wing” media…
photo: AP / L’Osservatore Romano

UN denounces US drone use in Pakistan

Pakistanis and American citizens hold banners and chant slogans against drone attacks in Pakistani tribal belt, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012.

The United States has violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and destroyed tribal structures with unmanned aerial drone strikes in its counterterrorism near the Afghan border, a UN human rights investigator has said. “As a matter of international law, the…
photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

George H.W. Bush Letters: New Edition Features Minor Revelations

George H. W. Bush

An updated edition of George H.W. Bush’s letters has just been published, and it contains some unexpected revelations. The latest release of All The Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings ($35, Scribner) contains letters sent over…

Iraq war killed 120,000, cost $800 billion

People evacuate an injured man after a bomb attack that struck the local headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013.

At least 116,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 4,800 coalition troops died in Iraq between the outbreak of war in 2003 and the US withdrawal in 2011, researchers estimated on Friday. Its involvement in Iraq has so far cost the United States $810…
photo: AP / Emad Matti

‘Pakistani militant’ held over Kashmir attack

An Indian Center Reserve Police Force stands guard on deserted street during a Second day curfew in Srinagar, India, on March 15, 2013. The curfew was imposed following the killing of a 22-year old local resident alleged Firing by Central Reserve Police Force.

Police in Indian-administered Kashmir say they have arrested a man in connection with Wednesday’s gun and grenade attack in Srinagar in which five security personnel were killed. Media reports, quoting police sources, say the man was a resident…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Samsung Spawns Galaxy S4, Takes Aim At Apple

JK Shin, President and Head of IT and Mobile Communications for Samsung Electronics, presents the new Samsung Galaxy S 4 during the Samsung Unpacked event at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 14, 2013 in New York.

Hordes of journalists descended on Radio City Music Hall for a somewhat chaotic Broadway-themed event, eager to see the company’s fourth-generation phone. Kicking off the launch, Samsung President J.K. Shin described the new phone “a life companion…
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow

Iran Nuclear Weapon to Take Year or More, Obama Says

Iranian woman Marzieh Masaebi watches a TV video showing US President Barack Obama's new video message addressed to the Iranian people, and broadcast from the Tapesh Farsi-language satellite TV beamed in from the United States, at her home in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2009. Obama released the video to coincide with the major Iranian festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year in Iran. Iran authorities played down Obama's video message saying it welcomed the overtures while warning that decades of mistrust can't easily be erased. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

WASHINGTON — President Obama told an Israeli television station on Thursday that his administration believed it would take Iran “over a year or so” to develop a nuclear weapon, and he vowed that the United States would do whatever…
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

China confirms Li Keqiang as premier

Chinese Vice Premier LI Keqiang, right, and LIu Yunshan, left, Director of Chinese Communist Party's Propaganda Department, clap while Zhou Yongkang, center, member of Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Commitee, is introduced during a conference to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Chinese Communist Youth League at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, May 4, 2012.

China‘s leaders have named Li Keqiang as premier, placing him at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy. Mr Li, who already holds the number two spot in the Communist Party, takes over from Wen Jiabao. Mr Li was elected for a…
photo: AP / Alexander F. Yuan

Syria conflict: EU to discuss arms ban on anniversary

Kurdish members of the FSA are seen on a tank stolen from the Syrian Army in Fafeen village, north of Aleppo province, Syria, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2012.

As Syrians mark the second anniversary of the start of the nation’s unrest, the EU is set to discuss lifting its arms embargo to allow supplying rebels. The leaders of France and Britain will try to push other EU members to agree to the move at…
photo: AP / Manu Brabo

In Syrian Clash Over ‘Death Highway,’ a Bitterly Personal War

In this picture taken on Sunday, June 24, 2012, a Syrian rebel, holds his automatic rifle at a street of Saraqeb town, in the northern province of Idlib, Syria.

HEESH, Syria — The Islamic fighters peered through rifle scopes and machine-gun sights at the remains of a Syrian military convoy disabled on the highway several hundred yards away. They were peppering President Bashar al-Assad’s soldiers…
photo: AP / Fadi Zaidan

UN: Syria refugee numbers jump 10 percent in week

Syrian children, who fled their home with their families in Hama due to government airstrikes, stand next to their tent at a camp for displaced Syrians in the village of Atmeh, Syria, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012.

BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. official says the number of registered Syrian refugees has jumped by more than 10 percent in just one week as part of an escalating exodus. Last week,…
photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

Curfew in Indian Kashmir after militant attack

Indian police officers carry the coffins of fallen comrades, who were killed March 13 in an ambush, following a ceremony in Srinagar on March 14, 2013. Pakistan has strongly rejected an accusation from India that militants who killed five paramilitary police in Indian Kashmir came from across the de facto border. The militants, disguised as cricketers, killed five paramilitary police in an ambush March 13 in the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A curfew has been imposed in most of Indian-controlled Kashmir after a militant attack left five paramilitary troops dead and a civilian was killed by…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

France, UK ‘may bust Syria arms ban’

In this Sunday April 22, 2012 photo, a Syrian rebel aims his gun at Khalidiyeh neighborhood in Homs province, central Syria.

France and the UK would consider arming the Syrian opposition even if it meant breaking an EU ban, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said. Speaking on France Info radio, he said the two countries shared “identical views” over…
photo: AP

Argentine leader wishes pope well despite clashes

In this Dec. 12, 2008 photo, Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, left, shakes hands with Buenos Aires' Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio in Lujan, Argentina. Bergoglio, who chose the name of Pope Francis, was chosen as the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013.

MICHAEL WARREN Associated Press= BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Cristina Fernandez will travel to the Vatican to attend her fellow Argentine Jorge Bergoglio‘s first Mass as…
photo: AP / DyN

Venezuela leader warns of plot to kill gov’t foe

Venezuela's acting President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the opening of the Ninth International Book Fair of Venezuela (Filven) which pays tribute to late President Hugo Chavez at the Teresa Carreno theater in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 13, 2013.

FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press= CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting president says security forces have detected a plot to assassinate the country’s opposition…
photo: AP / Ariana Cubillos

Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary dies

Former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, center, stands up in the dock as judges come into the courtroom for a hearing Monday, June 30, 2008, at the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Sary appeared before Cambodia's genocide tribunal Monday to press for his release from pretrial detentio

Zeenews Bureau Phnom Penh: Khmer Rouge co-founder Ieng Sary, who was on trial for the killings of an estimated 1.7 million people during the brutal movement in Cambodia in 1970s, died on Thursday morning at the age of 87. Sary was Khmer Rouge’s most…
photo: AP / Prin Samnang, POOL

Israel ‘reaches deal’ on new coalition

Israelis wait for transportation under election campaign billboards of Israeli Prime Minister and Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Israel's Labor party candidate Shelly Yachimovichin, in the central Israeli city of Ramat gan, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013.

A compromise has been reached towards a final coalition deal in Israel after the newly formed centrist Yesh Atid party reportedly agreed to give up demands for the interior ministry, local media have reported. The new coalition government,…

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, of Argentina is Pope Francis I

March 14, 2013 2:58am

Pilgrims cheer election of new pope at St. Peters Square

Pilgrims cheer election of new pope at St. Peter’s Square. Faithful cheer as white smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, indicating a new pope has been elected at the Vatican, March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out on Wednesday, signaling that Roman Catholic cardinals had ended their conclave and elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito
VATICAN CITY  Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the troubled Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, and said he would take the name Francis I.
 
Pope Francis, 76, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica just over an hour after white smoke poured from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel to signal he had been chosen to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
 
The choice of Bergoglio was announced by French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran with the Latin words “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam” (“I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope”
 
Francis becomes the 266th pontiff in the Church’s 2,000-year history at a time of great crisis and difficulty. Although a conservative he is seen as a reformer and was not among the small group of frontrunners identified before the election.

Latin America’s Left Sees Void After Chavez

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner addresses the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Thursday, June 14, 2012 at United Nations headquarters.

WASHINGTON — The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez leaves a void for the left in Latin America that most analysts say is unlikely to be filled soon. His death could also eventually affect communist Cuba, which has benefitted from cheap…
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

Cardinals prepare for second vote

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone celebrates a mass for the opening of the Vatican judicial year, at the Vatican, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011.

Vatican CityThick black smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel‘s chimney on Tuesday, signalling an inconclusive first vote in the conclave to elect a new pope at a time of strife and scandal for the Roman Catholic Church. Thousands of faithful…
photo: AP / Pier Paolo Cito

21 people, including seven foreign troops, killed in a single day in Afghanistan

21 people, including seven foreign troops, killed in a single day in Afghanistan

At least 21 people, including seven foreign troops, were killed on Monday in one of the deadliest days so far this year in Afghanistan, officials said in Kabul on Tuesday. Five NATO soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash, while a land mine and…
photo: DOD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Cameron hails Falklands Yes vote

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland

David Cameron has called on Argentina to respect the wishes of Falkland islanders to remain British. The Prime Minister said the 99.8% vote in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in a…
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Sudan rivals ‘to resume pumping oil’

In this Tuesday, April 24, 2012 photo, Sudanese workers inspect burnt out oil pipes at the oil-rich border town of Heglig, Sudan.

South Sudan and Sudan have agreed to resume pumping oil after a bitter dispute over fees which saw production shut down more than a year ago. The South, which seceded from the rest of Sudan in 2011, will begin oil production again by 24 March, under…
photo: AP / Abd Raouf

US imposes new N. Korea sanctions amid growing tensions

In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is welcomed by military personnel at a military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. Seven years of U.N. sanctions against North Korea have done nothing to derail Pyongyang’s drive for a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. They may have even bolstered the Kim family by giving their propaganda maestros ammunition to whip up anti-U.S. sentiment and direct attention away from government failures.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un stepped up rhetoric against South Korea on Tuesday, threatening to “wipe out” the border islands of Baengnyeong, as the US imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang amid escalating tensions. By News Wires (text) North
photo: AP / KCNA via KNS

US expands North Korea sanctions amid tensions

File - North Korean soldiers observe through binoculars on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone.

The US has imposed sanctions on North Korea‘s primary foreign exchange bank and four individuals, amid heightened tensions over its nuclear ambitions. The move followed a UN vote last week to expand sanctions on Pyongyang after its February…
photo: US Army / Edward N. Johnson

Cameron hails Falklands Yes vote

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland

David Cameron has called on Argentina to respect the wishes of Falkland islanders to remain British. The Prime Minister said the 99.8% vote in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in a…
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Sudan rivals ‘to resume pumping oil’

In this Tuesday, April 24, 2012 photo, Sudanese workers inspect burnt out oil pipes at the oil-rich border town of Heglig, Sudan.

South Sudan and Sudan have agreed to resume pumping oil after a bitter dispute over fees which saw production shut down more than a year ago. The South, which seceded from the rest of Sudan in 2011, will begin oil production again by 24 March, under…
photo: AP / Abd Raouf

US imposes new N. Korea sanctions amid growing tensions

In this March 7, 2013 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed March 8, 2013 by the Korea News Service, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is welcomed by military personnel at a military unit on Jangjae islet, located in the southernmost part of the southwestern sector of North Korea's border with South Korea. Seven years of U.N. sanctions against North Korea have done nothing to derail Pyongyang’s drive for a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. They may have even bolstered the Kim family by giving their propaganda maestros ammunition to whip up anti-U.S. sentiment and direct attention away from government failures.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un stepped up rhetoric against South Korea on Tuesday, threatening to “wipe out” the border islands of Baengnyeong, as the US imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang amid escalating tensions. By News Wires (text) North
photo: AP / KCNA via KNS

US expands North Korea sanctions amid tensions

File - North Korean soldiers observe through binoculars on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone.

The US has imposed sanctions on North Korea‘s primary foreign exchange bank and four individuals, amid heightened tensions over its nuclear ambitions. The move followed a UN vote last week to expand sanctions on Pyongyang after its February…
photo: US Army / Edward N. Johnson

Clashes, blasts mark Bangladesh opposition protest

Bangladeshi opposition activists shout slogans after they burn a street vendor's cart as they clash with police during their protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, March 11, 2013.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police in Bangladesh’s capital have clashed with opposition protesters enforcing a daylong general strike across the country. Witnesses and news reports say…
photo: AP / A.M. Ahad

Harvard apologizes after secret e-mail search

Cronkhite Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

March 11, 2013 — Updated 2323 GMT (0723 HKT) On Monday, the school apologized for the way it handled a secret search of the e-mail accounts of resident deans. (CNN) — A cheating scandal at Harvard College just got bigger, and this time the focus is…
photo: Public Domain / Daderot

The Cool War in cyberspace

The Cool War in cyberspace

We are now in the midst of what could be called the Cool War. This successor to the Cold War shares the trait that it does not involve hot conflict on the battlefield, but is different in the nature and expectations surrounding the sub-rosa thrusts…

Torture of prisoners by state security persistent in Iraq: Report

An Iraqi prisoner is seen at al-Muthanna prison in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, May 2, 2010.

Tweet London, Mar. 11 (ANI): Torture of detainees by state security is pervasive in Iraq ten years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, according to a report by Amnesty International. The report – “Iraq: a Decade of Abuses” – said that though American
photo: AP / Karim Kadim

6 teens killed, 2 hurt in northeast Ohio SUV crash

Dominique Ellison, left, and Rickie Bowling, of Warren, bring stuffed animals to a memorial in honor of their friends who died in a car crash on Park Ave. in Warren, Ohio on Sunday, March 10, 2013.

WARREN, Ohio – A speeding sport utility vehicle taken without permission and carrying eight teenagers crashed into a guardrail Sunday morning and flipped over into a swampy pond in northeast Ohio, killing five boys and the young woman driving, the…
photo: AP / Scott R. Galvin

S Korea-US drill stirs tensions with North

A deck crew member checks an EA-6B Prowlers on the USS George Washington during joint military drills in South Korea's East Sea on Sunday, July 25, 2010.

South Korean and US troops have launched a joint military exercise as North Korea, which has slammed the drill and threatened both countries with nuclear attack, severed its hotline with Seoul. The start of the two-week annual “Key Resolve” exercise…
photo: AP / Yonhap, Lee Jung-hoon

As North Korea Blusters, South Breaks Taboo With Nuclear Talk

South Korean marines patrol on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a frequent unofficial envoy to North Korea, has called for the North to show maximum restraint to planned South Korean military drills and hopes the U.N. Security Council will deliver the same message in its emergency meeting.

