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Ukraine’s Poroshenko vows to ‘attack’ rebels as ceasefire dropped

Full ArticleSouth China Morning Post 

01 Jul 2014

 

Ukraine’s Western-backed president has decided to resume a military offensive against pro-Russian separatists in the country’s restive east after opting not to prolong a shaky truce, a move that threatens to escalate the deadly conflict. “After examining the situation I have decided, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, not to extend the… 

Pro-Russian fighters gather to take an oath in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Saturday, June 21, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicolas Sarkozy arrested over ‘influence peddling’

01 Jul 2014

 

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was held today for questioning over suspicions that a network of informers kept him abreast of a separate inquiry into alleged irregularities in his 2007 election campaign, a legal source said. It was the first time a former head of state had been held for questioning… 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy gestures while speaking during a final press conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Saturday, May 8, 2010.

DF's Nahal Brigade conducting a search in the Hebron area

Netanyahu is pledging retaliation against Hamas, but his intelligence minister says the Palestinian Authority is supposed to prevent terrorist acts like the killing of three Israelis. The discovery Monday by Israel Defense Forces(IDF) of the bodies
photo: Creative Commons / Israel Defense Forces

 A Muslim man walks past a church gate decorated with paintings of Jesus Christ in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday April 10, 2005. Winding its way across Africa is an invisible faultline between a mainly Muslim north and a majority Christian south. Across this fro

Lagos – An attack on churches in north-east Nigeria blamed on Boko Haram killed more than 50 people, an official said on Monday, overshadowing festivities ahead of a last-16 World Cup match against France.Gunmen stormed Sunday services in four
photo: AP Photo

Rolf Harris

Veteran TV personality Rolf Harris was today found guilty of 12 indecent assaults at Southwark Crown CourtThe Australian entertainer was found guilty after more than a week of deliberation by jurors. Harris, 84, was found guilty of the assaults on
photo: GFDL /

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, right, walks from number 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday, April 25, 2012.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called Jean-Claude Juncker to congratulate the man he tried to block from becoming president of theEuropean CommissionCameron‘s failure to prevent Juncker getting the job after a bitter campaign was seen as
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

Afghans battle for strategic Helmand after U.S. troops pull out

LASHKAR GAH Afghanistan (Reuters) – Afghan forces battled the Taliban in southern Helmand province on Monday for a second week, officials and residents said on Monday, seeking to reassert control over a strategic district just weeks after the
photo: US Army / Nikayla Shodeen

A human brain, left, and a cross section of a human brain which suffered a massive stroke, injected with a polymer preservative, are on display during a press preview of "Bodies...The Exhibition", Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005 in New York. The exhibit which feature 22 whole body specimens, as well as more than 260 additional organs and body specimens opens at the South Street Seaport, Nov. 19, 2005.

New York, June 30: In a boost to optogenetics, a technology allowing scientists to control brain activity by shining light on neurons, the first light-sensitive molecule that enables neurons to be silenced non-invasively using a light source outside
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

Uruguay's President Jose Mujica is named president of the South American trading bloc Mercosur, during their summit at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Dec. 7, 2012.

Montevideo – Uruguay‘s President Jose Mujica has slammedFifa leaders as “sons of bitches” for banning the country’s star striker Luis Suarezover his infamous World Cup bite. Mujica called the four month ban on all football activity
photo: AP / Cadu Gomes

 

 

 

 

Putin Is Just Getting Started in Ukraine

Forget reports that the Russian president has wound down his campaign of interference in east Ukraine. Just the opposite is true— it’s getting much worse.

 

 

 

Fury at ‘creepy’ Facebook experiment to manipulate users’ emotions

30 Jun 2014

 

Facebook users have reacted angrily to a “creepy” experiment carried out by the social network and two American universities to manipulate their emotions. The UStechnology giant secretly altered almost 700,000 users’ news feeds to study the impact of “emotional contagion”. It tinkered with the algorithm controlling users’ feeds to find out what… 
A Palestinian youth displaying a logo Facebook and the WhatsApp's on the computer and Galaxy in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2014. Facebook Inc's purchase of fast-growing mobile-messaging start-up WhatsApp for 9 billion stunned the markets but analysts said the deal made strategic sense as it will solidify the social network's position as a leader in mobile. Photo Ahmed Deeb / WN

 

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, left, gestures as he and Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili, leave a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, Thursday, June 12, 2014.

In a long-awaited move, Georgia signed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) on June 27, cementing the country’s political and economic ties firmly with the West. In a signing ceremony in Brussels, Georgia joined Moldova and Ukraine
photo: AP / Shakh Aivazov

Residents stand at the entrance of a house on a flooded street at Vila Itaim neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011.

The gaze of the world is fixated on Brazil as they host this year’s World Cup. But outside the stadiums a severe week of weather has wreaked havoc on tens of thousands. On Sunday officials in Brazil revised earlier estimates, now saying that 50,000
photo: AP / Nelson Antoine

Netherlands' Arjen Robben reacts following the World Cup final soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, July 11, 2010. Spain won 1-0.

Arjen Robben apologised for diving before winning the decisive injury-time penalty in the Netherland’s FIFA World Cup victory over Mexico.Louis van Gaal‘s men, who topped Group B, were staring at elimination in Sunday’s last-16 clash until Wesley
photo: AP / Luca Bruno

Netherlands' Arjen Robben celebrates after socring his side's third goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Uruguay and the Netherlands at the Green Point stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

Why not? Everything else has happened in this World Cup, so why not a totally unpredictable, crazy, controversial, mind-boggling ending that nobody saw coming. You know it’s a crazy game when both the loser and the winner are stunned. Mexico
photo: AP / Fernando Vergara

File - People watch TV reporting North Korea's missile test at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 4, 2014.

Jiji Press SEOUL (Jiji Press)—North Korea fired two projectiles that are believed to be Scud short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Sunday, officials of South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said. The
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Oscar Pistorius, right, accompanied by a relative, arrives at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, April 10, 2014. Pistorius is charged with murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The murder trial of Oscar Pistoriusresumes Monday after one month during which mental health experts evaluated the athlete to determine if he has an anxiety disorder that could have influenced his actions on the night he killed
photo: AP / Themba Hadebe

NBI - National Bureau of Investigation Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office

Security forces in DavaoCagayan de Oro, and Iligan cities have been alerted, prompting local officials to put up checkpoints, said a senior military intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official said based on information
photo: WN / RTayco

World Cup: It’s in the woodwork for Brazil to advance

29 Jun 2014

 

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil • Tight and tense as it was, it was enough to keep Brazil’s national obsession of winning the World Cup on home soil from taking a desperately disappointing turn. And it wasn’t Neymar, the country’s poster boy for this year’s World Cup, who played the key role this time. It was goalkeeper Julio Cesar, the country’s scapegoat… 

Brazil soccer fans celebrate after their team scored a penalty shot against Chile as they watch the World Cup round of 16 match on TV outside the Vai Vai Samba school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, June 28, 2014.

 

 

 

U.S. Military Enlistment Recruiters Reject 71 Percent Of Applicants For Army, Navy, Marines, And Air Force

In a related report by The Inquisitr, even though President Obama recently touted the Afghanistan war ending, and how many US troops will be coming home, he’d still like to keep a military unit of about 10,000 soldiers stationed there for years
photo: USMC / Michael Dye

Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar, centre, is greeted by teammates

The Associated Press BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP)—Brazil advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win overChile following a tense and thrilling battle that ended 1-1 after extra time. Neymar,David Luiz and Marcelo
photo: AP / Martin Meissner

Serena Williams of the U.S attends a press conference

LONDON (AP) — Five-time champion Serena Williams lost to 25th-seeded Alize Cornet of France 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon on Saturday. It’s Williams‘ earliest exit at the All England Club since 2005, when she also was beaten in the
photo: AP / AELTC, Scott Heavey

Sloviansk ( Slaviansk ) city council under control of armed forces.

VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press= MOSCOW (AP) â?? Pro-Russian insurgents on Saturday released a second team of observers from theOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who had been held captive since the end of May, the
photo: Creative Commons / Yevgen Nasadyuk

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

CAIRO: Gunmen killed four Egyptian policemen in the restive northern Sinai on Saturday, a security source said, with police blaming the attack on “takfiri” jihadist militants. Militants in
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

File - An Iraqi scout team leader signals to his troops to move forward during partnered training with paratroopers of 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade) during training for upcoming partnered missions at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2009.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi troops backed by helicopter gunships launched an operation early Saturday aimed at dislodging Sunni militants from the northern city of Tikrit, one of two major urban centers they seized in recent weeks in a dramatic blitz across the
photo: US Army / Spc. Michael J. MacLeod

In this picture taken on March 7, 2011, Pakistan army soldiers take positions in the Pakistani tribal area of Ditta Kheil in North Waziristan where the Pakistan army are fighting against militants and al-Qaida activists along the Afghanistan border.

Pakistani jets killed 17 militants in the latest raid on rebel hideouts in the country’s restive northwest, officials said on Saturday. The planes bombarded hideouts in the Dargamandi and Chashma Gaon areas of North Waziristan late on Friday, as aid
photo: AP / Mohammad Iqbal

 

 

BP seeks to wrest back Gulf of Mexico compensation

Full ArticleBBC News 

28 Jun 2014

 

BP has asked a US court to order a “vast number” of businesses to repay part of the compensation awards they were paid in the wake of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil firm said the administrator in charge of processing… 

In this Wednesday, April 21, 2010 aerial file photo taken in the Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, an oil slick is seen as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns.

Panamanian presidential security detail walks on the deck aboard a North Korean-flagged ship at the Manzanillo International container terminal on the coast of Colon City, Panama, Tuesday, July 16, 2013.

PANAMA CITY (AP) â?? A Panamanian court has acquitted the captain and two other officers of charges stemming from the seizure of a North Korean ship last July for carrying undeclared
photo: AP / rnulfo Franco

Mark Reuss, General Motors North America President, speaks at the debut of the 2014 GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado in Pontiac, Mich., Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

General Motors Co announced on Friday that it would recall 428,211 more vehicles in the United States, including new four-wheel drive pickups and SUVs with a software problem that could cause the vehicles to automatically switch to neutral and roll
photo: AP / Paul Sancya

The Israeli army's new Heron unmanned drone aircraft for surveillance missions flies during a display at the Palmahim Air Force Base , Israel, Wednesday, March 7, 2007. With its 16.6 meter (54-foot) wingspan and ability to fly for as long as 30 hours at a time, at a speed of 120 knots (140 mph, 225 kph) and a height of 9,000 meters (30,000 feet), the Heron is Israel's latest and most advanced weapon in the booming field of drone technology, air force officers said.

The US has armed drones flying over Baghdad to protect US troops that recently arrived to assess Iraq‘s deteriorating security, the Pentagonsaid. For more than a week the military has been flying manned and unmanned aircraft over Iraq, averaging a
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

British Prime Minister David Cameron talks with journalists as he arrives for an EU summit in Brussels

BattlegroundBritish Prime Minister David Cameronaddresses the media after the vote. Photo: AP Britain moved a step closer to leaving the European Union on Friday after David Cameron declared “war” on Brusselsover the nomination of
photo: AP / Geert Vanden Wijngaert

Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco, USA

San Francisco‘s iconic Golden Gate Bridge moved a big step closer to getting an oft-debated suicide barrier after bridge officials on Friday approved a $76 million funding package for a net system that would prevent people from jumping to their
photo: Creative Commons / Pemolo

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

MINNEAPOLIS — Blasting the GOP as wilfully indifferent toAmerican struggles, President Barack Obama issued a rebuke Friday to Republicanattempts to thwart his economic agenda, offering a stark contrast that Democratshope will yield electoral
photo: AP / Gerald Herbert

 A sperm cell fusing with an ovum. - agm1

The UK is facing a major sperm shortage that may be tempting fertility clinics to accept poorer quality sperm, the British Fertility Society(BFS) warns. Some clinics rely on imported sperm to keep up with demand. However, the BFS chairman, Dr Allan
photo: Public Domain File

Rights group: Iraq militants executed 160 captives

27 Jun 2014

 

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi insurgents executed at least 160 captives earlier this month in the northern city of TikritHuman Rights Watch said Friday, citing an analysis of satellite imagery and grisly photos released by the militants. The U.S.-based rights group said militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant killed between 160 and 190 men… 
This file image posted on a militant website on Saturday, June 14, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, appears to show militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leading away captured Iraqi soldiers dressed in plain clothes after taking over a base in Tikrit, Iraq.

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011.

Prime minister attacks the frontrunner for the leadership who he says has been dedicated to increasing the power of Brussels Jean-Claude Juncker, right, arrives for a European People’s party meeting in Kortrijk, Belgium.Photograph: Thierry
photo: AP / Michel Euler

A Google logo is shown at Google offices, Oct. 17, 2012 in New York.

BrusselsGoogle has started removing some search results in the European Union after an EU court told it last month to respond to requests by people seeking the
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

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

London: Former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually assaulted victims aged five to 75 in NHS hospitals over decades of unrestricted access, it has emerged. He assaulted patients in bed, and claimed to have abused corpses, reviews into his conduct on
photo: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth

This artist’s impression made available by the European Southern Observatory Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, shows the remarkable planetary system around the Sun-like star HD 10180.

Astronomers aren’t being poetic when they say this star is a diamond. Scientists have identified what is possibly the coldest white dwarf ever detected. In fact, this dim stellar corpse is so cold that its carbon has crystallized, effectively forming
photo: AP / ESO, L. Calcada

File - Ugandan troops, as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), advanced with troops from the Somali National Army (SNA) on three towns in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia, Janaale, Aw Dheegle, and Barrire, which fell to the allied forces with little resistance from the terrorist group Al-Shabab

At least two foreign peacekeepers have been killed in Somaliafollowing an attack on a military base by militant Islamist group al-Shabab.Gunmen stormed the base in the central town of Bulo-burde, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire, residents
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

Suarez can kiss goodbye to the World Cup

Luis Suarez‘s career for club and country is in jeopardy withFifa prepared to throw the book at the disgraced striker following his latest biting incident. The Uruguayan striker is facing disciplinary action following his bite onGiorgio Chiellini
photo: AP / Jon Super

A child drinking water

Children should be given only water to drink at teatime to help tackle the obesity crisis, experts argue. A group of nutritional scientists said sugary drinks were empty calories, damaged health and contributed to obesity. They argued people were
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Suarez Gets Four-Month Ban For Italy Bite

The Uruguay star is out of the World Cup and will miss the start of the Premier League season after Fifa revealed his punishment.

