K.O.
House Gives In… CRUZ CAVES… IT’S OVER… LATEST…

REPORT: Dems Offered To Help Boehner Keep His Speakership… POLL: Tea Party Popularity Reaches New Low… Senate GOP Leadership Split On Vote… Cruz: ‘This Is A Terrible Deal’…

 

 

 

Senate leader announces deal to avoid default, reopen government

16 Oct 2013

 

Galleries Web links WASHINGTON – Democratic leader Harry Reid saysSenate leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid default and end the government shutdown, now in its 16th day. Reid made the announcement at the start of the Senate session on Wednesday. The deal would reopen the government through Jan. 15 and increase the nation’s borrowing… 
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is surrounded by reporters after leaving the office of Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., on Capitol Hill on Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 in Washington.

 

 

 

 

 

Typhoon Wipha hits Tokyo area, killing at least 14

Full ArticleCNN 

16 Oct 2013

 

October 16, 2013 — Updated 0510 GMT (1310 HKTJapanese businessmen walk against strong wind and rain as Typhoon Wipha reached Tokyo on Wednesday. Tokyo (CNN) — At least 14 people have died and hundreds of flights have been canceled as Typhoon Wipha pummeled the Tokyo area on Wednesday. A government official in Oshima, a small island 120 km south..
Typhoon Wipha hits Tokyo area, killing at least 14

 

 

 

U.S. lawmakers begin last-ditch effort on debt ceiling

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, walks with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., left, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Calif., after walking off the House floor in protest of a contempt of Congress vote for Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday, June 28, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Reuters October 16, 2013 – 06:03 By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) –The U.S. Senate prepared for a last ditch effort Wednesday to avoid a historic lapse in the government’s borrowing authority, a breach that President Barack Obama has…
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

 

Japan’s foreign minister may visit Iran next month: Nikkei

Japan's new Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Kishida, 55, is an expert on issues relating to frictions on the southern island of Okinawa between local residents and the nearly 20,000 U.S. troops based there. Kishida was in charge of territorial issues in Abe's previous administration of 2006-2007. A former banker, he entered politics to inherit the constituency of his father.

(Reuters) – Japan’s foreign ministerFumio Kishida, may visit Iran as early as November, the first such visit in more than four years, in an attempt to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear…
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

Tokyo Braces for Biggest Storm in Decade as Flights Canceled

Policemen attempt to remove a tree toppled by strong wind due to Typhoon Roke at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011.

Typhoon Wipha, projected to become Tokyo’s biggest storm in about 10 years, was forecast to pass along eastern Japan, reaching the capital early today and heading northeast to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Narita airport, just east of Tokyo…
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

Sicily declares emergency over migrant influx

Sicily declares emergency over migrant influx

Sicily has declared a state of emergency due to rising numbers of migrants coming by boats from the Mediterranean seaDrones, warships and helicopters were deployed on Tuesday inside and outside Italian waters to scare-off people-smugglers,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

U.S.-South Korea task force to examine OPCON handover

U.S.-South Korea task force to examine OPCON handover

SEOUL — A joint U.S.-South Korean task force will study Seoul’s ability to respond to possible North Korean provocations as officials consider whether to delay transferring U.S. wartime control of allied troops to South Korea, according to the…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

 

Floods hit Indian state in wake of cyclone

Floods hit Indian state in wake of cyclone

At least five people have been killed in the eastern Indian state of Odisha in floods triggered by heavy rains that accompanied a fierce cyclone over the weekend. TheBudhabalanga river is overflowing and has flooded two districts, officials…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Israel warns against nuclear compromise with Iran

Israel warns against nuclear compromise with Iran

JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday urged the world to avoid a partial deal with Iran, which could see a relaxing of sanctions, just hours before a new round of nuclear talks. Following a meeting late on Monday, the security cabinet warned the international…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

 

 

 

 

Yasser Arafat’s belongings have traces of polonium-210, say scientists

15 Oct 2013

 

Swiss scientists say discovery supports possibility that Palestinian leader was poisoned with radioactive substance Yasser Arafat, who died in a hospital near Paris in 2004 after falling ill while under Israeli military siege in the West BankPhotographNasser Nasser/AP Swiss scientists have given details of their suspicious findings of traces of… 
File - A man looks at an image of Yasser Arafat during a rally in Gaza, marking the third anniversary of his death,10 November 2007.

 

Floods hit Indian state in wake of cyclone

Floods hit Indian state in wake of cyclone

At least five people have been killed in the eastern Indian state of Odisha in floods triggered by heavy rains that accompanied a fierce cyclone over the weekend. TheBudhabalanga river is overflowing and has flooded two districts, officials…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Israel warns against nuclear compromise with Iran

Israel warns against nuclear compromise with Iran

JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday urged the world to avoid a partial deal with Iran, which could see a relaxing of sanctions, just hours before a new round of nuclear talks. Following a meeting late on Monday, the security cabinet warned the international…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

 

Home Ministry’s brainwave: Keep some Lok Sabha seats for PoK, just in case

Home Ministry's brainwave: Keep some Lok Sabha seats for PoK, just in case

The Union home ministry is working on a proposal to create Lok Sabha seats inPakistan-occupied Kashmir in what is being seen as a far-fetched and potentially controversial move to assert India‘s right on the territory. Home MinisterSushilkumar…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Palestinian youths face Israeli abuse: report

Palestinian youths face Israeli abuse: report

The UN Children‘s Fund has said Israel’s army and police force continue to mistreat Palestinian youths during arrests and detentions, despite agreeing to test alternative treatment following international pressure. Teh fund’s progress report,…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

 

Special Forces Soldier killed in insider attack in Afghanistan

Special Forces Soldier killed in insider attack in Afghanistan

Late this afternoon, Oct. 14, the Department of Defense announced the death of aSpecial Forces Soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom inAfghanistanStaff Sgt. Patrick H….
photo: US DoD / Public Domain

Much ado about Italy

Much ado about Italy

From fair Verona, where we lay our scene, to MantuaPadua and Rome,Shakespeare was fascinated by ItalyDuncan Garwood presents his guide on where to go – without quite so much drama What’s the attraction? In all likelihood, Shakespeare never set…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Damon Albarn’s return trip on the Africa Express

Damon Albarn's return trip on the Africa Express

In 2006 Damon Albarn launched Africa Express – a series of collaborations between western and African artists. Photograph: Jo Hale/Redferns via Getty Images It may be just about the hottest new pop-up club in the world, but you have to look hard for…
photo: UN / Marco Dormino

 

 

 

 

Seven Red Cross and Red Crescent aid workers abducted in northern Syria

14 Oct 2013

 

Seven Red Cross workers have been kidnapped in northern Syria after their convoy was ambushed by armed militants. The team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had been visiting the area from… 
File - A Free Syrian Army fighter fires at Syrian Army positions during a clash in Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

 

 

 

 

Safe passage for migrants urged

Safe passage for migrants urged

The Associated Press VALLETTA (AP)—Three deadly Mediterranean shipwrecks that claimed the lives of hundreds of would-be asylum seekers fleeing war and repression sharpened calls Saturday for humanitarian corridors to allow safe passage to Europe. At…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Hope for endangered Catholics?

Hope for endangered Catholics?

Hope for endangered Catholics? Since his installment as Pope of the Catholic ChurchFrancis has shaken things up in the Vatican. He has made it his mission to return the Church to what Jesus commanded it to be—the help and refuge of the poor, the…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Vatican beatifies over 500 ‘martyrs of the faith’ killed during Spanish civil war

Vatican beatifies over 500 'martyrs of the faith' killed during Spanish civil war

Mass beatification attended by 25,000 despite calls for pope to cancel event over church’s support for General Francisco Franco Priests arrive for the beatification ceremony of 522 priests, monks, nuns and Catholic laymen killed during theSpanish
photo: WN / Marzena J.

NATO says service member killed by man wearing an Afghan security forces uniform

NATO says service member killed by man wearing an Afghan security forces uniform

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO says a man wearing an Afghan national security forces uniform killed one of its service members in eastern Afghanistan. The alliance says in a statement that the incident occurred on Sunday, but provided no other…
photo: US Navy / Chad A. Dulac

 

 

 

Stampede at Hindu temple kills dozens in India

13 Oct 2013

 

NEW DELHIPolice say a stampede by hundreds of Hindu worshippers crossing a bridge to a temple in… 


File: Volunteers carry an unconscious devotee to an ambulance, believed to have been injured in a stampede.

 

 

NATO soldier killed in insider attack in Afghanistan

NATO soldier killed in insider attack in Afghanistan

Tweet KabulOct 13 (IANSA man in Afghan military uniform Sunday shot dead one NATO soldier in eastern AfghanistanXinhua reported citing a statement by the coalition forces. “An International Security Assistance Force
photo: US DoD / Public Domain

Cyclone Phailin: 500,000 homes evacuated as storm pounds India

Cyclone Phailin: 500,000 homes evacuated as storm pounds India

Mass evacuation of towns and villages on India‘s eastern coast limits death toll as 135mph winds force huge waves inland A man salvages a table stuck in uprooted trees fallen during cyclone Phailin on a road in Berhampur, India. Photograph:Bikas
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

U.S., Afghanistan concur with outlines of post-2014 security

U.S., Afghanistan concur with outlines of post-2014 security

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and Afghanistan agreed Saturday on a draft deal that would keep some U.S. forces in Afghanistan past next year, but only if Afghan political and tribal leaders agree to a key U.S. demand that Americantroops…
photo: US DoD / DOD

Sgt. Chuck Hagel Still: Talking with the Defense Secretary

Sgt. Chuck Hagel Still: Talking with the Defense Secretary

Steve Clemons interviews Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon. (Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo/DoD) RecentlyDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel sent a 904-page book to Egyptian Army Commander-in-Chief Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, with whom he has had over…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

 

Immigration raids aim to round up illegal workers in Britain’s factories

Immigration raids aim to round up illegal workers in Britain's factories

Police clamp down on foreign nationals trafficked by gangs and the rogue employers who turn a blind eye in pursuit of profit An immigration official amid preparations to raid a factory in the UK. PhotographGary Calton For The Observer/gary calton…
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

Migrant tragedies sharpen calls for safe passage

Migrant tragedies sharpen calls for safe passage

Three deadly Mediterranean shipwrecks that claimed the lives of hundreds of would-be asylum-seekers fleeing war and repression sharpened calls Saturday for humanitarian corridors to allow safe passage to Europe. At least 34 people drowned in Maltese…
photo: UN / Ryan Brown

 

 

 

 

Strongest Indian cyclone since 1999 nears coast

12 Oct 2013

 

The strongest cyclone to threaten India in more than a decade bore down on its east coast Saturday as authorities bused and trucked tens of thousands of villagers from their mud and thatch coastal homes to government shelters inland. Officials canceled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh… 
Strongest Indian cyclone since 1999 nears coast

 

 

 

 

Philippine typhoon floods rice fields, kills 8

Residents brave a raging floodwater brought about by typhoon "Nari" at San Ildefonso township, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines Saturday Oct. 12, 2013.

A typhoon that flooded villages and farms in the Philippines‘ major rice-growing region Saturday has killed at least eight people, officials said. Power outagesaffected Aurora province, where Typhoon Nari made landfall late Friday, and five nearby…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Progress on US-Afghan deal as Kerry visits Kabul

Hamid Siddiq, Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Acting Chief of Protocol, left, walks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, as Kerry arrives for a second meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013.

President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of State John Kerry held a second day of talks in Kabul Saturday after making progress over a long-delayed deal on the future of US forces in AfghanistanKarzai said this week that he was prepared to walk away…
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Mar

North Korea warns of ‘all-out war’

North Korea warns of 'all-out war'

SEOUL: North Korea on Saturday issued a fresh warning of an “all-out war”, urging the United States to stop military drills and what it described as “nuclear blackmail”. In a thinly veiled threat to strike the United States, the North’s National
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

African summit attacks

African summit attacks

The International Criminal Court was under fire over its “unfair” and “totally unacceptable” treatment of Africa, with African Union ministers calling for cases against Kenyan and Sudanese leaders to be deferred. The two-day meeting comes amid…
photo: UN / Sarah Fretwell

Islamists hold scattered protests across Egypt

CAIRO: Supporters of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president held scattered protests across the country Friday, calling off a planned rally at Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Squarealmost a week after bloody clashes left nearly 60 dead. Since the…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Republicans, Obama aim to end crisis after meet

Republicans, Obama aim to end crisis after meet

President Barack Obama and Republican leaders appeared ready to end a political crisis that has shuttered much of the US government and pushed the country dangerously close to default after meeting at the White House on Thursday. No deal emerged from…
photo: WN / Geeta

 

Pak Taliban ‘commander’ captured in Afghanistan

Pak Taliban ‘commander’ captured in Afghanistan

KABUL, Oct 11US troops are holding a senior Tehreek-i- Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘commander’ they captured in Afghanistan a week ago, an Afghan official said on Friday. The capture could be a…
photo: US DoD / Ed Drohan

 

 

Talks between White House and Republicans fail to end US shutdown

11 Oct 2013

 

No deal emerges but observers note warmer language after Barack Obamaand House speaker John Boehner meet John Boehner arrives on Capitol Hill inWashingtonPhotograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP White House talks withRepublicans failed to reach an agreement to end the budget crisis on Thursday evening despite earlier hopes that a deal might be in… 
Talks between White House and Republicans fail to end US shutdown

 

 

Scott Carpenter, 2nd US astronaut in orbit, dies

 The "Original Seven" Mercury astronauts. From left: Scott Carpenter, Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton(gm1)

DENVER — Scott Carpenter conquered the heights of space, the depths of the ocean, and the darkness of fear. And in doing so he became the second Americanto orbit the Earth, powered by not just a rocket but an insatiable curiosity. “Conquering…
photo: NASA

Severe storm expected to hit eastern India

Severe storm expected to hit eastern India

Indian officials say they are expecting a “very severe storm” that could cause widespread damage and flooding, to hit the country’s eastern seaboard. Officialssay they have cancelled holy day celebrations in coastal Orissa and Andhra…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Malala Yousafzai Wins EU’s Top Human Rights Honor

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 27, 2013 file photo, Malala Yousafzai addresses students and faculty after receiving the 2013 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Carla Babb WASHINGTON — The European Union has awarded its top human rights prize, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. to Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. Malala, as she is commonly known, was shot last year and nearly killed by the…
photo: AP / Jessica Rinaldi, File

Libyan PM arrested, not kidnapped: interior ministry

Ali Zeidan, Prime Minister of Libya, addresses the Council.

Tweet CairoOct 10 (IANS/ITAR -TASS) Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was detained Thursday by interior ministry personnel, an official at the ministry’s anti-crime directorate announced. “No one kidnapped him,” the LANA news agency quoted the…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

 

Libyan PM Ali Zeidan kidnapped: Government

Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With Libyan Prime Minister Zeidan

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped from his Tripoli hotel at dawn on Thursday by an armed group and taken to an unknown location, the government and sources said. “The head of the transitional…
photo: Creative Commons / U.S. Department of State

Reporter to publish Snowden leaks on France, Spain

Glenn Greenwald, right, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper, speaks to media at a hotel in Hong Kong Monday, June 10, 2013. Greenwald spoke about his interview with Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old contractor who allowed himself to be revealed as the source of disclosures about the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs.