SEOUL, South Korea — As their country prospered, South Koreans largely shrugged off the constant threat of a North Korean attack. But breakthroughs in the North’s missile and nuclear programs and fiery threats of war have heightened fears…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Pakistan and Iran leaders inaugurate gas pipeline

President Asif Ali Zardari and Iranian President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shaking hands before meeting on the sidelines of 12th ECO summit at Baku, Azerbaijan on October 16, 2012

President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and Iran‘s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are set to inaugurate a controversial gas pipeline linking the two neighbours. The US has warned that the project could incur…
photo: Press Information Dept. of Pakistan

Drone Strike Reported in Pakistan

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamat-i-Islami listen to their leaders during a rally to condemn U.S. drone attacks on alleged militants and Talibans hideouts in Pakistani border areas along Afghanistan, in Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, April 24, 2009.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Two people suspected of being militants were killed Sunday morning in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region by what Pakistani and Taliban officials said was a drone strike. If confirmed, the attack could be the first…
photo: AP / Mohammad Sajjad

Nigerian Islamist fighters kill 7 foreigners, says UK, Italy and Greece

A man reads a local newspapers with the headline 'We've killed 7 foreign hostages' on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansa

RADICAL Islamic fighters killed seven foreign hostages in Nigeria, European diplomats have said, making it the worst such kidnapping violence in decades for a country beset by extremist guerrilla attacks. Nigeria’s police, military, domestic spy…

Egypt plunges into turmoil as minister denies police abuse

An Egyptian protester runs with a teargas canister during clashes with riot police in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 9, 2013.

CAIRO – Egypt‘s Interior Minister pleaded on Sunday for an end to “rumours” of police abuse, saying his forces had never fired a single shot at protesters since the start of the 2011 uprising. Mohammed Ibrahim, who is facing an unprecedented strike…
photo: AP / Nasser Nasser

Multiple challenges for Kenya’s new leader

Kenya's President-Elect Uhuru Kenyatta waves to supporters after leaving the National Election Center where final election results were announced declaring he would be the country's next president, in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, March 9, 2013.

Uhuru [Kenyatta] has won the presidency. It’s done. Let’s move on.” The son of Kenya‘s first independence leader may not have secured Francis Odera’s vote but, like so many other Kenyans, this middle-aged Nairobi
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Afghan leader alleges US, Taliban are colluding

Hamid Karzai in 2006

RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press= KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai is accusing the Taliban and the U.S. of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence will…
photo: Public Domain / Paul Morse

Suu Kyi re-elected Burma’s opposition NLD leader

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi looks at a photo during the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition entitled "Aung San Suu Kyi, The Burmese Way to Democracy" at Institute of French in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, May 17, 2012.

Burma‘s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has re-elected Aung San Suu Kyi as its leader, at the end of its first ever congress. She had earlier appealed for unity, addressing party delegates in Rangoon. After the party won elections…
photo: AP / Khin Maung Win

More Guard soldiers dying of car crashes, suicide than combat

More Guard soldiers dying of car crashes, suicide than combat

Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, roughly twice as many Texas Army National Guard soldiers have died of suicide as in combat, an American-Statesman investigation has found. Records on the Guard soldiers’ cause of death also identified…
photo: US Army / Jon Heinrich

Taliban develop more complex attack methods

Taliban develop more complex attack methods

As the new US defence secretary prepares to discuss the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, there are fears that the Taliban have developed more sophisticated forms of attack. Wardak province is seen as the most vulnerable, and in…
photo: US Navy / Matthew Stroup

Venezuela sets first post-Chavez election for April 14

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez cheer after polling stations closed and before any results were made available in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012.

CARACAS: Venezuela announced on Saturday that it will hold a presidential election to succeed late leader Hugo Chavez on April 14 after his political heir took office in a move the opposition rejects. The national electoral council set the…

Shiite leader: Sectarian attacks are ‘genocide’

Pakistani Shiite Muslims sit next to the bodies of their relatives awaiting burial, who were killed in Thursday's deadly bombings, during a protest in Quetta, Pakistan, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013.

KATHY GANNON Associated Press= QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s minority Shiite Muslims have started using the word “genocide” to describe a violent spike in attacks against them by a militant Sunni group with suspected links to the country’s…
photo: AP / Arshad Butt

Pentagon’s new chief Hagel visits Afghanistan

In his first press briefing as Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel  talks about the the onset of the sequester and the grave impact it will have on national security and the readiness of the military at the Pentagon, Feb. 28, 2013. After taking initial questions from the press, Hagel introduced Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter who provided reporters with more details about the impending steep cuts.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has arrived in Afghanistan on his first foreign trip in his new position as head of the Pentagon. He told reporters travelling with him he wanted to see for himself “where we are in Afghanistan”. “I…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

Suu Kyi vows to bring new blood to her party

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at a theatre for a ceremony where she will receive the Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience award in Dublin, Ireland, Monday, June 18, 2012.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is calling on her party to rise above petty differences as they elect new leadership for the…
photo: AP / Alastair Grant

Kenyatta wins presidency by slim margin in Kenyan election

Nairobi showing Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Times Tower and Nairobi City Hall.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya‘s founding president, won the presidential election with a slim margin of 50.03 percent of votes cast, provisional figures showed, just enough to avoid a run-off after a race that has divided the…
photo: Creative Commons / Arthur Buliva

Nicolas Maduro sworn in as Venezuelan president

Nicolas Maduro takes the presidential oath from National Assembly's President Disodado Cabello during a swearing-in ceremony at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, March 8, 2013.

Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday as Venezuela’s acting president, using the occasion to make blistering attacks on the U.S. as well as the political opposition, which objected that the ceremony violated the country’s constitution. Late President
photo: AP / Fernando Llano

New leader of the GOP: Rand Paul

United States Senate candidate Rand Paul arriving at the Bowling Green Regional Airport on the final day of campaigning, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, along with his family and a campaign staffer.

March 8, 2013 — Updated 2243 GMT (0643 HKT) Editor’s note: Mo Elleithee was senior spokesman and traveling press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and has worked for or advised other Democratic candidates and committees….
photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

NKorea warns of more nuclear, rocket activity

In this Dec. 12, 2012 photo released by Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's Unha-3 rocket lifts off from the Sohae launch pad in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. The satellite that North Korea launched on board the long-range rocket is orbiting normally, South Korea said on Thursday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is warning of future nuclear and rocket efforts that it says are warranted because of new U.N. sanctions over its third nuclear test.


Leaders from Cuba to Iran attending Chavez’s funeral

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Cuba's President Raul Castro salutes as he stands next to the coffin containing the body of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez during his wake at a military academy where his body will lie in state until his funeral in in state in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, March 7, 2013.

CARACAS (Reuters) – At least two dozen heads of state were due to attend Hugo Chavez‘s funeral on Friday during an outpouring of grief for the charismatic but divisive Venezuelan leader who changed the face of politics in South America. Chavez died…
photo: AP / Miraflores Press Office

North Korea rages at new UN sanctions

North Koreans attend a rally in support of a statement given on Tuesday by a spokesman for the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army vowing to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War as well as boasting of the North's ownership of "lighter and smaller nukes" and its ability to execute "surgical strikes" meant to unify the divided Korean Peninsula, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Thursday, March 7, 2013.

Non-aggression pact with South Korea cancelled, adding to threat of nuclear attack on US and ‘crushing strikes’ on enemies A North Korean rally held after the threat to launch a nuclear strike against the US. Photograph: KCNA/AFP/Getty North Korea
photo: AP / Jon Chol Jin

Tensions rise in Kenya amid calls to halt election count

An electoral worker at the call center of the the National Tallying Center reads a newspaper with a headline referring to problems in the vote counting and tallying process, in Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

WILLIAM WALLIS and KATRINA MANSON in Nairobi Kenya’s national electoral commission pressed ahead with tallying results despite calls for a halt to the count and accusations of rigging by supporters of one of the presidential frontrunners. The…
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Ahmadinejad Says Chávez Will Rise With Christ; Is Chastised By Cleric

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stands prior to leaving the Mehrabad airport en rout to Venezuela to attend Hugo Chavez's funeral ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 7, 2013.

Just before leaving for Venezuela to attend the funeral of Hugo Chávez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad penned a laudatory tribute for the late president. “[Chavez] is alive, as long as nations are alive and struggle for consolidating…
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

North Korea Sanctions: UN Approves New Measures

 Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting that unanimously condemned the claim by the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that it had conducted a nuc

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously for tough new sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a move that sparked a furious Pyongyang to threaten a nuclear strike against the United States. The vote…
photo: UN /Eskinder Debebe

Vice president wants Kenya vote count stopped

Kalonzo Musyoka, center, Kenya's current Vice President and running mate of presidential candidate Raila Odinga, gestures as he leaves after speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 7, 2013.

NairobiThe running mate of one of the two front-runners in Kenya‘s presidential vote said on Thursday the ballot count lacked integrity and should stop, comments that could inflame what has so far been a largely peaceful election. The remarks by…
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Malaysia says 31 Filipinos fatally shot in Borneo

Filipino Muslims are joined by other protesters as they shout slogans during a rally near the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, March 6, 2013, to protest the military assault by Malaysian forces on nearly 200 Filipinos occupying a Borneo coastal village.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian security forces gunned down 31 Filipino intruders in Borneo on Thursday, the highest number of casualties in a single day since nearly 200 members of a Philippine

Syria conflict: Refugees number one million, says UN

In this citizen journalism image acquired by the AP, Syrian refugees are seen inside Syria, near the Turkish border, Monday, June 13, 2011.

The number of Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict has reached one million, the UN has said. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of refugees crossing into neighbouring countries had jumped since the beginning of the year. Half…
photo: AP

Chavez death echoes with leftists worldwide

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, centers, gestures as he delivers a speech in front of an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez during a ceremony honoring Chavez in Managua, Nicaragua, Tuesday, March 5, 2013.

PETER ORSI Associated Press= HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Reactions to the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were as mixed, polemical and outsized as the leader was in life, with some saying his passing was a tragic loss and others calling it an…
photo: AP / Esteban Felix

UN chief extends condolences over Chavez’s death

Unveiling and Presentation of Aakash-2 Tablet Computer to the United Nations, on the occasion of India's Presidency of the UN Security Council- Welcoming  remarks by  H.E. Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri,  Permanent Representative of India to United Nations;  - Address by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon;- Presentation of memento to Mr. Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO Data wind by UN Secretary-General;- Presentation about Aakash-2 by Mr. Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO Data wind

UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday extended his condolences over the death of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In a statement released here by his spokesperson, Ban said he was saddened by the death of Chavez and…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

China’s defense spending to increase while U.S. cuts back

File - In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a motorized division of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) takes part in a military exercise in central China's Henan Province, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006.

Facebook Follow @washtimes Secretary of State John F. Kerry released $250 million in economic and budgetary aid to Egypt. Should the U.S. help fund a government run by the Muslim Brotherhood? View results China’s Communist Party leaders Tuesday…
photo: AP / Xinhua, Li Gang

File - Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed listens to questions from reporters at his residence in Male, Maldives, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012.

BY KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press | March 5, 2013 | Updated: March 5, 2013 5:58am Comments (0) E-mail Print Tweet Page 1 of 1 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The former president of the Maldives was arrested Tuesday on charges of abuse of power during…

Egypt’s leader mulls army takeover of restive city

Egyptian protesters set a government building on fire during clashes with police, unseen, in Port Said, Egypt, Monday, March 4, 2013.

MAGGIE MICHAEL Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) — Officials say the Egyptian president is considering whether to give the military full control of the restive city of Port Said after…
photo: AP / Ahmed Ramadan

Kenyan election: Uhuru Kenyatta maintains lead after early results

Kenyan Presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta waves to queuing voters after casting his vote, accompanied by his wife Margaret Wanjiru Gakuo, below right, at the Mutomo primary school near Gatundu, north of Nairobi, in Kenya Monday, March 4, 2013.

Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya‘s deputy prime minister, has maintained an early lead over his rival Raila Odinga with more than 25 per cent of ballots in from polling stations in the country’s presidential election. Kenyan Presidential candidate Uhuru
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Kenya awaits presidential election results

In this photo released by Kenya's Presidential Press Service, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, left, meets opposition leader Raila Odinga at his Harambee House office, in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008.

Kenyans are awaiting results in their country’s presidential election, after millions cast their votes on Monday. With 25% of polling stations reporting, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta held an early lead over his main rival, Prime Minister
photo: AP Photo / Presidential Press Services, HO

Diplomats: US, China agree on NKorea sanctions

Security Council Meeting: The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press= UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. diplomats say the United States and China have reached agreement on a new sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Biden, Netanyahu set tone on Iran for Obama visit to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the national police headquarters in Jerusalem

WASHINGTON – US Vice-President Joe Biden insisted on Monday that President Barack Obama was not bluffing about using force to thwart Iran‘s nuclear ambitions if all else fails, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a “credible…
photo: AP / Gali Tibbon, Pool

Army bases: Hammond to announce future plans

United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Defense Phillip Hammond joins Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta for a working breakfast at the Pentagon July 18, 2012. (DoD Photo By Glenn Fawcett) (Released)

The defence secretary is to announce details of where the British Army will be based in the UK as its withdrawal from Germany gathers pace. The government set out its plan to withdraw the army from Germany in the…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

US denies report of mass Guantanamo hunger strike

File - Sailors assigned to Navy Expeditionary Guard Battalion escort a detainee at Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. military is denying reports of a mass hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay prison. A prison spokesman says some prisoners have…

William Hague arrives in Mali for talks

British Foreign Minister William Hague address the media during a news conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Wednesday, July 27, 2011.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague today arrived in Mali for talks with military commanders and local politicians, just weeks after a French force routed Islamist rebels from strongholds in the north of the country. Mr Hague was due to meet the…
photo: AP / Kerim Okten, Pool

Afghan president lashes out at Pakistan

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai after their joint press point

HEIDI VOGT Associated Press= KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai has lashed out once again at his supposed ally, Pakistan, saying that a statement by a Pakistani
photo: NATO

Kerry: Window on Iran not open ‘indefinitely’

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 2nd left, attends a coffee ceremony with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, 2nd right, on arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, March 3, 2013.