Luis Suarez Uruguay World Cup

Video: Fifa Announces Four-Month Ban For Suarez

Iraqi cleric pushes for emergency government

26 Jun 2014A

 

Iraq‘s powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for a national emergency government and promised to “shake the ground” under the feet of advancingSunni rebels, a day after Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, rejected any attempts to undermine his rule. Sadr, whose movement, the Mahdi army, battled the US forces during Washington’s nearly… 
Radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 6, 2010.

 

 

File - Ugandan troops, as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), advanced with troops from the Somali National Army (SNA) on three towns in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia, Janaale, Aw Dheegle, and Barrire, which fell to the allied forces with little resistance from the terrorist group Al-Shabab

At least two foreign peacekeepers have been killed in Somaliafollowing an attack on a military base by militant Islamist group al-Shabab.Gunmen stormed the base in the central town of Bulo-burde, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire, residents
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

A child drinking water

Children should be given only water to drink at teatime to help tackle the obesity crisis, experts argue. A group of nutritional scientists said sugary drinks were empty calories, damaged health and contributed to obesity. They argued people were
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Gay rights advocate Booker Garrett, of Manhattan, chants slogans during a rally for same sex marriage outside the LGBT gala fundraiser where President Barack Obama spoke, Thursday, June 23, 2011 in New York.

By Daniel Wallis DENVER (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that conservative Utah may not ban gay couples from marrying, a decision that capped a day of victories for same-sex nuptials and nudges the issue closer to the U.S. Supreme
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

An LG G Watch shown during a presentation at the W Hotel during Google I/O

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. touted new models of smart watches, connected cars and Internet-enabled TVs on Wednesday, all based on the company’s Android software, as the giant tech company showed its determination to extend its services into just
photo: AP / Jed Jacobsohn

Ridley Scott speaking at the 2012 WonderCon in Anaheim, California.

It has already been revealed that Ridley Scott‘s next film will be The Martian, starring Matt Damon. But details on its production have been skimmed, until now, as screenwriter and producer Simon Kinberg revealed that filming is supposed to begin
photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

Uruguay's Luis Suarez holds his teeth after running into Italy's Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder during the group D World Cup soccer match between Italy and Uruguay at the Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

RIO DE JANEIRO: FIFA said it has opened a disciplinary probe against Luis Suarez of Uruguay for allegedly biting an Italian opponent during aWorld Cup game Tuesday. Full CoverageWorld Cup 2014 | Points Table | Schedule &Results Uruguay won the
photo: AP / Ricardo Mazalan

Uruguay's Luis Suarez holds his teeth after running into Italy's Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder during the group D World Cup soccer match between Italy and Uruguay at the Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

Luis Suarez should maybe consider eating before a big game, after he was once again seen allegedly taking a bite out of another player. During today’s (June 24) Uruguay v Italy World Cup match, Suarez appeared to headbutt Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini
photo: AP / Ricardo Mazalan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nigerian Terrorists Abduct Another 91 Children

24 Jun 2014

 

Islamist militants have reportedly taken another 60 girls and 31 boys in northeastNigeria, compounding a crisis that began in April when the same group kidnapped more than 200 girls. The latest abductions were made public on Tuesday by theAssociated Press, whose reporters couldn’t safely verify the information. Nigerians reportedly witnessed the… 
Abubakar shekau

 

 

 

Uruguay's Luis Suarez holds his teeth after running into Italy's Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder during the group D World Cup soccer match between Italy and Uruguay at the Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

Luis Suarez should maybe consider eating before a big game, after he was once again seen allegedly taking a bite out of another player. During today’s (June 24) Uruguay v Italy World Cup match, Suarez appeared to headbutt Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini
photo: AP / Ricardo Mazalan

Barack Obama meets with Petro Poroshenko, June 5th 2014

KIEVUkraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president says he may terminate a weeklong cease-fire ahead of time because of continuing rebel attacks.President Petro Poroshenko‘s statement Tuesday came hours after pro-Russian insurgents in Slovyansk downed a
photo: Creative Commons / White House / Pete Souza

In this Aug. 2, 2009 file photo, a British Airways Boeing 747 taxis away from Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport

At least the airline didn’t mix up the cities of Paris andDetroit. That would have been a very unfortunate surprise. Edward Gamson, anAmerican dentist, and his partner booked a trip to the Spanish city of Granadathrough British Airways. They were
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

The Sea Based X-Band Radar (SBX 1) departs Pearl Harbor, en route to its homeport in Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands.

JUNEAU Alaska (Reuters) – A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck deep under the ocean floor near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, triggering shaking felt over vast distances and setting off a small tsunami, the National TsunamiWarning Center said. A tsunami
photo: US Navy / Chief Journalist Joe Kane

British Prime Minister David Cameron's former chief communications adviser and former editor of the News of the World Andy Coulson, centre, after appearing in Westminster Magistrates Court on phone hacking charges, in London Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012.

JILL LAWLESS Associated PressLONDON (AP) â?? Two powerful British political insiders met starkly different fates Tuesday as formerNews of the World editor Andy Coulson was convicted of phone hacking but fellow editor Rebekah Brooks was acquitted,
photo: AP / Alastair Grant

Anti-Balaka Christian militiamen walk through a forest clearing outside Central African Republic's capital Bangui Sunday Dec. 15, 2013.

RABAT, Morocco — In the early hours of Monday morning, aChristian militia swept down on the village of Ardo-Djobi near Bambari in theCentral African Republic killing 18 Muslims of the Fulani ethnicity. Just a few days earlier, Muslim gunmen
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

Anti-Balaka Christan youth loot the Muslim market in the PK13 district of Bangui, Central African Republic, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014.

BANGUI (Reuters) – At least 22 people have been killed in two days of clashes in Central African Republic, witnesses said on Tuesday, as foreign troops struggle to curb cycles of violence between Muslim and Christiancommunities. Witnesses in
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

 

Iraq claims control of Baiji oil refinery

24 Jun 2014

 

Iraq’s foreign minister has said government forces are back in control of an important oil refinery after days of fighting with Sunni rebels led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Hoshyar Zebari told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that special forces soldiers had taken over the Baiji refinery, after almost a week of fighting. Sunni rebels had… 
A column of smoke rises from an oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 19, 2014.

 

 

 

Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany gestures to his team as he leaves his pit lane garage during the first practice session at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne,Friday, March 26, 2010.

GenevaMedical records purported to be those of Michael Schumacher have been offered for sale and officials are investigating the theft, his agent said, one week after the seven-times Formula One champion came out of a coma. The German driver, who
photo: AP / Mark Baker

 Pesticide spray (sl1)

Neonicotinoid pesticides are causing significant damage to a wide range of beneficial species and are a key factor in the decline of bees, say scientists. Researchers, who have carried out a four-year review of the literature, say the evidence of
photo: creative commons

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.

Facebook Follow @washtimes Should Congress make Englishthe official language of the U.S.View results Sen. Rand Paul, in his appearance onNBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, refused to criticize President Obama’s handling of
photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

In this picture released by the official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, President-elect Hasan Rouhani, right, and outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sit, in an official endorsement ceremony for Rouhani, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013.

ANBAR, Iraq – Iran‘s supreme leader accused the United States on Sunday of trying to retake control of Iraq by exploiting sectarian rivalries, as Sunni insurgents drove toward Baghdad from new strongholds along the Syrianborder. Ayatollah Ali
photo: AP / Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader

Police officers clash with Kosovo Albanians displaying Albanian flags as they demonstrate against Serbia's local elections held in the Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica, Sunday, May 30, 2010.

Police in Kosovo fired teargas and rubber bullets at ethnicAlbanian rioters burning police cars and lobbing rocks in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, in protest at the blockade of the main bridge by ethnic Serbs. A Reuters reporter saw
photo: AP / Visar Kryeziu

Afghanistan's presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 15, 2014

Kabul: The campaign team of Afghan presidential candidateAbdullah Abdullah on Sunday released audio recordings which they said contained evidence of fraud against a
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini

Alstom headquarters

Travel deals PARIS – (AP) — The final obstacle to GE’s $17 billion takeover of Alstom’s power division has been overcome after the French government agreed to terms with the French engineering company’s main shareholder. Economy minister Arnaud
photo: Creative Commons / Tangopaso

 

 

 

 

 

Sunni militants make major gains in western Iraq

23 Jun 2014

 

Baghdad — Sunni militants have blitzed through the vast desert of western Iraq, capturing four towns and three border crossings and deepening the predicament of the Shiite-led government in Baghdad led by Nouri al-Maliki. The latest military victories – including two border posts captured Sunday, one along the frontier withJordan and the other… 
A fighter with the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) distributes a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, to a driver in central northern city of Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, June 22, 2014.

 

 

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky speaking at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.

Facebook Follow @washtimes Should Congress make Englishthe official language of the U.S.View results Sen. Rand Paul, in his appearance onNBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, refused to criticize President Obama’s handling of
photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

In this picture released by the official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, President-elect Hasan Rouhani, right, and outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sit, in an official endorsement ceremony for Rouhani, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013.

ANBAR, Iraq – Iran‘s supreme leader accused the United States on Sunday of trying to retake control of Iraq by exploiting sectarian rivalries, as Sunni insurgents drove toward Baghdad from new strongholds along the Syrianborder. Ayatollah Ali
photo: AP / Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader

Police officers clash with Kosovo Albanians displaying Albanian flags as they demonstrate against Serbia's local elections held in the Serb-dominated part of Mitrovica, Sunday, May 30, 2010.

Police in Kosovo fired teargas and rubber bullets at ethnicAlbanian rioters burning police cars and lobbing rocks in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, in protest at the blockade of the main bridge by ethnic Serbs. A Reuters reporter saw
photo: AP / Visar Kryeziu

Afghanistan's presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 15, 2014

Kabul: The campaign team of Afghan presidential candidateAbdullah Abdullah on Sunday released audio recordings which they said contained evidence of fraud against a
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini

In this photo taken on Friday, July 20, 2012, Chinese fishing boats sail in the lagoon of Meiji reef off the island province of Hainan in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese protesters chant anti-China slogans at a demonstration in HanoiPhoto: AP Beijing: China will be firm in upholding its territorial integrity and believes disputes in the region should be settled through direct talks with the countries
photo: AP

South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The military searched Sunday for an armed South Korean soldier who fled after killing five of his comrades and wounding seven at an outpost near the North Korean border. The sergeant, identified only by his surname, Yim,
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

A French soldier waves to children as his jeep patrols between the airstrip and a makeshift camp housing an estimated 100,000 displaced people, at Mpoko Airport, in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014.

An international organization says a surging fight between two warlords in South Sudan could leave thousands of children starving, even dead, by the end of the year. The report from UNICEF calls out South SudanPresident Salva Kiir and his former
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

 

 

Pope Francis Declares War On The Mafia

21 Jun 2014

 

See Also Pope Francis journeyed Saturday to the heart of Italy’s biggest crime syndicate and declared that all mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church. During his one-day pilgrimage to the southern region ofCalabria — the power base of the ‘ndrangheta, a global drug trafficking syndicate that… 
Pope Francis celebrates a Mass in Sibari, southern Italy, Saturday, June 21, 2014

 

 

In this photo taken on Friday, July 20, 2012, Chinese fishing boats sail in the lagoon of Meiji reef off the island province of Hainan in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese protesters chant anti-China slogans at a demonstration in HanoiPhoto: AP Beijing: China will be firm in upholding its territorial integrity and believes disputes in the region should be settled through direct talks with the countries
photo: AP

South Korean army soldiers patrol along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The military searched Sunday for an armed South Korean soldier who fled after killing five of his comrades and wounding seven at an outpost near the North Korean border. The sergeant, identified only by his surname, Yim,
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

A French soldier waves to children as his jeep patrols between the airstrip and a makeshift camp housing an estimated 100,000 displaced people, at Mpoko Airport, in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014.

An international organization says a surging fight between two warlords in South Sudan could leave thousands of children starving, even dead, by the end of the year. The report from UNICEF calls out South SudanPresident Salva Kiir and his former
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Pope Francis waves to faithful after celebrating his first Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 31, 2013.

POPE Francis has launched a scathing attack on organised crime during a trip to the heartland of a feared syndicate. The pontiff declared all mafia members “excommunicated” from the Catholic Church. The mafia “is the adoration of
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

From right, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin's Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev walk after Putin's state-of-the nation address in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012.

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has expressed support forUkraine‘s unilateral ceasefire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and appealed to both sides to halt all military operations. But he warned that Ukrainian President Petro
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service

A Palestinians with waits to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip on June 18, 2014. Egyptian authorities partially reopened Rafah border crossing, Gaza's main window to the world, on Tuesday for two days, Palestinian border officials said. Since the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, the authorities have largely kept the crossing closed, only opening it partially for limited periods of time, on humanitarian grounds. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Israel has sent more troops to the occupied West Bank to search for three missing teenagers it says were abducted by the Palestinian group Hamas. The military said it arrested 10 Palestinians on Saturday and that some 1,350 sites in the West Bank had
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

File - Robert H. Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, addresses the Security Council’s high-level meeting on peace and security in the Middle East.

June 21: Israel‘s foreign minister said today the UN’s special envoy could be declared persona non grata for offering to help transfer Qatarifunds to the Gaza StripAvigdor Lieberman said Robert Serry, the world body’s special envoy on the Middle
photo: UN / Evan Schneider

 

 

Iraq militants take border post with Syria

21 Jun  2014

 

Reuters Image Caption: Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadrparticipate in military-style training in the street in Basra (reuters tickers) June 21, 2014 – 10:15 By Kamal Namaa BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Sunni fighters seized a border post on the Iraq-Syria frontier on Saturday, smashing a line drawn in 1932 by colonial… 
Iraqi refugees sit at the Khazir refugee camp outside Irbil north Iraq, Friday, June 20, 2014.

Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa talks to the media in Ljubljana, Slovenia Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. Exit polls and partial results from Slovenian parliamentary elections Sunday showed the opposition Social Democrats holding a razor-thin lead over the party of Prime Minister Janez Jansa

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa has gone to prison to serve a two-year sentence for bribery in an arms deal with a Finnish company. Some 2,000 banner-waving
photo: AP / Darko Bandic

Vladimir Putin , Angela Merkel and Petro Poroshenko at celebrating the 70th anniversary of D-Day

Ukraine  president has ordered a unilateral week-long cease-fire against pro-Russia separatists in the country’s east in hopes the move will lead to a broader de-escalation of a conflict that has threatened to bisect
photo: Creative Commons / The Presidential Press and Information Office

Human Trafficking Modern Day Slavery

Arab Spring Reuters June 20, 2014 – 16:59 By DavidBrunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States downgraded Thailand,Malaysia and Venezuela on Friday to its list of the world’s worst centres of human trafficking, opening up the countries to
photo: WN / Bright Mills

Senator Bong Revilla walking along Commonwealth Avenue after he attended the wake of the Executive Minister of Iglesia Ni Cristo in the INC church located in  Quezon City , Philippines , September 29 , 2009.

Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla became the first politician detained following a massive corruption scandal allegedly involving dozens of lawmakers. APhilippine senator who rose to fame as an action movie hero was arrested on Friday, becoming the first
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo

In this photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi seen during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, not seen, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Berlusconi arrived on a private visit

MILAN (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi‘s appeal of his conviction for abuse of office and paying for sex with a minor began on Friday, opening a new legal battle that could severely limit any active political role for the former Italian prime minister.
photo: AP / Alexei Nikols

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a press conference

BEIJING: Seeking to allay fears over China’s expansionist agenda, Premier Li Keqiang said territorial expansion is not part of the Chinese DNAand the country will never indulge in it. “Expansion is not in the Chinese DNA, nor
photo: AP / Ng Han Guan

England's Wayne Rooney handles the ball during the group D World Cup soccer match between Uruguay and England at the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, June 19, 2014. Uruguay defeated England 2-1.

When it comes to England even low expectations can be dashed. When they were drawn against Italy and Uruguay, FA chairman Greg Dykeran his finger across his throat. On a cold, grey night in Sao Paulo, we discovered how right he was, as England
photo: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth

Scientists Have A New Theory About The 1 Billion-Year Pause In Evolution

 

 

 

 

Iraq crisis: Fierce battles for Baiji and Tal Afar

20 Jun 2014

 

Islamist-led militants and pro-government forces are engaged in fierce battles for the Baiji oil refinery and Tal Afar airport in northern IraqBaiji, Iraq‘s biggest refinery, is surrounded by the rebels, who say they have seized most of Tal Afar airport. The fighting comes a day after the US said it would send some 300 military advisers to… 
Al-Qaeda inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint outside Beiji refinery, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, June 19, 2014. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a press conference

BEIJING: Seeking to allay fears over China’s expansionist agenda, Premier Li Keqiang said territorial expansion is not part of the Chinese DNAand the country will never indulge in it. “Expansion is not in the Chinese DNA, nor
photo: AP / Ng Han Guan

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with FBI Director Robert Mueller to receive an update on the explosions that occurred in Boston, in the Oval Office, April 15, 2013.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama insisted on Thursday that his decision to send military advisers to Iraq and consider targeted strikes against insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group did not meanU.S. troops would again be at war in
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy

WASHINGTON — Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California capped a meteoric rise through the ranks of power on Thursday, winning election as House majority leader as Republicans shuffled their leadership in the wake of Rep. Eric Cantor‘s primary defeat in
photo: Creative Commons

In this Feb. 10, 2014 file photo, Kenyan gays and lesbians and others supporting their cause wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a rare protest, against Uganda's increasingly tough stance against homosexuality and in solidarity with their counterparts there, outside the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Feb. 10, 2014.

By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday cut aid to Uganda, imposed visa restrictions and canceled a regional military exercise in response to a Ugandan law that imposes harsh penalties on homosexuality. The
photo: AP / Ben Curtis, File

The Future European Extremely Large Telescope.

Officials with the European Southern Observatory made way for the future European-Extremely Large Telescope on June 19, 2014 with a modest explosive blast atop a mountain in ChileCreditESO View full size image A modest mountaintop blast in Chile
photo: Creative Commons / HHahn

Leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie, bottom center, and senior Brotherhood figurer Salah Soltan, right, gesture, during an appearance at a courtroom in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court signalled on Thursday that it wanted death sentences for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 13 other defendants charged with murder and firearms possession, when it referred the case to the country’s
photo: AP / Mohammed Abu Zaid

Palestinians watch rescue workers as they search for the bodies of three Hamas militants inside a tunnel targeted by an Israeli air strike, near the border between Israel and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 2, 2013. The Israeli air strike killed the three militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Islamist group Hamas said, while the Israeli army said five of its soldiers were wounded by an explosive device. The Israeli military said the fighting erupted when an explosive device went off as troops were clearing a tunnel from the Gaza Strip into Israel, allegedly to be used as a springboard for militant attacks. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Jerusalem/Ramallah, June 19: Israeli security forces arrested 30 Palestinians in predawn raids in the West Bank as they continued searching for three Jewish youths abducted in the area a week ago, the Israeli military said Thursday. Previously, some
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe becomes king

19 Jun 2014

 

Spain‘s Crown Prince Felipe ascended to the Spanish throne at midnight on Wednesday, but there weren’t any ritzy official celebrations. The economic crisis that has left a quarter of Spaniards out of work prompted Europe‘s newest king to be relatively frugal at his proclamation. The former king, 76-year-old Juan Carlos, misjudged public anger at… 
Spain's Queen Sofia, left sits with King Juan Carlos, 2nd left, Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, 3rd left and Princess Letizia before signing an abdication law during a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid

 

 

 

 KLdy1 - Sept06 - computer - laptop WiFi - wireless connection - internet - internet users - technology. (dy1)

Tens of thousands of paedophiles are using the so-called dark net to trade images of sexual abuse, an investigation by BBC News indicates. One site receives as many as 500 page views per second, its founder says. Figures from another site suggest
photo

A Philippine flag stands amongst the damage caused after powerful Typhoon Haiyan slammed into Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013.

June 19, 2014 — Updated 0234 GMT (1034 HKT) Editor’s note:Drag the slider left or right to see how the locations just after the storm and six months later (CNN) — When Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines onNovember 8, 2013, it struck
photo: AP / Aaron Favila

Adult male  jumping spider

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Xinhua) — Spiders from at least eight different families can prey on small fish and “fishing spiders” are probably geographically widespread, occurring on all continents except Antarctica, according to a study published
photo: Public Domain / Kaldari

Auschwitz concentration camp.

An 89-year-old man accused of aiding and abetting the killing of 216,000 Jews as a Nazi camp guard at the concentration camp located inAuschwitz, Poland, during World War II, has been arrested in Philadelphia. Johann “Hans” Breyer, who emigrated to
photo: Creative Commons / Grippenn

Spain's head coach Vicente Del Bosque watches the group B World Cup soccer match

Chile has eliminated defending champion Spain from theWorld Cup, beating the Spanish 2-0 in a key Group B match Wednesday. AtMaracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Spain suffered its second loss of the tournament after falling in demonstrative fashion
photo: AP / Christophe Ena

Nigeria supporters root for their team as it plays Costa Rica during the FIFA U20 World Cup soccer tournament in Victoria, Canada, Sunday, July 1, 2007. Decked out in green-and-white striped toques and matching T-shirts, 90 members of the Nigeria Football Supporters' Club followed their men's youth team all the way from western Africa to Victoria for the tournament.

DAMATURU, Nigeria (AP) — An explosion at an illegal World Cup viewing site in northeast Nigeria killed at least 14 people while security forces arrested a “terror kingpin” among nearly 500 people detained as suspected terrorists in the southeast of
photo: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez

A member of the Kenyan security forces walks past the body of one of those who were killed by militants, in the village of Kibaoni just outside the town of Mpeketoni, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Somali border on the coast of Kenya, Monday, June 16, 2014.

Kenyan police have arrested “several” suspects in connection with the twin attacks on the coastal town of Mpeketoni in which at least 60 people were killed, officials have said. The assault on the town of Mpeketoni late on Sunday, and a nearby
photo: AP

 

 

 

Militants lay siege to Iraq’s largest oil refinery

18 Jun 2014

 

BAGHDAD (AP) — Islamic militants laid siege to Iraq‘s largest oil refinery Wednesday, threatening a facility key to the country’s domestic supplies as part of their ongoing lightning offensive, a top security official said. The attack comes militants have seized wide swaths of territory in Iraq — and as the specter of the sectarian warfare that… 
File - In this Monday, Oct. 6, 2003 file photo, an abandoned watchtower and lines of barbed wire are seen surrounding Iraq's largest oil refinery as smoke rises from a petroleum gas flare, in the city of Beiji, north of Baghdad. On Wednesday, June 18, 2014, a top Iraqi security official said Islamic militants of the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant laid siege to Iraq's largest oil refinery late Tuesday night, threatening a facility key to the country's domestic supplies as part of their ongoing lightning offensive across the country. The Beiji refinery accounts for a little more than a quarter of the country's entire refining capacity and any lengthy outage at Beiji risks long lines at the gas pump and electricity shortages, adding to the chaos already facing Iraq.

 

 

 

An Israeli soldier guards the road leading towards a Patriot missile defense battery positioned on the Carmel Mt., not picctured, in northern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012.

Reuters JERUSALEM — Israel re-arrested 51 Palestinians freed in a 2011 prisoner swap deal, the army said on Wednesday, in the sixth day of a hunt for three missing teenagers believed abducted in the occupied West Bank. Israel accuses Hamas
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves to the crowd during celebrations for their successful bid to win U.N. statehood recognition. Palestinian officials said Monday Jan. 7, 2013, they will not rush to issue new passports and ID cards with the emblem "State of Palestine" to avoid confrontation with Israel. Last week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decreed that in official documents "State of Palestine" must replace "Palestinian Authority," the name of his self-rule government

Associated Press= RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) â?? Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday defended his security cooperation withIsrael against widespread criticism and said his forces are helping in the search for three Israeli teens missing
photo: AP / Nasser Shiyoukhi, File

KLdy1 - Mar08 - computer literacy - internet users - web - pc. (dy1)

LONDONThe U.K.’s electronic spy agency is legally allowed to track the online activities of millions of Britons who use U.S.-based platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, Britain’s top counterterrorism official has said. In a
photo: WN / Denise Yong

A chicken is seen as its owner waits for officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to collect at a backyard of the villager in a Hong Kong border village near mainland China, Monday, Feb. 13, 2006. In a precaution against bird flu, a ban against raising poultry at home took effect in Hong Kong Monday. The territory has seen a series of avian flu cases in birds lately.

Washington, June 18: A new research suggests that a dangerous strain of avian influenza, H7N9, that’s causing severe illness and deaths in China may be inhabiting a small fraction of its potential range and appears at risk of spreading to other
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

2007/08/15 Anatomy of a Shooting Star - Annotated Version       A close-up view of a star racing through space faster than a speeding  bullet can be seen in this image from NASA´s Galaxy Evolution Explorer.  The star, called Mira (pronounced My-rah)

The orbiting Gaia telescope will lose some performance because stray light is getting inside the observatory, the European Space Agency(Esa) says. But the impacts are likely to be very small, scientists believe, and the expectation is that all the
photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

France's President Francois Hollande delivers a speech on the situation in Mali at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.

A gruesome vigilante assault on a Roma teenager who is now fighting for his life has shocked France, with President Francois Hollandedubbing the savage beating an “unspeakable and unjustifiable” act. Accused of robbery, the 16-year-old was dragged
photo: AP / Philippe Wojazer

In this Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, Libyan military guards check one of the burnt out buildings at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, during a visit by Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif to express sympathy for the death of American ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and his colleagues in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the consulate.

WASHINGTON — A Libyan militant suspected in the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attack on Americans in Benghazi has been captured and is in U.S.custody, marking the first U.S. apprehension of an alleged perpetrator in the assault that killed U.S.
photo: AP / Mohammad Hannon

 

 

China to Join Naval Exercise as Regional Tensions Rise

17 Jun 2014

 

Later this month, China will for the first time join the massive U.S.-led Rim of thePacific international maritime exercise, known as RIMPACBeijing‘s participation comes as tensions over maritime territorial disputes are growing between China and its Asian neighbors. In recent weeks, Chinese and Vietnamese ships have repeatedly seen… 
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, left, and Chinese counterpart Gen. Fang Fenghui salute during a welcoming ceremony at the Bayi Building in Beijing

 

 

 

 

More than 3 months on, MH370 relatives struggling

17 Jun 2014

 

BEIJING (AP) — In the more than 100 days since her husband disappeared along with Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Zhang Qian‘s world has collapsed. She quit her job, sleeps rarely and prefers not to go out, except to the Buddhist temples where she has found some solace. “At the temple, I can speak from my heart to my husband,” Zhang,… 
File - Lt. Mike Glynn, assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 16, pilots a P-8A Poseidon over the Indian Ocean during a search mission in support of the international effort to locate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, 15 April, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq crisis: U.S. moves firepower to region as ISIS’ advance continues

17 Jun 2014

 

updated 2:32 AM EDT, Tue June 17, 2014 Baghdad (CNN) — As the Islamic militantscontinue their murderous advance in Iraq, the Pentagon is moving more firepower and manpower into the region to prepare for whatever U.S. President Barack Obama orders. Already at the U.S. Embassy, dozens of Marines and Army troops have moved in to beef up security.… 

An F/A-18E Super Hornet attached to the "Tomcatters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31, prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Arabian Gulf, 15 June, 2014.

 

 

 

The body of a passenger aboard the Sewol ferry which sank in the water off the southern coast, is carried by rescue workers upon its arrival at a port in Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, April 20, 2014.

Prosecutors in Incheon who are investigating corruption charges against fugitive ferry owner Yoo Byung-eon and his family have applied for court approval to seize an additional W21.3 billion worth of
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man

Rosemary Banks (left), Permanent Representative of the New Zealand to the United Nations, pays a farewell call on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

New Zealand wants to give up doing peacekeeping work for the sake of being a good global citizen and instead pick missions that benefit our international interests. A review of peacekeeping options also suggests dropping a formal guideline that peace
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Pakistani military forces stand guard during the funeral of victims killed in sectarian clashes last Friday, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013.

Ayaz Gul ISLAMABAD — Pakistani fighter planes have bombed suspected militant sanctuaries in the troubled North Waziristan border region for a second day as part of a long-demanded military offensive. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says the
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox reacts during a hearing at Perugia's court, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Prosecutors are set to make their sentencing requests for an American student and her former boyfriend accused of killing a British woman in Italy.