–> Greenwald, a Rio-based correspondent for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, also said that if Brazil wanted more data on alleged US snooping into its affairs it should offer Snowden asylum. Snowden, a former US spy agency contractor wanted by…
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

Discovery ‘may hold Alzheimer’s key’

Alzheimer

10 October 2013 Last updated at 06:30 BST A chemical which can stop brain cell death in a neurodegenerative disease could hold the key for treating Alzheimer’s,Parkinson’s and Huntingdon’s diseases, scientists say. The research team at the…
photo: GFDL / KGH

 

 

 

World fears US default

Full ArticleKashmir Observer 

10 Oct 2013

 

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that world leaders were nervous Republicans would “blow up” the US economy, and vowed not to budge on his demand for the debt ceiling to be lifted without conditions. ButHouse Speaker John Boehner insisted there would be no “unconditional surrender” from Republicans and said Congress would only… 
A screen indicates the current exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against Japanese yen behind the both countries' flags at a foreign exchange firm in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 21, 2012.

 

 

 

Libyan PM arrested, not kidnapped: interior ministry

Ali Zeidan, Prime Minister of Libya, addresses the Council.

Tweet CairoOct 10 (IANS/ITAR -TASS) Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was detained Thursday by interior ministry personnel, an official at the ministry’s anti-crime directorate announced. “No one kidnapped him,” the LANA news agency quoted the…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Libyan PM Ali Zeidan kidnapped: Government

Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With Libyan Prime Minister Zeidan

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was kidnapped from his Tripoli hotel at dawn on Thursday by an armed group and taken to an unknown location, the government and sources said. “The head of the transitional…
photo: Creative Commons / U.S. Department of State

Reporter to publish Snowden leaks on France, Spain

Glenn Greenwald, right, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper, speaks to media at a hotel in Hong Kong Monday, June 10, 2013. Greenwald spoke about his interview with Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old contractor who allowed himself to be revealed as the source of disclosures about the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs.

–> Greenwald, a Rio-based correspondent for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, also said that if Brazil wanted more data on alleged US snooping into its affairs it should offer Snowden asylum. Snowden, a former US spy agency contractor wanted by…
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

Discovery ‘may hold Alzheimer’s key’

Alzheimer

10 October 2013 Last updated at 06:30 BST A chemical which can stop brain cell death in a neurodegenerative disease could hold the key for treating Alzheimer’s,Parkinson’s and Huntingdon’s diseases, scientists say. The research team at the…
photo: GFDL / KGH

US cuts millions in aid to Egypt

A masked Egyptian protester part of the Black Bloc, flashes the victory sign during clashes with riot police, background, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

The United States on Wednesday cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to itsMideast ally Egypt, responding to the military ouster last summer of the nation’s first democratically elected president and the crackdown on protesters that has sunk…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Grand Canyon Cites People for Entering Closed Park

View from Yavapai Point. Brignt Angel Canyon, opposite Yavapai Point, (South Rim, view of Kaibab Plateau, North Rim).

TUSAYAN, Ariz. — Nearly two dozen people have been issued citations for enteringGrand Canyon National Park after a partial government shutdown forced its closure. Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright says some people have been caught at the South
photo: GFDL / tom bernard anyz; Tenji at de.wikipedia

Yellen is Obama choice to succeed Bernanke at Fed

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke looks on as President Barack Obama makes remarks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 10, 2009

WASHINGTON — Capping a lengthy and politically charged search, President Barack Obama will nominate Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve‘s vice chair, to be chairman of the nation’s powerful central bank, succeeding Ben Bernanke at a pivotal time…
photo: AP / Gerald Herbert

 

 

 

 

 

Taliban talks: Group to speak with Pakistani government

10Oct 2013

 

October 2013 Last updated at 22:51 BST The leader of the Taliban in Pakistan says he is now prepared to engage in peace talks with the Pakistani government. In a rare interview, Hakimullah Mehsud told the BBC that he would continue to target America and its allies. His comments come just days after the president of neighbouring Afghanistan Hamid… 


In this photo taken Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, new Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, left, is seen with his comrade Waliur Rehman during his meeting with media in Sararogha of Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border.
photo: AP / Ishtiaq Mehsud

 

 

 

 

Former Pakistan Leader Musharraf Granted Bail

The former Pakistan president and military leader has been under house arrest since last spring.posted on 

BuzzFeed Staff
Francois Lenoir / Reuters

Pervez Musharraf, the former president and military ruler of Pakistan, has been granted bail in the Akbar Bugti murder case and could leave the country as early as Thursday, Reuters reported.

“Musharraf can fly to Dubai tomorrow once these legal formalities are completed,” Ahmed Raza Kasuri, who heads the Musharraf defense team, told Reuters.

Musharraf has already been granted bail in two other cases after being arrested last spring, one involving the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. But the Supreme Court was originally refusing to grant bail in the Bugti case as early as last month.

The former army chief, who has been under house arrest in a villa on the outskirts of Islamabad since April 19, took power in a 1999 coup, and later became president. He stepped down after Bhutto’s party won election in 2008.

After moving to London for nearly four years of self-imposed exile, Musharraf returned to Pakistan last March to contest a May 11 general election, but the pending court cases disqualified him from standing.

The most recent bail was regarding the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a veteran Baloch nationalist leader and former chief minister of Balochistan who was killed in a 2006 military operation. A case was brought against Musharraf for the death in 2009.

It’s possible that the 70-year-old former dictator’s departure is due to failing health.

 

 

 

 

 

Who are the world’s 10 most dangerous terrorists?

By Tim Lister, CNN
October 9, 2013 —
Ayman al-Zawahiri is the leader of al Qaeda. A reward up to $25 million has been offered by the U.S. government. Click through to see the men allegedly plotting, directing and, in some cases, carrying out acts of terror around the world.Ayman al-Zawahiri is the leader of al Qaeda. A reward up to $25 million has been offered by the U.S. government. Click through to see the men allegedly plotting, directing and, in some cases, carrying out acts of terror around the world.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Al Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, tops the list
  • Other names include figures from Yemen, Somalia and Iraq
  • Many groups pledge allegiance to al Qaeda

 

Egypt court announces trial for ex-president Morsi

09 Oct 2013

 

Associated Press Comments Cairo ? An Egyptian court has set Nov. 4 as the start date for the trial of ousted President Mohammed Morsi on charges of incitement to murder for the killings of opponents who were rallying outside his palace while he was in office. The state news agency MENA says the Cairo Appeals Court ruled on Wednesday that Morsi and… 
Mohammed Morsi, President of Egypt, waits to address the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

Azerbaijan leader Aliyev eyes third term in presidential poll

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev casts his ballot paper during the voting at a polling station in Baku, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013.

By Margarita Antidze and Thomas Grove BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijan‘s PresidentIlham Aliyev looks certain to extend his rule in the oil-producing former Soviet republic for a third straight term in an election on Wednesday that opponents say has…
photo: AP / Sergei Grits

Special Foods Fight Malnutrition in Syria

Special Foods Fight Malnutrition in Syria

As the war continues in Syria, so does the risk of deadly malnutrition for children. Special-nutrient rich foods, like those being distributed by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) can save their lives. Spokesperson Laure Chadraoui told me last week…
photo: UN / UN

 

 

 

 

 

Central Pennsylvania’s fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq: updated

Central Pennsylvania's fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq: updated

An Army Ranger from Carlisle in his fourth deployment was killed Sunday inAfghanistan while aiding a fellow wounded Ranger. Sgt. Patrick C. Hawkins, 25, who was assigned to Company B3rd Battalion75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning, Ga., was…
photo: USAF / Ben Bloker

Key US-Afghan security deal faltering

Key US-Afghan security deal faltering

A security deal to allow some US troops to stay in Afghanistan to fight al-Qaeda was at risk of collapse yesterday after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he was prepared to walk away from negotiations. The US has pushed for the bilateral security…
photo: US DoD / Ed Drohan

EU lawmakers to push ahead with anti-tobacco plans

A worker tests the amber LED lights on electronic cigarettes at the Ruyan factory in Tianjin, China

European lawmakers on Tuesday were set to tighten rules governing the multibillion-dollar tobacco market by imposing bigger and bolder warnings on cigarette packs, banning most flavorings like menthol and strengthening regulation of electronic…
photo: AP / Greg Baker

Brazil Leader Asks Canada to Explain Its Spying

Brazil's President-elect Dilma Rousseff, of the Workers Party, gestures to supporters as she arrives to give her victory speech after winning the election runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday Oct. 31, 2010.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, crisply demanded an explanation on Monday from Canada over revelations that a Canadian intelligence agency had spied on Brazil’s mining and energy ministry and a top Brazilian diplomat, a…
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

US govt shutdown enters second week

US govt shutdown enters second week

WASHINGTON: Stock markets fell on day as the federal government shutdown entered its seventh day with no end in sight and the prospect of a US default loomed. Lawmakers appeared to be making little headway in raising the US debt ceiling,…
photo: Creative Commons / Martin Falbisoner

 

 

 

Teacher protests in Brazil turns violent

08 Oct 2013

 

Share Twitter Ghana News Share View Comments Demonstrators in Rio took their protest right up to the outside of the Municipal Assembly Protesters demonstrating in support of teachers receiving better pay in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have clashed with police…. 
Protesters shout slogans holding banners that reads 'Teachers squad" during a march in support of teachers on strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013.

 

 

EU lawmakers to push ahead with anti-tobacco plans

A worker tests the amber LED lights on electronic cigarettes at the Ruyan factory in Tianjin, China

European lawmakers on Tuesday were set to tighten rules governing the multibillion-dollar tobacco market by imposing bigger and bolder warnings on cigarette packs, banning most flavorings like menthol and strengthening regulation of electronic…
photo: AP / Greg Baker

Brazil Leader Asks Canada to Explain Its Spying

Brazil's President-elect Dilma Rousseff, of the Workers Party, gestures to supporters as she arrives to give her victory speech after winning the election runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday Oct. 31, 2010.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, crisply demanded an explanation on Monday from Canada over revelations that a Canadian intelligence agency had spied on Brazil’s mining and energy ministry and a top Brazilian diplomat, a…
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

US govt shutdown enters second week

US govt shutdown enters second week

WASHINGTON: Stock markets fell on day as the federal government shutdown entered its seventh day with no end in sight and the prospect of a US default loomed. Lawmakers appeared to be making little headway in raising the US debt ceiling,…
photo: Creative Commons / Martin Falbiso

Argentina: Kirchner To Have Brain Surgery

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.

Argentina‘s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will undergo surgery later to treat bleeding on her brain. Ms Kirchner, 60, was initially ordered her to rest for a month on Saturday after doctors found the subdural haematoma following a blow to…
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

NYPD Muslim Spying Program Does Not Exist, City Claims In Lawsuit Response

A New York City police uniform was displayed at St. Andrew's on Liardet Church for the 9/11 memorial.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A lawyer for New York City on Monday denied that the NYPDhas a surveillance program to spy on Muslims. Responding to an ACLU lawsuit claiming religious discrimination that seeks to force police to turn over surveillance records,…
photo: Public Domain / Lance Cpl. Isis M. Ramirez

Hamid Karzai says NATO mission caused ‘suffering’ for no gain

Afghan president Hamid Karzai meets with the new Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen, left, at the presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday Aug 5, 2009

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday condemned the NATO mission in his country for causing “a lot of suffering” without delivering any gains. The outgoing leader also suggested to the BBC that he might not sign a bilateral security deal…
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini

U.S., Canada spied on Brazil’s Energy Ministry

Dilma Rousseff with Brazil's Roberto Azevedo ex-ambassador newly named World Trade Organization ( WTO ) director arrives in Malabo ( Guinea Equatorial )

Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Latin American Energy Organization(OLADE) have been targets of espionage by American and Canadian agencies. A new set of documents provided by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower…
photo: Flickr / PR / Roberto Stuckert Filho

 

 

 

 

Egypt in turmoil as street clashes leave 51 dead

07 Oct 2013

 

CAIRO — Egypt stumbled deeper into turmoil after a national holiday celebrating the military turned to mayhem, leaving 51 dead across the country and exposing the deep divisions plaguing the nation. The high death toll in Sunday’s clashes between security forces and Islamist protesters came as crowds from Egypt’s two rival camps —… 
An Egyptian riot policeman moves into position during clashes with supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013.

 

 

Pakistan army chief Kayani to stand down as latest attack on polio-workers kills two

A Pakistani man, who was injured in a bomb explosion, in brought to a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013.

The head of Pakistan’s powerful military has said he will stand down when his term ends next month, apparently scotching rumours that he was seeking to further extend his position. In an announcement that surprised many observers,General Ashfaq…
photo: AP / Mohammad Sajjad

Binyamin Netanyahu: no peace until Palestinians recognise Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013.

Hardline speech fuels suspicion that PM is unwilling to agree to dismantling of settlements and Israeli withdrawal from West Bank Binyamin Netanyahudismissed Israel’s 46-year-long occupation of West Bank, East Jerusalem andGaza as root cause of the…
photo: AP / Gali Tibbon

Egypt: ’34 dead’ in clashes amid rival demonstrations

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi mourn relatives killed during clashes with security forces in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013.

At least 34 people have been killed and dozens hurt in Egypt in clashes between police and supporters of the deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. More than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in Cairo, where 26 of the deaths…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Germany hands over military base to Afghans

Germany hands over military base to Afghans

BERLIN (AP) â?? Germany is handing over a key military base in northernAfghanistan to local security forces as part of the gradual pullout of Western forces in the coming years. According to prepared…
photo: US DoD / Ed Droha

At least 66 killed in Iraq bomb attacks

People inspect the aftermath of a car bomb attack at a convenience store in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013. A wave of car bombings targeting those celebrating the end of Ramadan across Iraq killed scores of people Saturday, a bloody reminder of the inability of Iraqi authorities to stop violence threatening to spiral out of control.

At least 66 people have died in Iraq after a suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of Shiite pilgrims passing through a mainly Sunni neighbourhood inBaghdad and another detonated his explosives inside a cafe north of the capital. The…
photo: AP / Karim Kadim

Teach Your Children Well

Teach Your Children Well

Zimbabwe is recognized as having one of the best education systems in Africa but when I took office as Minister of Education in February 2008 I found it in chaos.Nearly all schools were closed, 90000 teachers were on strike, public exams written the…
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

 

Weakened Karen continues move toward Gulf Coast

Weakened Karen continues move toward Gulf Coast

BRAITHWAITE, La. (AP) — Tropical Storm Karen continued to chug toward the Gulf Coast on Saturday, threatening to bring heavy winds and high rains, despite a general weakening of the storm. Officials still urged residents to be vigilant, even as an…
photo: USAF / John Bainter

 

 

 

Egypt warns against anniversary protests

06 Oct 2013

 

Authorities in Egypt have warned against anti-army protests on Sunday when the country celebrates the 40th anniversary of an attack on Israel, saying the protesters will be regarded as agents of foreign powers. “Protesters against the army on the anniversary of [October 6] victory will be carrying out the duties of agents, not activists,”… 
A boy holds a poster of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi pasted on a Yemeni flag during a rally supporting Morsi in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013. Arabic writing reads, "We are with the legitimacy." Egyptian authorities on Thursday authorized police to use deadly force to protect themselves and key state institutions from attacks, after presumed supporters of the deposed Islamist president torched two local government buildings near the capital in the latest of a series of apparent reprisals to follow a bloody crackdown on their protest camps.