MATTHEW LEE Associated Press= RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi and Gulf Arab officials, said Monday the window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear problem…
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

Kenya vote sees long lines; attacks kill 12

An elderly lady walks with a cane to cast her vote in the Mutumo primary school near Gatundu, north of Nairobi, in Kenya Monday, March 4, 2013.

RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press= NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Multiple attacks against security forces in Kenya on Monday killed at least 12 people as Kenyans waited in long lines to cast ballots five years after more than 1,000 people died in…
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Holocaust: Nazis Built 42,500 Camps, Study Finds

After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Germans civilians were sometimes forced to tour concentration camps and in some cases to exhume mass graves of Nazi victims.

New research has discovered the Nazis created more than six times the number of concentration camps as previously thought and may have killed or imprisoned up to 20 million people. Some 42,500 Nazi ghettos and camps have been catalogued by…
photo: Creative Commons / Makthorpe

3rd French soldier killed in Mali combat

FILE - This Feb. 10, 2013, file photo shows French soldiers securing the evacuation of foreigners during exchanges of fire with jihadists in Gao, northern Mali.

PARIS (AP) — A French soldier has been killed in combat in Mali, the third to die in the military campaign to retake the north of the African country from…
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

EU’s Rehn warns against Cypriot exit from euro zone

Press conference by Olli Rehn

BERLIN (Reuters) – EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn warned on Sunday against a Cypriot exit from the euro zone and said all countries in the single currency bloc were systemically important. “Even if you come from a big EU…

 

 

 

‘Uncatchable’ Algerian jihadi mastermind Mokhtar Belmokhtar killed

03 Mar 2013
MOKHTAR Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist who masterminded a brazen attack on an Algerian gasfield, was branded “the Uncatchable” but the desert fox has now reportedly been killed in northern Mali. Chad said its troops killed the al-Qa’ida veteran yesterday during an operation in the Ifogha mountains, where French-led forces have been…
FILE - This image taken from video provided by the SITE Intel Group made available Thursday Jan. 17, 2013, purports to show militant militia leader Moktar Belmoktar.

Kerry presses Egypt president, military on reform

In this Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 photo released by the Egyptian Presidency, President Mohammed Morsi speaks to supporters outside the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt.

MATTHEW LEE Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is wrapping up a visit to deeply divided Egypt with an appeal for unity and reform to the country’s…
photo: AP / Egyptian Presidency

Myanmar opposition party to hold party congress

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, Myanmar holds special discussion with Burmese Staff Association

AYE AYE WIN Associated Press= YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — In another sign of political reform and reconciliation in Myanmar, the country’s biggest party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will hold its first-ever congress in the country’s former…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Army sent to north Bangladesh to tackle violence

A car stands in flames after activists of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) set it on fire during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, March 2, 2013.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Soldiers have been deployed in a northern Bangladeshi district after activists of the country’s largest Islamic party clashed with police, leaving…
photo: AP

Contentious quotes upend Kenya vote

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, centre, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, left, and Vice President Kilonzo Musyoka centre right, gesture, as they arrive for the campaign to launch the Constitution Referendum, at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, May 15, 2010.

NairobiKenya‘s top two presidential candidates held their final rallies before large and raucous crowds on Saturday, a day of political attacks and denials following published comments attributed to the prime minister that election violence could…
photo: AP / Sayyid Azim

 

 

 

Obama signs order allowing $85B in spending cuts

Associated Press | March 1, 2013 | Updated: March 1, 2013 9:44pm Comments (0) E-mail Print Tweet Page 1 of 1 WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert. Obama acted Friday,…
Obama signs order allowing $85B in spending cuts

 

 

Venezuela says Chavez receiving chemotherapy

Venezuelan embassy workers hold up a framed image of Venezuela's ailing President Hugo Chavez during the monthly Catholic service devoted to the sick at the Church of Our Lady of Regla, in Regla, across the bay from Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government has revealed for the first time that President Hugo Chavez has been receiving chemotherapy as he “continues his battle for…
photo: AP / Ramon Espinosa

Budget ignores farmers income augmentation: Farmer leader

A Women Farmer on the paddy Field outskrit of Kolkata in Eastern India City

New Delhi, Mar 2: The 3.6 percent growth rate achieved by the farm sector during the 11th Plan with overflowing granaries, sizable increase in farm export and encouraging estimates of Rabi crops made the finance minister “complacent” towards the…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Skin cancer ‘able to fight off body’s immune system’

Skin Cancer

A deadly form of skin cancer is able to fend off the body’s immune system, UK researchers have found. Analysis of tumour and blood samples shows that melanoma knocks out the body’s best immune defence. A potential test could work out which…
photo: Creative Commons / wipeoutpdr

Obama signs order to begin spending cuts

Barack Obama signs emergency declaration for Arkansas 1-28-09

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting…
photo: Public Domain / Pete Souza

US criticizes NKorea for wining and dining Rodman

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, left, speaks to the media at the airport in Pyongyang, before he leaves North Korea Friday, March 1, 2013.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is criticizing North Korea for, quote, “wining and dining” visiting ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman while its own people go hungry….
photo: AP / Kim Kwang Hyon

Israeli army ire over social media posts

An Israeli Soldier shoots rubber bullets towards Palestinian protesters, not pictured, during a demonstration supporting prisoners in Israeli jails outside the Ofer military prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012.

Following a series of social media scandals, a few days ago Israeli military commanders were told to stop recruits uploading videos and pictures “not appropriate to the spirit of the IDF“. Two soldiers were also sent to military prison for…
photo: AP / Majdi Mohammed

Defence secretary warns against more cuts to his budget

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta talks with United kingdom's Minister of Defense Philip A. Hammond prior to the start of the NATO Ministers of Defense meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 21, 2013. (DoD Photo By Glenn Fawcett) (Released)

Further big cuts in defence spending would lead to the loss of the UK’s armed forces capability, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned. Speaking ahead of the chancellor’s upcoming spending review, he said the military was already…

 

 

 

 

Hugo Chavez ‘fighting for his life’

01 Mar 2013
Venezuela‘s vice president has said that President Hugo Chavez is fighting for his life while he continues to undergo treatment more than two months after his latest cancer surgery. Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television on Thursday that Chavez “is battling there for his health, for his life, and we’re accompanying him.” The vice…
File - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez greets supporters upon his arrival to the National Assembly for a special session commemorating the country's Independence Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, July 5, 2012.

 

 

 

Global food output under threat: Study

A Women Farmer collect the Vgetable on the paddy Field outskrit of Kolkata in Eastern India City

NEW DELHI: Wild bees, butterflies, flies, beetles and other wild insects play a key role in pollination and hence in food production, a new study of 41 crops in 600 fields across the world shows. Declining populations of these insects is irreparably…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Bangladesh rioting over court decision kills 42

Activists of Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami attack a security vehicle during a strike called by the party in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.

At least 42 have died in rioting sparked by a death sentence given to an Islamic political party leader convicted of crimes linked to Bangladesh‘s 1971 independence war, police said Friday. Top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was…
photo: AP

Grounded US F-35 fighter jet fleet to resume flights

An F-35C Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft returns from a flutter envelope expansion flight.

The Pentagon has said it will resume flights on its F-35 fighter jets, after the whole fleet was grounded last week. Tests showed that a cracked turbine blade found on a plane prompted the suspension, was a “unique” problem and not a design…
photo: US Navy / U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Phaedra Loftis

ANA president sees Boeing progress on batteries

All Nippon Airways' Chief Executive Officier and President Shinichiro Ito speaks during a press conference at the company's office in Tokyo Friday, March 1, 2013.

ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer= TOKYO (AP) — The president of All Nippon Airlines, Boeing’s biggest single customer for its troubled 787 Dreamliner, said Friday that he believes the U.S. manufacturer has made progress in resolving problems with…
photo: AP / Junji Kurokawa

Series of explosions in Iraq kill 22

People evacuate a victim at the scene of a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Three parked car bombs exploded Tuesday morning simultaneously in the city of Kirkuk, home to a combustible mix of Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkomen who all claim rights to the city, killing and wounding scores of people, police said.

Baghdad: A series of bombings struck Baghdad and towns south of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 22 and wounding dozens in areas that are home to mostly Muslim Shi’ites, the latest evidence of rising sectarian discord in Iraq. The…
photo: AP / Emad Matti

Kim Jong Un And Dennis Rodman Are Now Friends For Life

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and former NBA star Dennis Rodman watch North Korean and U.S. players in an exhibition basketball game at an arena in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.

Curious about how gigantic weirdo Dennis Rodman‘s trip to North Korea is going? It’s going great! Today, Rodman took in an exhibition basketball game with North Korean dictator…
photo: AP / Jason Mojica

Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo tells ICC he ‘fights for democracy’

Ivory Coast incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo looks up during his swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010.

Ivory Coast‘s ex-President Laurent Gbagbo has told the International Criminal Court that he has always “fought for democracy”. The tribunal in The Hague is to decide whether he should face charges over post-poll violence two years ago….
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

 

 

As Castro Era Drifts to Close, a New Face Steps In at No. 2

28 Feb 2013
MEXICO CITY — He may have just taken on the toughest job in Cuba. Rivals at home will try to take him down. Enemies abroad will discredit him. Almost anyone with an interest in Cuba — including American spies and Cuban intelligence officers — will dig through his public and private lives, rummaging for secrets or clues about his…
Cuba's new Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, right, and Cuba's President Raul Castro, talk during the closing session at the National Assembly in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2012.

Pope Benedict XVI says farewell to his cardinals ahead of resignation

In this image taken from video as Pope Benedict XVI deliveres his final greetings to the assembly of cardinals at the Vatican Thursday Feb. 28, 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI has promised “unconditional reverence and obedience” to his successor in his final greetings to cardinals in the Vatican before retiring. 560 315 TelegraphPlayer_9899773 11:56AM GMT 28 Feb 2013 Pope Benedict XVI’s last day – watch…
photo: AP / Vatican TV

Protest in Jammu against prolonged curfew imposed in Kashmir post Afzal’s execution

Kashmiri lawyers shout pro-freedom slogans during a protest in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 27 February 2013. Members of the Kashmir High Court Bar Association took to the streets in wake protest call given by separatist alliance seeking return of body of Afzal Guru. Guru was hanged on 09 February 2013 for an attack on the country's parliament in 2001.

Tweet Jammu, Feb. 28 (ANI): Hundreds of protesters took to streets of Jammu on Thursday over prolonged curfew of 19 days imposed in Kashmir valley post Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru‘s execution. Guru was hanged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi on…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Thailand and Muslim separatists agree to peace talks

CORRECTS TO CLARIFY THAT THE NATIONAL REVOLUTION FRONT IS MALAYSIAN-BASED - Thailand's National Security Council Secretary General Paradorn Pattanathabutr, left, and Malaysian-based National Revolution Front chief Hassan Taib, right, exchange signed documents as Malaysia's National Security Council Secretary Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab witnesses during the signing ceremony of the general consensus document to launch a dialogue process for peace in the border provinces of southern Thailand, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.

Deal signed in Malaysia raises prospect of end to bloody insurgency that has claimed 5,000 lives since 2004 In this 2006 file photograph a Thai soldier guards the body of a teacher murdered during the separatist insurgency in Thailand‘s south….
photo: AP / Lai Seng Sin

Hollande to talk Syria settlement with Putin

France's President Francois Hollande delivers a speech on the situation in Mali at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013. French forces began backing Malian soldiers Friday in their fight against radical Islamists, drawing the former colonial power into a military operation to oust the al-Qaida-linked militants nine months after they seized control of northern Mali. French President Francois Hollande said that the operation would last "as long as necessary" and said it was aimed notably at protecting the 6,000 French citizens in Mali. Kidnappers currently hold seven French hostages in the country.

MOSCOW (AP) — French President Francois Hollande says he hopes to discuss political transition in war-torn Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, whose stance…
photo: AP / Philippe Wojazer, Pool

South Korea and Indonesia Could Be Strategic Partners in Asian Growth

File - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, addresses the plenary session of the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

South Korea could become Indonesia’s closest economic and political partner as the engine of global economic growth shifts to Asia, analysts say. As the two countries celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, experts are…
photo: UN / Guilherme Costa

The case against Haiti’s ‘Baby Doc’

Former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier waves to supporters from the balcony of a rented guest house where he is staying in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday Jan. 21, 2011.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — On a desolate street in this recovering capital, supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier lamented his possible fate as the former dictator prepares to come face-to-face with his troubling…
photo: AP / Ramon Espinosa

Titanic II blueprints unveiled

In this rendering provided by Blue Star Line, the Titanic II is shown cruising at sea.

NEW YORKAustralian mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer on Tuesday unveiled blueprints for Titanic II, a modern replica of the doomed ocean liner, although he stopped short of calling the vessel unsinkable. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer speaks…

Iran nuclear crisis: Kazakhstan negotiations conclude

From left: Ma Zaoxu, assistant minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Hans-Dieter Lucas, political director of the Foreign Ministry of Germany and Sergey Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister of Russia listen during talks on Iran's nuclear program in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013.

Talks in Kazakhstan between world powers and Iran over its controversial nuclear programme have concluded. Details of the outcome have not been released, although Reuters quoted Iranian TV as saying it was agreed that experts would meet for technical…
photo: AP / Ilyas Omarov

Lavrov urges Syria opposition to talk to regime

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday pressed Syrian opposition leaders to open talks with the regime to stop the bloodshed after “constructive” talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry. After the nearly two-hour meeting in Berlin, Lavrov…
photo: AP / dpa,Maurizio Gambarini

Chuck Hagel confirmed as Defense secretary

CIA Director-nominee Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, second from left, shakes hands with the president's choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, second from right, as the president, center, speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, where he made to announcement. At left is Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, at right is current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, who won two Purple Hearts in the Vietnam War, survived the turbulent battle over his nomination to lead the Pentagon, where he will confront two new challenges: potentially dramatic budget cuts and tensions with…
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

US Senate confirms Hagel as next Secy of Defence

President Barack Obama shakes hands with choice for Defense Secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, center, after announcing Hagel's nomination

Washington, February 26: After a two month battle by a group of Republican senators opposing his nomination, the US Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense by a vote of 58-41. Hagel is set…
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Benedict XVI to hold final papal audience in Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI waves during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 7, 2012.