Mercury is retrograde now and moving back into the previous sign of Gemini. The last time Mercury went retrograde, February 6 – 28, 2014 it also changed signs on February 12th. It was at this time that Amanda Knoxhit the news after she tweeted a
photo: AP / Alessandra Tarantino

People watch the U.S. flag as it is raised during a ceremony marking the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. The embassy in Baghdad is one of the largest U.S. embassies in the wor

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is notifyingCongress that about 275 U.S. military personnel could deploy to IraqObama says the forces are going to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He says the
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Greenpeace's slogan 'Our Climate Our Land' are seen on a plot of land in Sipson, north of Heathrow Airport, in west London,Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Greenpeace revealed that it had bought a section of land on the proposed site of a third runway for Heathrow Airport, and was planning to divide it into tiny pieces in a bid to gridlock the planning process with hundreds of legal chal

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Greenpeace has suffered a 3.8 million-euro ($5.2 million) loss on an ill-timed bet in the currency market by a well-intentioned — if reckless — employee in its finance department. The environmental group, which is based in Amsterdam,
photo: AP / Akira Suemori

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and China's Premier Li Keqiang shake hands after delivering their statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

LONDON (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will arrive in Britain Monday for a visit that includes an unusual meeting with Queen Elizabeth IIand talks aimed at boosting fragile diplomatic relations. The three-day visit — Li’s first since he became
photo: AP / Ed Jones, Pool

 

 

 

 

 

48 die in Kenya town terror attack

Full ArticleBelfast Telegraph

16 Jun 2014
At least 48 people were killed when dozens of Somali extremists wielding automatic weapons attacked a small Kenyan coastal town for hours, assaulting the police station, setting two hotels on fire, and spraying bullets into the street, officials said today. The assault began at around 8pm local time last night as residents were watching World Cup

File - In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010, hard-line Islamist Al Shabab fighters conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia.

 

 

 

 

Paramilitary police officers, police officers, and cleaners work in front of Tiananmen Gate following a car fire in Beijing, China, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China sentenced three people to death on Monday over a deadly attack at Beijing‘s Tiananmen Square last October, state television reported, an incident blamed by the government on Islamist militants. One attacker was given a life
photo: AP / Alexander F. Yuan

Mercedes Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher of Germany poses during a team picture before the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, March 14, 2010

Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was transferred from a French hospital to a facility in Switzerland on Monday after emerging from a coma following his devastating skiing accident in December. In a surprise announcement, the retired
photo: AP / Gero Breloer

A Palestinian militants from Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, dependent of movement Hamas, during a marking the Nakba or the ''Day of Catastrophe'' in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2014. Palestinians marked ''Nakba'' (Catastrophe) on Thursday to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Palestinian boy watches as an Israeli soldier signals during the search for three Israeli teenagers in HebronWest BankPhotograph: Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA Fears are growing for the safety of three Israeli teenagers believed to have been
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Pro-Russian fighters walk passed the site of remnants of a downed Ukrainian army aircraft Il-76 at the airport near Luhansk

Pro-Russian separatists search for ammunition at the site of the crash of the Il-76 Ukrainian army transport plane in Luhansk, June 14, 2014.Ukraine‘s new president vowed to “punish” pro-Russian insurgents on Saturday after they shot down a
photo: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) returns to Naval Station Norfolk.

The Pentagon announced Saturday that Defense SecretaryChuck Hagel had ordered the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush to move during the day from the North Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf, placing it closer to Iraq. “The order will provide the
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist MC1 Lynn Friant

Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman Alexander Stubb, gestures during a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. Russian troops manned checkpoints and controlled traffic on major highways across Georgia on Friday, Russian military trucks roamed the roads freely and Russian military helicopters buzzed overhead. Western leaders remained adamant that Russia remove its troops and do it quickly.

Finland’s EU minister Alexander Stubb, who wants to cut taxes and take his neutral country into Nato, won the leadership of his ruling conservative party today, putting him on track to become prime minister later this month. British and US-educated
photo: AP / Shakh Aivazov

Huandoy, Peru . Andes rose to fame for its mineral wealth during the Spanish conquest of South America. Although Andean Amerindian peoples crafted ceremonial jewelry of gold and other metals the mineralization of the Andes were first mined in large scale after the Spanish arrival.

China, whose presence in Latin America until now was largely based on an appetite for raw materials, is diversifying investments by financing much-needed development projects, analysts say. On its 50th anniversary, theG77+China bloc of developing
photo: Creative Commons / Clarquitecto

Pakistan air raids kill ‘dozens’ of fighters

15 Jun 2014

 

Pakistani intelligence officials say that military air strikes overnight in the northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan have killed dozens of fighters. Local officials said the… 

File - A U.S. Air Force RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle from the 432nd Wing out of Creech Air Force Base, Nev., takes off from the Rafael Hernandez Airport outside Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Jan. 28, 2010, for a mission in support of Operation Unified Response.

 

A Palestinian militants from Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, dependent of movement Hamas, during a marking the Nakba or the ''Day of Catastrophe'' in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 15, 2014. Palestinians marked ''Nakba'' (Catastrophe) on Thursday to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Palestinian boy watches as an Israeli soldier signals during the search for three Israeli teenagers in HebronWest BankPhotograph: Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA Fears are growing for the safety of three Israeli teenagers believed to have been
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Pro-Russian fighters walk passed the site of remnants of a downed Ukrainian army aircraft Il-76 at the airport near Luhansk

Pro-Russian separatists search for ammunition at the site of the crash of the Il-76 Ukrainian army transport plane in Luhansk, June 14, 2014.Ukraine‘s new president vowed to “punish” pro-Russian insurgents on Saturday after they shot down a
photo: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) returns to Naval Station Norfolk.

The Pentagon announced Saturday that Defense SecretaryChuck Hagel had ordered the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush to move during the day from the North Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf, placing it closer to Iraq. “The order will provide the
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist MC1 Lynn Friant

Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman Alexander Stubb, gestures during a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday, Aug. 22, 2008. Russian troops manned checkpoints and controlled traffic on major highways across Georgia on Friday, Russian military trucks roamed the roads freely and Russian military helicopters buzzed overhead. Western leaders remained adamant that Russia remove its troops and do it quickly.

Finland’s EU minister Alexander Stubb, who wants to cut taxes and take his neutral country into Nato, won the leadership of his ruling conservative party today, putting him on track to become prime minister later this month. British and US-educated
photo: AP / Shakh Aivazov

Huandoy, Peru . Andes rose to fame for its mineral wealth during the Spanish conquest of South America. Although Andean Amerindian peoples crafted ceremonial jewelry of gold and other metals the mineralization of the Andes were first mined in large scale after the Spanish arrival.

China, whose presence in Latin America until now was largely based on an appetite for raw materials, is diversifying investments by financing much-needed development projects, analysts say. On its 50th anniversary, theG77+China bloc of developing
photo: Creative Commons / Clarquitecto

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 1980, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll glances toward the scoreboard clock during the closing seconds of AFC championship game against the Houston Oilers in Pittsburgh. Noll's Steelers beat Houston, 27-13, to earn a berth in the NFL football Super Bowl.

PITTSBURGH – Chuck Noll, who built the “Steel CurtainPittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s into one of the most dominant teams in pro football history, becoming the only NFL coach to win four Super Bowl championships, died Friday night in
photo: AP

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 14, 2014. Rouhani says the international sanctions regime has crumbled and will not be rebuilt even if Iran and world powers fail to reach a final nuclear deal by a July 20 deadline. Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany reached an interim deal in November that limited Iran's uranium enrichment program in exchange for the easing of some sanctions.

Published June 14, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the international sanctions regime has crumbled and will not be rebuilt even if Iran and world powers fail to reach a final

Iran sends troops into Iraq to aid fight against Isis militants

Full ArticleThe Guardian 

14 Jun 2014

 

Tehran and Washington form fragile alliance to aid Nouri al-maliki as jihadist group threatens to take Baghdad Iraqi security forces and volunteers on the outskirts of Diyala provincePhotograph: Reuters Iran has sent 2,000 advance troops to Iraq in the past 48 hours to help tackle a jihadist insurgency, a senior Iraqi official has told the… 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani takes his chair before a news conference at the Millennium Hotel in midtown Manhattan, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013, in New York.

 

 

 

A Palestinian militants of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, parade in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on May 29, 2014. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas sent a "letter of designation" to Rami Hamdallah, who is currently serving as premier within the West Bank-based government, to head a unity government but announcement of the lineup was held up over the foreign affairs portfolio. Hamas and the Western-backed PLO, which is dominated by Abbas's secular Fatah party, signed a surprise reconciliation agreement on April 23 to end years of bitter and sometime bloody rivalry. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Israeli security forces were engaged in a massive manhunt in the West Bank last night for three young Israelis, presumed kidnapped byPalestinian militants. The three youths, aged 16-19, left their yeshiva Jewish seminary south of Bethlehem on
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

In this photo taken July 8, 2010, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

NEW YORK, June 13 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks managed to close modestly higher in seesaw trading session Friday, brushing off mounting geopolitical uncertainties in IraqThe Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41.55 points, or 0.25 percent, to 16,775.74.
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Spain's Prado Museum director Miguel Zugaza is seen backlighted by a projection of a Google Earth slideshow after a press conference, in Madrid, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009.

We may have another “ocean” to add to the world map — only this one is hidden hundreds of miles beneath our planet’s surface. A new study suggests that a hidden “ocean” is nestled in the Earth’s mantle some 400 miles beneath North America. The
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

In this Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows rebels from al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, as they sit on a truck full of ammunition, at Taftanaz air base, that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria.

Armed pro-Russian activists seize the Ukrainian regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, Monday, April 14, 2014. A pro-Russian mob stormed a Ukrainian police station in Horlivka, another city near the Russian border.

KIEVUkraine — Senior Ukraine officials said on Thursday that three tanks and other military vehicles had trundled into the restive eastern region of the country from Russia, igniting a firefight between Ukrainian and pro-Kremlin groups. “Today

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

By Thomas Escritt and Joe Bavier AMSTERDAM/ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is be tried at theInternational Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity during post-election violence in which around 3,000
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

 

 

 

Down And Out In Rio: What To Expect At The World Cup

Sticker shock. Expect to pay a lot. Hellishly hot in the summer and shockingly less sexy than advertised. But the city and local people, called Cariocas, are clean and the crime is greatly exaggerated. The Marvelous City is amazing in many ways. But if you look closely, you see the same old corruption and thuggery, the same painful poverty and injustice, that plague many states. And then there’s the Brazilian prostitutes, called programas, who frequent the bars and brothels of Copacabana and Ipanema as well as Central Rio… People in Rio and Brazil are the same as anywhere. They want the same things. Happiness, diversion, laughter, distraction, the so-called good things in life. A slightly larger piece of the pie. The World Cup is just a showcase and a distraction. Bread and circus on a grander scale.

 

 

West, African countries agree to eliminate Boko Haram

13 Jun 2014

 

London, June 13: Western powers and African countries Thursday agreed on a series of multinational missions to eliminate militant group Boko Haram and free the abducted Nigerian school girls, media reported Friday The agreements were reached at a meeting on Nigeria‘s security situation, hosted in London Thursday, byBritish Foreign Secretary… 

Some of the escaped Kidnapped girls of the government secondary school Chibok, attend a meeting with Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Monday, June 2, 2014.

 

 

 

In this Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows rebels from al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, as they sit on a truck full of ammunition, at Taftanaz air base, that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syria branch of the Islamic State inIraq and the Levant (ISIL) has put fighting on hold in Syria while it brings in weapons seized inside neighboring Iraq, a monitoring group that tracks the violence said on Friday. ISIL, a
photo: AP / Edlib News Network, ENN

Armed pro-Russian activists seize the Ukrainian regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slovyansk, Ukraine, Monday, April 14, 2014. A pro-Russian mob stormed a Ukrainian police station in Horlivka, another city near the Russian border.

KIEVUkraine — Senior Ukraine officials said on Thursday that three tanks and other military vehicles had trundled into the restive eastern region of the country from Russia, igniting a firefight between Ukrainian and pro-Kremlin groups. “Today
photo: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka

Pigeons are released prior to the group A World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Croatia

VOA News The 2014 World Cup is underway, with consensus-favorite Brazil seeking to win a record sixth World Cup title and its first since 2002, beating Croatia 3-1 in a Group A matchup at the Arena Corinthians, also referred to as Arena de Itaquera
photo: AP / Shuji Kajiyama

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

By Thomas Escritt and Joe Bavier AMSTERDAM/ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is be tried at theInternational Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity during post-election violence in which around 3,000
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, centre, US actress Angelina Jolie, right, Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and US actor and Jolie's partner Brad Pitt, left, pose for the photographers as they arrive at the 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London, Thursday, June 12, 2014. The Summit welcomes governments from over 100 countries, over 900 experts, NGOs, Faith leaders, and representatives from international organisations across the world.

Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt added even more star power as he joined partner Angelina Jolie and “Team Hague” at a global summit to end rape in war zones. Human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, who has become engaged to Pitt’s friend and fellow pin-up
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

California to add child care, transitional kindergarten slots in budget deal

California will add thousands of additional transitional kindergarten and child care slots for young children, according to a budget deal taking shape at the Capitol, while falling short of a broader program expansionDemocratic lawmakers originally
photo: WN / marzena

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walks onstage prior to speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011.

Civilian children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014. See Also Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
photo: AP / Cliff Owen

 

 

 

‘WE WILL MARCH TOWARD BAGHDAD’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Militants Vow Advance On Iraq’s Capital… ‘We Have An Account To Settle There’… Obama: ‘I Don’t Rule Out Anything’… EARLIER: Fighters Seize Saddam Hussein’s Hometown… Group Too Extreme For Al Qaeda Takes Over 2nd Largest City… Thousands Flee… Iraqi Kurds Seize Oil-Rich City Of Kirkuk… Iraq Asked U.S. For Airstrikes… Senior U.S. Official: ‘It Makes You Want To Kill Yourself’… MAP: Where ISIS Is Gaining… ‘By Invading, Occupying And Looting Iraq, Bush And Cheney Brought Al-Qaeda Into The Country’… LIVE UPDATES…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Indian woman found hanging from tree in Uttar Pradesh

12 Jun 2014
A 19-year-old woman has been found hanging from a tree in a village in northernIndia, the third such case in a month in Uttar Pradesh state. The body was found in Thakurdwara, about three hours’ drive from Delhi. Her family told police she was raped. A post mortem
Womens Supporters hold the Poster to protest against the recent rape cases

 

 

 

16 militants killed in two US drone strikes in Pakistan

Full ArticleDeccan Herald 

12 Jun 2014

 

Sixteen militants were killed in in two US drone strikes within last 24 hours inPakistan‘s… 

 

 

 

 

 

California to add child care, transitional kindergarten slots in budget deal

California will add thousands of additional transitional kindergarten and child care slots for young children, according to a budget deal taking shape at the Capitol, while falling short of a broader program expansionDemocratic lawmakers originally
photo: WN / marzena

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki walks onstage prior to speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011.