 

 

 

At least 66 killed in Iraq bomb attacks

People inspect the aftermath of a car bomb attack at a convenience store in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013. A wave of car bombings targeting those celebrating the end of Ramadan across Iraq killed scores of people Saturday, a bloody reminder of the inability of Iraqi authorities to stop violence threatening to spiral out of control.

At least 66 people have died in Iraq after a suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of Shiite pilgrims passing through a mainly Sunni neighbourhood inBaghdad and another detonated his explosives inside a cafe north of the capital. The…
photo: AP / Karim Kadim

Teach Your Children Well

Teach Your Children Well

Zimbabwe is recognized as having one of the best education systems in Africa but when I took office as Minister of Education in February 2008 I found it in chaos.Nearly all schools were closed, 90000 teachers were on strike, public exams written the…
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

Weakened Karen continues move toward Gulf Coast

Weakened Karen continues move toward Gulf Coast

BRAITHWAITE, La. (AP) — Tropical Storm Karen continued to chug toward the Gulf Coast on Saturday, threatening to bring heavy winds and high rains, despite a general weakening of the storm. Officials still urged residents to be vigilant, even as an…
photo: USAF / John Bainter

 

Defense, diplomacy chiefs sidestep US-Japan SOFA

Defense, diplomacy chiefs sidestep US-Japan SOFA

OSAKA — Thursday’s agreement between the United States and Japan to revise defense cooperation guidelines touched on a number of core issues, such as transferring U.S. Marines to Guam, building a contentious replacement in Okinawafor the Futenma
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Achieving sustainable development: Africa makes gains but gaps exist

Achieving sustainable development: Africa makes gains but gaps exist

Share Twitter Ghana News Share View Comments Africa has made significant progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action (PoA) of theInternational Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a review document has established. The…
photo: UN/UN

 

Children among five Afghans killed in NATO airstrike

Children among five Afghans killed in NATO airstrike

At least five civilians, including three children, were killed overnight in a NATOairstrike in eastern Afghanistan, officials said yesterday. The civilians, aged between 12 and 20, were killed while they were out hunting birds in the area of…
photo: US DoD / Ed Drohan

Syria submits more chemical arms details

Syria submits more chemical arms details

Syria has given international experts additional details about its chemical weapons program that go beyond a Sept. 21 declaration of its poison gas arsenal, the UN said on Friday. The team consists of experts from the Organisation for theProhibition
photo: UN / Sarah Fretwell

 

 

Impasse With Afghanistan Raises Prospect of Total U.S. Withdrawal in 2014

05 Oct 2013

 

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and Afghanistan have reached an impasse in their talks over the role that American forces will play here beyond next year, officials from both countries say, raising the distinct possibility of a total withdrawal — an outcome that the Pentagon’s top military commanders dismissed just months ago. Connect With… 
Impasse With Afghanistan Raises Prospect of Total U.S. Withdrawal in 2014

 

44 South Sudanese Kids Diagnosed with Measles

44 South Sudanese Kids Diagnosed with Measles

Lucy Poni JUBA — Scores of children in South Sudan‘s Upper Nile state have been diagnosed with measles in the last few weeks, prompting officials to launch a vaccination campaign, a top health official said. “As of August we have been…
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

Tropical Storm Karen weakens

A pedestrian crosses Madison Avenue as New York waits on Hurricane Irene, on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011

MIAMI | Tropical Storm Karen became disorganized on its path north through theGulf of Mexico, prompting the National Hurricane Center to drop a hurricane watch for parts of the northern coast. The storm maintained its top sustained winds of 50…
photo: AP / Mike Groll

The Lampedusa boat sinking was no accident

The Lampedusa boat sinking was no accident

The last thing you can call these tragedies is fatal accidents. The umpteenth tragedy involving African migrants off the tiny island of Lampedusa could and should have been prevented, like the countless other deaths that have occurred over the last…
photo: UN / Ryan Brown

Central Asia concerns over US pullout from Afghanistan

Central Asia concerns over US pullout from Afghanistan

The neglected region of Central Asia faces a new threat from Islamic militancy as the US withdrawal from neighbouring Afghanistan nears, reports guest columnistAhmed Rashid. The five Central Asian Republics are deeply fearful of the consequences of…
photo: US Army / Eddie Siguenza

USAID Co-hosts LGBT Global Initiatives Meeting During UN General Assembly

USAID Co-hosts LGBT Global Initiatives Meeting During UN General Assembly

With much of the recent debate on LGBT rights (or the lack thereof) focused on theRussian anti-gay laws and how they will impact the Winter Olympics, scheduled to begin Feb. 7, 2014, in Sochi, it was encouraging to see the UN General Assembly
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

Syria’s Agony in Numbers: The Growing Refugee Crisis

Syria's Agony in Numbers: The Growing Refugee Crisis

When politicians become fixated on numbers instead of people, the result can be somewhat grotesque. In Syria for example, the number of dead in the chemical weapons attack has been disputed, with numbers ranging from 400 to 1,400 casualties,…
photo: UN / Ryan Brown

Bokova set to win new term as UNESCO chief

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attends a meeting of the high level panal on girls and womens education for impowerment and gender equality at UNESCO HQ. with DG of UNESCO Ms. Irina Bokova

PARIS – Irina Bokova has been nominated by UNESCO‘s executive board as the agency’s director-general – all but ensuring her another four-year term. The 61-year-old Bulgarian former career diplomat was selected Friday over Rachad Farahof Djibouti and…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

 

 

Experts report progress over Syrian chemical weapons

04 Oct 2013

 

International experts were on Friday gearing up to disable the chemical weapons programme in war-hit Syria after reporting “encouraging” progress in a day of meetings with regime officials. The Syrian regime and its armed opponents have both been accused of carrying out numerous atrocities in the 30-month conflict, which began as a popular uprising… 
An advance team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations arrives in Damascus, Syria, four days after the OPCW Executive Council and the UN Security Council unanimously endorsed a plan to begin the process of overseeing the destruction of the country’s chemical weapons programme, 1 October, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Lampedusa: Day Of Mourning For African Migrants

Bodies of drowned migrants are lined up in the port of Lampedusa Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013.

October 2013, 6:15 Lampedusa: Day Of Mourning For African Migrants TweetThe Italian government has declared an official day of mourning after the tragedy of Lampedusa, where more than 100 African migrants died trying to reach the island.Italy‘s…
photo: AP / Nino Randazzo, Health Care Service

Not raising debt ceiling could result in 2008-like situation: US Dept of Treasury

Not raising debt ceiling could result in 2008-like situation: US Dept of Treasury

Hit by a shutdown, the US Department of Treasury has urged the Congress to immediately increase debt ceiling failing which, it said could result in recession comparable to or worse than the 2008 financial crisis. “Postponing a debt ceiling increase…
photo: WN / Geeta

Italian senate committee likely to start Berlusconi expulsion process

A puppet representing Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi during the demonstration in Rome.

ROME: An Italian senate committee is likely to start a process on Friday to expelSilvio Berlusconi from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud, meaning the former prime minister’s fate could be sealed within weeks. Berlusconi, who has…
photo: Creative Commons / Gacio

Mentor of 9/11 kingpin joins president race in Afghanistan

Mentor of 9/11 kingpin joins president race in Afghanistan

KABUL: A former Islamist warlord who is said to be responsible for bringing al-Qaida to Afghanistan and who trained the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, announced he was running for president on Thursday, a move likely to be greeted with…
photo: AP / Kamran Jebreili

Stocks fall on third day of government shutdown

Specialist Frank Masiello, left, directs trades at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 1, 2010.

NEW YORK — Investors sold stocks across the board Thursday as a U.S. government shutdown dragged into its third day and the nation inched closer to a critical deadline to raise its borrowing limit. Richard DrewFile | AP Photo FILE – In this…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Leader of Greek far-right Golden Dawn party jailed pending trial

Leader of the extreme far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, center, smiles toward his supporters as he escorted by anti-terror police upon his arrival to a court for a preliminary hearing into charges of participating in a criminal organization in Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.

Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group. During a marathon session at the Evelpidon court complex in Athens that went on until the early hours of Thursday,…
photo: AP / Thanassis Stavrakis

Berlusconi fails to unseat Italy grand coalition government

Italian Premier Enrico Letta, left, gives the v-sign as he sits beside Deputy Premier Angelino Alfano, ahead of a confidence vote at the Lower Chamber, in Rome, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.

Italian Prime MinisterEnrico Letta, scored a major political victory on Wednesday, as his Government comfortably won a confidence vote, seeing off a threat from former premier Silvio Berlusconi to bring down the ruling grand coalition. Letta…
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

 

 

 

Italy Migrant Boat Sinks Killing At Least 82

03 Oct 2013

 

At least 82 migrants have been killed and scores are missing after a boat caught fire and capsized near a Sicilian island. About 150 people have been pulled from the water off Lampedusa, as emergency workers race to rescue more survivors. The coastguard said it appeared that there were between 400 and 500 migrants on the boat when it sank. The UN… 
The body of a drowned migrant is being unloaded from a Coast Guard boat in the port of Lampedusa, Sicily, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Overflowing tank cause of new leak at Fukushima

03 Oct 2013

 

Click photo to enlarge This aerial photo shows the storage tank, fifth from left at left plot, which workers detected the water dripping from the top, at theFukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. Japan’s crippled nuclear plant has a new leak of highly radioactive water… 
In this Sept. 18, 2013 photo, a storage tank, center, is seen under dismantling operation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan.
photo: AP / Tokyo Electric Power Co.

 

 

 

Leader of Greek far-right Golden Dawn party jailed pending trial

Leader of the extreme far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikos Michaloliakos, center, smiles toward his supporters as he escorted by anti-terror police upon his arrival to a court for a preliminary hearing into charges of participating in a criminal organization in Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013.

Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos has been ordered to remain in custody pending trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group. During a marathon session at the Evelpidon court complex in Athens that went on until the early hours of Thursday,…
photo: AP / Thanassis Stavrakis

Powerful volcanoes raise new questions about ancient Mars

Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) colorized topographic map of the western hemisphere of Mars,

Ancient Mars was home to giant volcanoes capable of eruptions a thousand times more powerful than the one that shook Mount St. Helens in 1980, scientists said on Wednesday. The finding raises fresh questions about conditions on Mars in its early…
photo: NASA

Netanyahu warns UN not to trust Iran’s Rouhani

Netanyahu warns UN not to trust Iran’s Rouhani

Related articles Israel’s Netanyahu heads for UN to challenge Iran’s charm offensive THE NEW YORK TIMES: Getting the balance right Iran, US hold highest-level talks in decades NEWS ANALYSIS: Iran talks face ‘insurmountable’ roadblocks NEW YORK —…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

India to be world’s most populous nation by 2050: Study

India Left-Front activists road block  during a protest over various issues including hike price of essential commodities at Kolkata on Thursday 12 September 2013

The world‘s population will rise to 9.7 billion in 2050 from the current level of 7.1billion and India will overtake China as the world’s most populous nation, a Frenchstudy said on Wednesday. A bi-annual report by the French Institute of…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Hagel: Pentagon lawyers hoping to minimize how many Defense workers are furloughed

Hagel: Pentagon lawyers hoping to minimize how many Defense workers are furloughed

SEOUL – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon is trying to reduce the number of civilian employees who are slated to be furloughed Tuesday and added that some could eventually be called back to work even if the federal government…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Pope outlines hopes for church reform

Pope outlines hopes for church reform

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants a missionary church with a modern spirit that gives hope to the poor, young and elderly, speaking as key meetings begin on church reform. Francis gave a lengthy interview to the editor ofRome daily La…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

UN agencies say one in eight people worldwide going hungry

UN agencies say one in eight people worldwide going hungry

One in eight people around the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations‘ food agencies said on this morning. They warned world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry by 2015. In their , the UN agencies
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

 

 

Greek far-right crackdown followed violence spike

Full ArticleSan Francisco Chronicle 

01 Oct 2013

 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Before stepping out of his house, Asif Ali gives his route careful consideration. The 28-year-old builder from Pakistan blames far-right street gangs for three attacks he suffered near his home in a poor area ofAthens where a recent murder triggered Greece’s crackdown on the Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party. Ali says he was… 
Leader of the extreme far-right Golden Dawn party Nikos Michaloliakos, center, is escorted by anti-terror police as he exits Greek Police headquarters, in Athens, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013.

Hagel: Pentagon lawyers hoping to minimize how many Defense workers are furloughed

Hagel: Pentagon lawyers hoping to minimize how many Defense workers are furloughed

SEOUL – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon is trying to reduce the number of civilian employees who are slated to be furloughed Tuesday and added that some could eventually be called back to work even if the federal government…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Pope outlines hopes for church reform

Pope outlines hopes for church reform

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants a missionary church with a modern spirit that gives hope to the poor, young and elderly, speaking as key meetings begin on church reform. Francis gave a lengthy interview to the editor ofRome daily La…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

UN agencies say one in eight people worldwide going hungry

UN agencies say one in eight people worldwide going hungry

One in eight people around the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations‘ food agencies said on this morning. They warned world leaders that some regions would fail in halving the number of hungry by 2015. In their , the UN agencies
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

South Korea displays new missile at military ceremony

South Korea's cruise missiles are paraded to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day at Seoul military airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013.

SEOUL: South Korea displayed its longest-range missile capable of striking all ofNorth Korea and other sophisticated weapons at a massive military ceremony on Tuesday, a display of force meant to show Pyongyang that any provocation would be met with…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

ROK urges deterrence against DPRK’s nuke threats

ROK urges deterrence against DPRK's nuke threats

SEOUL – President of Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday that the country should build strong deterrence against possible nuclear threats from theDemocratic People‘s Republic of Korea. “Until DPRK put…
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Iraq: Wave of car bombs across Baghdad kills at least 51

People collect copies of the Quran, Islam's holy book, and religious books from the ruins of al-Hussein Shiite mosque, damaged by Sunday's suicide bombing in Musayyib, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013.

A wave of car bombs exploded across Baghdad this morning, killing at least 51 people and wounding more than 100, officials said. The attacks were all on busy areas, markets and car parks, and predominantly in Shi’ite neighbourhoods. The deadliest…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Road crews plow ahead of flood money

Road crews plow ahead of flood money

Colorado transportation managers aren’t waiting for emergency highway dollars to filter in before they send crews out to repair roads and bridges washed out by September flooding. “We have people that need to get home and to work. We can‘t wait for…
photo: USAF / R.J. Oriez

Kerry says quick nuclear deal with Iran possible

30 Sep 2013

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry said a deal on Iran‘s nuclear programme could be reached relatively quickly. He said it would have the potential to dramatically improve the relationship between the two countries. Mr Kerry said intensifying diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme could produce an agreement… 
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., speaks to reporters after a closed-door briefing on the investigation of the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, at the Capitol in Washington. President Obama will nominate Sen. John Kerry as his next secretary of state, a senior administration official says, making the first move in a sweeping overhaul of his national security team heading into a second term.