The Pope will hold a final general audience in front of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter‘s Square on Wednesday, the eve of his resignation. Papal audiences are normally held inside a Vatican hall in the winter. But such is the level of interest…
photo: AP / Alessandra Tarantino

Mexico counts 26,121 missing during Calderon era

Mexico´s President Felipe Calderon delivers a speech during the presentation of a new bill to protect victims of violence in Mexico City, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.

MEXICO CITY — The number of people who went missing in Mexico during the six years of former President Felipe Calderon’s administration stands at 26,121, government officials said Tuesday, a figure that would rank among the worst episodes…
photo: AP / Christian Palma

Protests mark anniversary of Trayvon Martin death

Roy Antoine, 64, of Brooklyn, holds a sign in a support of Trayvon Martin before a candlelight vigil in Union Square to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of the Florida teenager by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman in Florida, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, in New York.

SANFORD, Florida/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Demonstrators symbolically wearing hoodies gathered in New York and Florida on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, reviving a national discussion on gun…

 

 

 

 

Scientists have found proof of a sunken continent in the Indian Ocean. According to a study published in Nature Geoscience, the continent “was separated from Madagascar and fragmented into a ribbon-like configuration by a series of mid-ocean ridge jumps during the opening of the Mascarene ocean basin.”

Its name is not Atlantis, though. According to the team’s investigation, it existed between India and Madagascar before it was lost to the ocean “between 83.5 and 61 million years ago.”

The researchers came to this conclusion after finding zircons “more than 1,971 million years old” on the beach of Mauritius:

The zircons were assimilated from ancient fragments of continental lithosphere beneath Mauritius, and were brought to the surface by plume-related lavas.

They used this information and plate tectonic reconstruction to map the continent, which was a slice of land that they called Mauritia. According to the scientists, Mauritius and the Mascarene Plateau “may overlie [this] Precambrian microcontinent,” located 6.2 miles under the surface. [Nature Geoscience via BBC News]

 

 

Stalemate in ‘ungovernable’ Italy after elections

26 Feb 2013
The result was widely feared and predicted – that no party or coalition would be able to govern the country. Italy faces a period of political deadlock. The headlines cry “ungovernable” and “paralysis”. The leader of the centre-left, Pier Luigi Bersani, said: “It is clear to everyone that this is a very delicate situation…
Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi arrives to vote in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013.

 

 

Egypt balloon crash kills 19 Asian, European tourists

A victim of a ballon accident is seen in a body bag lying on a dirt road near the scene of a crash outside al-Dhabaa village just west of the city of Luxor, 510 kilometers (320 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013

CAIRO (Reuters) – A hot air balloon crashed near the Egyptian town of Luxor at dawn on Tuesday after a mid-air gas explosion, killing 19 Asian and European tourists, a local industry official and the state news agency said. Ahmed Aboud, a spokesman…
photo: AP / Hagag Salama

Philippines urges clan to leave Malaysia village

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the Annual Presidential Forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) at the Centennial Ballroom, The Manila Hotel, One Rizal Park in Manila City on Wednesday (October 17, 2012). FOCAP is one of the country?s most prestigious and respected media organization. It was founded in 1974 to safeguard press freedom during the Martial Law years under then, President Ferdinand Marcos. It consists of international agencies, publications, radio and TV networks. The forum is a traditional annual event where the President discusses key policies and answers questions on foreign affairs, politics, the economy and social issues from the foreign media.

JIM GOMEZ Associated Press= MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has asked a royal Muslim clan leader to order his followers to leave Malaysian
photo: Malacañang Photo Bureau / Rey Baniquet/PCOO

Litvinenko inquest: Government makes secrecy request

File - Photograph of the grave of Alexander Litvinenko, Highgate Cemetery, London, United Kingdom.

A coroner is to hear an application by the government to keep some information secret at the forthcoming inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko. The former Russian security service officer was poisoned by radioactive polonium in London in…
photo: Public Domain

Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage

President Bush, second from right, meets with congressional leaders during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, in Washington to discuss the proposed bailout of the financial industry. Seated from left are Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Minority Leader Sen. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid

WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional…
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Surprise! Janet Jackson married Al Mana last year

Surprise! Janet Jackson married Al Mana last year

Janet Jackson knows how to keep a secret: The singer has been married since last year. A representative…
photo: WN / Aaron Gilbert

Nepalese woman who summited Mount Everest twice in season recognized with Guinness record

View of the majestic Mount Everest from the Rongbuk valley, close to base camp and the terminus of the Rongbuk glacier at 5,200m.

KATMANDU, Nepal — Nepalese mountaineer Chhurim has entered the record book by scaling Mount Everest twice in the same climbing season. In fact, she did so a week apart. Nepal’s Tourism Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati handed over the…
photo: Public Domain

Iranians mixed feelings over Argo’s Oscar

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, and his wife, Queen Farah

Oscar for Argo was not entirely what one would expect. While it was predictable that Iranian government and its official media would attack the movie, many monarchists and those who support Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah, also bashed the film…
photo: Public Domain / MSgt.

 

 

 

 

Cardinal Keith O’Brien steps down as Archbishop

25 Feb 2013
Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, is stepping down as the Archbishop of St Andrew‘s and Edinburgh. It follows allegations – which he contests – of inappropriate behaviour towards priests dating from the 1980s. The Vatican is expected to confirm Pope Benedict has accepted his resignation.
Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien speaks to the media in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thursday Sept. 16, 2010.

 

 

 

Syria says ready to talk with armed opposition

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem, right, speak during their meeting, in Moscow on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syria is ready to hold talks with its armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the clearest offer yet of negotiations with rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian Foreign Minister…
photo: AP / Ivan Sekretarev

Karzai, citing abuse, orders U.S. units out of province

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai speaks at the top of a meeting as he thanks Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta for the support the U.S. has provided his country as he is welcomed to the Pentagon Jan. 10, 2013.

Afghanistan‘s president on Sunday ordered all U.S. special forces to leave a strategically important eastern province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans. The decision seems…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

John Kerry set to meet David Cameron in London visit

Secretary of State John Kerry waves as he exits U.S. Air Force Boeing 757 upon arrival for visit to London, United Kingdom, 24 February, 2013.

John Kerry is due to meet the UK’s prime minister and foreign secretary in London, as part of his first trip abroad as US secretary of state. It is the first stop on his tour, which will take in Europe‘s main capitals, and Turkey and the…
photo: US DoS

Park Geun-hye sworn in as South Korea president

Park Geun-hye, head of the ruling Saenuri Party's interim governing body, speaks during a press conference on the outcome of Wednesday's parliamentary elections at the party's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 12, 2012.

Park Geun-hye has been sworn in as South Korea‘s president, making her the first woman to lead the nation. Ms Park, who defeated liberal…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Sarpanch shot dead by suspected militant in Jammu and Kashmir

Sarpanch shot dead by suspected militant in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, February 24: Suspected militants on Sunday night gunned down a sarpanch affiliated to ruling National Conference in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Javed Ahmed Wani was shot at and critically injured by the…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Democrats push sequester, refuse alternative cuts

Democrats push sequester, refuse alternative cuts

With just a few more days before March 1, it appears that across-the-board spending cuts once called “devastating” by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta are going to be a reality. I am disappointed but not entirely surprised by this outcome. This is…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

 

 

 

I Saw Marx and Marxism at McDonalds Today

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling “No one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” -President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, 2013 As of late, I have grown very fond and reflective of the workers at McDonalds. Since I do not have the internet in my apartment, I usually go there every Sunday where I drink coffee…
File - McDonald's Restaurant with prominent kids' playland, Panorama City, CA

 

 

Latest World News

 

 

Afghan security forces kill would-be suicide bomber in Kabul

	Afghan security forces kill would-be suicide bomber in Kabul

KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) — Afghan security forces shot dead two would-be suicide bombers on Sunday morning, thus foiling a terror attack in Shirpoor area, a diplomatic enclave in capital Kabul, police said. “Two militants were killed inside an…
photo: US Army / Benjamin Tuck
VICTOR L. SIMPSON Associated Press= ROME (AP) — Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italy votes in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and…
photo: AP / Luca Bruno

Free trade with Europe may be a tough fight

Free trade with Europe may be a tough fight

Trade has been a constant source of friction between the U.S. and Europe, with fights over everything from hormone-laden beef to subsidized airplanes. Now, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic want to put the contentiousness aside and negotiate a…
photo: EC / EC

Washington nuclear waste tanks ‘leaking’

File - Warning sign at entry to Hanford Nuclear Reservation Site, Washington.

Six underground storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation along the Columbia River in the US state of Washington have been found to be leaking radioactive waste, but there is no immediate risk to human health, state and…
photo: GFDL

Bid to attract undeclared cash abroad

Bid to attract undeclared cash abroad

Greece is planning to hold talks with representatives from the troika, who will be in Athens on Monday for the latest review of the country’s fiscal adjustments program, on the idea of offering…

 


 

UK loses top AAA credit rating

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leaves his official residence No 11 Downing Street in London with his traditional red dispatch box as he departs for the House of Commons to deliver his annual budget speech Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

Britain suffered its first ever sovereign ratings downgrade from a major agency last night when Moody‘s stripped the country of its coveted top-notch triple-A rating, dealing a major blow to finance minister George Osborne. Moody’s said weak…
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

PM says ‘Japan’s back,’ vows stronger ties with US

Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe answers a reporter's question at the party headquarters in Tokyo, Sunday night, Dec. 16, 2012. The conservative LDP stormed back to power in parliamentary elections Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.

MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan‘s new prime minister declared Friday he would make his country a stronger U.S. ally and joined President Barack Obama in warning North Korea that its recent nuclear provocations would not…
photo: AP / Junji Kurokawa

Pistorius free, but movement restricted

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius prepares to run in his men's 400-meter semifinal during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London

PretoriaOscar Pistorius was on Friday released from custody after being granted bail, but the conditions thereof severely restrict his movement. Pistorius thanked Magistrate Desmond Nair, and walked out of the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court C, nine…
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

German: US to leave 8,000-12,000 troops in Afghan

German: US to leave 8,000-12,000 troops in Afghan

BRUSSELS (AP) — A German official is saying Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has told NATO allies that the U.S. will leave between 8,000-12,000 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014, when combat ends. German Defense Minister Thomas de…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

Turkey tightens noose on army influence in politics

Turkey tightens noose on army influence in politics

ANKARA – Turkey‘s new constitution will reduce the political influence of the once-powerful military in order to steer the EU-hopeful country more on the path of democracy, a parliamentary source said Friday. The army, considered the self-appointed…

 

 

 

 

Pistorius ’knows jail almost guaranteed’

22 Feb 2013
Oscar Pistorius appears at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria on day four of his bail hearing. Photo: AFP The lead lawyer prosecuting Oscar Pistorius on murder charges has told a Pretoria bail hearing the sprinter knows a long spell in jail is ‘‘almost guaranteed’’ and is a flight risk. ‘‘He hasn’t said so,…
Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

 

 

 

 

NEW: Storm slams Midwest, aims at Northeast

Two men help push a car down a snow-covered street Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, in St. Louis.

DES MOINES, IowaA major snow storm that shuttered airports in Missouri, stranded truckers in Illinois and buried parts of Kansas in knee-deep powder was promising a messy and possibly dangerous commute Friday morning as it crawled northeast. Wind
photo: AP / Jeff Roberson

Drugs, War and Occupation

The United States invaded Afghanistan over eleven years ago. Men and women who were seven and eight years old are now enlisting in the military. Some of them will end up walking the streets and trails of that faraway land before their enlistments are…
photo: US Army / Shane Hamann

Twin bombings kill 14, wound more in south India

An official of India's National Investigation Agency collects evidence from the debris at one of the two bomb blast sites, in Hyderabad, India, early Friday, Feb. 22, 2013.

OMER FAROOQ Associated Press= HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A day after two bicycle bombs killed 14 people and wounded more than 100, investigators into India’s worst bombing in more than a year searched Friday for possible links to anger over the…
photo: AP / Aijaz Rahi

Hugo Chavez’s ‘breathing problems persist’

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez pauses during a press conference in front of a portrait of independence hero Simon Bolivar, at the Miraflores palace in Caracas, Venezuela. Chavez has asked his country's legislature for permission to travel to Cuba for more medical treatment after spending much of the past 18 months fighting cancer.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering breathing problems following his return from Cuba where he was treated for cancer, officials say. Information
photo: AP / Rodrigo Abd

UN to hold special session in 2014 on population

UN to hold special session in 2014 on population

Arizona slaying suspect questioned by prosecutor 22 minutes ago UN to hold special session in 2014 on population 22 minutes ago 911 calls reveal fear, anger during Calif. rampage 26 minutes ago Thousands donated to aid…
photo: WN / Agnieszka Dziubi?ska

NATO to consider maintaining larger Afghan force

NATO to consider maintaining larger Afghan force

BRUSSELS – Senior NATO officials say the alliance is strongly considering a proposal to continue funding an Afghan security force of 352,000 troops through 2018, as part of an effort to maintain security and help convince Afghanistan that America and…
photo: US Army / Jon Heinrich

Hyderabad blasts: 12 dead, 57 injured in, toll may go up, Shinde says

People walk past a damaged bus waiting shelter after a bomb blast in Hyderabad, India,Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013.