Civilian children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014. See Also Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
photo: AP / Cliff Owen

4 of 5 soldiers killed during friendly fire incident in Afghanistan ID'd

MOKENA, Ill. (AP) — The five American troops killed in a friendly fire airstrike included an Illinois soldier who went to Afghanistan a month after his father died, an Ohio man who was engaged to be married, a CaliforniaGreen Beret who only
photo: USMC / Michael Dye

An image of Brazuca, the 2014 World Cup official soccer ball

In Rio de Janeiro, the sun has been a reluctant guest atBrazil‘s World Cup party. On the eve of the tournament clouds have hung stubbornly to the hills above the city all week, obscuring the statue of Christ the Redeemer. If and when he does emerge,
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

A Palestinian boys take part in a military-style exercise during a summer camp organized by the Hamas movement in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 9, 2014. Thousands of elementary school students in the Gaza Strip are going to Hamas summer camps, in which they take part in recreational activities and a range of simulated military exercises. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Palestinian was killed Wednesday when the Israeli air forcetargeted a man on a motorbike in the northern Gaza Strip who Israeli authorities said was a militant preparing terrorist attacks. Local sources in
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Blackwater Worldwide security guards,middle row from left, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Donald Ball, Nick Slatten and Dustin Heard appear in federal court with their attorneys in front of them in this artist's drawing Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, in Salt Lake City. The five were indicted for the 2007 shooting of Iraqi civi

VOA News Jury selection began Wednesday in the trial of four former Blackwater security guards charged with the killing of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of 18 others during a shootout in a Baghdad traffic circle. A
photo: AP / Scott Snow

A Pakistan army soldier stands alert, as he monitors the Afghan-Pakistan border at Kundigar post, some 80 kilmeters, 50 miles southwest of Miran Shah, capital of Pakistani tribal belt of North Waziristan, along the Afghanistan border, Sept. 15, 2005

The timing of the strike is bound to raise suspicions of coordination between the two countries after drone attacks were reportedly suspended at Islamabad’s request last December. The first US drone strike inPakistan this year on Wednesday killed at

 

 

 

 

 

Tens of thousands flee Iraq’s Mosul

Full ArticleThe Times of India 

11 Jun 2014

 

MOSUL: An al-Qaida splinter group seized control of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, putting security forces to flight in a spectacular show of strength against the Shia-led Baghdad government. The capture of the northern city of 2 million by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — Sunni Muslims waging sectarian war on both sides of the… 

Refugees fleeing from Mosul head to the self-ruled northern Kurdish region in Irbil, Iraq, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of Baghdad, Tuesday, June 10, 2014.

 

Palestine’s unity government: Cause for celebration and scepticism

11 Jun 2014
The June 2 announcement of a Palestinian consensus government is both cause for celebration and scepticism. The national unity deal was struck in late April between Hamas and Fatah. It is a significant achievement in its own right, but also because it sets this latest agreement apart from previous, stillborn attempts at reconciliation between the

File - Mahmoud Abbas makes his way to a waiting car following a press conference in Gaza.

 

Merkel endorses Juncker for EU top job

German chancellor Angela Merkel delivered her strongest statement yet in support of Jean-Claude Juncker’s bid to become the next president of the European Commission, dealing a fresh blow to British prime minister David Cameron, who is attempt to
photo: European Community / EC

G7 Backs Curtailing Illicit Financial Flows

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations leaders have reiterated their backing for curtailing illicit financial flows stemming from crime, corruption, and tax evasion. At the end of their meeting last week inBrussels, they said in a
photo: European Community / EC

Newly elected Israeli president Reuven Rivlin speaks at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, June, 10, 2014. Israel’s parliament on Tuesday chose Reuven Rivlin, a veteran politician and supporter of the Jewish settlement movement, as the country’s next president, putting a man opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state into the ceremonial but largely influential post.

Israel’s parliament has chosen Reuven Rivlin, a stalwart in the ruling Likud Party, as the country’s next president. Policy makers chose the former parliament speaker and cabinet minister in a secret run-off ballot against long-time legislator Meir
photo: AP / Dan Balilty

Somalia: UN envoy welcomes release of captives held by pirates since 2010

In a press release from the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia(UNSOM), Nicholas Kay welcomed the release Saturday of 11 crew members of the ship MV Albedo, held hostage since November 2010, reported the UN InformationCenter to Tehran (UNIC) on
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, right, accompanied by British Foreign Secretary William Hague pay their respects to victims at a memorial center of Potocari near eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, 180 kms northeast of Sarajevo ,on Friday, March 28, 2014. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Hollywood star Angelina Jolie addressed a conference organized in Sarajevo by Bosnia's Defense Ministry on sexual violence in conflict.

Angelina Jolie and Foreign Secretary William Hague have arrived to co-chair the largest ever summit on the subject of sexual violence in war. The Hollywood star was greeted at the ExCeL conference centre in London’sDocklands by a bank of
photo: AP / Amel Emric

Smoke rises above the Jinnah International Airport where security forces continue to battle militants Monday, June 9, 2014, in Karachi, Pakistan

Paramilitary forces say insurgents in assault on economic hub are Uzbeks Taliban militants disguised as security forces stormed Pakistan’sbusiest airport on Sunday and at least 27 people were killed in a nightlong battle at one of the country’s most
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, reacts after speaking to supporters in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Kenny was canvassing ahead of Friday's Irish general election were he widely tipped to be the next Irish Prime Minister.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte flies to Dublin today for talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the appointment of the next European Commission president, as British prime minister David Cameron continued his campaign against Jean-Claude Juncker’s
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

 

 

MILITANTS STORM IRAQ’S SECOND LARGEST CITY

 
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seize Government Headquarters, Key Buildings.. PM Asks Parliament To Declare State Of Emergency.. ‘What Happened Is A Disaster By Any Standard’

 

 

 

 

Subway strike suspended in Sao Paulo, may hit Rio

10 Jun 2014
SAO PAULO — A paralyzing subway strike has been suspended, though union officials warn that if their demands for higher pay aren’t met they will call workers off the job again Thursday — the day Sao Paulo hosts the opening match of theWorld Cup. In an assembly Monday night, union members voted to temporarily suspend the strike they
Subway train operators, along with activists from social movements, clash with riot police in front of the Ana Rosa metro station, in an ongoing subway strike, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, June 9, 2014.

 

 

 

Another 20 women kidnapped’ in north Nigeria

10 Jun 2014

 

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have reportedly kidnapped 20 women from a nomadic settlement in northeast Nigeria near the town of Chibok, where the rebel group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April. Alhaji Tar, a member of a vigilante group set up to resist Boko… 

In this Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011 photo, police officers armed with AK-47 rifles stand guard at sandbagged bunkers along a major road in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The radical sect Boko Haram, which in August 2011 bombed the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria, is the gravest security threat to Africa's most populous nation and is gaining prominence

 

 

 

UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie, right, accompanied by British Foreign Secretary William Hague pay their respects to victims at a memorial center of Potocari near eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, 180 kms northeast of Sarajevo ,on Friday, March 28, 2014. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Hollywood star Angelina Jolie addressed a conference organized in Sarajevo by Bosnia's Defense Ministry on sexual violence in conflict.

Angelina Jolie and Foreign Secretary William Hague have arrived to co-chair the largest ever summit on the subject of sexual violence in war. The Hollywood star was greeted at the ExCeL conference centre in London’sDocklands by a bank of
photo: AP / Amel Emric

Smoke rises above the Jinnah International Airport where security forces continue to battle militants Monday, June 9, 2014, in Karachi, Pakistan

Paramilitary forces say insurgents in assault on economic hub are Uzbeks Taliban militants disguised as security forces stormed Pakistan’sbusiest airport on Sunday and at least 27 people were killed in a nightlong battle at one of the country’s most
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, reacts after speaking to supporters in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Kenny was canvassing ahead of Friday's Irish general election were he widely tipped to be the next Irish Prime Minister.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte flies to Dublin today for talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the appointment of the next European Commission president, as British prime minister David Cameron continued his campaign against Jean-Claude Juncker’s
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peoples Republic of China, Mr. Wang Yi calling on the President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on June 09, 2014.

New Delhi, June 09: Wang Yi, the foreign minister and special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Monday called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mukherjee said India and China have excellent relations and that Wang‘s visit will
photo: PIB of India /

Saltwater Crocodile at Dundee Wildlife Park,

A man is presumed dead and crocodiles are back inAustralian headlines after police found what they believe are the remains of a man taken from his boat over the weekend. (Via Flickr / Matthew Paulson) The 62-year-old man was camping with his family
photo: Creative Commons / Peripitus

U.S. President Barack Obama stands facing out to see, at the 'Door of No Return,' at the slave house on Goree Island, in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 27, 2013.

In an interview airing on Monday night, President Obamareveals his frustration with lawmakers who question the very existence of manmade global warming. The interview, conducted for the Showtimedocumentary series “Years of Living Dangerously,”
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

A Pakistani soldier takes position at Jinnah International Airport where security forces are fighting with gunmen who disguised themselves as police guards and stormed a terminal used for VIPs and cargo, Sunday night, June 8, 2014, in Pakistan. The airport attack still was ongoing early Monday in Karachi, a sprawling port city on the southern coast of Pakistan, although officials said all the passengers had been evacuated.

LUCKNOW: After the Karachi airport siege unfolded, it was bizarre accusations doing rounds on Twitter with tweeples busy presenting their views on the search and rescue operations even as Pakistani security forces battled it out to secure the Karachi
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

 

 

 

 

ATTACKED

 

Dozens Dead In Siege At Pakistan’s Busiest Airport…
Taliban Claims Responsibility For Attack… 
ALSO: Suicide Bombing At Hotel Kills 23

 

 

 

 

Ambush shooting

09 Jun 2014

 

An armed man and woman shouting about a “revolution” opened fire and killed two Las Vegas policemen who were eating lunch in a pizza parlour on Sunday, then fatally shot a civilian in a nearby Wal-Mart store before killing themselves, police said. The two uniformed patrol officers, later identified as Alyn Beck, 41, and IgorSoldo, 31 – both family… 
A Las Vegas police officer walks away from the scene of a shooting near a Wal-Mart, Sunday, June 8, 2014, in Las Vegas.

 

 

 

A Pakistani soldier takes position at Jinnah International Airport where security forces are fighting with gunmen who disguised themselves as police guards and stormed a terminal used for VIPs and cargo, Sunday night, June 8, 2014, in Pakistan. The airport attack still was ongoing early Monday in Karachi, a sprawling port city on the southern coast of Pakistan, although officials said all the passengers had been evacuated.

LUCKNOW: After the Karachi airport siege unfolded, it was bizarre accusations doing rounds on Twitter with tweeples busy presenting their views on the search and rescue operations even as Pakistani security forces battled it out to secure the Karachi
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

Spain's Rafael Nadal, right, holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Serbia's Novak Djokovic

PARIS (AP) — Trying to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Openis, without a doubt, the toughest task in tennis. Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game,point to
photo: AP / Darko Vojinovic

Kosovo's Prime Minister and leader of Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) Hashim Thaci gestures at his supporters celebrating victory in capital Pristina on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010.

Former guerrilla Hashim Thaci bids for a third term as prime minister of Kosovo yesterday, under pressure from voters angry over poverty and corruption and a war crimes investigation that threatens to ensnare his former comrades-in-arms. Some
photo: AP / Visar Kryeziu

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Federation Council members listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prior the voting in the Russian parliament's upper chamber in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 21, 2014.The Federation Council voted unanimously to incorporate Crimea after Sunday's hastily called Crimean referendum, in which residents of the Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia.The move, already approved by the lower house, is set to be completed later Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin's signature.

Tweet Moscow, June 8 (IANSRussia is ready for a dialogue with Ukraine only when there are no artillery fires in the country, head of Russian parliament‘s upper house, Valentina Matviyenko said. “We’re
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

Paquetá Island (Portuguese: Ilha de Paquetá) is an island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. The name of the island is a Tupi word meaning "many pacas". The island is an auto-free zone, so travel is limited to bicycles and horse-drawn carriages.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has said that the Brazilian city will not be able to clean the polluted bay where Olympic sailing competitions will be held before the 2016 GamesBrazil had made a commitment to reduce pollution in the Guanabara Bay
photo: Creative Commons

File - Al-Shabaab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia,Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010.

Mogadishu, June 07: A senior Al-Shabaab militant commander in Somalia have surrendered to authorites. Sheik Mohamed Said AtomSaturday gave himself up to authorities, saying he will not take part in violence in the country, Xinhua reported. The
photo: AP / Mohamed Sheikh Nor

Emily Blunt, Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton speaking at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Edge of Tomorrow", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

We are officially in summer blockbuster season, the time of year when studios roll out their big-budget, star-studded movies in hopes of raking in grosses that feature (at least) nine figures. This weekend brought
photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

 

 

 

 

 

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to be sworn in as Egypt’s president

08 Jun 2014

 

Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is to be sworn in as Egypt‘s new president after winning by a landslide in May’s elections. Security forces have been deployed at key locations around the capital Cairo in preparation for the ceremony at theSupreme Constitutional Court. The retired field marshal overthrew PresidentMohammed Morsi… 

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 file photo, Egypt’s military chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi smiles as he speaks to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their talks along with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, Russia. On Saturday, March, 8, 2014 interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour issued a law regulating the upcoming Presidential election, which is expected to be held by the end of April. As he nears announcing a run for Egypt’s presidency, El-Sissi has been focusing on preparing an economic program, senior generals and government officials say, demonstrating the wariness within the military over the scale of problems facing the country.

 

 

 

 

 

Anti-monarchy protests persist in Spain

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

08 Jun 2014

 

Thousands of protesters have continued to take to the streets of Madrid and otherSpanish cities calling for a referendum to abolish Spain‘s monarchy almost a week after King Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son. On Saturday, dozens of left-wing political parties and citizens organisations came together in support of republicanism. “Spain,… 

People hold up banner which reads "For a Republican Constituent Process'', during a march against the Spanish Monarchy, in Pamplona northern Spain, Saturday, June 7, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Federation Council members listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prior the voting in the Russian parliament's upper chamber in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 21, 2014.The Federation Council voted unanimously to incorporate Crimea after Sunday's hastily called Crimean referendum, in which residents of the Black Sea peninsula overwhelmingly backed breaking off from Ukraine and joining Russia.The move, already approved by the lower house, is set to be completed later Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin's signature.