 

 

Hagel: US Will Not Cut Forces in Korea

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey hold a courtyard ceremony to remember victims working in the Pentagon on the 9/11 Sept. 11, 2013. Hagel and Dempsey thanked Pentagon workers who dedicated themselves to rebuilding and who serve the country and the department.

Reuters PANMUNJOM — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Monday, at times under the watchful eye of North Korean soldiers, and said the Pentagon had no plan to reduce its 28,500-member force in the South
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk Cuomo

Italy political crisis: Emergency talks aim to save Enrico Letta’s coalition from Berlusconi exit

Italian Democratic Party lawmaker Enrico Letta gives his statement to the media after talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome's Quirinale presidential palace, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Italy's president has appointed Enrico Letta as premier, asking him to try to form a government to end Italy's political paralysis and set the country back on the path of reform and economic growth. Letta, a 46-year-old longtime center-left lawmaker, told reporters Wednesday he accepted the job knowing it's an enormous responsibility and that Italy's political class "has lost all credibility."

The Italian PremierEnrico Letta, has entered crisis talks with the President,Giorgio Napolitano, to see if the country’s fragile coalition could be saved after the centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi served notice that he intended to pull the…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

Syrian chemical arsenal probe this week

Syrian chemical arsenal probe this week

The HagueSeptember 30: A team of 20 experts from the Organisation for theProhibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will begin verifying Syria‘s chemical weapons arsenal as a first step in its destruction this coming week. “The group of inspectors…
photo: UN / Evan Schneider

China offers solar power tax breaks

In this Tuesday, May 25, 2010 photo, a worker walks past solar panels in a 20 Mega Watt solar farm in Shilin near Kunming, in southwest China's Yunnan province. China passed the United States last year as the biggest clean power market, stoking hopes for Western sales of wind turbines, solar cells and other gear.

Tweet BeijingSep 30 (IANS) In its latest bid to encourage the use of green energy, the Chinese government has announced tax breaks to manufacturers of solar power products. From Oct 1, 2013 to Dec 312015, vendors of self-produced power products…
photo: AP

Estes Park is a favorite spot, but now not an easy one to reach

Estes Park is a favorite spot, but now not an easy one to reach

ESTES PARKColo. • Estes Park, a prime vacation spot that attracts thousands each year, has begun to mend after the epic Colorado flooding two weeks ago. But getting to the village for the changing of seasons, traditionally a big draw for tourists,…
photo: US DoD / Nicole Manzanares

Book review: The Tender Soldier, by Vanessa Gezari

	Book review: The Tender Soldier, by Vanessa Gezari

The Tender Soldier: A True Story of War and Sacrifice by Vanessa Gezari Simon & Schuster 4 stars James Dao The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other things, were stark reminders of how little Americans knew about the rest of the world. A vast…
photo: USMC / Demetrius L. Munnerlyn

How Much Global Warming Will Happen Before You Kick The Bucket?

How Much Global Warming Will Happen Before You Kick The Bucket?

Lily Newman – On Friday the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put its collective foot down about global warming. Its happening and its our fault. But as with any issue that affects all of humanity, the most important question is…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

 

 

Italy government plunges into new crisis

29 Sep 2013

 

Five ministers from Silvio Berlusconi‘s centre-right political party have resigned, effectively bringing down the government of Enrico Letta, the current prime minister. Talks will now start to find a new parliamentary majority to back a new cabinet and avoid going back to elections just seven months after the last one. The political jockeying that… 
Letta Cabinet with Giorgio Napolitano

 

 

 

 

 

Car bomb kills 33 in northwest Pakistan

A Pakistani man carrying a child rushes away from the site of a blast shortly after a car exploded in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A car bomb exploded on a crowded street in northwestern Pakistan Sunday, killing 33 people in the third blast to hit the troubled city of Peshawar in a week, officials said. The latest explosion appeared to have been a bomb…
photo: AP / Mohammad Sajjad

Greece files charges against Golden Dawn party leader, 4 members

Leader of the extreme far-right Golden Dawn party Nikos Michaloliakos is escorted by anti-terror police as he exits Greek Police headquarters in Athens, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013.

September 29, 2013 — Updated 0700 GMT (1500 HKTAthens (CNN) — The leader of Greece‘s extreme right wing Golden Dawn party and four party lawmakers were charged Sunday with forming and participating in a criminal gang. NikosMichaloliakos and the…
photo: AP / Fosphotos/Panayiotis Tzamaros

Special Report: Myanmar old guard clings to $8 billion jade empire

Buddhist monks look a the jade piece as it was unveiled on Monday, Jan. 18, 2010 in Hai Duong province, Vietnam. The jade imported from Myanmar measures 3 meters high, 2.15 meters wide and 2.2 meters deep and weighs 35 tons is seen as one of the world's biggest pieces of jade. Flamboyant entrepreneurs Dao Trong Cuong, making it big in booming Vietnam, unveiled the massive precious stone on Monday that he plans to transform into the world's largest jade Buddha.

HPAKANT, Myanmar (Reuters) – Tin Tun picked all night through teetering heaps of rubble to find the palm-sized lump of jade he now holds in his hand. He hopes it will make him a fortune. It’s happened before. “Last year I found a stone worth 50…
photo: AP / Tran Van Minh

Mali Suicide Bombing Kills 4

In this photo taken March 21, 2013, Malian soldiers stand around the debris left after a jihadist suicide bomber blew himself up at a Malian army checkpoint near the airport in Timbuktu, Mali.

VOA News At least four people have been killed and several others wounded in a suicide bomb attack in northern MaliOfficials say a car bomb went off Saturday near a military camp in…
photo: AP

New Jersey Gay Marriage Battle Is Far From Finished

New Jersey Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Bob Martin, left, and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, right, listen as Gov. Chris Christie addresses a gathering Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, in Brick, N.J., after he toured some of the region devastated by Monday's storm surge from superstorm Sandy.

— A judge’s ruling Friday that New Jersey must allow gay couples to marry will not be the last word on the issue after Gov. Chris Christie‘s administration said it would appeal to a higher court. The judge, Mary Jacobson, sided with gay and lesbian…
photo: AP / Mel Evans

Miss Philippines wins Miss World in Indonesia

Newly crowned Miss World, Megan Young of the Philippines

BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Miss PhilippinesMegan Young, was crowned Miss Worldon Saturday amid tight security on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, where the contest’s final round was moved following protests by Muslim hardliner groups. “I promise to…
photo: AP / Firdia Lisnawati

CHAOS IN ITALY: Prime Minister Accuses Berlusconi Of Telling ‘Huge Lie’ To The Country

Italian Democratic Party lawmaker Enrico Letta makes his statement to the media after talks with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, in Rome's Quirinale presidential palace, Wednesday, April 24, 2013.

ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Enrico Letta accused center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday of telling Italians a “huge lie” by claiming the cabinet’s failure to pass measures to avert a rise in sales tax was the reason for pulling out of…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

 

 

 

UN council approves destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons

28 Sep 2013

 

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Friday night to secure and destroy Syria?s chemical weapons stockpile, a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating 2½-year conflict. The vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marked a major breakthrough in the paralysis that… 
The Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution on safeguarding and destroying Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles. 27 September 2013

 

 

 

U.S., Iran leaders talk for first time since 1979

File - President Barack Obama confers with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough as he talks on the phone in the Oval Office, Feb. 6, 2013.

WASHINGTON The United States and Iran took a dramatic step toward ending more than three decades of estrangement Friday when President Barack Obamaphoned Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and they agreed to work toward resolving the deep dispute over…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Scientists 95 percent sure global warming caused by humans

Himalaya mountain, Uttarakhand, India

Tweet CopenhagenSep 28 (IANS/EFEClimate scientists believe it is “extremely likely” that human activity is to blame for the bulk of global warming since the1950s, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)has said. IPCC experts are…
photo: WN / Geeta

IPCC: 30 years to global warming disaster

Climate Warnings

It is more certain than ever that human civilisation is the main cause of global warming, putting the world on track for dangerous temperature rises, the latest major UN assessment of climate change science has found. The Intergovernmental Panel on…
photo: Creative Commons

 

UN Approves Resolution on Syria Disarmament

UN Security Council agrees to rid Syria of chemical weapons, endorses peace process

VOA News The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that requires Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons. The resolution places binding obligations on the nation. The vote late Friday by the…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

UN Security Council Approves Syria Chemical Weapons Measure

File - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefs the General Assembly on what the UN and Member States have achieved together over the past year and “where concerted action today can yield great gains tomorrow.” Among the challenges and priorities he cited for 2013 were the situations in Syria, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

All in favour: Members of the United Nations Security Council raise their hands as they vote unanimously to approve a resolution eradicating Syria‘s chemical arsenal during a Security Council meeting during the 68th United Nations General Assembly in…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Japan: $10 Billion More for Cleanup of Fukushima Nuclear Plant

In this photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), gray smoke rises from Unit 3 of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Monday, March 21, 2011.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, said Friday that it would revise its business turnaround plan to allocate an additional $10 billion for the plant’s cleanup. Tokyo Electric, also known as Tepco,…
photo: AP / Tokyo Electric Power

Philippines Says Rebel Standoff Is Over

Philippine Army soldiers march in unison during a pass in review on the 75th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010 at Camp Aguinaldo in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine defense chief says a deadly three-week standoff between government troops and Muslim rebels who held nearly 200 people hostage has ended with all of the captives safe. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told The…
photo: AP / Pat Roque

 

 

 

 

Climate change report: “extremely likely” humans are responsible

27 Sep 2013

 

September 27, 2013 — Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) (CNN) — Human activity has caused at least half of climate change in the last half century, hundreds of scientists say. They are 95% certain of this, the surest they’ve ever been, says a United Nations report published Friday. That activity?Driving cars, running power plants on coal and oil,… 
Climate change report: "extremely likely" humans are responsible

 

 

Syria Weapon Inspections To Start Next Week

Syria Weapon Inspections To Start Next Week

Experts from the world’s chemical weapons watchdog will begin inspecting Syria‘s stockpile of toxic munitions by Tuesday, according to reports. Syria is instructed to provide inspectors with security and “immediate and unfettered” access to…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

US, Russia agree UN draft resolution on Syria chemical arms

US, Russia agree UN draft resolution on Syria chemical arms

The United States and Russia agreed a draft UN Security Council resolutionThursday on destroying Syria‘s chemical weapons, breaking a prolonged deadlock over the country’s bitter conflict. After the 15-member council held its first talks on the…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

Palestine asks world to remain alert to stop any action undermining peace talks

Palestine asks world to remain alert to stop any action undermining peace talks

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — Palestine on Thursday called upon the international community “to remain alert to condemn and stop any actions on the ground that would undermine negotiations,” such as the continuation of settlement construction…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

A tax won’t prevent floods

A tax won’t prevent floods

Re: “Put a price on carbon,” by Shawn Reeder, Tuesday Letters, and “Temperaturedata clouds report — Scientists unsure how to explain surface warming…
photo: USAF / Nicole Manzanares

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, left, smiles, as Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili walks away, after a photo call at a start of high-level talks between world powers and Iranian officials in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Friday, April 5, 2013.

Iran and world powers including the US have agreed to substantive nuclear talks in Geneva next month. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Thursday’s talks between Iran, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council
photo: AP / Shamil Zhumatov

Divers Find Human Remains on Site of Italy Cruise Ship Wreck

The cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012.

Reuters ROME — Divers on Thursday recovered what they believe could be the remains of the last two missing bodies from the sea where the Costa Concordiacruise liner sank last year off the Italian island…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

 

U.N. scientists aim to pitch climate case to widest audience

U.N. scientists aim to pitch climate case to widest audience

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A U.N. panel of global climate scientists were set to work through Thursday night to ensure that their strongest case yet for man-made global warming would make sense to the widest…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

 

 

 

 

 

Charles Taylor: War crimes conviction, 50-year sentence upheld

26 Sep 2013

 

September 26, 2013 — Updated 1108 GMT (1908 HKT) Former LiberianPresident Charles Taylor waits at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague on Thursday. (CNN) — An international court in the Netherlands ruled Thursday to uphold the 50-year sentence handed down last year to Liberia‘s former president, Charles Taylor, after he was convicted… 
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor looks down as he waits for the start of a hearing to deliver verdict in the court room of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Leidschendam, near The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday April 26, 2012. Judges were expected to deliver landmark judgements in the trial against the former president who is charged with supporting notoriously brutal rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone.

 

Ban presses major powers on Syria crisis

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General , addresses the President of the General Assembly's Special Event Towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday pressed the major powers to overcome differences on the Syria war amid difficult talks on a UN Security Council resolution on Syria’s chemical arms. Countries suffering the refugee fallout…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

6 more people found alive, well after Colorado floods

6 more people found alive, well after Colorado floods

DENVER – Six people who were unaccounted for after massive flooding inColorado have been found safe and well, authorities said Tuesday. Only one person remained missing and presumed dead. Eight deaths have been confirmed. It was a remarkable outcome…
photo: US Army / Joseph K. VonNida

At UN debate, President of Mozambique urges international support for hotspots

Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique, addresses the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session: General Debate

Print 24 September 2013 – In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level debate today, the President of MozambiqueArmando Emílio Guebuza, called for international support to some of the hotspots in Africa, noting…
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

At UN debate, Bulgaria’s President urges intensified efforts to safeguard human dignity

Rossen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, addresses the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

24 September 2013 – The President of Bulgaria appealed for substantial progress in fighting poverty, ending conflicts and preserving the environment under the overall objective of safeguarding human dignity as he took the podium at the high-level…
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

Dilma Rousseff’s UN Speech: Brazilian President Calls U.S. Spying ‘Meddling’

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, addresses the Opening of the General Debate the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

By Daniel Trotta UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday criticized the United States for spying, using the opening speech at the U.N. General Assembly to announce Brazil would adopt legislation and…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Obama Announces That John Kerry Will Pursue Nuclear Weapons Agreement With Iran

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, addresses the Opening of the General Debate the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama says he has directedSecretary of State John Kerry to pursue a nuclear weapons agreement with Iranand that he firmly believes “the diplomatic path must be tested.” Obama told theUnited Nations General
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children’s health

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children's health

Tweet United NationsSep 24 (IANSWorld Bank President Jim Yong Kimannounced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children’s health….
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

 

 

 

Iran ready for nuclear talks, says President Rouhani

25 Sep 2013

 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he is prepared to engage in “time-bound and results-oriented” talks on his country’s nuclear programme. He told the UN General Assembly‘s annual meeting in New York that sanctions against Iran were “violent”. He also welcomed Syria‘s acceptance of theChemical Weapons… 


Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, addresses the general debate of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly, 24 September, 2013.