NEW DELHI: At least 12 people were killed and 57 injured in two near simultaneous blasts in Hyderabad and the death toll could go up, home minister Sushilkumar…
photo: AP

 

 

 

India strike enters second day

India Desert  Sealdha Station during the first day of the two days nation-wide strike called by Trade Union in Kolkata on Wednesday 20 February 2013

A strike called by India‘s trade unions over the government’s economic reforms has entered its second day. Security is tight in Noida, a Delhi suburb where angry workers attacked factories and set ablaze 25 vehicles, including a fire truck,…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

PlayStation 4 unveiled at NY event

Andrew House speaks at an event to announce the Sony Playstation 4 Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sony unveiled its next-generation gaming system, PlayStation 4, at an event in New York, saying the console will be part of a new ecosystem focused on hardware, software and “the fastest, most powerful gaming network.” “Our long-term…
photo: AP / Frank Franklin

Pirates take six foreigners hostage in Nigeria

Militants wearing black masks, military fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers patrol the creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

A tanker. Photo: Reuters LAGOS: Armed pirates who stormed an oil service ship off Nigeria have kidnapped six foreigners and demanded a $US1.3 million ($1.26 million) ransom for their release, the police and military say. “Three of those abducted are…
photo: AP / George Osodi,

French special forces in Cameroon helping hostage probe

French gendarmerie officers serving in EULEX are seen on the Jarinje check-point on the border between Serbia and Kosovo, in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. The European Union's most ambitious police mission to date will take over the policing of Kosovo from the United Nations, after months of delay and protests on both sides of the ethnic divide. The force, known as EULEX, will have over 2,000 police and justice workers monitoring and advising Kosovo's authorities on tackling corruption and organized cr

YAOUNDE: French special forces have arrived in northern Cameroon to help locate a French family who were kidnapped on Tuesday and moved to Nigeria, a local governor said on Wednesday. The abduction of three adults and four children highlights the…
photo: AP / Zvek

101st returns to Afghanistan, but different role

	101st returns to Afghanistan, but different role

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) ? The 101st Airborne Division is headed to Afghanistan for the third time in five years, but the division?s commanding general, Maj. Gen. James McConville, says his forces have to be more adaptive and agile as they set the…
photo: US Navy / Josh Ives

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigns

Bulgaria's new President Rosen Plevneliev, right, who assumed office Sunday, smiles next to Bulgaria's PM Boiko Borissov, left, after their first work meeting in Sofia, on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov offered to step down after anti-government protests sparked street violence four months before parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place. The premier, who has been in office since 2009, told the…
photo: AP / Valentina Petrova

Thieves steal $50 million in diamonds from Brussels airport

Brussel Airport Terminal   (rhubie)

When the armored car set off for the Brussels airport carrying $50 million worth of precious stones from Antwerp‘s diamond district, eight gunmen knew all about it. One of the biggest diamond heists in recent memory was about to go down. The thieves…
photo: Creative Commons / Rafaël Delaedt

 

 

 

 

 

Bulgaria’s government resigns amid protests

20 Feb 2013
Bulgaria‘s government resigned from office after nationwide protests against high electricity prices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov had tried to calm protests by sacking his finance minister, pledging to cut power prices and punish foreign-owned companies…
Protesters are detained by the riot police during a protest against high electricity prices in Sofia, on late Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Tunisia PM resigns after cabinet initiative fails

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, right, meets Tunisian Prime Minister Hamad Jebali, at the presidential palace of Tunisia, Carthage Palace, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, in Tunis, Tunisia.

BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA Associated Press= TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s prime minister announced his resignation Tuesday following a failed effort to form a technocratic government to see the country out of its political crisis. The resignation is…
photo: AP / Hassene Dridi

Syria needs grow, rebel-held north out of reach: U.N.

Syria needs grow, rebel-held north out of reach: U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) – The rebel-held north of Syria remains largely out of reach to aid operations, even though they have been stepped up elsewhere in the country torn by civil war, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said on Tuesday. “We are watching…
photo: UN / Jean-Marc Ferré

Serbia-Kosovo talks broach ‘parallel rule’ issue

Serbia-Kosovo talks broach 'parallel rule' issue

BRUSSELS – Talks between Serbia and Kosovo, which Serbia considers a renegade province, are broaching one of the most delicate issues dividing them – so-called parallel rule of northern Kosovo by the Serbian government. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica

 

 

 

Paralympian Pistorius set for bail hearing

19 Feb 2013
South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius arrived early for a bail hearing at a Pretoria courthouse on Tuesday, after being charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last week. By News Wires (text) Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius has arrived early at a courthouse in South Africa’s capital for a bail hearing in…
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius reacts, in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb 15, 2013, at his bail hearing in the murder case of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

 

 

 

Sarkisian set to win Armenian presidential vote

Armenian Prime Minister and Presidential candidate Serzh Sarkisian speaks during a rally in Yerevan, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Armenians vote for a new president next week.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Officials in Armenia say that incumbent President Serge Sarkisian has been re-elected in a national election. The country‘s Central Election Commission
photo: AP Photo / Misha Japaridze

Europe to Syrian opposition: No to arms, yes to ‘non-lethal’ aid

Europe to Syrian opposition: No to arms, yes to ‘non-lethal’ aid

European Union foreign ministers on Monday stopped short of meeting Britain’s demand to lift an arms embargo on Syria but agreed to allow “non-lethal” aid and “technical assistance” to flow to the opposition. “We would’ve gone further, some were…
photo: EC / EC

EU launches military training mission in Mali

EU launches military training mission in Mali

BRUSSELS — Less than a year after it triggered international condemnation by seizing power in a coup, the Malian military will start receiving advice from European experts on how to maintain control of its vast territory. On Monday, the European…
photo: EC / EC

EU parliament haggles over budget

EU parliament haggles over budget

The EU parliament member are fighting the EU cuncil President Van Rompuy over the new EU budget which has cuts that David Cameron of the UK pushed. MEPs are giving Herman Van Rompuy a tough time over the new EU budget, and threatening to block the…
photo: EC / EC

NATO kills insurgent behind Carson soldier’s death

NATO kills insurgent behind Carson soldier's death

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier-turned-insurgent who was feted by the Taliban for killing a Fort Carson soldier during an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan last year has been killed in a raid, the U.S.-led international coalition…
photo: DOD / Public Domain

Cameron pays tribute to Mumbai attack victims

A man waves the Indian national flag in front of the Taj Mahal hotel, one of the targets of last months terror attacks in Mumbai, India, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008. Pakistan began moving thousands of troops to the Indian border Friday, intelligence officials said, sharply raising tensions triggered by the Mumbai terror attacks

Tweet Mumbai, Feb 18 (IANS) British Prime Minister David Cameron Monday visited the 26/11 attack memorial here and paid tributes to the policemen and other people who lost their lives to terrorism. Cameron laid a…
photo: AP / Rajanish Kakade

COALITION TO COMPLY WITH PLAN TO RESTRICT AIRSTRIKES

KABUL, Afghanistan The new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan said Sunday he would comply with an intended order by President Hamid Karzai that prohibits Afghan forces from calling in NATO airstrikes on residential areas. Gen. Joseph

 

 

 

 

 

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa wins re-election

18 Feb 2013
Zeenews Bureau Quito: Ecuadoreans on Sunday re-elected Rafael Correa as their President for another four years by casting more than 50 percent of vote in his favour. The 49 year old leftist leader, who has won the confidence of Ecuador’s lower classes by his so called “citizen’s revolution” cruised to his third term victory on Sunday as he won 56.9…
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa celebrates his election victory in Quito, Ecuador, Sunday, Feb.17, 2013.

BBC Journalists Go on Strike Over Job Cuts

Cameras are seen above a sign at the BBC Television Centre, in London Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012.

LONDON (AP) — BBC reporters have walked off the job for 24 hours to protest job cuts at the broadcaster. Reporters mounted picket lines outside of the BBC’s central London studios. Programs went on, but many shows were disrupted Monday….
photo: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth

Australia defeats West Indies to win ICC Women’s World Cup 6th time

Australian teammates celebrate running out New Zealand's Kate Pulford during their Women's World Cup cricket match at the North Sydney Oval in Sydney

Tweet Australian Women Team thrashed West Indian team in the final of ICC Women’s World Cup by 114 runs played at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday. This is a record 6th win by Australian women team in World cup. It was the first time ever that West
photo: AP / Rick Rycroft

Armenia President Sarkisian expected to win re-election

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, speaks next to his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias, unseen, during a news conference and after their meeting, in Athens, on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. Sarkisian is in Greece on a two-days official visit.

Armenians are set to vote in a presidential election, with the incumbent Serge Sarkisian expected to win a second five-year term in office. The vote has been condemned as not presenting voters with any real choice, with observers saying Mr…
photo: AP / Petros Giannakouris

Runoff Is Set for President in Cyprus

Right-wing presidential candidate Nicos Anastasiades waves to his supporters during a rally in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will hold a presidential runoff election next week after no candidate won an outright majority in the first round of voting on Sunday. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news…
photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

Rafael Correa looks set to secure third term in Ecuador

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, fourth from left, and his wife Anne Malherbe, third from left, arrive to the funeral service of Juan Pablo Bolanos, a student killed during the Thursday police revolt, in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010.

Voters were on the way yesterday to handing a third term to President Rafael Correa, an economist who has raised living standards for the lower classes and widened their social safety net while being widely criticised as intolerant of dissent….
photo: AP / Dolores Ochoa

Kosovo celebrates 5 years of independence

Kosovo women walk in the main square decorated with flags for the anniversary of Kosovo's independence in capital Pristina on Monday, Feb. 16, 2009. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, 2008. Although it gained swift recognition from the United States and key European powers including Britain, France, Germany and Italy only 22 of the EU's 27 member states have endorsed

Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo celebrated the fifth anniversary of their declaration of independence from Serbia with a parade of police and armed forces in the main square of the capital Sunday. It’s the first time such forces have been used in a parade…
photo: AP / Visar Kryeziu

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman on trial for fraud

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman talks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle, not seen, in Jerusalem. Israel's Justice Ministry filed an indictment of former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman in a Jerusalem court on Sunday, charging him with breach of trust and fraud in a case that could hurt his political future.

Former Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has pleaded not guilty at the start of trial in Jerusalem on fraud and corruption charges. The ally of premier Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from cabinet two months ago. Israeli prosecutors accuse the…
photo: AP / Tara Todras-Whitehill

Cyprus chooses president as bailout deal looms

A man and a woman vote in the Presidential election in southern port city of Limassol, Cyprus, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013.

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cypriots are voting Sunday for a new president who must tackle a financial crisis that has forced the country to seek international rescue money to stay solvent. The change in leadership comes at a crucial juncture for Cyprus…
photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

Shiites lash out after Pakistan bombing kills 81

Local residents survey a damaged market caused by Saturday's bombing in Quetta, Pakistan on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013.

ABDUL SATTAR Associated Press= QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Angry residents on Sunday demanded government protection from an onslaught of attacks against Shiite Muslims, a day after 81 people were killed in a massive bombing that a local official said was…
photo: AP / Arshad Butt

Mediator Brahimi seeks Syria/opposition talks at U.N

Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, answers media questions after consultations at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012.

CAIRO (Reuters) – International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi called on Sunday for talks between the Syrian opposition and an “acceptable delegation” from the Damascus government on a political solution to the country’s 23-month-old civil war….
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Afghan leader says he’ll ban airstrike requests

Afghan leader says he’ll ban airstrike requests

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Angry over civilian deaths, President Hamid Karzai announced plans Saturday to ban Afghan security forces from requesting international airstrikes on residential areas. If he issues the decree as promised, the move would pose a…
photo: US Army / Michael J. MacLeod

4.8-magnitude earthquake shakes central Italy, spooking residents

An Italian flag on a window in Rome, Italy

A 4.8-magnitude quake hit central Italy today, shaking apartment buildings in the centre of Rome and spooking citizens in the region of Abruzzo,…
photo: WN / Guillaume Poulet-Mathis

Some Chinese Are Souring on Being North Korea’s Best Friend

A propaganda poster with Kim Il-sung's official portrait

YANJI CITY, China — Beds shook and teacups clattered in this town bordering North Korea, less than 100 miles from the site where the North said it detonated a nuclear test that exploded midmorning in the midst of Chinese New Year festivities….
photo: Creative Commons / Yeowatzup

Afghan troops banned from requesting NATO strikes

	Afghan troops banned from requesting NATO strikes

Afghan forces will be banned from requesting NATO air strikes “under any conditions”, President Hamid Karzai told a Kabul military academy on Saturday. The move comes days after 10 civilians died in a joint NATO-Afghan raid on a Taliban…
photo: US Army / Zach Holden

India eases post-execution curfew in Kashmir

Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol during a curfew in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 15 February 2013. Authorities have imposed strict restrictions to stop separatist march in protest against the hanging of Afzal Guru. Guru was hanged 09 February 2013 for an attack on the country's parliament in 2001, which killed nine people.

A strict curfew across Indian-administered Kashmir that was imposed after the secret execution of a Kashmiri man has been lifted, police say. Police officer Ashok Prasad said on Saturday that authorities had also restored mobile internet and cable…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Debt crisis overshadows Cyprus presidential election

Right-wing opposition leader and presidential candidate Nicos Anastasiades crossing a street to campaign office in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013.

Some Cypriots are calling it mission impossible – the task of digging the small Mediterranean island of Cyprus out of debt. However difficult the task is, the new president, who will be elected by the end of this month at the latest, will have to…
photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

Facebook says it was a target of sophisticated hacking

facebook - popular social networking site on Internet

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Friday it had been the target of an unidentified hacker group, but it found no evidence that user data was compromised. “Last month, Facebook security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated…
photo: WN / Geeta

Airbus rules out lithium-ion battery in new plane

John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, is seen during the Global Market Forecast, at the Airbus Factory in Toulouse, southwestern France, Monday, Dec. 13, 2010.

Airbus said it will revert to traditional battery technology for its new A350 wide-body aircraft instead of the lithium-ion power source that grounded Boeing’s competing 787 Dreamliner after malfunctions. The change is being made to protect the…
photo: AP / Manuel Blondeau

Colombia’s FARC frees two policemen

People who participate in the release operation of two police officers and a soldier, hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, are surrounded by media members as they ride an International Red Cross vehicle at a rural area of Miranda, some 210 miles southwest of Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Feb.14, 2013.

Colombia‘s FARC rebels have freed two police patrolmen it seized last month, in an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of the next round of tense peace negotiations with the government. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the biggest armed group…
photo: AP / Juan B. Diaz

Pro-Morsi protesters rally in Cairo

Thousands of supporters raise a poster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as they celebrate in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak 18 months ago, in Cairo late Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012.