Tweet Moscow, June 8 (IANSRussia is ready for a dialogue with Ukraine only when there are no artillery fires in the country, head of Russian parliament‘s upper house, Valentina Matviyenko said. “We’re
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

Paquetá Island (Portuguese: Ilha de Paquetá) is an island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. The name of the island is a Tupi word meaning "many pacas". The island is an auto-free zone, so travel is limited to bicycles and horse-drawn carriages.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes has said that the Brazilian city will not be able to clean the polluted bay where Olympic sailing competitions will be held before the 2016 GamesBrazil had made a commitment to reduce pollution in the Guanabara Bay
photo: Creative Commons

File - Al-Shabaab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia,Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010.

Mogadishu, June 07: A senior Al-Shabaab militant commander in Somalia have surrendered to authorites. Sheik Mohamed Said AtomSaturday gave himself up to authorities, saying he will not take part in violence in the country, Xinhua reported. The
photo: AP / Mohamed Sheikh Nor

In this Sept. 25, 2013, file photo, Jordan's ambassador to the United Nationas, Prince Zeid al Hussein, speaks to the media during a news conference in New York

Prince Zeid Al Hussein, a longtime diplomat and former UN peacekeeper, has been nominated to replace Navi PillayUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nominated Prince Zeid Al Hussein of Jordan as the new UN high commissioner for human rights. Ban
photo: AP / John Minchillo, File

 

 

 

 


Strike tangles Sao Paulo again in run-up to World Cup

SAO PAULO Fri June 7, 2014 

A woman rides the metro during what is usually rush hour, in Republica station during a strike in Sao Paulo June 5, 2014.  REUTERS/Nacho Doce

A woman rides the metro during what is usually rush hour, in Republica station during a strike in Sao Paulo June 5, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Poroshenko promises united Ukraine and no compromise on Crimea

07 Jun 2014
Ukraine crisis Reuters Image Caption: Poroshenko walks past the honour guard as he arrives for his inauguration ceremony as Ukraine’s new president in Kiev(reuters tickers) June 7, 2014 – 10:35 By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko said his country would never give upCrimea and would not compromise on its
Ukraine's new President Petro Poroshenko waves after the inauguration ceremony at parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, June 7, 2014.
photo: AP / Volodymyr Strumkovsky

 

 

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Los Cabos, Mexico.

BENOUVILLE, FRANCE: Add another awkward chapter to the long-running story of the tense relationship of President Barack Obama andRussian President Vladimir PutinThis one came complete with a cameo from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, who
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

U.S. President Barack Obama, center, and French President Francois Hollande, left, participate in the 70th French-American commemoration D-Day ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France on Friday, June 6, 2014

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France – It was a day of pride, remembrance and honors for those who waded through blood-tinged waves, climbed razor-sharp cliffs or fell from the skies, staring down death or dying in an invasion that portended the fall of
photo: AP / Pascal Rossignol, Pool

Police tape blocks the entrance to Otto Miller Hall at Seattle Pacific University Friday, June 6, 2014 in Seattle

A lone gunman armed with a shotgun and knife opened fire on Thursday (local time) in a building at a small Seattle university, fatally wounding one person before a student subdued him with pepper spray as he tried to reload, police said. A student
photo: AP / Ted S. Warren

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

HARUNA UMAR Associated Press= MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) â?? When men wearing military fatigues and carrying weapons showed up in pickup trucks, villagers thought Nigerian soldiers had finally come to protect them fromBoko Haram. But it was a disguise.
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

A view of the iconic Tower Bridge, right, over the river Thames, right, and The Shard, left, a newly-constructed high-rise building that is western Europe’s tallest, in London,Wednesday, July 4, 2012 ahead of the official Inauguration on Thursday, July 5, 2012. The Shard is 309.6 meters tall (1,016 feet) and features high quality offices, a 5-star hotel with more than 200 rooms and suites and 3 floors of restaurants. It will also feature exclusive super prime residential apartments and the top levels will consist of the capital's highest public viewing gallery offering 360° views of London.

About 900 people have been evacuated from Londonskyscraper The Shard after smoke was discovered in the basement. Firefighters are now investigating what caused the smoke at the 1,004ft-high building – the tallest inWestern Europe. The mass
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

G7 expresses concern over Asian maritime tensions

Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations have said that they are deeply concerned by tensions in the East and South China Sea. The G7 leaders meeting in Brussels yesterday had warned against any use of
photo: US Navy
US suspends Iran oil sanctions for six months
With Iran complying with the commitment on its controversial nuclear weapons programme, US President Barack Obama has suspended his action on Iranian oil sanctions for the next six months. Even though there is enough oil in the international market
photo: Creative Commons / Nanking2012

 

 

 

Seattle Pacific University shooting: At least 4 shot, suspect in custody

06 Jun 2014

 

Seattle Pacific University had a shooting on Thursday in which at least four persons were shot. Police say that they have a suspect in custody. Though social media stated that a second gunman was being sought, those messages have been updated to say that there… 
Students from Seattle Pacific University gather outside in a prayer circle after a church service was full following a shooting on the university campus Thursday, June 5, 2014, in Seattle.

 

 

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

HARUNA UMAR Associated Press= MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) â?? When men wearing military fatigues and carrying weapons showed up in pickup trucks, villagers thought Nigerian soldiers had finally come to protect them fromBoko Haram. But it was a disguise.
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

A view of the iconic Tower Bridge, right, over the river Thames, right, and The Shard, left, a newly-constructed high-rise building that is western Europe’s tallest, in London,Wednesday, July 4, 2012 ahead of the official Inauguration on Thursday, July 5, 2012. The Shard is 309.6 meters tall (1,016 feet) and features high quality offices, a 5-star hotel with more than 200 rooms and suites and 3 floors of restaurants. It will also feature exclusive super prime residential apartments and the top levels will consist of the capital's highest public viewing gallery offering 360° views of London.

About 900 people have been evacuated from Londonskyscraper The Shard after smoke was discovered in the basement. Firefighters are now investigating what caused the smoke at the 1,004ft-high building – the tallest inWestern Europe. The mass
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

A man looks at the Papal Cross in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday May, 20, 2009. A fiercely debated, nine-year investigation into Ireland's Roman Catholic-run institutions says priests and nuns terrorized thousands of boys and girls in workhouse-style schools for decades _ and government inspectors failed to stop the chronic beatings, rapes and humiliation. High Court Justice Sean Ryan on Wednesday unveiled the 2,600-page final report of Ireland's Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse, which is based on testimony from thousands of former students and officials from more than 250 church-run institutions.

The Catholic Church in Ireland is facing fresh accusations of child neglect after a researcher found records for 796 youngsters believed to be buried in a mass grave beside a former orphanage for the children of unwed mothers in Tuam, Co Galway.
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

US military planes , are seen at Manas US military base in Bishkek airport Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev last week announced the closure of the base, which is a crucial staging post for coalition operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. began using the Manas base in December 200

While some 9,800 troops are slated to stay until then, plans are being formulated to continue a U.S. presence through diplomatic and intelligence assets, as well as the hiring of private security contractors. The contractors would undertake training
photo: AP / Igor Kovalenko

President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One during his arrival, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.

Ukraine topped the agenda of the G7 summit last night, as leaders of the world’s most powerful countries – minus Russia – gathered inBrussels. The summit, the first to be held in the EU capital, had been scheduled to take place in the Russian city
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

A woman holds a large Syrian flag at a rally in support of President Bashar Assad, pictured in the large banner, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 9, 2011.

Syria’s parliament yesterday announced that incumbentBashar al-Assad won Tuesday’s presidential election, winning 88.7 per cent of the vote (10.3 million votes). An hour before the final result was proclaimed a rising ripple of celebratory
photo: AP / Muzaffar Salman

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.

By Gbenga Akingbule Bloomberg News An attack by suspected militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group left at least 400 people dead in three villages in northeastern Nigeria, according to a local official. The
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

 

 

 

 

Syria’s Assad Wins Presidential Election by Landslide

05 Jun 2014

 

As expected, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won a third seven-year term in office, with a reported 89 percent of the vote. Voting took place Tuesday in parts ofSyria controlled by the government, but was boycotted by opposition groups in areas they control. Officials say voter turnout was 73 percent. But even asDamascus erupted in… 

Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, casts his vote as Syrian first lady Asma Assad

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine crisis: Donetsk rebel leaders still talking tough

05 Jun 2014

 

In the “City of a Thousand Roses“, five female gardeners are tending a flower bed in the centre of town. Across the street, a man is sweeping dust and leaves from the pavement. A trolleybus trundles by, stopping briefly to collect more passengers. On the surface, this is a picture of normality. Continue reading the main story “Start… 

Pro-Russian militia members guard next to an APC and anti-aircraft gun, outside the administrational building in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

 

 

US military planes , are seen at Manas US military base in Bishkek airport Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev last week announced the closure of the base, which is a crucial staging post for coalition operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. began using the Manas base in December 200

While some 9,800 troops are slated to stay until then, plans are being formulated to continue a U.S. presence through diplomatic and intelligence assets, as well as the hiring of private security contractors. The contractors would undertake training
photo: AP / Igor Kovalenko

A woman holds a large Syrian flag at a rally in support of President Bashar Assad, pictured in the large banner, in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 9, 2011.

Syria’s parliament yesterday announced that incumbentBashar al-Assad won Tuesday’s presidential election, winning 88.7 per cent of the vote (10.3 million votes). An hour before the final result was proclaimed a rising ripple of celebratory
photo: AP / Muzaffar Salman

President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One during his arrival, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.

Ukraine topped the agenda of the G7 summit last night, as leaders of the world’s most powerful countries – minus Russia – gathered inBrussels. The summit, the first to be held in the EU capital, had been scheduled to take place in the Russian city
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

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.

By Gbenga Akingbule Bloomberg News An attack by suspected militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group left at least 400 people dead in three villages in northeastern Nigeria, according to a local official. The
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Civilians inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the Kamaliyah neighborhood, a predominantly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 20, 2013.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Bombings tore through busy areas in the Iraqi capital and cities to the north and south on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people, officials said. Iraq is experiencing its worst surge in violence since the sectarian bloodletting of 2006
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being introduced to the Secretaries to the Government of India, before the meeting with the Secretaries, in New Delhi on June 04, 2014.

Tweet New Delhi, June 4 (IANSPrime Minister Narendra ModiWednesday met the secretaries of all government departments to outline his agenda of governance to the top bureaucrats. In a first for a
photo: PIB of India / PHOTODIVISION

French police officers patrol under the Eiffel Tower  in Paris Monday Sept. 20, 2010, as part of the reinforcement of the security in Paris. France has stepped up its vigilance against terror threats, a top official announced Monday amid reports of various new threats, including one against the Paris transport network.

The three young Frenchmen were arrested as they tried to make their way to Syria to wage jihad. They had not harmed anyone in France or made plans to do so, according to the evidence at their trial in January, but in France these days, seeking to
photo: AP / Francois Mori

 

 

 

Tiananmen: Lockdown As China Passes 25 Years

04 Jun 2014

 

4 June 2014, 6:04 TiananmenLockdown As China Passes 25 Years Tweet Chineseauthorities are imposing severe security measures in central Beijing today as the city passes the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Thousands of police and security forces, some armed with automatic rifles, have been deployed across the Chinese capital.… 

Chinese paramilitary policemen march in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City near Tiananmen Square in Beijing Wednesday, June 4, 2014.

 

 

NSA whistleblower Snowden seeks Brazil asylum

04 Jun 2014

 

Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor turned whistleblower, has said he has requested asylum in Brazil, in an interview with journalists from the country. Appearing on Brazil’s Globo TV channel on Sunday, Snowden said he would not exchange information in return for asylum. “I already sent a petition to the Brazilian government… 

File - Participants hold up images of former NSA analyst Edward Snowden during the opening ceremony of NETmundial, a major conference on the future of Internet governance in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, April 23, 2014.

 

 

A woman holds her daughter, wearing a mask, while the family visit Tiananmen Square on a hazy day in Beijing, China, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. Pollution has worsened in China’s capital and surrounding regions.

A billboard at the June 4th Museum in Hong Kong, dedicated to remembering the Tiananmen Square massacrePhotoAFP Beijing: Chinadefended the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators aroundBeijing‘s Tiananmen Square on Tuesday, the eve
photo: AP / Alexander F. Yuan

Gopinath Pandurang Munde

India‘s Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde has died in a car
photo: Creative Commons / Deepak13066

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, left, Spain's King Juan Carlos, center left, Princess Letizia and Queen Sofia, right, attend a military parade, during the holiday known as Dia de la Hispanidad, Spain's National Day, in Madrid, Friday, Oct. 12, 2012.

Published June 02, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 FILE – In this file photo from April 12, 2009, Spanish King Juan Carlos, waves after attending an Easter Mass at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (AP)Spain‘s King Juan
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

Spain's King Juan Carlos checks his watch while waiting for the arrival of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Martinelli is on an official visit to Spain.

Spain‘s King Juan Carlos plans to abdicate and pave the way for his son, Crown Prince Felipe, to become the country’s next king, the nation’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy said today. Juan Carlos, 76, oversaw his country’s transition from dictatorship
photo: AP / Paul White

Brazilian soccer great Pele speaks during a press conference Monday, March 7, 2011 in Hong Kong. Pele was in here to promote the rebirth of the New York Cosmos, hoping for the team to begin play in 2014.

The son of former Brazil striker Pele has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for laundering money earned from drug trafficking, Brazilian media reported. Edinho, who
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

This video frame grab from the Taliban propaganda video released Friday Dec. 25, 2009 purportedly shows U.S. soldier Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum Idaho who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR BASEAfghanistan/WASHINGTON – The soleAmerican prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Sunday after being freed in a swap deal for five Taliban militants who were released from the
photo: AP / Militant Video

Qataris watch the FIFA meeting in Zurich, which will select the two countries to host FIFA World Cups, 2018 and 2022, on a giant television screen, in a street in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

UK newspaper report accuses Bin Hammam of using slush funds A former top Qatari football official paid more than $5 million to get support for the emirate’s controversial campaign to host the 2022 World Cup, a Britishnewspaper alleged on
photo: AP / Osama Faisal

 

 

Leading Pakistani politician arrested in London

Full ArticleThe Guardian

03 Jun 2014

JILL LAWLESS Associated PressLONDON (AP) â?? British police on Tuesday arrested leading Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain on suspicion of money-laundering â?? a move that sparked fears of violence in his home base of KarachiPolice in Britain do not name suspects until they are charged. But when asked about Hussain, theMetropolitan Police said

FILE - This is a Monday, May 20, 2013 file photo of a supporter of Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, (MQM) holds his picture during a protest rally in Karachi, Pakistan.