 

 

 

6 more people found alive, well after Colorado floods

6 more people found alive, well after Colorado floods

DENVER – Six people who were unaccounted for after massive flooding inColorado have been found safe and well, authorities said Tuesday. Only one person remained missing and presumed dead. Eight deaths have been confirmed. It was a remarkable outcome…
photo: US Army / Joseph K. VonNida

At UN debate, President of Mozambique urges international support for hotspots

Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of the Republic of Mozambique, addresses the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session: General Debate

Print 24 September 2013 – In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level debate today, the President of MozambiqueArmando Emílio Guebuza, called for international support to some of the hotspots in Africa, noting…
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

 

At UN debate, Bulgaria’s President urges intensified efforts to safeguard human dignity

Rossen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, addresses the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

24 September 2013 – The President of Bulgaria appealed for substantial progress in fighting poverty, ending conflicts and preserving the environment under the overall objective of safeguarding human dignity as he took the podium at the high-level…
photo: UN / Amanda Voisard

Dilma Rousseff’s UN Speech: Brazilian President Calls U.S. Spying ‘Meddling’

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, addresses the Opening of the General Debate the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

By Daniel Trotta UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday criticized the United States for spying, using the opening speech at the U.N. General Assembly to announce Brazil would adopt legislation and…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Obama Announces That John Kerry Will Pursue Nuclear Weapons Agreement With Iran

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, addresses the Opening of the General Debate the 5th plenary meeting of the General Assembly 68th session:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama says he has directedSecretary of State John Kerry to pursue a nuclear weapons agreement with Iranand that he firmly believes “the diplomatic path must be tested.” Obama told theUnited Nations General
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children’s health

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children's health

Tweet United NationsSep 24 (IANSWorld Bank President Jim Yong Kimannounced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children’s health….
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

 

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

ROME — Pope Francis criticized what he called the “idolatry of money” on Sunday (Sept. 22) in a trip to one of the poorest regions of the European Union. The pontiff, visiting the island of Sardinia off Italy’s western coast,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

 

 

 

Hezbollah denies it got Syria chemical arms

24 Sep 2013

 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a staunch ally of Damascus, has denied that his group received chemical weapons from SyriaLast month, members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition group accused President Bashar al-Assad of transferring chemical weapons to the Lebanese Shia group to avoid inspection after agreeing to… 
Hezbollah denies it got Syria chemical arms

 

 

 

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children’s health

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children's health

Tweet United NationsSep 24 (IANSWorld Bank President Jim Yong Kimannounced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children’s health….
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

ROME — Pope Francis criticized what he called the “idolatry of money” on Sunday (Sept. 22) in a trip to one of the poorest regions of the European Union. The pontiff, visiting the island of Sardinia off Italy’s western coast,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Heads roll after poll fiasco for Angela Merkel’s FDP allies

Philipp Roesler, chairman of the Free Democratic party FDP looks down after he declared to resign on the day after the elections in Berlin, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. German Free Democrats failed to enter Parliament for the very first time. Chancellor Angela Merkel led her conservatives to a stunning victory in Germany's election Sunday. But she will need to reach out to center-left rivals to form a new government after her coalition partner, FDP, crashed out of Parliament.

BERLIN: The leader of Germany‘s Free Democrats (FDP) resigned on Monday after the party’s worst-ever election defeat, which saw it kicked out of parliament where it was junior partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s conservatives. Outgoing vice…
photo: AP / Martin Meissner

Pakistan Church Bombing: Death Toll Rises To 81

Pakistani Christians chant slogans as they burn materials during a protest against a suicide attack on a church, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan. A suicide bomb attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed scores of people Sunday, officials said, in one of the worst assaults on the country’s Christian minority in years.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistan police official says the death toll from a church bombing has risen to 81 as angry Christians protested the deadliest attack ever in Pakistan…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

Egypt set for rewrite of Morsi constitution

File - Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans and hold placards showing an open palm with four raised fingers, which has become a symbol of the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where Morsi supporters had held a sit-in for weeks that was violently dispersed in August during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

Egypt is likely to completely rewrite the constitution adopted under Mohamed Morsi, a spokesman for the committee amending it said on Sunday, in a further push to reverse changes introduced under the deposed president. The 50-member…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive FTA

EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive FTA

Monday, 23 September 2013, 11:49 am Press ReleaseWellington, New Zealand23 September 2013 For Immediate Release EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive free trade agreement The European Union and Singapore have released the text of one of…
photo: EC / EU

New Clashes Erupt Before Guinea Vote

Soldiers walk through a newly constructed municipal building, ransacked by anti-government protesters nine days earlier in the Ratoma neighborhood of Conakry, Guinea Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. Two waves of violent anti-government protests and rioting in Guinea since mid-January have left at least 115 dead in the capital. President Lansana Conte declared martial law a week ago, saying a military crackdown was the only way to prevent a civil war.

CONAKRY, Guinea — Security forces in Guinea’s capital used tear gas to break up clashes that erupted Sunday between supporters of the opposition and ruling parties campaigning for long-delayed and hotly-contested legislative elections, resulting in…
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

 

 

Deadly typhoon blows into China

23 Sep 2013

 

A powerful typhoon that slammed into southern China with winds that blew cars off the road has caused more deaths, bringing the toll in Asia to at least 33. Typhoon Usagi, which was the season’s strongest storm at its peak, forced hundreds of flight cancellations and shut down shipping and train lines before weakening to a tropical depression over… 
Vehicles cross a flooded street in Manila, Philippines Sunday Sept. 22, 2013. Usagi, the most powerful typhoon of the year swept through the Luzon Strait separating the Philippines and Taiwan on Saturday.

 

 

Pakistan Church Bombing: Death Toll Rises To 81

Pakistani Christians chant slogans as they burn materials during a protest against a suicide attack on a church, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan. A suicide bomb attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed scores of people Sunday, officials said, in one of the worst assaults on the country’s Christian minority in years.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistan police official says the death toll from a church bombing has risen to 81 as angry Christians protested the deadliest attack ever in Pakistan…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

Egypt set for rewrite of Morsi constitution

File - Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans and hold placards showing an open palm with four raised fingers, which has become a symbol of the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where Morsi supporters had held a sit-in for weeks that was violently dispersed in August during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

Egypt is likely to completely rewrite the constitution adopted under Mohamed Morsi, a spokesman for the committee amending it said on Sunday, in a further push to reverse changes introduced under the deposed president. The 50-member…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

New Clashes Erupt Before Guinea Vote

Soldiers walk through a newly constructed municipal building, ransacked by anti-government protesters nine days earlier in the Ratoma neighborhood of Conakry, Guinea Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. Two waves of violent anti-government protests and rioting in Guinea since mid-January have left at least 115 dead in the capital. President Lansana Conte declared martial law a week ago, saying a military crackdown was the only way to prevent a civil war.

CONAKRY, Guinea — Security forces in Guinea’s capital used tear gas to break up clashes that erupted Sunday between supporters of the opposition and ruling parties campaigning for long-delayed and hotly-contested legislative elections, resulting in…
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Sudan’s Bashir, wanted by the ICC, says he will travel to U.N.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir speaks to reporters during a visit to Tripoli, Libya

Reuters September 22, 2013 – 22:24 By Ulf Laessing and Khalid AbdelazizKHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges, said on Sunday he planned to attend this…
photo: AP / Abdel Magid al-Fergany

 

Ahead of General Assembly summit, UN and AU chiefs discuss stronger partnership

Ahead of General Assembly summit, UN and AU chiefs discuss stronger partnership

Print 22 September 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Chairperson of the African Union CommissionNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, today discussed ways to further strengthen the relationship between the two organizations. “The…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

Catholics cheer pope’s remarks on gays, abortion

Catholics cheer pope's remarks on gays, abortion

Catholics around the globe are reacting mostly positively to Pope Francis‘ recent remarks that the church has become too focused on “small-minded rules” on hot-button issues like homosexuality, abortion and contraceptives. At Masses over the weekend,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Colorado’s massive pet rescue initiative helps survivors evacuate flood areas

Colorado's massive pet rescue initiative helps survivors evacuate flood areas

As Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, thousands of pets were forced to be left behind, but Colorado‘s massive pet rescue in Boulder taught emergency personnel that keeping humans and their four-legged friends together have made the…
photo: US DoD / DOD

 

 

 

 

With Official’s Conviction, China Calls Attention to Graft Crackdown

22 Sep 2013

 

HONG KONG — With one of China’s most divisive politicians, Bo Xilai, banished to life in prison on Sunday, the Communist Party stepped up its efforts to convince a scandal-weary public that the spectacle of his trial proved that national leaders were serious about rooting out official corruption. RelatedChinese Official at Center of Scandal Is… 
File - Police officers stand guard as officials and court spectators come out from the Hefei City Intermediate People's Court where a murder trial of Gu Kailai, wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai, takes place Thursday Aug. 9, 2012 in Hefei, Anhui Province, China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai sentenced to life in jail

22 Sep 2013

 

Tweet JINAN, China – A Chinese court sentenced ousted senior politician Bo Xilai to life in jail on Sunday after finding him guilty on all counts following his dramatic five-day trial last month on charges of corruption, taking bribes and abuse of power. Bo was a rising star in China’s leadership circles when his career was stopped short last year… 
Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai sentenced to life in jail

 

 

Mali needs sustained support — Prez Mahama

Mali needs sustained support — Prez Mahama

Share Twitter Ghana News Share View Comments President Mahama was welcomed at the airport by the new Malian leader, Ibrahim Keita.The President, MrJohn Dramani Mahama, last Thursday joined other heads of state in Bamako, Malifor the investiture of…
photo: UN / Marco Dormino

Merkel favored for 3rd term, faces tight outcome

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during an election campaign event in Hannover, Germany, Friday Sept. 20, 2013. The German federal elections take place on Sept. 22, 2013.

BERLIN — She enjoys overwhelming popularity and leads an economy that’s the envy of Europe. But Angela Merkel is in a fight to clinch a new term for her ruling coalition in Sunday’s national election, with polls showing her center-right…
photo: AP / dpa,Jochen Luebke

 

BlackBerry Warns of Big Loss, 4,500 Job Cuts

Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of Research In Motion, RIM, maker of BlackBerry, presents the BlackBerry PlayBook as he provides an update on the latest BlackBerry product developments during the GITEX exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday Oct. 18, 2010.

By Euan Rocha on 9:39 am September 21, 2013. Category BusinessCorporateNews Tags: BlackBerry, Smartphones Customers try BlackBerry Z10touchscreens in Jakarta. (Bloomberg PhotoToronto. BlackBerry warned on Friday it expects to report a huge…
photo: AP / Kamran Jebreili

Plane Diverts To Stansted: Two Men Held

A view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters building of the Metropolitan Police, with its sign in London, Monday, Dec. 20, 2010.

21 September 2013, 2:14 Plane Diverts To Stansted: Two Men Held Tweet Two men have been arrested after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Stansted Airport. The Sri Lankan Airlines A330 Airbus, which was carrying 267 passengers and…
photo: AP / Akira Suemori

Egypt holds funeral for slain police general

Egyptian police honor guard members stand at the side of the casket, covered by national flag, of Giza Police Gen. Nabil Farrag during his funeral in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013.

September 20: Joined by Egypt‘s top interim leaders, Egypt’s military chief led a funeral procession today for a police general killed in a raid on an Islamist stronghold near Cairo, aiming to show a national front against supporters of the ousted…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

UN chief calls for key role from world business leaders in sustainable development

UN chief calls for key role from world business leaders in sustainable development

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday called on world business leaders to do even more in conjunction with the United Nations to promote sustainable development worldwide, saying that “we cannot accept a rising…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

NASA announces an end to Deep Impact comet mission

Deep Impact (space mission).

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — U.S. space agency NASA on Friday announced an end to the eight-year Deep Impact mission that included an unprecedented impact, comet flybys and the return of approximately 500,000 images of celestial objects. The…
photo: Public Domain / Mosesofmason

 

 

 

 

 

The Chemical Weapons Deal Is A Huge Gift To Assad, Russia, And Iran

21 Sep 2013

 

In the short term, the White House‘s decision to strike a deal with Russia overSyria‘s chemical weapons bailed President Barack Obama out of a Syria use-of-force vote that he was likely to lose. But in the medium term, what has transpired after the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Damascus has clearly favored Assad, Russia,… 
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.

 

 

Merkel favored for 3rd term, faces tight outcome

German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles during an election campaign event in Hannover, Germany, Friday Sept. 20, 2013. The German federal elections take place on Sept. 22, 2013.

BERLIN — She enjoys overwhelming popularity and leads an economy that’s the envy of Europe. But Angela Merkel is in a fight to clinch a new term for her ruling coalition in Sunday’s national election, with polls showing her center-right…
photo: AP / dpa,Jochen Luebke

Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO of Research In Motion, RIM, maker of BlackBerry, presents the BlackBerry PlayBook as he provides an update on the latest BlackBerry product developments during the GITEX exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday Oct. 18, 2010.

By Euan Rocha on 9:39 am September 21, 2013. Category BusinessCorporateNews Tags: BlackBerry, Smartphones Customers try BlackBerry Z10touchscreens in Jakarta. (Bloomberg PhotoToronto. BlackBerry warned on Friday it expects to report a huge…
photo: AP / Kamran Jebreili

 

Plane Diverts To Stansted: Two Men Held

A view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters building of the Metropolitan Police, with its sign in London, Monday, Dec. 20, 2010.

21 September 2013, 2:14 Plane Diverts To Stansted: Two Men Held Tweet Two men have been arrested after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Stansted Airport. The Sri Lankan Airlines A330 Airbus, which was carrying 267 passengers and…
photo: AP / Akira Suemori

 

Egypt holds funeral for slain police general

Egyptian police honor guard members stand at the side of the casket, covered by national flag, of Giza Police Gen. Nabil Farrag during his funeral in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013.

September 20: Joined by Egypt‘s top interim leaders, Egypt’s military chief led a funeral procession today for a police general killed in a raid on an Islamist stronghold near Cairo, aiming to show a national front against supporters of the ousted…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

NASA announces an end to Deep Impact comet mission

Deep Impact (space mission).

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — U.S. space agency NASA on Friday announced an end to the eight-year Deep Impact mission that included an unprecedented impact, comet flybys and the return of approximately 500,000 images of celestial objects. The…
photo: Public Domain / Mosesofmason

Obama UN Speech to Cover Syria, Chemical Weapons, Iran, Arab Transformations

Barrack Obama, President of the United States of America, addresses the general debate of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, 23 September, 2009.

Dan Robinson WHITE HOUSE — Syria‘s civil war and the use of chemical weapons, Iran‘s nuclear program, and transformations in the Arab world will be key topics in U.S. President Barack Obama‘s address next Tuesday to the United Nations
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Nigerian Islamists kill at least 159 in two attacks

File - Nigeria troops man a checkpoint in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Wednesday, Sept, 28. 2011. Security forces have arrested a commander of a radical Muslim sect known as Boko Haram, who allegedly ordered various sectarian killings in the northeastern city.

Islamist Boko Haram militants killed 159 people in two roadside attacks in northeast Nigeria this week, officials said, far more than was originally reported and a sign that a four-month-old army offensive has yet to stabilise the region. In the…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

 

 

 

 

 

Syria minister: War is deadlocked

20 Sep 2013

 

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister has said that neither government forces nor the rebels were currently capable of outright military victory in the country’s civil war Qadri Jamil told the British Guardian newspaper that the government ofPresident Bashar al-Assad would call for a ceasefire with the armed opposition if the peace talks in Geneva, sought… 
In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during fighting with the Syrian Army in Azaz, Syria.

 

 

Syria to Propose Cease-Fire at Proposed Peace Conference: Deputy PM

In this Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 file photo, Free Syrian Army fighters cover two dead bodies they found between rubble during heavy clashes with government forces in Aleppo, Syria.