Thousands have rallied in Cairo to show support for Egypt‘s President Mohammed Morsi, who has been locked in a deep dispute with the largely secular opposition. Protesters packed a square outside Cairo University on Friday, chanting slogans…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Congo deploys 500 soldiers to hunt Ugandan warlord

Two unidentified Rwandan Hutu rebels, left, that were captured during a joint military operation by the Congolese army and U.N. are seen some 70km from the town of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, Oct. 31, 2005.

KAMPALA, UgandaThe African Union says Congo has sent 500 troops to join a Uganda-led military effort to hunt down Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. The troops were handed over in a ceremony Wednesday, the…

 

 

 

Meteor shower hits Russia, 500 injured by blasts

15 Feb 2013
A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia‘s Ural Mountains today morning, causing sharp explosions and injuring more than 400 people, many of them hurt by broken glass. “There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to…
In this frame grab made from a video done with a dashboard camera, on a highway from Kostanai, Kazakhstan, to Chelyabinsk region, Russia, provided by Nasha Gazeta newspaper, on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 a meteorite contrail is seen.

 

Al-Shabab say they executed Kenyan hostage

SOMALIA, Kismayo: In a handout photograph taken 05 October and released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team 06 October, Somali women look on from a roof-top as a soldier of the Kenyan Contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) stands guard on a street in the centre of the southern Somali port city of Kismayo adjacent to the old police station while a combat engineering team inspects the surrounding area following reports of  a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) left behind by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab. The last bastion of the once feared Al Shabaab, Kismayo fell after troops of the SNA and the pro-government Ras Kimboni Brigade supported by Kenyan AMISOM forces entered the port city on 02 October following a two month operation across southern Somalia which saw the liberation of villages and centres along a distance of 120km from Afmadow to Kismayo. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.

Somalia‘s al-Shabab fighters have claimed to have executed a captured Kenyan soldier and repeated threats to kill five other hostages, the group said. The claim of the al-Qaeda-linked group on Friday could not be verified. “While…
photo: UN / STUART PRICE

Afghans skeptical of Obama troop withdrawal

 U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ian Blackstone (right) radios in his unit´s status while searching a school during a morning raid in the Tameem district of Ramadi, Iraq, on Sept. 3, 2006. The soldiers are assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Re

US President Barack Obama plans to withdraw some 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year – a little more than half the current number. The Karzai government has welcomed the move as long overdue. The office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai
photo: DoD /Jeremy T. Lock

India’s Kumbh Mela: Tight security for key festival day

A Group of  Woman on the way to holy bath at Gangasagar Island, some 150 kms south of Kolkata, on the occasion of Makarsankranti festival in Kolkata on Sunday, 13 January 2013. Some three hundred thousand Hindu pilgrims gathered at the Gangasagar Mela (Fair) to take a dip in the Ocean at the confluence of the River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a holy day of the Hindu calendar considered to be of great religious significance in Hindu mythology, Eastern India

Security has been tightened for another peak day at India‘s Kumbh Mela festival, days after a stampede killed 36 pilgrims at a railway station. Millions of Hindu ascetics and pilgrims are taking a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges and…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

South African Olympic Runner Pistorius to Face Murder Charges

XIV. Paralympische Sommerspiele, Leichtathletik, Maenner, 200 Meter, Finale T44, Sonntag (02.09.12), Olympiastadion, London, Grossbritannien: Oscar Pistorius (Suedafrika, r.) steht nach dem Lauf neben David Behre im Zielbereich.

South African Olympic Runner Pistorius to Face Murder Charges Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee nicknamed ‘Blade Runner‘ for the carbon blades he runs on, is escorted by police in Pretoria on Thursday. He will appear in court Friday on charges that…
photo: AP / Sebastian Widmann

Mali says to hold presidential election on July 7

Coup leader Amadou Haya Sanogo, center, stands with Mali's parliamentary head Dioncounda Traore, right, at junta headquarters in Kati, outside Bamako, Mali Monday, April 9, 2012.

BAMAKO (Reuters) – Mali will hold a presidential election on July 7, a key step aimed at stabilizing the country following the French-led military intervention that has ousted Islamist rebels from the main northern towns, the government said on…
photo: AP / Harouna Traore

Chicago’s new Public Enemy No. 1: ‘El Chapo’

In this June 10, 1993 file photo, Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias "El Chapo Guzman" is shown to the press after his arrest at the high security prison of Almoloya de Juarez, on the outskirts of Mexico City.

February 14, 2013 — Updated 2041 GMT (0441 HKT) Drug boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera is seen at a Mexican maximum security prison before he escaped in 2001. (CNN) — The Chicago Crime Commission named a new Public Enemy No. 1 on Thursday, a…
photo: AP / Damian Dovarganes

Secret Taliban letter shows Mali strategy, discord

In this Tuesday, April 24, 2012 file photo, fighters from Islamist group Ansar Dine stand guard during a hostage handover, in the desert outside Timbuktu, Mali.

In their hurry to flee last month, al Qaeda fighters left behind a crucial document: Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network’s strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal…
photo: AP

 

 

 

Afghan president, ISAF welcome U.S. forces pullout

14 Feb 2013
KABUL, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) welcomed the U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision over withdrawal of another 34,000 American forces from Afghanistan. “Afghanistan welcomes the announcement by President Obama, who in his state of the union address said that the…
File - U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, center left, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center right, walk together before conducting a joint press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 14, 2011.
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Google doodles Valentine’s Day and George Ferris’s 154th birthday

Singapore Flyer lights up during night time.

NEW DELHI: Google today celebrates Valentine’s Day and 154th birthday of George Ferris with an animated and colorful doodle. George Ferris (George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr) was an American engineer who…
photo: WN / RTayco

Insight: Divided Damascus confronted by all-out war

Abbasiyyin Stadium Tishreen Park is by far the largest park in Damascus. It is home to the yearly held Damascus Flower Show. Other parks include Aljahiz, Al sibbki, Altijara and Alwahda.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – MiG warplanes roar low overhead to strike rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad on the fringes of Damascus, while artillery batteries pound the insurgents from hills overlooking a city divided between all-out war and…
photo: Creative Commons / Aziz

Pope Thanks Public For ‘Love And Prayers’

Pope Benedict XVI arrives for his weekly general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday Feb. 13, 2013.

Pope Benedict XVI has thanked the public for their “love and prayers”, as he makes his first public appearance since announcing his resignation. The Pope was cheered by crowds as he entered and began speaking, at a…
photo: AP / Alessandra Tarantino


Panetta calls North Korea nuke test ‘serious threat’ to US

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet with Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith and Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr during the Australia/U.S. ministerial in Perth, Australia, Nov 14, 2012.

Tweet London, Feb 13 (ANI): Outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has said that North Korean military ambitions are a ‘serious threat’ to the US. Panetta likened the North to Iran, describing them as “rogue states”. In a…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Vatican reveals pope had secret heart surgery

Pope Benedict XVI holds up the ostensory as he celebrates a New Year's Eve vespers service in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010.

Pope Benedict XVI had a secret operation three months ago to replace the batteries in his pacemaker but this did not influence his decision to resign, the Vatican has said. “It was a routine operation. He already had a pacemaker. This had nothing…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

Obama calls NKorea nuclear test ‘highly provocative,’ urges swift international response

President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Tuesday called North Korea‘s latest nuclear test a “highly provocative act” that threatens U.S. security and international peace. “The danger posed by North Korea’s threatening activities warrants…
photo: AP / Susan Walsh

Coca-Cola drinking

Coca-Cola soft drinks - Soda - Beverage

Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old woman in New Zealand, a coroner has said. Natasha Harris, who died three years ago after a cardiac arrest, drank up to 10 litres of the fizzy…
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Activists: Syrian Rebels Seize Military Air Base

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, Syrian rebels listen to their trainer on how to use a rocket propelled grenade in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria.

Syrian activists say rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have captured a military air base in northern Syria, a day after seizing control of the country&aposs largest hydro-electric dam. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

North Korea Sparks Worldwide Fury After Third Nuclear Test

A South Korean official explains seismic waves of North Korea's nuclear test which were measured in South Korea, at the Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013.

NORTH Korea sparked worldwide condemnation today after defying the UN and detonating a miniaturised nuclear device last night. The hermit communist nation confirmed it had successfully conducted its THIRD nuclear test – which caused a 4.9-strength…
photo: AP / Yonhap, Lee Ji-eun

Barclays Cuts 3,700 Jobs In Bank Shake-Up

A sign of Barclays Bank is seen at a branch in the City of London, Friday, April 30, 2010.

Barclays has announced 3,700 job cuts amid plans to cut £1.7bn in costs and improve standards. Of these job losses, 1,800 will be in its corporate and investment bank and 1,900 will be in European retail and business banking….
photo: AP / Sang Tan

 

 

Coca-Cola drinking ‘linked to New Zealander’s death’

Coca-Cola soft drinks - Soda - Beverage

Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old woman in New Zealand, a coroner has said. Natasha Harris, who died three years ago after a cardiac arrest, drank up to 10 litres of the fizzy…
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Activists: Syrian Rebels Seize Military Air Base

In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, Syrian rebels listen to their trainer on how to use a rocket propelled grenade in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria.

Syrian activists say rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad have captured a military air base in northern Syria, a day after seizing control of the country&aposs largest hydro-electric dam. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
photo: AP / Muhammed Muheisen

North Korea Sparks Worldwide Fury After Third Nuclear Test

A South Korean official explains seismic waves of North Korea's nuclear test which were measured in South Korea, at the Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013.

NORTH Korea sparked worldwide condemnation today after defying the UN and detonating a miniaturised nuclear device last night. The hermit communist nation confirmed it had successfully conducted its THIRD nuclear test – which caused a 4.9-strength…
photo: AP / Yonhap, Lee Ji-eun

Pope Benedict XVI to resign, citing age

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his message at the end of a meeting of Vatican cardinals, at the Vatican, Monday, Feb. 11, 2013.

VATICAN CITY — In a move that took the world by surprise, Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday (Feb. 11) that he will become the first pope in 600 years to resign, with plans to step down on Feb. 28. “After having repeatedly examined my…
photo: AP / L’Osservatore Romano

Gen. Joseph Dunford takes command in Afghanistan

Gen. Joseph Dunford takes command in Afghanistan

Last in a long line Gen, Joseph Dunford took command of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Sunday, replacing Gen. John Allen and becoming the 15th general to lead the international coalition (NYT, Reuters, AP, McClatchy, AJE, LAT, CNN). Gen….
photo: US DoD / D. Myles Cullen

Pakistan to have role in lasting Afghan solution, says ex-US general

Pakistan to have role in lasting Afghan solution, says ex-US general

Tweet Islamabad, Feb. 11 (ANI): Pakistan would have a role in any lasting solution in Afghanistan, a former commander of US and NATO forces in Kabul, wrote in his book-‘My Share of the Task’….
photo: US DoD / D. Myles Cullen

Nigeria Captures First Africa Cup of Nations

Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike holds the trophy after they defeated Burkina Faso in the final to win the African Cup of Nations at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.

Nigeria won its first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1994, beating Burkina Faso, 1-0, on Sunday Mba’s left-footed volley in the 40th minute. Victor Moses, who recovered from an ankle injury just in time to play, was voted the best player of…
photo: AP / Armando Franca

 


 

Footwear of Hindu devotees lie on the ground after a stampede on the banks of the River Ganges in Haridwar, 500 kilometers (300 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.

Allahabad – At least 18 people were killed in a stampede in the Indian city of Allahabad on Sunday as Hindus returned from a river dip at the world’s largest religious festival. An overcrowded railway station footbridge buckled and a railing…
photo: AP

Jerry Sandusky Scandal: Paterno Family Releases Critique of Freeh Report

Workers place a tarp on a fence in front of the statue of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno before removing it Sunday July 22, 2012 in State College, Pa.

The Paterno family is fighting to restore the legacy of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, flatly denying the allegations in the report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that the legendary coach was complicit in a coverup of child sexual…
photo: AP / John Beale

Fireworks usher in Year of the Snake

Fireworks usher in Year of the Snake

A billion-plus Asians ushered in the Year of the Snake yesterday with a cacophony of fireworks, after a Chinese televised gala featuring megastars, including Celine Dion, kicked off a week of festivities. From Australia to South Korea, millions of…
photo: WN / Periasamy

Sino-India water issue: Bilateral mechanism proposed

Sino-India water issue: Bilateral mechanism proposed

New Delhi: Water is emerging as a new possible irritant between China and India, which has proposed a bilateral mechanism to deal with it. In a significant move, India is pressing China to have either a water commission or a inter-governmental…
photo: WN / Agnieszka Dziubi?ska

Economy to be focus of Obama’s address

Economy to be focus of Obama's address

State of the Union also to include other domestic issues and the Afghan war….
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Blizzard paralyses US northeast, five dead, 700,000 lose power

Ice forming on the limbs of trees in Pocahontas, Illinois, USA during a winter storm on February 1, 2011.

A record-breaking blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 700,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least five people dead. The mammoth storm that stretched…
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal

Hamish McRae: Europe has to play to its many strengths

Hamish McRae: Europe has to play to its many strengths

What can Europeans – and let’s just accept that Britons are Europeans – do that others cannot do just as well or better? This, surely, a much more important question than the row over the European budget, the machinations by the European Central Bank


 

 

 

WHITEOUT

Potentially Historic Blizzard Hits Northeast… At Least 4 Reported Dead… 38 Inches Of Snow In CT… More Than 650,000 Without Power… One Man Missing.. State Of Emergency Declared In CT, RI, MA, NY, ME… Over 6,000 Flights Canceled… Motorists Trapped… MA, CT Governors Ban All Traffic…
LOOK: Weather Warning Map… STORM TRACKER

 

 

 

India hangs man for 2001 attack on Parliament

09 Feb 2013
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian news channels are reporting that a Kashmiri man convicted in the 2001 attack on India‘s Parliament has been hanged. State-run Doordarshan News said that Afzal Guru was executed early Saturday morning in New Delhi‘s Tihar prison. Phone calls to the prison and several Home Ministry officials went unanswered….
Activists of the Jammu and Kashmir Mass Movement (JKMM) shouting anti-India slogans during a protest in support of clemency for Mohammad Afzal Guru in Srinagar on December 13, 2012. Indian police detained some half a dozen activists during the protest. Fellow Kashmiri, Mohammad Afzal Guru was sentenced to death by an Indian court after being found guilty of being involved in the 13 September 2001 attack on India's Parliament House in New Delhi. The protestors appealed to the President to commute the death sentence of Guru and reinvestigate the case.