Gopinath Pandurang Munde

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, left, Spain's King Juan Carlos, center left, Princess Letizia and Queen Sofia, right, attend a military parade, during the holiday known as Dia de la Hispanidad, Spain's National Day, in Madrid, Friday, Oct. 12, 2012.

Published June 02, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 FILE – In this file photo from April 12, 2009, Spanish King Juan Carlos, waves after attending an Easter Mass at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (AP)Spain‘s King Juan
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

Spain's King Juan Carlos checks his watch while waiting for the arrival of Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Martinelli is on an official visit to Spain.

Spain‘s King Juan Carlos plans to abdicate and pave the way for his son, Crown Prince Felipe, to become the country’s next king, the nation’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy said today. Juan Carlos, 76, oversaw his country’s transition from dictatorship
photo: AP / Paul White

Brazilian soccer great Pele speaks during a press conference Monday, March 7, 2011 in Hong Kong. Pele was in here to promote the rebirth of the New York Cosmos, hoping for the team to begin play in 2014.

The son of former Brazil striker Pele has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for laundering money earned from drug trafficking, Brazilian media reported. Edinho, who
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

This video frame grab from the Taliban propaganda video released Friday Dec. 25, 2009 purportedly shows U.S. soldier Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum Idaho who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR BASEAfghanistan/WASHINGTON – The soleAmerican prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Sunday after being freed in a swap deal for five Taliban militants who were released from the
photo: AP / Militant Video

Qataris watch the FIFA meeting in Zurich, which will select the two countries to host FIFA World Cups, 2018 and 2022, on a giant television screen, in a street in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

UK newspaper report accuses Bin Hammam of using slush funds A former top Qatari football official paid more than $5 million to get support for the emirate’s controversial campaign to host the 2022 World Cup, a Britishnewspaper alleged on
photo: AP / Osama Faisal

Alexander Ankvab and Dmitry Medvedev

Reuters June 1, 2014 – 17:33 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Alexander Ankvab, the head of Georgia‘s breakaway region of Abkhazia, resigned on Sunday, just a day after the local parliament voted to hold early presidential elections in August, a spokeswoman
photo: Creative Commons / Presidential Press and Information Office

 

 

 

 

 

 

US prisoner of war freed in swap deal with Taliban

02 Jun 2014

 

WASHINGTON: The long-held belief that the US does not negotiate with terrorists, mostly romanticized in movies, was quietly set aside when the Obama administration released five Taliban terrorists on Saturday in exchange for anAmerican prisoner of war captured by their associates in Afghanistan nearly five years ago. Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was… 
This video frame grab taken from a Taliban propaganda video released Saturday, July 18, 2009 shows Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, who went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan June 30.

 

 

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, left, Spain's King Juan Carlos, center left, Princess Letizia and Queen Sofia, right, attend a military parade, during the holiday known as Dia de la Hispanidad, Spain's National Day, in Madrid, Friday, Oct. 12, 2012.

Published June 02, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 FILE – In this file photo from April 12, 2009, Spanish King Juan Carlos, waves after attending an Easter Mass at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (AP)Spain‘s King Juan
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

This video frame grab from the Taliban propaganda video released Friday Dec. 25, 2009 purportedly shows U.S. soldier Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum Idaho who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR BASEAfghanistan/WASHINGTON – The soleAmerican prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Sunday after being freed in a swap deal for five Taliban militants who were released from the
photo: AP / Militant Video

Qataris watch the FIFA meeting in Zurich, which will select the two countries to host FIFA World Cups, 2018 and 2022, on a giant television screen, in a street in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010.

UK newspaper report accuses Bin Hammam of using slush funds A former top Qatari football official paid more than $5 million to get support for the emirate’s controversial campaign to host the 2022 World Cup, a Britishnewspaper alleged on
photo: AP / Osama Faisal

Alexander Ankvab and Dmitry Medvedev

Reuters June 1, 2014 – 17:33 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Alexander Ankvab, the head of Georgia‘s breakaway region of Abkhazia, resigned on Sunday, just a day after the local parliament voted to hold early presidential elections in August, a spokeswoman
photo: Creative Commons / Presidential Press and Information Office

CNN International

In a sign of how tense things have gotten in Turkey these days, a CNN journalist was detained and kicked by police — live on air. Reporting from Taksim Square in Istanbul, CNN’s Ivan Watson was showing the audience lines of riot police,
photo: Creative Commons / Chris Green

Taksim square night fires

ISTANBUL — Hundreds of activists mobilized Saturday for demonstrations in Istanbul and other cities, defying a heavy police presence on the anniversary of nationwide anti-government protests that erupted last year. Policeblocked access to
photo: Creative Commons

Sangeang Api

Billowing clouds of volcanic ash have forced airlines in northern Australia and Bali to cancel flights Saturday. Mount Sangeang Api began spewing ash on Friday. The volcano is located on
photo: Creative Commons / Szymic1

 

 

 

BANGKOK DANGEROUS

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT via Getty Images

Thailand’s Ruling Junta Deploys Thousands Of Forces.. Protesters Arrested..Army And Police Flood Into Bangkok

 

 

 

CNN International

In a sign of how tense things have gotten in Turkey these days, a CNN journalist was detained and kicked by police — live on air. Reporting from Taksim Square in Istanbul, CNN’s Ivan Watson was showing the audience lines of riot police,
photo: Creative Commons / Chris Green

Taksim square night fires

ISTANBUL — Hundreds of activists mobilized Saturday for demonstrations in Istanbul and other cities, defying a heavy police presence on the anniversary of nationwide anti-government protests that erupted last year. Policeblocked access to
photo: Creative Commons

Sangeang Api

Billowing clouds of volcanic ash have forced airlines in northern Australia and Bali to cancel flights Saturday. Mount Sangeang Api began spewing ash on Friday. The volcano is located on
photo: Creative Commons / Szymic1

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy speaks during a control session at the Spanish Parliament, in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

Published May 31, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 MADRID – Spain‘s prime minister says his government will unveil a stimulus package worth 6.3 billion euros ($8.6 billion) to boost competitiveness. In anothersign that the
photo: AP / Andres Kudacki

 

 

 

 

‘WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF THE SIXTH EXTINCTION’

 

 

China is ‘destabilising’ South China Sea, US defence secretary warns

31 May 2014

 

Chuck Hagel says US will ‘not look the other way’ if Beijing tries to ride roughshod over international maritime rules A Vietnamese boat sinks after being rammed byChinese vessels near disputed Paracels Islands in the South China Sea on Thursday.Photograph: Reuters China is “destabilising” the South China Sea region by pursuing territorial… 
SOUTH CHINA SEA (Oct. 15, 2012) An F/A-18F Super Hornet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phil Mickelson watches his ball after hitting out of a sand trap during the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, a source familiar
photo: AP / Tony Dejak

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, front, gestures to supporters at the Plaza de Mayo square next to Vice President-elect Amado Boudou, left, after general elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011.

A judge in Argentina has summoned Vice-President Amado Boudou to appear in court in July to defend himself in a corruption case. MrBoudou is suspected of using his influence to ensure that a contract to print Argentina’s banknotes
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

 Google logo (sl1)

Company responds to EU court ruling empowering citizens to have certain links about them deleted from search results Google has created a page where EU citizens can request removal of search results about them.PhotographPaul Sakuma/AP Google has
photo: Public domain photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey prepare to testify before the House Armed Service Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C. on March 6, 2014. Hagel addressed the 2014 Department of Defense Budget Proposal as remarked on the steps the Department has taken to separate itself from military cooperations with Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine.  DoD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo (Released)

By David Brunnstrom ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – The United States will not be deterred from plans to strengthen its military position in Asia by emerging threats elsewhere, the U.S. defense secretary said on Thursday as he prepared to
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer arrives to give his presentation at the launch of Microsoft Windows 8, in New York, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.

How Was The Team Sold? The deal comes after a tumultuous ‘bid war’ that pitted Ballmer against the Guggenheim Group (represented by David Geffen) and Los Angeles investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh. Ressler and Karsh bid $1.6 billion,
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Black smoke rises from a shot down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Ukraine‘s President-elect Petro Poroshenko has vowed to punish “bandits” after pro-Russian rebels shot down an army helicopter, killing 12. “These criminal acts of the enemies of the Ukrainian people will not go unpunished,”
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

In this Wednesday, April 24, 2013 file photo, Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi salutes during an arrival ceremony for U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, at the Ministry of Defense in Cairo.

Elizabeth Arrott CAIRO — Egyptian officials say preliminary results give former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sissi a sweeping victory in his presidential bid against Hamdeen Sabahi. But, the vote has raised many questions about a Sissi
photo: AP / Jim Watson

 

 

 

 

DETAINED AGAIN

 
ASSOCIATED PRESS

OSCE Says Another Team Of Monitors Held In East Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

STANDOFF SHIFT

ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. Defense Officials: Most Russian Troops Leaving Ukraine Border

 

 

 

 

Rape victim’s mother attacked in northern India

30 May 2014

 

BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press Comments In this May 28, 2014 image taken from video, police stand amongst the crowd near where two teenage sisters were found hanging from a mango tree in the Katra village in Uttar Pradesh state, in northern India. Authorities have arrested three men, including two police officers, suspected of gang-raping and… 
Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans as they participate in a protest against a gang rape of two teenage girls in Katra village, outside the Uttar Pradesh state house, in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 30, 2014.

 

 

 Google logo (sl1)

Company responds to EU court ruling empowering citizens to have certain links about them deleted from search results Google has created a page where EU citizens can request removal of search results about them.PhotographPaul Sakuma/AP Google has
photo: Public domain photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey prepare to testify before the House Armed Service Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington D.C. on March 6, 2014. Hagel addressed the 2014 Department of Defense Budget Proposal as remarked on the steps the Department has taken to separate itself from military cooperations with Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine.  DoD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo (Released)

By David Brunnstrom ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – The United States will not be deterred from plans to strengthen its military position in Asia by emerging threats elsewhere, the U.S. defense secretary said on Thursday as he prepared to
photo: US DoD / Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Black smoke rises from a shot down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Ukraine‘s President-elect Petro Poroshenko has vowed to punish “bandits” after pro-Russian rebels shot down an army helicopter, killing 12. “These criminal acts of the enemies of the Ukrainian people will not go unpunished,”
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

In this Wednesday, April 24, 2013 file photo, Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi salutes during an arrival ceremony for U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, at the Ministry of Defense in Cairo.

Elizabeth Arrott CAIRO — Egyptian officials say preliminary results give former Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sissi a sweeping victory in his presidential bid against Hamdeen Sabahi. But, the vote has raised many questions about a Sissi
photo: AP / Jim Watson

India BJP Supporters Celebration in Kolkata  during the BJP Leader Narendra Modi During the Swearing-in-Ceremony of the Prime Minister of India and the Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday 26 May 2014

New DelhiPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cracked the whip on the brutal rape and murder case of two minor girls in Uttar Pradesh seeking to demonstrate the BJP government’s “zero tolerance’’ approach towards crime
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

 President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, left, congratulates President Shimon Peres of

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Israeli President Shimon Peres andPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will join Pope Francis for an afternoon of prayer at the Vatican on June 8, the Vatican said Thursday. In a brief statement, the Vatican said both sides
photo: AP Photo Burhan Ozbilici

New Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah attends his first meeting of the new government cabinet in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

Mahmoud Abbas names Rami Hamdallah as PM in step towards reconciliation between former rival factions Rami Hamdallah, the newPalestinian prime minister, left, with Mahmoud Abbas. Photograph: Thaer Ghanaim/AFP/Getty Images The two main Palestinian
photo: AP / Majdi Mohammed

 

 

Malaysia missing plane: Acoustic pings ‘not likely’ from jet

29 May 2014

 

Underwater pings that were believed to be connected to the missing Malaysian Airlines plane were probably not coming from the jet, a US official has said. Michael Dean, the US Navy‘s deputy director of ocean engineering, told CNN the acoustic signals were likely from some other man-made source. The US Navy said Mr Dean‘s comments were… 
File - U.S. Navy contractors lower the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 into the Indian Ocean from the deck of the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield, 26 April, 2014. The submersible is being utilized to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370.

 

 

 

In this file photo dated Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, an overweight person eats in London, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007

The number of people in the world who are obese or overweight has topped 2.1 billion, up from 875 million in 1980, the latest figures published in the Lancet show. And not one country is succeeding in treating it, said the research. US, China and
photo: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth, FILE

In this May 9, 2014 file photo, Beats Audio equipment is arranged for a photo next to an Apple laptop at Best Buy in Boston

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple is striking a new chord with a $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, a headphone and music streaming specialist that also brings the swagger of rapper Dr. Dre and recording impresario Jimmy Iovine. Wednesday’s
photo: AP / Michael Dwyer, File

Masked members of the community of Ayutla escort detained people to a community assembly in the town of El Meson, Mexico, Thursday Jan. 31, 2013. Vigilantes who have taken up arms against drug cartel violence and common crime in southern Mexico brought charges ranging from organized crime to kidnapping and extortion against 50 men and three women who they have been holding prisoner at improvised jails, in some cases for weeks.

MEXICO CITY — Human rights activists and vigilante leaders who rose up to fight a drug cartel in western Mexico are urging Mexicans to form “self-defense” groups to demand public security and justice. In a meeting Wednesday, they
photo: AP / Christian Palma

The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-13M space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station

Tweet Moscow, May 29 (IANSRussia‘s manned spaceship carrying three astronauts blasted off late Wednesday from Kazakhstan‘s Baikonurspace centre, heading to the International Space Station (ISS). The three astronauts aboard the Soyuz TMA- 13M
photo: AP / Dmitry Lovetsky

Bodies lay in the streets of Bangui, Central African Republic, Friday Dec. 6 2013, a day after gun battles between Seleka soldiers and Christian militias left over 100 dead and scores wounded.