Syria&aposs government says it will call for a cease-fire at a proposed UnitedNations-backed peace conference aimed at ending the country&aposs civil war.Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil told The Guardian the conflict has reached a stalemate,…
photo: AP / Narciso Contreras

Ecuador, Argentina Presidents Discuss Energy Plan

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa reacts after listening favorable reports about a referendum he proposed as he is interviewed during a TV broadcast at GamaTV station in Quito, Ecuador, Saturday, May 7, 2011.

BUENOS AIRESArgentina — Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is meeting with President Cristina Fernandez during his trip to Buenos Aires amid concerns that his new campaign against Chevron Corp. could harm relations between the two countries. The…
photo: AP / Dolores Ochoa

Nigeria’s Politicians Profit From ‘Industrial Scale’ Oil Theft, Report Says

An unidentified man stands near a gas flare belonging to the Agip Oil company in Idu Ogba, Niger Delta area of Nigeria, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006. OPEC and the European Union agreed in Vienna Wednesday to maintain a close "energy dialogue," stressing the importance of working together to help stabilize and secure the world's oil markets. Edmund Daukoru, Nigeria's oil minister and president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, met with Martin Bartenstein, the energy minister of Austria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. In a statement, the EU presidency said both reaffirmed the need to stay in close touch on energy issues.

DAKAR, Senegal — Oil is being stolen on an “industrial scale” in Nigeria, the world’s 13th largest producer, and the country’s politicians and security officials are among those profiting, according to a new report from a prominent Britishresearch…
photo: AP / George Osodi

At Least 87 Killed in Militant Attack in Nigeria

A police officer walks past an engine block of last Friday suicide bomber's vehicle by the wall of the state police headquarters in Kano, Nigeria, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. The radical Islamist group Boko Haram were responsible for the attack.

Nigerian officials spent Thursday collecting corpses in northeastern Nigeria where Islamist Boko Haram militants killed at least 87 people during an attack earlier this week. The…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Interpol: 6 Arrested in Singapore Linked to Europe

Interpol's Secretary General Ronald Noble gestures during a press conference after the meeting with Pakistan's Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008. Noble said Pakistan has agreed to work with his organization to help India investigate last month's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Six of the 14 people arrested in Singapore in what is being called a major breakthrough in the fight against soccer corruption are linked to ongoing Europeaninvestigations, Interpol said Thursday. League Scoreboards Major League SoccerEnglish
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

Kerry: UN Must Pass Resolution on Syrian Weapons

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., emerges after a unanimous 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.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.N. General Assemblyshould move swiftly to approve a U.S.-Russia deal to eliminate Syria‘s chemical weapons, saying that there is no time to argue with those who are remain unconvinced that Syrian
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Obama Administration Weighs Iran Talks at U.N.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends the high level meeting on rule of law in the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters Monday, Sept. 24, 2012.

By CAROL E. LEE and JAY SOLOMON CONNECT WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is preparing for high-level meetings next week with the Iranian government on its nuclear ambitions and is open to a direct exchange betweenPresident Barack Obama and Iran‘s…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

 

 

 

 

 

Iran’s president: We will never seek nuclear bomb

19 Sep 2013

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iranian President Hasan Rouhani said Wednesday that his country has never sought and will never seek a nuclear bomb, tellingNBC News in an interview that he has full authority to resolve a standoff with the West. Rouhani spoke to the American television network in Tehran just days before he is to make his first appearance as… 
Iran's president: We will never seek nuclear bomb

 

 

 

Silvio Berlusconi vows to stay in politics

In this file photo taken on Sept. 27, 2009, Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he attends a meeting in Milan, Italy.

Silvio Berlusconi says he will remain at the heart of Italian politics even if senators vote to throw him out of parliament. The former prime minister and convicted fraudster was speaking before a preliminary vote by a Senate panel. “I will…
photo: AP / Alberto Pellaschiar

Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai vows to stay on as opposition leader

Movement For Democratic Change (MDC) President Morgan Tsvangirai greets the crowd at the launch of the party's election campaign in Marondera, east of Harare, Sunday, July, 7, 2013.

Reuters September 18, 2013 – 17:12 By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) –Zimbabwe‘s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Wednesday he would remain leader of his MDC party despite an internal call for him to quit after an overwhelming…
photo: AP / Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

 

Germany Sold Syria Chemicals, Government Admits

File - A resident of Homs, Syria, shows UN observers a building heavily damaged in the renewed rounds of shelling which rained down on the city this weekend, 11 June, 2012.

BERLIN, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Germany exported 111 tonnes of chemicals to Syriabetween 2002 and 2006 that could be used in the production of sarin gas, according to a government document published on Wednesday. But the government rejected a suggestion…
photo: UN / David Manyua

Niger would welcome armed U.S. drones: foreign minister

File - The MQ-9 Reaper lands on an air field in Afghanistan Nov. 17, 2007.  The Reaper is the Air Force's unmanned aerial attack vehicle, able to carry both precision-guided bombs and missiles.

NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger would welcome the deployment of armed U.S. drones to the West African country to help in its battle against an armed Islamist threat and drug trafficking in the SaharaForeign Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Wednesday….
photo: USAF / Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Starbucks Declares Guns Unwelcome, but Doesn’t Ban Them

Starbucks Coffee at Changi Airport, Singapore

By JULIE JARGON Starbucks Corp. thrust itself deeper into the national debate over guns, with Chief Executive Howard Schultz saying the coffee giant wants firearm owners to stop carrying their weapons in its stores. Mr. Schultz, in an open letter…
photo: WN / RTayco

Afghans to receive first C-130 aircraft from US Air Force

Afghans to receive first C-130 aircraft from US Air Force

KABUL, Afghanistan — After nearly a year of relying on helicopters for the bulk of its air cargo transportation, the Afghan Air Force will receive its first C-130H Herculestransports early next month. The U.S. Air Force is slated to give the Afghans…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

Brazil Leader Cancels U.S. Visit

Dilma Rousseff, presidential candidate for the governing Workers Party, gestures to photographers after voting in Brazil's presidential election runoff in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Sunday Oct. 31, 2010.

By TOM MURPHY And PAULO TREVISANI BRASILIA—President Dilma Rousseffcalled off a U.S. state visit planned for October in reaction to allegations theObama administration spied electronically on Brazilians, including the country’s leader. The…
photo: AP / Felipe Dana

 

 

Mexico floods leave thousands trapped in Acapulco

18 Sep 2013

 

Storms leave 40,000 holidaymakers cut off and locals in shelters, with supplies running short and airports waterlogged A police car in a flooded parking lot of Acapulco international airport. PhotographVictor Lopez/Rex Thousands of tourists were still trapped and locals evacuated from their homes in Acapulco after roads to Mexico‘s most famous… 
Mexico floods leave thousands trapped in Acapulco
photo: AP / Guillermo Aria

 

Iraq: 35 Die in Latest Round of Attacks

Civilians inspect the aftermath of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

A wave of car bombs rocked commercial streets in Baghdad on Tuesday, part of a series of attacks across the country that left 31 victims and 4 attackers dead. The bombings were believed to have been carried out by Sunnis aiming to undermine…
photo: AP / Karim Kadim

Israel Plans to Ease Gaza Blockade

Palestinians wait near their luggage at the Rafah border terminal in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into neighbouring Egypt on August 24, 2013. A week after Cairo closed down the passage that bypasses Israel it reopened today for four hours daily, for humanitarian cases and Palestinians with foreign nationalities. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Israel plans to allow building materials meant for private projects into the Gaza Strip for the first time in six years, an Israeli defense official said Tuesday. Gazahas been struggling with a shortage of building materials that has worsened since…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Brazilian President Snubs White House

President Dilma Rousseff receives members of the Movement Free Pass, at the Presidential Palace

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff indefinitely postponed a planned state visit toWashington, the latest fallout from the ongoing release of classified documents by former National Security Agency contractor Edward SnowdenRousseff had been…
photo: ABr / Aguinaldo Ribeiro

Swazi king to wed 15th wife

 Swaziland´s King Mswati III, arrives at the Royal Kraal where he was presented with a draft copy of the country´s new constitution from Jim Gama, governor of the royal residence, right, in Eludzidzini, Swaziland, Friday, Nov. 14, 2003. Mswati

SWAZILAND’S King Mswati III has chosen an 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant as his 15th wife, a palace spokesman said on Tuesday, days before a much-criticised parliamentary vote. “I can confirm that the king has introduced to the nation a new…
photo: AP/Themba Hadebe

Rwanda election: RPF wins parliamentary landslide

President Paul Kagame speaks to Rwandans on his election campaign stop in Nyagatare, Rwanda, Thrusday, Aug. 5, 2010.

Rwanda‘s governing RPF party has won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections, securing 76% of the vote. The party of President Paul Kagame, which came to power after the genocide of 1994, won 40 of the 53 seats directly elected on…
photo: AP / Marc Hofer

Dutch King Willem-Alexander declares the end of the welfare state

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, right, and Princess Beatrix wave from the balcony of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Tuesday April 30, 2013.

King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th centuryis gone. In its place a “participation society” is emerging, in which people must…
photo: AP / Dusan Vranic

Colorado flooding could help keep tourists away

	Colorado flooding could help keep tourists away

DENVER — A little more than a year after Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooperinsisted his wildfire-ravaged state was still “open for business,” he may have to throw another lifeline to the state’s billion-dollar tourism industry as the world takes in the…
photo: US DoD / Joseph K. VonNida

 

 

 

 

Dutch King: Say Goodbye to Welfare State

17 Sep 2013

 

AMSTERDAM — King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government Tuesday in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow@nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors In its place will be a… 
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima leave Nieuwe Kerk or New Church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, after the inauguration Tuesday April 30, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.N. confirms sarin use in Syria

Full ArticlePittsburgh Post-Gazette 

17 Sep 2013

 

United Nations report released Monday confirmed that a chemical arms attack caused a mass killing in Syria last month and for the first time provided extensive forensic details of the weapons used, which strongly implicated theSyrian government. While the report’s authors did not assign blame for the attack on the outskirts of Damascus, the… 
FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2013, file citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, dead bodies after an alleged poisonous gas attack fired by regime forces, according to activists in Arbeen town, Damascus, Syria. Ghastly images from that day showing rows of dead, many of them children, some wrapped in white burial shrouds, survivors gasping for air, their bodies twitching, foam oozing from mouths, were unlike any other scene in Syria’s brutal civil war, where bombs and bullets have killed and maimed tens of thousands over the past 2½ years.

 

 

Colorado flooding could help keep tourists away

	Colorado flooding could help keep tourists away

DENVER — A little more than a year after Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooperinsisted his wildfire-ravaged state was still “open for business,” he may have to throw another lifeline to the state’s billion-dollar tourism industry as the world takes in the…
photo: US DoD / Joseph K. VonNida

Syria crisis: Doubts over UN deal emerge as Russia insists rebels carried out chemical weapon …

Syria crisis: Doubts over UN deal emerge as Russia insists rebels carried out chemical weapon ...

Russia insisted today that rebel forces carried out the murderous gas attack nearDamascus last month – throwing into doubt the prospect of a rapid UN deal onSyrian disarmament. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking after talks in…
photo: UN / Jean-Marc Ferr

Eight dead, 1,600 homes destroyed in Colorado floods

Eight dead, 1,600 homes destroyed in Colorado floods

By Keith Coffman, Reuters DENVER – Search-and-rescue teams bolstered byNational Guard troops fanned out across Colorado’s flood-stricken landscape on Monday, as a week of torrential rains blamed for eight deaths and the destruction of at…
photo: US DoD / Joseph K. VonNida

UN confirms sarin was used in Syria

UN confirms sarin was used in Syria

Careful not to blame either side for a deadly chemical weapon attack, UN inspectors reported that rockets loaded with the nerve agent sarin had been fired from an area where Syria‘s military has bases, but said the evidence could have been…
photo: UN / Jean-Marc Ferré

Syrian chemical attack used sarin and was worst in 25 years, says UN

FILE - This Tuesday, May 21, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by Qusair Lens, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian citizens inspecting the rubble of damaged buildings that were damaged from a Syrian forces air strike in the town of Qusair, near the Lebanon border, Homs province, Syria.

The UN has confirmed that the worst chemical weapons attack in 25 years took place in eastern Damascus last month, involving specially designed rockets that spread sarin nerve agent over rebel-held suburbs of the Syrian capital. The report did not…
photo: AP / Qusair Lens

Kandahar, Afghanistan: Top Afghan policewoman dies of bullet wound

Kandahar, Afghanistan: Top Afghan policewoman dies of bullet wound

A top policewoman in southern Afghanistan died Monday after being shot by unknown attackers, months after her predecessor was also slain. Her death, one of the latest in a string of attacks on prominent Afghan women, could make it even harder to…
photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett

Dozens freed as Philippine troops battle Muslim rebels

A boy hostage is reunited with his parents after being processed at the Philippine National Police Camp in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines Tuesday Sept. 17, 2013.

Dozens of people trapped in a deadly urban battle between Muslim rebels andPhilippine troops rushed to safety on Tuesday as the guerillas lost ground in more heavy fighting, authorities said. Sixty-one people have died and 70,000 residents been…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

 

 

North and South Korea reopen Kaesong Industrial Complex

16 Sep 2013

 

September 16, 2013 — Updated 0400 GMT (1200 HKTSeoul, South Korea(CNN) — The joint industrial park, one of the key symbols of cooperation between North and South Korea, re-opened Monday after a five-month hiatus.South Korean vehicles and freight trucks waited in traffic as they prepared to cross through customs and immigration into the North… 
A South Korean owner who runs a factory in the stalled South Korea and North Korea's joint Kaesong Industrial Complex, stands just outside of military barricades set up on Unification Bridge near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 30, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico hit by big storms on opposite coasts; 21 dead

16 Sep 2013

 

ACAPULCO, Mexico — The remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel continued to deluge Mexico’s southwestern Pacific shoulder with dangerous rains whileHurricane Ingrid headed for a Monday landfall on the country’s opposite coast in an unusual double onslaught that federal authorities said had caused at least 21 deaths. The heaviest blow Sunday fell on the… 
Army soldiers work to try to get their vehicle out of a flooded portion of a road caused by Tropical Storm Manuel in the city of Chilpancingo, Mexico, Sunday Sept. 15, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

EU pledges 650 million euros to back Somalia reconstruction plan

E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs Addresses Security Council Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice-President of the European Commission, addresses the Security Council.

Reuters September 16, 2013 – 12:04 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Unionpledged an additional 650 million euros (541 million pounds) in aid for Somaliaon Monday to back a three-year reconstruction plan aimed at building on fragile security…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

UK, US and France call for ‘strong’ UN resolution on Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, speaks with French President Francois Hollande, second from right, before taking leave as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, left, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague stand alongside following their meeting on Syria, at the Elysee Palace, Paris, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013.

Countries want wording that sets precise and binding deadlines on removing Assad’s chemical weapons US Secretary of State John Kerry, right, speaks withFrench President François Hollande, accompanied by French foreign ministerLaurent Fabius, left,…
photo: AP / Michel Euler

Philippine aircraft attack rebels in bid to end standoff in city

Government troops man an intersection where renewed fighting between government forces and Muslim rebels enters its second week Monday, Sept. 16, 2013 at Zamboanga city in southern Philippines.