 

 

Venezuela devalues currency by 32% against the dollar

In this Oct. 24, 2007 file photo, a woman looks at oversized versions of the new Venezuelan currency, coined the 'Strong Bolivar' in Caracas, Venezuela.

Venezuela has cut the value of its currency against the US dollar by 32%, in an effort to boost its economy. The widely expected measure ramps up the official exchange rate of the bolivar from 4.3 to 6.3 per US dollar. It was announced after…
photo: AP / Howard Yanes

U.S., Israel, Iran work to build better relationship

President Barack Obama looks to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as he announces Kerry's nomination for the next secretary of state in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, in Washington.

Finally, a glimmer of hope is shining from the end of the tunnel of distrust, intimidation and threats. After 33 years of wild accusations, hostile attitudes, belligerent posturing, terrorism and war planning, relations between the United States and…
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

Schmidt to sell 42% of his Google holdings

South Korean rapper PSY, who sings the popular "Gangnam Style" song, talks with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, right, during their meeting at Google Korea headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012.

Google Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt plans to sell roughly 42 percent of his stake in the Internet search company over the coming year, Google announced on Friday. Schmidt will…
photo: AP / Yonhap

New Yorkers remember Sandy, scramble for supplies

Pedestrians make their way in a slushy snowfall along Broadway in the Manhattan borough of New York as a second blizzard in less than a week blanket the city Thursday Feb. 25, 2010.

NEW YORK — It was a “routine blizzard” that was bearing down on them, not a superstorm, but New Yorkers couldn’t help but think about Sandy in the face of a snow-laden Nor’easter. “I think it might even be…
photo: AP / Bebeto Matthews

Pakistani Girl Shot by Taliban Released From British Hospital

Pakistani children sit around a picture of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, as they pray for her recovery during a candlelight vigil in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012.

The Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban militants for advocating girls&apos education has been discharged from a British hospital. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the city of…
photo: AP / Pervez Masih

Rio de Janeiro kicks off Carnival celebrations

 The Carnival King, right, also known as Rei Momo, celebrates with two female dancers at the official beginning of the 2001 Rio Carnival after recieving the key to the city from local authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 23, 2001. (sa0)

 

Tunisia faces general strike as political crisis deepens

08 Feb 2013
TUNIS: Tunisia faces a general strike Friday, with tens of thousands expected to take to the streets after the murder this week of a leftist opposition leader that sparked violent clashes with police. The General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) called the strike to coincide with the funeral of Chokri Belaid, a lawyer and vocal critic of the ruling…
A family flees tear gas during a demonstration in Tunis, Thursday, Feb.7, 2013.

 

Zambia bus crash kills 53

Military personnel search for bodies after a Zambia Postal Service bus collided with a truck near the town of Chifamba about 100 Kilometers (60 Miles) north of Lusaka, Zambia, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013.

I can confirm that 53 people have died in the accident The bus carrying 73 passengers hurtled into an oncoming truck, leaving bloodied bodies and wreckage on a main road north of Lusaka. “I can confirm that 53 people have died in the…
photo: AP / Salim Dawood

Panetta backs Syria rebels arms plan

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet with Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith and Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr during the Australia/U.S. ministerial in Perth, Australia, Nov 14, 2012.

The US defence secretary has acknowledged for the first time that he supports arming Syrian rebels. In testimony to Congress, Leon Panetta said he still supported the supply of weapons to rebels fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Yemen blames Iran after weapons haul

Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour, President of the Republic of Yemen addresses the general debate of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

Yemen‘s president has called on Iran to stop backing armed groups in his country after coastguards seized a ship carrying missiles and rockets. Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi‘s message came amid speculation the weapons originated in the Iran….
photo: UN / Jennifer S Altman

Chinese crack down on protest action in Tibet

A candlelit vigil being held in Mcleod Ganj town of Dharamshala, India, on Thursday evening, April 19, 2012, to pay respect and prayers to the two young Tibetans who died on April 19th in their self-immolations in Tibet to China's rule and repressions.

CLIFFORD COONAN, in Beijing Chinese authorities have detained 70 people as part of a widening crackdown on a wave of self-immolations in Tibetan areas, and launched a high-profile propaganda campaign to discourage the protests. Since February 2009,…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

Ever the showman, Berlusconi rallies

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a news conference at Rome's Chigi Palace premier office, Wednesday, March 24, 2010

ITALY‘S Silvio Berlusconi showed off his famous stage skills at a lively election rally in Rome, where star-struck supporters spoke admiringly of the scandal-tainted former leader. Hundreds of fans young and old packed a concert hall for the…
photo: AP / Riccardo De Luca

Putin angry over Sochi Olympics cost overruns

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, seen during his meeting on the Olympics 2014 preparations in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, southern Russia, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — A year before the 2014 Winter Olympics are to begin, President Vladimir Putin has demanded that a senior member of the Russian Olympic Committee be fired, apparently due to cost overruns in host city Sochi — a demand certain to…
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Pool

Common Ancestor of Mammals Is Plucked From Obscurity

brown rat - common rat - Hanover rat - Norway rat - Norwegian rat - wharf rat - rodent

Humankind’s common ancestor with other mammals may have been an animal the size of a rat that weighed no more than half a pound, had a long furry tail and lived on insects. Enlarge This Image Carl Buell An artist’s rendering of a placental…
photo: Creative Commons

 

 

 

 

Tunisia on edge as PM calls for new elections

07 Feb 2013
Tunisia‘s Islamist Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has announced that the country’s government would be dissolved and a national unity cabinet formed amid fierce protests following the assassination of a prominent secular opposition leader. By FRANCE 24 (text) Tunisia’s prime minister has pledged to form a government of technocrats and to…
A man crosses the street as Tunisians demonstrate the killing of Chokri Belaid in Tunis, Wednesday, Feb.6, 2013.

 

Latest World News

Afghan poll cash goes to waste

Torn and defaced election posters of candidates who ran as a parliamentary candidates in September's poll, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Nov 24, 2010.

By Inge Fryklund All Afghan elections to date have been bankrolled – and largely organized – by international donors. In advance of 2014, Afghans and donors alike need to decide what to do to stage a credible presidential election and what can…

India child sex victims ‘humiliated’ – Human Rights Watch

Singur Village School Childrens with a raincoat on the raniday ,who gave up his land reacts to the verdict of Calcutta High Court on June 22, 2012 in Singur, India. In a major setback to West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court Friday struck down the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void. The division bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri set aside the single bench judgment of the court

Child victims of sexual abuse in India are often mistreated and humiliated by police, says the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a new report. Government systems to deal with the issue of abuse are inadequate, it says. The report says sexual abuse…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

“Money” forces Pentagon to one carrier in Persian Gulf

“Money” forces Pentagon to one carrier in Persian Gulf

The U.S. is reducing its naval presence in the Persian Gulf to just one aircraft carrier to reduce costs, a military official confirms to the E-Ring. “Money,” was the one-word answer from the official, when asked for the reason behind the Pentagon’s…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Arrest of Nigeria ‘Yahoo-Yahoo Boys’ Angers Locals

In this file photo taken, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 file photo, Nigeria secret service officers stand guard, during a court hearing in Lagos, Nigeria.

BENIN CITY, NIGERIA — The Nigerian government is cracking down on Internet scam artists who take millions of dollars monthly from foreign victims. The latest police sweep saw 20 people arrested last week. In the southern city of Benin where the raid…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Iran offering reeling Egypt ‘big credit line’

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures, prior to addressing a mass rally in the southern village of Qana, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010

Iran‘s president on Wednesday offered to help rescue Egypt‘s failing economy with a “big credit line,” another sign of improving relations between two regional powers after a freeze of more than three decades. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the proposal…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Tunisia protests after government critic shot dead

A protester carries a Tunisian flag during a sit-in in support of the Tunisian people organized by the committee for solidarity with the people's uprising in Tunisia and Lebanon, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011.

TUNIS (Reuters) – A Tunisian opposition politician was shot dead on Wednesday, sending protesters onto the streets of cities nationwide two years after the uprisings that swept Tunisia‘s president from power and inflamed the Arab world. Forensic
photo: AP / Grace Kassab

 

 

February 6, 2013

CIA operating drone base in Saudi Arabia, US media reveal

US drone operating in Iraq (file)
Drones reportedly carry out strikes without Yemeni government permission
The US Central Intelligence Agency has been operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for the past two years.

 

 

 

 

Cairo Activist Fighting Tear Gas With Tear Gas

An Egyptian protester throws a tear gas canister back at riot police, not seen, during clashes near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

CAIRO — As hundreds fled the advancing armored cars of riot police officers, Mohamed Mokbel ran forward. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors A…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

David Cameron wins gay marriage vote as Tories split

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks in the House of Commonns in this image taken from TV Monday Sept. 5, 2011. Cameron said a national inquiry into anti-terrorism policy will examine allegations about the cozy ties between U.K. intelligence and Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

David Cameron got his way but saw his party torn in half as gay marriage legislation cleared its first hurdle in the Commons. The Prime Minister hailed a “step forward for our country” after the House backed the proposals by a big margin of 400 to…
photo: AP / Parliamentary Recording Unit, via APTN

Leaked U.S. justification for drone killings assailed as rewriting definition of ?imminent threat?

A Predator drone unmanned aerial vehicle takes off on a U.S. Customs Border Patrol mission from Fort Huachuca, Ariz., Thursday, Oct. 25, 20

WASHINGTON — Civil and human rights advocates Tuesday denounced a leaked Obama administration “white paper” that sets out the legal justification for killing U.S. citizens suspected of being members of al Qaida, an issue certain to arise…
photo: AP / Ross D. Franklin

Magnitude 6.3 quake strikes off Solomon Islands: USGS

Main Street, Honiara, population 49,107 (1999 census), 78,190 (2009 estimate), is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – An earthquake measuring 6.3 magnitude struck southeast of the Solomon Islands on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The shallow quake was only 15 km (nine miles) deep and the epicenter was 330 km…
photo: Creative Commons

Armed gang rapes six Spanish tourists more

Beach at Acapulco, Mexico

ACAPULCO, Mexico: Six Spanish tourists were raped by a gang of armed, masked men in the Mexican resort of Acapulco, the latest chapter of violence that has tarnished the once-glamorous Pacific coast resort. The vicious, hours-long attack…
photo: Creative Commons / Gmasterman

Japan Protests Chinese Ship’s Alleged Use of Radar to Guide Missiles

In this photo released by Taiwan's Central News Agency, a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat, front, comes in close proximity with a Taiwan Coast Guard patrol boat near the disputed islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012.

Japan has summoned China to protest what Japanese authorities consider actions by Beijing‘s forces that threaten to escalate tensions over disputed remote islands. The Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese ambassador Cheng Yonghua to complain…
photo: AP / Central News Agency

Obama to visit Israel, first time as president

President Barack Obama answers a reporter's question as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 18, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will go to Israel in the spring, the White House said Tuesday, marking his first visit to the staunch U.S. ally since becoming president. While in the region, Obama will make stops by the West Bank and Jordan….

 

 

Syria opposition leader al-Khatib urges Assad to negotiate

Feb 5.2013

Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib has urged President Bashar al-Assad to respond to his offer of peace talks. Mr Khatib, recently elected head of the Syrian National Coalition, called on Mr Assad to give his vice-president the task of opening negotiations. He said the aim would be to help the Syrian regime stand down peacefully, to spare…
Head of the new Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces Mouaz al-Khatib is seen during a press conference after a meeting, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012.

 

 

 

Iran’s Ahmadinejad on historic visit to Cairo

In this image released by the Egyptian Presidency, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, right, pose for photographers in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.

CAIRO—President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cairo on Tuesday for the first visit by an Iranian leader in more than three decades, marking a historic departure from years of frigid ties between the two regional heavyweights. Egypt‘s Islamist…
photo: AP / Egyptian Presidency

United States Stepped In to Halt Mexican General’s Rise

 Mexican army soldiers salute during a ceremony to mark the Day of the Army at a military base in Tula, Mexico, Monday Feb. 19, 2007. During the event, President Felipe Calderon announced a 46 percent salary increase for the soldiers, who are becoming inc

As Mexico’s military staged its annual Independence Day parade in September, spectators filled the main square of Mexico City to cheer on the armed forces. Nearly 2,000 miles away in Washington, American officials were also paying attention….
photo: AP /Gregory Bull

Black History Month: The Source Wishes Rosa Parks A Happy 100th Birthday

Interior The No. 2857 bus which Rosa Parks was riding on before she was arrested (a GM transit bus, serial number 1132).She was sitting in the 2nd row from the front, all the way to the right window (looking from the back

Born on this day in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks is known as the first lady of the Civil Rights movement of the turbulent 60s. Her defiant stance on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, refusing to give her seat to a…
photo: Creative Commons / Sdrtirs

Venezuela’s Chavez improving after tough cancer fight: Fidel Castro

This picture released by Cubadebate on its website early Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Habana, Cuba, Sunday Oct. 21, 2012.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is getting “much better” as he recovers from cancer surgery almost two months ago in Havana, Communist Party newspaper Granma reported on Monday. Castro, 86,…
photo: AP / Alex Castro, Cubadebate

 

 

 

New Secretary of State Kerry speaks to Netanyahu, Abbas about peace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry stressed his commitment to promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace on Sunday in telephone calls to the leaders of both sides, the State Department said. In separate conversations, Kerry, who took over as the top U.S. diplomat from Hillary Clinton on Friday, spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., talks on a phone in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 in Washington.

 

 

 

Taliban peace talks flounder as troops draw down

Afghan President Hamid Karzai addresses the media.

KABUL, AfghanistanThe Afghan peace effort is floundering, fraught with mistrust and confusion among key players even though the hard-line Taliban militants show signs of softening and their reclusive, one-eyed leader made a surprise offer to…
photo: AP / Mustafa Quraishi

Live updates: Super Bowl XLVII, 49ers vs. Ravens

An official game ball for the NFL football Super Bowl XLVII at Wilson Sporting Goods Co. in Ada, Ohio, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013.