The fighting has been a stark reminder that decades-old grievances fester in the Catholic-majority country despite strong economic growth and an agreement with the biggest Muslim rebel group that was meant to pave the way to peace. The army said at…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Costa Concordia Salvage Operation Underway In Italy (VIDEO/PHOTOS)

A police boat sails by the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia, off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012.

GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy — A complex system of pulleys and counterweights on Monday gently began lifting up the Costa Concordia cruise ship from its side on a Tuscan reef where it capsized in 2012, an anxiously awaited operation of a kind that has never…
photo: AP / Pier Paolo Cito

Typhoon Man-yi hits Japan

Toyohashi (???, Toyohashi-shi?) is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.  The city was founded on August 1, 1906. As of October 1, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 379,830 and a density of 1,413.94 persons per km². The total area is 261.26 km2 (261,260,000 m2).

Tokyo – Typhoon Man-yi hit central Japan on Monday. Almost 300 000 households were told to evacuate. There were also fears that the storm could go on to hit the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The typhoon made landfall in Toyohashi, in theAichi
photo: Creative Commons / Lombroso

Somalia pins high hopes on ‘New Deal’

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, right, gestures a he and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton address the media prior to an EU Somalia conference at the Egmont Palace in Brussels Monday, Sept. 16, 2013.

BRUSSELS – International donors began work Monday on a “New Deal” forSomalia to drive its economic and political recovery after two decades of bloody civil war. EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud faced one…
photo: AP / Geert Vanden Wijngaert

Korean Industrial Zone Reopens as North-South Ties Improve

E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs Addresses Security Council Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice-President of the European Commission, addresses the Security Council.

Thousands of workers from both South and North Korea returned to the jointKaesong industrial complex to restore operations after escalating threats of war forced its shutdown five months ago. Hundreds of trucks carrying factory managers and company…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly 100 Philippine rebels killed or captured

15 Sep 2013

 

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) — Nearly 100 Muslim guerrillas who have held scores of people hostage for a week in a southern Philippine city have been killed or captured in an offensive to retake rebel-held coastal communities, officials said Sunday. Army troops and police special forces have regained rebel-held grounds and are pressing an assault… 
A Government trooper stands next to the destroyed wall following the fighting with Muslim rebels, Sunday Sept. 15, 2013 in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines.

 

 

 

 

 

Fifth Fatality Feared, More Than 200 Unaccounted For As Colorado Floods Force More Evacuations

Fifth Fatality Feared, More Than 200 Unaccounted For As Colorado Floods Force More Evacuations

An aerial view of a farm house surrounded by flood waters along the South Platte River near Greenley, Colorado September 14, 2013. WELD COUNTY, Colo.(Reuters) – Relentless rains pounded flood-ravaged eastern Colorado for a fifth day on Saturday,…
photo: US DoD / Joseph K. VonNida

Bombings kill 35 in south and central Iraq

Iraqi security forces inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.

BAGHDAD — A new wave of insurgent attacks, mostly car bombs targeting Shiite-dominated cities in central and southern Iraq, killed at least 35 people on Sunday, officials said. The attacks continue a surge in bloodshed that has engulfed the…
photo: AP / Nabil al-Jurani

Protesters clash with police as tension rises over Cambodia poll

Supporters of Cambodia's opposition parties pray in front of Royal Palace during a gathering in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.

By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Police fired teargas and water cannons to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who had rallied in Cambodia‘s capital on Sunday to push for an independent investigation into a July election they say was fixed to…
photo: AP / Heng Sinith

India retests missile able to reach Chinese cities

In this photo released by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India’s nuclear-capable missile Agni-V is test fired in Wheelar’s Island, off the coast of Odisha, India, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013.

NEW DELHIIndia on Sunday successfully test-fired for the second time a nuclear-capable missile that can strike the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, officials said. Ravi Gupta, a spokesman for the Defence Research and Development
photo: AP / DRDO

Israel gives cautious welcome to Syria chemical weapons deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, attends a weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office in Israel Sunday, July 14, 2013.

Binyamin Netanyahu says deal brokered by US and Russia must be judged on whether it eliminates Syria‘s arsenal in its entirety Binyamin Netanyahu attends the state memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the Yom Kippur war.Photograph: LIOR…
photo: AP / Abir Sultan

Afghan civilians killed in suicide blast

Afghan civilians killed in suicide blast

Three civilian lives have been claimed in a Taliban suicide attack in a failed attempt to target foreign forces in the Daman district of Kandahar province inAfghanistan, officials have said. The attacker prematurely triggered…
photo: US Army / Chad Carlson

With pullout looming, NATO forces now disassembling larger bases in Afghanistan

With pullout looming, NATO forces now disassembling larger bases in Afghanistan

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan – Sometime in the next few weeks, local workers will rip out the fancy cooking equipment in the gleaming, $20 million armored dining hall on the German-run military base at Kunduz, Afghanistan, and replace it with crude…
photo: US DoD / Public Domain

Overpopulation Is Not the Problem

14 Sep 2013

 

BALTIMORE — MANY scientists believe that by transforming the earth’s natural landscapes, we are undermining the very life support systems that sustain us. Like bacteria in a petri dish, our exploding numbers are reaching the limits of a finite planet, with dire consequences. Disaster looms as humans exceed the earth’s natural carrying capacity…. 
Palestinian men burn the US flag during a protest against a film mocking Islam, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on September 14, 2012. Palestinians protested an anti-Muslim film, with thousands gathering in the Gaza Strip and hundreds in Jerusalem where there were clashes with Israeli police.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

 

 

Hundreds rescued by National Guard as muddy mountain floods hit Colorado

Local resident Chris Rodes gets help from emergency responders as he helps salvage a friend's belongings after floods left homes and infrastructure in a shambles Lyons, Colo., Friday Sept. 13, 2013.

The rescue of hundreds of people stranded by epic mountain flooding in Coloradohas been stepped up as food and water supplies run low. Meanwhile thousands more were driven from their homes on the plains as debris-filled rivers became muddy seas…
photo: AP / Brennan Linsley

Bloomberg Will Sit Out Mayor’s Race

Michael Bloomberg

By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL CONNECT New York City Mayor Michael Bloombergsaid on Friday he won’t make an endorsement in the race to succeed him, declaring he will focus on ensuring that there is a smooth transition from his administration to the next…
photo: Creative Commons / David Shankbone

Italy is not racist: Africa-born minister

Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kashetu Kyenge listens to a question during a press conference at the Foreign Press Club in Rome, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Kyenge on Wednesday acknowledged "racist episodes" in Italy but declined to brand the country as a whole racist. She has so far tempered her reaction to racist attacks, saying it's for Italians to respond, not her.

CALIColombia – Italy’s first black minister defended her adopted homeland Friday, insisting it is not racist even though she endured a series of racially-charged threats and taunts since assuming her post. Speaking to a gathering in Colombia of…
photo: AP / Domenico Stinellis

Iraq: At Least 33 Die in Fresh Spurt of Violence; Mosque Is Bombed

Blood stains the walls and debris is strewn throughout the inside of a Sunni mosque after a suicide bomber struck during Friday prayers in the village of Umm al-Adham in Diyala province, a former militant stronghold 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

Attacks across Iraq, including a bombing at a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killed 33 people Friday in the latest eruption of violence to rock the country, officials said. The deadliest of Friday’s attacks occurred when a bomb exploded inside a…
photo: AP

Four charged over bank plot bid

 British bank Abbey National on Monday approved a takeover proposal from Spain´s biggest bank, Santander Central Hispano.

Four men have been charged over an attempt to take control of computers at a bank branch to steal millions of pounds, Scotland Yard said. Police thwarted the cyber gang after one of the plotters allegedly posed as an engineer to fit a computer in a…
photo: WN

UN report boosts Assam’s fight against Bangla influx

UN report boosts Assam's fight against Bangla influx

GUWAHATI: The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) report in which the UN, for the first time, has termed the exodus ofBangladeshis into India as “the single largest bilateral stock of international migrants” in the…
photo: UN / Evan Schneider

U.S. Backs Off Syria Strike for More Talk

U.S. President Barack Obama looks on during the G8 Summit, in L'Aquila, Italy, Thursday, July 9, 2009

By JAY SOLOMON and CAROL E. LEE CONNECT Enlarge Image Close GENEVA—The Obama administration took two steps back from its push for a prompt attack on Syria, allowing several weeks more for diplomacy on eliminating Syrianchemical weapons and…
photo: AP / Haraz N. Ghanbari

 

 

 

Philippine hostage crisis lingers

13 Sep 2013

 

Philippine officials were trying to negotiate a surrender of Muslim rebels who were holding more than 100 civilians hostage, as President Benigno Aquino IIIwarned that his government would not hesitate to use force to end the five-day standoff. On Friday Aquino visited troops and some of the 15,000 displaced people in southern Zamboanga… 
Residents try to put out fire that gutted several homes while government troopers continue their assault at Muslim rebels Thursday Sept. 12, 2013 in Zamboanga city in southern Philippines.

 

 

Syria crisis: John Kerry talks tough as discussions on chemical weapons enter second day

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, walk with the U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, center, into a meeting at the United Nations offices in Geneva to discuss the ongoing problems in Syria, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

The international envoy for SyriaLakhdar Brahimi, today held a three way meeting with John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov as key talks in Geneva enter the second day. Speaking from Genevea, Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry spoke after the short meeting and said…
photo: AP / Larry Downing, Pool

HRW: Syrian Regime Forces Behind Mass Killings

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC 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. Syrian activists say at least 65 bodies, some of them with their hands tied behind their back, found on a river bank in the northern city of Aleppo.

BEIRUT — An international human rights group is accusing Syrian governmentforces and pro-regime militias of summary executions that left at least 248 people dead in two predominantly Sunni Muslim towns along the Mediterranean coastearlier this…
photo: AP / Aleppo Media Center AMC

Egypt army in major push to eradicate Sinai militants

Egyptian soldiers keep guard on the border between Egypt and Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, on July 8, 2013. A series of attacks on security checkpoints in the North Sinai towns of Sheikh Zuweid and El Arish close to Egypt's border with Israel and Gaza, where one soldier was killed. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt and Gaza remained closed since Friday. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

In recent days the Egyptian army has launched a major military campaign against militants in the northern Sinai PeninsulaGovernment spokesmen have said they intend to “fully cleanse” the area of militants, and military sources say 22,000
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

M23 rebels in Congo pushed back from key city, UN says

File - A peacekeeper with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) stands atop strategic Mount Goma in the eastern part of the country.

UNITED NATIONS — Congolese and U.N. troops have pushed back the M23 rebel group that had been entrenched in the hills above Goma and the rebels no longer pose a threat to the strategically important city in eastern Congo, the U.N. peacekeeping chief…
photo: UN / Sylvain Liechti

New Iran envoy says hopes disputes with IAEA can be resolved

Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Reza Najafi talks to the media after the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013.

Reuters September 12, 2013 – 15:24 By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran will cooperate with the U.N. nuclear agency to find ways to “overcome existing issues once and for all”, Tehran‘s new envoy said on Thursday, hinting at a more flexible…
photo: AP / Hans Punz

Prince William leaves RAF

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge waving to the crowd at The Mall shortly after the wedding. The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London.

Britain’s Prince William has completed his last shift with the Armed Forces. It had been widely reported that the 31-year-old royal was planning to focus on his charity work following the birth of his and wife The Duchess of Cambridge‘s son Prince
photo: Creative Commons / Robbie Dale

No Plan B if Bid Fails to Right Ship Off Italy

Italian Navy scuba divers return after working on the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012.

ROME — An international team of engineers is expressing confidence a never-before attempted strategy to set upright a luxury liner which capsized off Italy will work. They devised no “Plan B” if the Concordia falls back on its crippled side or splits…
photo: AP / Pier Paolo Cito

 

 

 

Satellite images suggest North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear reactor restarted

12 Sep 2013

 

September 12, 2013 — Updated 0752 GMT (1552 HKT) A satellite image from August 31, 2013 shows steam venting from building adjacent to the Yongbyon reactor. Hong Kong (CNN) — Satellite images of North Korea‘s Yongbyon nuclear facility have again raised questions about whether the country has restarted its plutonium production reactor — regarded… 
File - A South Korean man watches TV news showing file footage of the demolition of the cooling tower of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, following a report of a possible nuclear test conducted by North Korea, at the Seoul train station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013.

 

 

Putin warns US not to launch attack in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speak before a meeting with officials in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013.

Russian president appeals to Americans in New York Times article claiming intervention would unleash more terror President Barack Obama meets Russia‘sPresident Vladimir PutinPhotographPablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Vladimir Putin, the Russian
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service

Philippine stand-off: Clashes continue as new attack reported

Philippine marines take their positions to engage Muslim rebels who are holding scores of hostages being used as human shields for the fourth straight day Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013 at Zamboanga city in southern Philippines.

Philippine troops are continuing to battle Muslim rebels holed up in a southern city, amid reports of separate fighting in a nearby area. Troops have been fighting Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels who entered parts of Zamboanga city in…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Tuareg rebels clash with Mali army

File - In this Wednesday, April 11, 2012 photo, a Tuareg separatist rebel from the NMLA (National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad) stands guard at a checkpoint near the airport in Timbuktu, Mali.

Three Malian soldiers have been wounded in the first clashes with Tuareg rebels since the two sides signed a ceasefire deal in June, the army has said, A Malian capitain warned the clash could endanger the truce. The fighting took place near the…
photo: AP

Somalia’s Shebab hail ‘courageous’ 9/11 hijackers

Somalia's Shebab hail 'courageous' 9/11 hijackers

Published September 11, 2013AFP A man returns home from the mosque in central Mogadishu, on May 21, 2013. Somalia‘s Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents on Wednesday celebrated the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks with a Twitter eulogy for…
photo: UN / STUART PRICE

Nigerian President Fires 9 Cabinet Ministers

President Zuma Welcomes Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s government says the president has fired nine ministers in the biggest shake-up of the Cabinet during his more than two-year presidency. Information Minister Labaran Maku said Wednesday that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan made…
photo: Flickr / The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa

Catalans Form Huge Human Chain for Independence

Supporters of center-right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) leader, Artur Mas, wave their pro-independence "estelada" flags during the last day of campaigning in a meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012.

BARCELONA, Spain — Several hundred thousand people demanding an independent Catalonia have joined hands to form a 400-kilometer (250-mile) human chain across the northeastern region of Spain. The demonstration Wednesday aimed to illustrate local…
photo: AP / Emilio Morenatti

Italy: Concordia to Be Set Upright Next Week

The cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side, after it ran aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.