I’ve always prided myself as a Clark Kent-type of reporter. Mild-mannered, strait-laced, tending to avoid risk. But that’s all out the window when you go to Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. It’s my third day here, having just…
photo: AP / Rick Osentoski

Obama says Boy Scouts should allow gays as members

President Barack Obama, right standing, points at Andre Wupperman, far left, during an unschedule stop at Gator's Dockside, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. When Obama was told that Andrew was born in Hawaii, he jokingly ask for his birth certificate.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Sunday that gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts and women should be allowed in military combat roles, weighing in on two storied American institutions facing proposals to end long-held exclusions….
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Successful Surgery for Pakistani Girl Shot by Taliban

Pakistani men hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, during a candlelight vigil in Karachi, Pakistan, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012.

British doctors treating a Pakistani teenager who was gravely wounded by the Taliban last year say she has has undergone two successful operations and is making good progress in her…
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

Israeli president tasks Netanyahu with forming new government

Israel's President Shimon Peres, right, sits with Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the President's residence in Jerusalem Friday, Feb.20, 2009. Netanyahu of the hawkish Likud Party has received formal permission from Israel's ceremonial president to put together the country's next government. At a ceremony at President Shimon Peres' residence, Netanyahu urged Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the governing Kadima Party and Defense Minister Ehud Barak of the Labor Party to join his governmen

JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Israeli President Shimon Peres tasked incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening with the task of forming a new government, amid the results of the Jan. 22 national elections. The two met at the…
photo: AP / Dan Balilty

South Africa 1-1 Mali (pen. 1-3): Host nations dreams end with three spot kick misses

South Africa fans react as their team is knocked out of the African Cup of Nations tournament after losing to Mali on penalties in their quarterfinal soccer match, at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.

Mali beat Bafana 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. The African nations were locked at 1-1 after extra-time. By Ignat Manjoo More On : Mali, South Africa, South Africa vs Mali…
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Spain’s Mariano Rajoy Denies Corruption Charges

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels on Friday, March 2, 2012.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoydenied allegations of tax evasion and fraud after documents published in El Pais newspaper detailing a secret web of unofficial payments involving top party officers, including Rajoy, unleashed a political storm in…
photo: AP / Thierry Charlier

 

 

 

 

Dozens killed in Iraq police compound attack

03 Feb 2013
At least 33 people were killed on Sunday after a suicide bomber and two gunmen attacked a police headquarters in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, official sources said, the third major attack in the region in several weeks. By News Wires (text) A suicide bomber driving a car and gunmen disguised in police uniforms killed at least 33 people in the…
File - U.S. Army Pfc. Donivan Dean, 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Brigade, 37th Armor Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, finds a spot to maintain a security overwatch as members of the Iraqi Army's 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Brigade, 12th Iraqi Army Division, conduct a Flash Traffic Control Point by the Schmit Bridge in Zaab, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2010.
photo: US Navy / MCS2 Matthew D. Leistikow

 

 

 

Israeli president tasks Netanyahu with forming new government

Israel's President Shimon Peres, right, sits with Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting at the President's residence in Jerusalem Friday, Feb.20, 2009. Netanyahu of the hawkish Likud Party has received formal permission from Israel's ceremonial president to put together the country's next government. At a ceremony at President Shimon Peres' residence, Netanyahu urged Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the governing Kadima Party and Defense Minister Ehud Barak of the Labor Party to join his governmen

JERUSALEM, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Israeli President Shimon Peres tasked incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening with the task of forming a new government, amid the results of the Jan. 22 national elections. The two met at the…
photo: AP / Dan Balilty

South Africa 1-1 Mali (pen. 1-3): Host nations dreams end with three spot kick misses

South Africa fans react as their team is knocked out of the African Cup of Nations tournament after losing to Mali on penalties in their quarterfinal soccer match, at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.

Mali beat Bafana 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night. The African nations were locked at 1-1 after extra-time. By Ignat Manjoo More On : Mali, South Africa, South Africa vs Mali…
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Spain’s Mariano Rajoy Denies Corruption Charges

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels on Friday, March 2, 2012.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoydenied allegations of tax evasion and fraud after documents published in El Pais newspaper detailing a secret web of unofficial payments involving top party officers, including Rajoy, unleashed a political storm in…
photo: AP / Thierry Charlier

Gay Marriage Bill Wins Support of French Lawmakers

Front line of PASTT at Gay Pride at Paris in France, June 2005. In the 1980s there was a major cultural shift in the Stonewall Riot commemorations. The previous loosely organized, grassroots marches and parades were taken over by more organized and less radical elements of the gay community.

PARIS (AP) — France‘s National Assembly has approved a key article of a controversial bill that would legalize gay marriage. The measure, approved by a 249-to-97 vote Saturday, would drop the legal requirement that a marriage in France must be…
photo: Creative Commons / Kenji-Baptiste OIKAWA

6.9 earthquake shakes northern Japan

A radiation detection device sits as new evacuees arrive for screening at an evacuee center for leaked radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear facilities, Monday, March 21, 2011, in Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Despite living in such proximity to the Fukushima nuclear facility, evacuees at the shelter had never had an emergency drill to prepare them for a nuclear disaster.

A powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan on Saturday, causing strong tremors across Hokkaido island but no damage to several nuclear facilities in the region, officials said. The quake, which was preceded by an early warning…
photo: AP / Wally Santana

 

 

Egyptians work to reclaim a Tahrir tainted by sexual assault

Tahrir square has become a terrifying place for women as sexual assault becomes more common and violent. Fed up, civilians are making it their job to prevent it and rescue women from attacks.

February 2, 2013

Egyptian protesters chant antigovernment slogans during a rally in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Friday. Tahrir square has become a terrifying place for women as sexual assault becomes more common and violent.

 

 

 

 

Hillary Clinton bids farewell as secretary of state

Hillary Clinton bids farewell as secretary of state

Tweet Washington, Feb 2 (IANS/EFE) Hillary Clinton formally stepped down as US secretary of state Friday with a letter to President Barack Obama and an emotional farewell address to the department she has run for four years….
Former Sen. Scott Brown will not run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry in Massachusetts, saying Friday he was unsure “of returning to a Congress even more partisan than the one I left.” The decision by Brown, a moderate Republican, means…
photo: AP / Robert F. Bukaty

Egypt: Protester Killed Amid Fresh Clashes

An Egyptian protestor holds a national flag during clashes with the security forces near the interior ministry in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.

2 February 2013, 1:03 Egypt: Protester Killed Amid Fresh Clashes Tweet One person has been killed and dozens injured during clashes between police and protesters in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. Egypt’s health ministry said a 23-year-old man died…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

6.7-magnitude quake hits Santa Cruz Islands — USGS

Great Santa Cruz Island. Numerous landmarks in Zamboanga include Fort Pilar, Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Pasonanca Park, Paseo del Mar, Pettit Barracks, and Zamboanga Golf and Country Club.

NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) — An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted Santa Cruz Islands on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 34.20 km, was initially determined to be at 10.9968 degrees south…
photo: Creative Commons

70th anniversary of battle: Stalingrad gets name back, for 6 days a year

 paris metro station Stalingrad

MOSCOW: Lawmakers in the Russian city of Volgograd on Thursday voted to revive its wartime name of Stalingrad for ceremonial purposes six days a year, just ahead the 70th anniversary of Red Army‘s defeat of Nazi forces there in World War II. The…
photo: WN / guillaume

The Plan to Get Female Leadership in 21st Century Politics

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, meets with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the State Department on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 in Washington.

The White House Project for women leaders closed its doors this week. How will the gap be filled? Hillary Clinton nearly accomplished the White House Project‘s goal of electing a female president in 2008. Clinton won the most Democratic primary
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

18 killed in northeast Nigeria military raid

Nigerian police officers stand guard in an area were the military are battling with gunmen in Kano, northern Nigeria, Wednesday April 18, 2007.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian soldiers attacked training camps for suspected members of the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram deep in a game reserve in the nation’s restive northeast, a raid that left at least 18 people dead, a military spokesman…

 

 

 

Blast at US embassy in Ankara kills two people
TURKEY

Blast at US embassy in Ankara kills two people

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive at the entrance of the US embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, killing at least two people, police said on Friday.

 

Salman Khan: Bollywood star faces homicide charge

Bollywood actor Salman Khan speaks to the media at an event for the music release of his forthcoming Hindi language film "Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa" in Bombay, India, late Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004. Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa is a love story.

An Indian court has ruled that Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will be charged with culpable homicide for a hit-and-run incident 10 years ago. If convicted of the charge, the actor could face up to 10 years in prison. In September 2002, Khan
photo: AP / Rajesh Nirgude

Barack Obama looking to further strengthening ties with India: White House

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh with the US President, Mr. Barack Obama, at a Bilateral Meeting, on the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN-India Summit and the 6th East Asia Summit, in Bali, Indonesia on November 18, 2011.

January 31: Barack Obama is looking to further strengthen Indo-American ties in his second term as the President of US, the White House said on Thursday. “India is an incredibly important country in the world, not just the region. And the (US)…
photo: PIB of India

Blast shakes Mexico state oil firm’s headquarters, kills 14, injures at least 100

A soldier stands guard outside the Pemex headquarters after an explosion in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.

MEXICO CITY — An explosion ripped through the high-rise headquarters of Mexico’s state oil company Friday, killing at least 14 people, according to a government minister, and injuring more than 100. The explosion shook the iconic 54-story…
photo: AP / Eduardo Verdugo

World Briefs

An anti-government protester waves an Egyptian flag as stands on a pole in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Feb. 4, 2011.

World Briefs Egypt talks Cairo, Jan. 31 (Reuters): Egypt’s feuding politicians renounced violence today after being summoned by the country’s influential Muslim scholar to talks to end the unrest since President Mohamed Mursi took…
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

Argentina rejects meeting with Falklands government

Falkland Islands .

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina on Thursday rejected an invitation from Britain to a meeting that would include representatives of the government of the Falkland Islands, further hardening the diplomatic stalemate over the South Atlantic
photo: GFDL / Apcbg

Chavez Ally Travels to Cuba to See Ailing Leader

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro, center, addresses the nation on live television flanked by Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, left, and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. Maduro said that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez will face a "complex and hard" process after undergoing his fourth cancer-related operation in Cuba on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Chavez named Maduro as his chosen political heir.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly traveled to Cuba on Thursday to visit President Hugo Chavez, who is recovering on the island more than seven weeks after undergoing cancer surgery. Connect With Us on…
photo: AP / Miraflores Press Office, Efrain Gonzalez

Wall Street Journal ‘also victim of China hacking attack’

Printer Belinda Affat poses for photographs with a copy of the Wall Street Journal

Hackers from China have infiltrated the computer systems of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in the second such attack on a major US news outlet. The Journal says the hackers were trying to monitor its China coverage. The New York Times reported…
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

U.S. stocks dip on U.S. Q4 contraction

A trader watches a video wall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. Stocks started 2011 with a lift Monday thanks to better news on the economy.

NEW YORK, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve released a bit more pessimistic statement after the U.S. economy shrunk unexpectedly in the fourth quarter. The main stock indices accelerated to drop after…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Nigeria Official Denies Government Malfeasance

Der Praesident von Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, traegt sich am Freitag (20.04.12) in Schloss Bellevue in Berlin in das Gaestebuch von Schloss Bellevue ein. Gauck traf sich mit Jonathan zu einem Gespraech

An adviser to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is denying accusations that the government squandered about $ 67 billion. Doyin Okupe, senior special adviser for public affairs, says the accusations are malicious and without merit. Nigeria’s…
photo: AP / Maja Hitij/dapd

Nigerian farmers lose key Shell case at The Hague

Locals collect oil from an oil polluted stream in Oshie near Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Tuesday, Oct. 31 2006.

A Dutch court rejected a bid by Nigerian farmers to hold Shell responsible for oil damage to their villages, in a case that environmental groups had hoped would set a precedent for global corporate responsibility. Instead, The Hague district court…
photo: AP / George Osodi

Myanmar abolishes 25-year ban on public gatherings

Members of the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party sit under the portrait of Suu Kyi before the party's central committee meeting at the party's headquarters Monday, March

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s nearly 2-year-old reformist government has abolished a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that was ordered in 1988 on the day a military junta took power after crushing nationwide pro-democracy…
photo: AP / Photo/Khin Maung Win

Wife of Syria’s Assad ‘pregnant’

Bashar and Asma al-Assad, President and first-wife of Syria.

THE British-born wife of beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al Assad was reported yesterday to be pregnant with their fourth child. Asma Assad is due to give birth in March, according to Beirut newspaper al-Akhbar. Her father, Fawaz Akhras, a Harley…
photo: Creative Commons / FunkMonk

Obama unveils immigration reform needed for 21st century America

President Barack Obama talks about health care reform as he announces his nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, not pictured, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009

On Tuesday speaking at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas President Barack Obama discussed necessary changes required in the United States’ presently outdated and unfair immigration policy in order to keep the nation leading the way within the 21st
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights

Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng arrives at Washington Square Village on the campus of New York University, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in New York.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged the United States on Tuesday not to let business concerns prevent it from pressing China over human rights, saying America must never “offer the smallest compromise” on its…
photo: AP / Henny Ray Abrams

Yahoo! shares bounce as profit tops expectations

This Monday, July 16, 2012 photo shows the Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. Yahoo is hiring longtime Google executive Marissa Mayer to be its next CEO, the fifth in five years as the company struggles to rebound from financial malaise and internal turmoil.

SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo! shares bounced in after-hours trading Monday as the struggling Internet pioneer topped Wall Street expectations despite a slip in quarterly profit. Yahoo! reported profit of $272 million, an eight percent drop from a year…
photo: AP / Paul Sakuma

Several Australian towns flooded, 4 people killed

Residents clear away the mud from their flooded home in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. Parts of Brisbane reopened as deadly floodwaters that had swamped entire neighborhoods recede, revealing streets and thousands of homes covered in a thick layer of putrid sludge.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Thousands of Australians huddled in shelters Tuesday as torrential rains flooded cities and towns in the northeast, killing four people and prompting around 1,000 helicopter evacuations. With floodwaters expected to peak in…