ROME — Italian authorities say the operation to set the Concordia cruise ship upright is set for next week, 20 months after the ship capsized near a tiny Tuscan island, killing 32 people. National Civil Protection agency chief Franco Gabrielli told…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty in India Rape Case

11 Sep 2013

 

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked for a “death sentence” for four men who participated in the rape and murder of a 23-year-old student last December, a goal long sought by the victim’s family and many Indians who were horrified by the case, Ellen Barry wrote in The New York Times. “There can be nothing more diabolic than a helpless girl… 
Indian policemen look out from a van carrying four men convicted in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus last year, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philippine rebels call for foreign mediation

11 Sep 2013

 

Rebel fighters holding scores of hostages in the southern Philippines have demanded international mediation, an official said. The rebels, enraged by a broken peace deal with the government, are holding the civilian hostages as human shields near the port city of Zamboanga. Troops have surrounded… 
Government troopers, backed by armored personnel carriers, position themselves at an intersection at the southern port city of Zamboanga in southern Philippines Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Suicide bombs hit Egypt military in Sinai, kill 4

Egyptian army personnel guard the road just outside Rafah, Egypt, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012. Egypt's military vowed on Monday to hunt down those behind the killing of at least 16 soldiers at a checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel on Sunday Aug. 5, 2012.

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — A pair of suicide bombers rammed their explosives-laden cars into military targets in Egypt’s volatile Sinai on Wednesday, killing at least four soldiers and wounding 20 people, security officials said. One bombing brought…
photo: AP

Thousands flee on 3rd day of Philippine rebel siege

Government troopers take their positions as about 200 Muslim rebels, enraged by a broken peace deal with the Philippine government, held scores of hostages as human shields in a continuing standoff with government forces for the third day Wednesday Sept. 11, 2013

ZAMBOANGA: Thousands of residents fled as fighting between Philippine troops and Muslim rebels intensified Wednesday on the third day of a deadly siege in a key southern city. At least 13,000 people crammed into Zamboanga city sports stadium seeking…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Koreas Set to Restart Jointly Run Factory Park

In this photo released by the South Korean Unification Ministry, South Korea's Unification Policy Officer Chun Hae-sung, left, and the head of North Korea's delegation Kim Song Hye read statements during their meeting at the southern side of Panmunjom

SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea have agreed to restart operations at a jointly run factory park that Pyongyang shut down in April during a torrent of threats against Washington and Seoul. South Korean Unification Ministry officials say…
photo: AP / South Korean Unification Ministry

NSA admits wrongly adding 16,000 phone numbers to ‘alert list’

FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo National Security Agency plaques are seen at the compound at Fort Meade, Md. The NSA was founded in 1952 but only publicly acknowledged years later, which explains its nickname “No Such Agency.”

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency admitted in documents released Tuesday that it had wrongly put 16,000 phone numbers on an “alert list” so their incoming calls could be monitored, a mistake that a judge on the secret surveillance court…
photo: AP / Patrick Semansky, File

Obama Rescues Assad

President Barack Obama addresses the nation in a live televised speech from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013.

What could be worse for America‘s standing in the world than a Congress refusing to support a President‘s proposal for military action against a rogue regime that used WMD? Here’s one idea: A U.S. President letting that rogue be rescued from military…
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Chile’s Bachelet Visits Former Concentration Camp

Former President Michelle Bachelet waves to supporters after winning presidential primaries in Santiago, Chile, Sunday June 30, 2013. Bachelet won the country's first ever presidential primary and will represent the center-left coalition in November's presidential election. Bachelet, a pediatrician who ended her 2006-2010 presidency with high popularity ratings, won the vote to lead the center-left New Majority coalition with 74 percent of the votes.

SANTIAGO, Chile — Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has visited the detention and torture center where she was held during the 1973-90 dictatorship. Bachelet nearly broke down Tuesday when she visited Villa Grimaldi. The site has been turned…
photo: AP / Luis Hidalgo

The Saddest Countries In The World

Village in Africa .On this image, we can see the life of its people.  Gboto est un village à  90 km de Lomé la capitale. Sur ces images, nous pouvons voir le quotidien de ses habitants. un groupe de conducteur de taximoto Togo, Africa on Wednesday, August 3, 2011.

West African country Togo is the world’s least happy country, according to the second annual from the United Nations General Assembly. Neighboring countryBenin was the second least happy,…
photo: WN / Eteh

 

 

 

Kenya’s deputy president pleads not guilty before international court

10 Sep 2013

 

Reuters September 10, 2013 – 10:30 By Thomas Escritt and James MachariaTHE HAGUE/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya‘s Deputy President William Rutopleaded innocent to crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, at the start of a trial that will test the stability of a country seen as vital to East Africa‘s… 
Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto, left, awaits the start of his trial in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013.

 

 

Somalia: Al Shabaab militants target Federal Govt positions with mortar shells

Somalia: Al Shabaab militants target Federal Govt positions with mortar shells

MOGADISHU, Somalia Sep. 10, 2013 (Garowe Online) –Somalia’s Al Shabaabmilitants reportedly targeted Somali Federal Government forces positioned at Yaqshid and Huriwa bases on Monday night, Garowe
photo: UN / STUART PRICE

Top world chefs help out bombed Somali restaurant

Top world chefs help out bombed Somali restaurant

NAIROBI : Chefs from Denmark’s world famous Noma restaurant have launched an appeal to support a colleague in war-torn Somalia after his establishment was targeted again by Al-Qaeda inspired insurgents. The Village, set up in 2008 by restaurateur…
photo: UN / STUART PRICE

Syria: Obama May Halt Strike Over Weapons Deal

Ahead of the working meeting between G20 heads of state and government. President of the United States Barack Obama (centre).

Barack Obama has said he will delay a military strike against Syria if the Assad regime agrees to place its chemical weapons under international control. The US president said he was “absolutely” prepared to pause plans for military action…
photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

Philippines rebels dig in, take more hostages

Soldiers check a comrade who was hit by a sniper following a clash between Philippine navy patrol and suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels aboard several boats off Zamboanga city in southern Philippines Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines : Muslim rebels seized scores more hostages and traded gunfire with Philippines troops today, in the second day of a stand-off after mounting a deadly attack on a southern city, officials said. Gunshots rang out at dawn…
photo: AP

Wife: Trayvon killer threatened me

George Zimmerman arrives for his trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla. Thursday, July 11, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The estranged wife of a former neighbourhood watch volunteer cleared over the fatal shooting of a black teenager has accused him of threatening her and her father with a gun in a call to police. Shellie Zimmerman called police, said Police Chief
photo: AP / Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool

Egypt Tightens Sinai Security, Assesses Militant Threat

Egyptian soldiers keep guard on the border between Egypt and Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, on July 8, 2013. A series of attacks on security checkpoints in the North Sinai towns of Sheikh Zuweid and El Arish close to Egypt's border with Israel and Gaza, where one soldier was killed. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt and Gaza remained closed since Friday. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

By Shadia Nasralla on 10:06 am September 10, 2013. Category International,World Tags: Egypt, Egypt Unrest, Islamists, Sinai A picture taken from the SouthernGaza Strip shows Egyptian soldiers patrolling between the borders of Egypt (rear) and the…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Long-lost painting by Van Gogh is identified

Van Gogh Museum

AMSTERDAM: A painting that sat for six decades in a Norwegian industrialist’s attic after he was told it was a fake Van Gogh was pronounced the real thing Monday, making it the first full-size canvas by the tortured Dutch artist to be…
photo: Creative Commons / Cribananda (talk | contribs)

 

 

 

 

 

Assad denies ordering chemical attack and warns of retaliation

09 Sep 2013

 

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has denied ordering an alleged chemical weapons attack said to have killed hundreds of civilians in the Damascuscountryside on August 21st. He also warned that US military operations designed to degrade his forces could change the course of the war in favour of rebels and radical jihadis, causing regional chaos,… 
In this Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, damages due to fighting between government forces and Free Syrian army fighters are seen in Aleppo, Syria.

 

 

 

 

Muzaffarnagar clashes: 28 dead in India as police investigate role of politicians in violence

Indian policemen watch an elderly woman walk on a road scattered with bricks and stones thrown during a communal clash in Muzaffarnagar, about 125 kilometers (78 miles) north of New Delhi, India, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.

Police in northern India are investigating the role of six politicians they believe may have been responsible for inciting violence between members of different religious communities that has left at least 28 people dead. Hundreds of troops and…
photo: AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh

Muslim rebels take 30 hostages in southern Philippines

Villagers flee as soldiers guard to secure the area following a clash between a Philippine navy patrol and suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels aboard several boats off Zamboanga city in southern Philippines Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.

Tweet MANILA – Muslim rebels took 30 civilian hostages in the southernPhilippines on Monday and held security forces in a standoff as part of a drive to derail peace talks, officials said. Police commandos cordoned off parts ofZamboanga City on the…
photo: AP

New Mali Cabinet includes reconciliation post

Parliamentary head Dioncounda Traore is sworn in as interim president at a ceremony in Bamako, Mali Thursday, April 12, 2012. Traore took office as interim president Thursday, returning the country to constitutional rule three weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the nation's democratically elected leader in a coup.

DAKAR, Senegal – Mali‘s new prime minister has selected a 34-person Cabinetthat includes a post focused on reconciliation and development of the country’s north, which fell under rebel control following a coup last year. The new Cabinet, disclosed…
photo: AP / Harouna Traore

NATO disputes claim of 11 civilian deaths in Afghan strike

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, center, greets the guards of honor as he arrives to the Presidential Palace for his inauguration in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan officials said Sunday that a NATO air strike in the eastern part of the country killed 16 people, including 11 civilians, a version countered by the international coalition, which said in a statement its attack killed 10…
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

U.S.: Proven link of Assad to gas attack lacking

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, speaks about the health care reform bill, Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at the Interior Department in Washington

WASHINGTON — The White House asserted Sunday that a “common-sense test” dictates the Syrian government is responsible for a chemical weapons attack thatPresident Barack Obama says demands a U.S. military response. But Obama‘s top aide says the…
photo: AP / Gerald Herbert

‘Continued hesitation’ won’t solve Syria problem

'Continued hesitation' won't solve Syria problem

The question of a military intervention in Syria continues to divide the international community. Syria expert Petra Becker sheds light on possible scenarios if the US were to go ahead with such an attack. DW: At the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, it…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

On International Day, UN spotlights literacy as foundation for a more sustainable future

On International Day, UN spotlights literacy as foundation for a more sustainable future

Print 8 September 2013 – United Nations senior officials highlighted the role of literacy in achieving a more sustainable future, stressing that knowledge can help combat poverty and improve people’s livelihoods. “In our knowledge-based…
photo: UN / Evan Schneider

 

Don’t sideline the UN Security Council. Reinvent it for today

08 Sep 2013

 

David Cameron‘s remarks at the G20 summit suggesting that the supporters of a military strike on Syria bypass the UN Security Council have once again cast a harsh light on the workings of a body founded in 1945 with the avowed aim of keeping the world’s peace. If the prime minister has identified a problem, his solution is the worst imaginable…. 
Don't sideline the UN Security Council. Reinvent it for today

 

 

 

 

Olympics 2020: Why Tokyo is a ‘safe pair of hands’ to host Games

Japanese supporters of the Tokyo Bid 2020 team celebrate in Tokyo early Sunday morning, Sept. 8, 2013, upon learning Tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 Olympics at the IOC voting as they watch a live broadcast from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tokyo competed with Madrid, Istanbul for the right to host the 2020 games.

In the end it was a comfortable win – Tokyo beating Istanbul 60-36. In fact Tokyo were so far out in front here that they almost won in the first round. It was all very different four years ago. Then Tokyo polled just 20 votes as they went out in the…
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

Australia’s PM-elect Abbott vows quick action on asylum

Opposition leader Tony Abbott makes a speech to party supporter in Sydney, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013

Australia‘s PM-elect Tony Abbott has said his top priorities are to abolish a tax on carbon emissions and to stop asylum-seekers arriving by boat. Mr Abbott‘s Liberal-National coalition ended the Labor party‘s six-year rule in a…
photo: AP / Rick Rycroft

Pakistan militants preparing for Afghanistan civil war

Pakistan militants preparing for Afghanistan civil war

Published September 08, 2013Associated Press August 15, 2013: Asmatullah Muawiya, head of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan Punjab, talks to media at an undisclosed place in Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan. Militants in Pakistan’smost populous…
photo: US Army / Joshua B. Dwyer

Suicide Crisis Among Active-Duty Troops and Veterans: Time for Action

Suicide Crisis Among Active-Duty Troops and Veterans: Time for Action

It is difficult that America has lost so many young men and women in the wars inIraq and AfghanistanIt hurts, and yet we expect casualties when there is war. We honor our fallen and still active troops and veterans with gratitude whenever we can….
photo: US Army / Joshua B. Dwyer

More motorcycle companies report increasing sales

More motorcycle companies report increasing sales

The good economic news keeps coming. The latest motorcycle manufacturers to report good sales figures are Harley-Davidson and Ducati. Harley today released its fourth quarter world-wide sales results for…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Putin says Russia will help Syria if US launches strikes

Putin says Russia will help Syria if US launches strikes

MoscowSeptember 07Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summitreportedly said that Russia will help Syria if US launches strikes. Putin said that Russia is already helping Syria with weapons and cooperating in the economic and humanitarian…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

 

Kevin Rudd faces protests as he votes in Brisbane

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, center right, and wife Therese Rein, center left, are greeted by well wishers after casting their votes in Brisbane, Australia Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013.

Asylum seeker activists held placards and yelled: ‘Refugees are welcome here!’ The leaders cast their votes, amid some chaotic scenes “Ah, the vultures onVulture Street,” a protester yelled as the media covering Kevin Rudd arrived ahead…
photo: AP / John Pryke

Salt Lake to become regional firefighting hub

Salt Lake to become regional firefighting hub

The Bureau of Land Management on Friday announced a consolidation of regional wildfire-coordination efforts in Salt Lake City next year in a cost-saving move. BLMis combining the Eastern Great Basin and Western Great Basin coordination centers,…
photo: US DoD / Ed Drew

Kerry to push EU for support on Syria strikes

Kerry to push EU for support on Syria strikes

US Secretary of State John Kerry will seek to rally EU support for military strikes against Syria after a G20 summit failed to resolve bitter divisions betweenWashington and Moscow. Kerry on Saturday will press the case for punitive action against…
photo: US DoD / Daniel Hinton

Obama returns to US to face Congress battle over Syria

President Barack Obama gestures during his news conference at the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013.

President Barack Obama has returned to the US from the G20 summit in St Petersburg, which failed to produce international agreement on military action inSyria. Mr Obama faces a tough week of trying to persuade Congress to authorise military action…
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Where G20 members stand on military action against Syria

Where G20 members stand on military action against Syria

President Barack Obama had mixed results as he lobbied members of the G20leading world economies to bolster international support for a military response to the Syrian government‘s alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians. Here is…
photo: EC / EC

Egypt government dissolves Brotherhood NGO – report

Egyptian security personnel investigate the scene of a bomb attack targeting the convoy of Egypt's Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt‘s army-backed government has dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood as a registered non-governmental organization, the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday, pressing a crackdown on deposed…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Kenya moves to leave international court

FILE - In this Saturday, March 2, 2013 file photo, then Kenyan Presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and his running mate William Ruto, right, talk together at the final election rally of Kenyatta's The National Alliance party at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's parliament began action Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013 to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, just before the country's President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto face trial at The Hague for allegedly inciting post-election violence, although even if Kenya formally withdraws from the Rome Statute the country is still obligated to cooperate with the court for the two trials.

TOM ODULA Associated Press= NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) â?? Kenya’s parliament on Thursday passed a motion to withdraw from the International Criminal Court just before the country’s president and deputy president face trial at The Hague for allegedly…
photo: AP / Ben Curtis, File