Islamist fighters attacked a Catholic Church in the Central African Republic with grenades and firearms, killing at least 30 people. The rebels who attacked the
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

An Egyptian voter holds a card with the photo of Defense Minister, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi with Arabic that reads, "Sissi

CAIRO (AP) — Partial results of Egypt‘s presidential election announced late Wednesday showed the nation’s former military chief comfortably ahead of his rival after votes from 2,000 polling stations were counted. The campaign of retired field
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

FILE - In this May 25, 2005 file photo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers team owner and president Malcolm Glazer smiles at the announcement of Tampa Bay being awarded the 2009 Super Bowl, during the NFL's Spring Meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington. Glazer, the self-made billionaire who owned the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and English soccer's Manchester United, has died. He was 85. The Bucs said Glazer died Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

Malcolm Glazer, the American billionaire who led the controversial takeover of Manchester United (NYSE: MANU, Stock Forum), has died at the age of 86, according to a BBC report.
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite, File

 

 

 

Edward Snowden: ‘I was trained as a spy’

28 May 2014

 

Behind the maskEdward Snowden‘s revelations forced the issue of court authorisation for surveillance into the open. Photo: Reuters United Statesintelligence leaker Edward Snowden said in a TV interview he “was trained as a spy” and had worked undercover overseas for US government agencies. In an advance excerpt of his interview in… 
File - A carnival float depicting US president Obama putting whistleblower Edward Snowden on an electric chair prior the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on Monday, March 3, 2014.

 

 

A couple embrace before a memorial service for the victims and families of Friday's rampage at Harder Stadium on the campus of University of California

Thousands have gathered to mourn six US students killed in a weekend rampage as California lawmakers proposed new ways of keeping guns out of the hands of disturbed killers. “All died much too young but it’s important that we do not let the
photo: AP / Chris Carlson

White House workers walk on the roof of the White House after lowering the flag to half staff for the death of U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012 in Washington.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department on Tuesday told U.S. citizens in Libya to leave immediately, warning that the security situation in the country was “unpredictable and unstable.” “The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Luxembourg's Finance Minister Jean Claude Juncker, right, and European Commissioner for the Economy Olli Rehn participate in a media conference after a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers at the Kiem Center in Luxembourg on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010.

BRUSSELS (AP) — British Prime Minister David Cameron‘s recurring complaint that the European Union is “too big, too bossy, too interfering” gained traction at an EU summit on Tuesday, after election results that underscored voter apathy and hostility
photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

Malian soldiers walk through clouds of dust as they work with French forces to battle radical Islamic rebels, in Gao, Mali, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013.

BAMAKO (Reuters) – Mali Defence Minister Soumeylou Boybeye Maiga resigned on Tuesday, less than a week after an embarrassing defeat of army forces by Tuareg separatist rebels who seized several northern towns, sources close to the minister said. The
photo: AP

Newly elected president of French conservative party UMP Jean Francois Cope is seen during a press conference, at the UMP headquarter, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives chose a right-leaning new leader on Monday in a razor-thin victory — 98 votes — and with so much rancor that some feared the party could break apart.

PARIS — An anti-immigration movement founded by a man repeatedly convicted of anti-Semitism now leads polls in France. The mainstream conservative party risks collapse amid a financing scandal. The Socialist president is the most unpopular leader in
photo: AP / Thibault Camus

Iranian women use computers at an Internet cafe in central Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.

AN Iranian judge has summoned Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to answer allegations that his company’s apps have breached people’s privacy, reports say. A series of rows over internet access have in recent months underscored
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

A member of the Kaiapo tribe holds a poster showing a picture of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff during a protest by indigenous communities against the construction of Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in front the National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011. A Brazilian environmental agency has given approval for initial work to begin on a massive hydroelectric dam planned for the heart of the Amazon jungle. The 11,000-megawatt project to dam  the Xingu River, which feeds the Amazon, would be the third-largest such hydroelectric project in the world. The poster reads "Stop Belo Monte" and the number 604,317 refers to the number of people they say have signed a petition against the project."

Click photo to enlarge Indigenous protesters in traditional headdress clash with military police during a protest against FIFA World Cupoutside the National Stadium in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, May 27, 2014. Brazil‘s indigenous communities calling
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beijing Has Started New ‘Anti-Terror’ Checks On The Subway, And The Lines Are Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen

china subway line security

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nigerian defense chief says abducted girls located

27 May 2014

 

ABUJA: Nigeria’s military has located nearly 300 school girls abducted by Islamic extremists but fears using force to try to free them could get them killed, the country’s chief of defense said Monday. Air Marshal Alex Badeh told demonstrators supporting the much criticized military that Nigerian troops can save the girls. But he added, “we… 
A police officer stands guard as people attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, May 22, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine Army, Rebels Battle For Control Of Donetsk Airport

27 May 2014

 

Ukrainian helicopter Mi-24 gunship fires its cannons against rebels at the main terminal building of Donetsk international airport May 26, 2014. Ukrainian government warplanes carried out airstrikes against pro-Russian rebels who seized Donetsk international airport on Monday, triggering a battle in and around the complex in a show… 
Smoke rises from the airport outside Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, May 26, 2014

 

 

 

The Nigerians United Against Terrorism group attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday, May 26, 2014.

Michelle Faul Associated Press Comments Abuja, Nigeria?Nigeria?s military has located nearly 300 school girls abducted by Islamic extremistsbut fears using force to try to free them could get them killed, the country?s chief of defense said Monday.
photo: AP / Gbenga Olamikan

President Barack Obama speaks at the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama led the nation in commemorating Memorial Day, declaring the United States has reached “a pivotal moment” in Afghanistan with the end of war approaching. Obama, who returned just hours earlier from a
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 5, 2014.

Published May 26, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – Pope Francis announced Monday he would meet with a group of sex abuse victims next month at the Vatican and declared “zero tolerance” for any member
photo: AP / Alessandra Tarantino

Libyan rebel fighter is silhouetted next to El Malti Mosque on the way to the city of Bani Walid, Libya, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The leader of the protesters occupyingLibyan oil ports said on Monday he did not recognize Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq’s new government and suggested a previously agreed deal to end his blockade could be in jeopardy. Ibrahim
photo: AP / Francois Mori

A truck promotes the #BringBackOurGirls hash tag used by protesters of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping

Nigeria‘s military knows where the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram are but has ruled out using force to rescue them, the state news agency quoted Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh as saying on Monday.
photo: Creative Commons / Public Domain / VOA – Medina Dauda

Ukrainian opposition leaders Vitali Klitschko, Poroshenko (second left) and Arseniy Yatsenyuk (right) with United States Secretary of State John Kerry (second right) at the Munich Security Conference 2014

Eight hours after it began, fighting was continuing after nightfall and had spread to residential neighbourhoods nearby. Ukraine launched air strikes and a paratrooper assault against pro-Russian rebels who seized an airport on Monday, as its newly
photo: Creative Commons

A workman quickly slides a dustmop over the floor at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters where President Bush and CIA Director Porter Goss would be standing for a news briefing during Bush's visit to the super-secret facility in Langley, Va., near Washington, Thursday, March 3, 2005.

In an embarrassing flub, the Obama administrationaccidentally revealed the name of the CIA‘s top official in Afghanistan in an email to thousands of journalists during the president’s surprise Memorial Day weekend trip to Bagram Air Field. The
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

 

 

 

 

Thai coup leader receives royal endorsement

26 May 2014

 

BANGKOK, May 26 (Xinhua) — Thai coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha received royal endorsement on Monday appointing him the leader of the National Council forPeace and Order (NCPO). Addressing the press conference later, Prayuth called for public… 
Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha speaks at the start of his first press conference since Thursday's coup Monday, May 26 , 2014, in Bangkok.

 

 

 

Everest, Lhotse and Makalu from the summit of Gokyo R.i

Malavath Purna along with 16-year-old Sadhanapalli Anandachieved the historic feat. A 13-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh Sunday became the youngest female climber to scale Mount Everest. Malavath Purna along with 16-year-old Sadhanapalli Anand
photo: Public Domain / Gavidipus

Ukrainian presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko, speaks to press at a polling station after his vote during the presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, May 25

KIEVUkraine — An exit poll showed that billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko won Ukraine’s presidential election outright Sunday in the first round — a vote that authorities hoped would unify the fractured nation. Long lines snaked around
photo: AP / Sergei Chuzavkov

Christian Democratic Union chairwoman Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Free Democratic Party chairman Guido Westerwelle, from right, brief the media in Berlin on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel‘s conservatives won the most German votes in a European Union election on Sunday with a projected 36 percent, but slipped
photo: AP / Franka Bruns

Real Madrid team pose win the Champion League trophy

Battle is the perfect definition for what took place at theEstadio da Luz in Lisbon on Saturday evening, when local Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammates came marching in to face-off their rivals from across town, Atletico Madrid. Both
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

In this Saturday, May 17, 2014 photo, Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter addresses a press conference in Benghazi, Libya. The death toll from fighting over the weekend in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi between troops loyal to Hifter, a rogue general, and Islamist militias has risen to at least 70, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. In a statement late Saturday, Libya's interim prime minister, parliament speaker and the head of military warned Hifter against further pursuing his offensive and threatened the troops cooperating with him.

Travel Deals $1824 — Ecuador: 7-Nt. Trip w/Amazon fromPhilly, $300 Off   See all travel deals &#187The Associated Press Posted: Saturday, May 24, 2014, 11:23 AM TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) – A renegade Libyan general leading a week-long military
photo: AP / Mohammed el-Shaiky

In this photo taken with a mobile phone, Tuesday, May. 7, 2013, soldiers and journalist looks at bodies of prison officials killed by Islamic extremist during heavy fighting in Bama, Nigeria.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist Boko Haram gunmen rampaged through three villages in northern Nigeria, killing 28 people and burning houses to the ground in a pattern of violence that has become almost a daily occurrence, according
photo: AP / Abdukareem Haruna

President of South Africa Addresses General Assembly Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, addresses the general debate of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

The South African President Jacob Zuma has celebrated being sworn into office for a second term, with a major victory ceremony inPretoria. More than 4,000 guests and several heads of state were in attendance asZuma took the oath of office. He
photo: UN / J Carrier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echoes of the past as Egypt chooses a new president

25 May 2014

 

In Egypt it seems there has always been someone lying awake in the hot, airless night, dreading the policeman’s midnight knock. It is hard to imagine it now but once it was the old man we had come to interview. These days, straight of back and bright of eye he is the kind of pensioner who carefully puts on a suit and neatly knots a tie before… 
File - In this Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 file photo, Egyptian police fire water cannons to disperse a protest by secular anti-government activists in Cairo.

 

 

Real Madrid team pose win the Champion League trophy

Battle is the perfect definition for what took place at theEstadio da Luz in Lisbon on Saturday evening, when local Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammates came marching in to face-off their rivals from across town, Atletico Madrid. Both
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

In this Saturday, May 17, 2014 photo, Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter addresses a press conference in Benghazi, Libya. The death toll from fighting over the weekend in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi between troops loyal to Hifter, a rogue general, and Islamist militias has risen to at least 70, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. In a statement late Saturday, Libya's interim prime minister, parliament speaker and the head of military warned Hifter against further pursuing his offensive and threatened the troops cooperating with him.

Travel Deals $1824 — Ecuador: 7-Nt. Trip w/Amazon fromPhilly, $300 Off   See all travel deals &#187The Associated Press Posted: Saturday, May 24, 2014, 11:23 AM TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) – A renegade Libyan general leading a week-long military
photo: AP / Mohammed el-Shaiky

In this photo taken with a mobile phone, Tuesday, May. 7, 2013, soldiers and journalist looks at bodies of prison officials killed by Islamic extremist during heavy fighting in Bama, Nigeria.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist Boko Haram gunmen rampaged through three villages in northern Nigeria, killing 28 people and burning houses to the ground in a pattern of violence that has become almost a daily occurrence, according
photo: AP / Abdukareem Haruna

 

 

 

 

President of South Africa Addresses General Assembly Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, addresses the general debate of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

The South African President Jacob Zuma has celebrated being sworn into office for a second term, with a major victory ceremony inPretoria. More than 4,000 guests and several heads of state were in attendance asZuma took the oath of office. He
photo: UN / J Carrier

An unidentified sailor salutes a U.S. flag flying at half mast Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, aboard the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Benfold docked in Manama, Bahrain, at the end of a ceremony inaugurating an expeditionary strike force responsible for amphibious forces within Fifth Fleet as well as regional humanitarian and disaster relief efforts. The flag had been lowered in honor of shooting victims at the Fort Hood military base in the United States.

A gunman fatally shot six people and wounded at least seven more in a series of drive-by shootings late Friday near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, authorities said. After exchanging fire with sheriff’s deputies, the
photo: AP / Hasan Jamali

A policeman with his cloth-covered weapon stands guard with other security personnel in a street in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014.

Sanaa, May 24: At least 31 people were killed in multiple attacks launched by suspected Al Qaeda militants in Yemen, an official said Saturday. The attacks occurred overnight in the city of Seiyun in Hadramoutprovince, Xinhua reported. The Yemeni
photo: AP / Hani Mohammed

Julian Castro and his twin brother Representative Joaquin Castro

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama elevated a rising star in the Democratic Party to a national job Friday, nominating San AntonioMayor Julian Castro to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the East Room of the White House,
photo: Creative Commons / Lauren

In this photo taken Saturday, April 14, 2012, Tuareg fighters from the NMLA (National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad) sit in their vehicle, in a market in Timbuktu, Mali.

Bamako: Armed rebels who humiliated Mali‘s army in a deadly offensive across the northern desert have agreed to a ceasefire after talks with African Union chairman Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, a diplomatic source says.Abdel Aziz “just
photo: AP

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel talks to supporters Thursday Dec 18, 2008 during a farewell news conference in Omaha, Neb.

WASHINGTON: The US military is shedding European real estate including a golf course, skeet range and hotel, as well as facilities like a munitions storage facility, as it looks to save cash during a US budget crunch,
photo: AP / Dave Weaver

Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pauses as she talks to media after attending a Cabinet meeting, in Bangkok, Thailand , Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. Shinawatra said Tuesday she would not resign ahead of national elections set for Feb. 2, despite opposition demands she step down as the caretaker head of government.

Steve Herman Ousted Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and dozens of other political figures appear to have been detained after arriving for meetings with military leaders who took power in a coup this week. After being summoned by the army,
photo: AP / Manish Swarup

 

 

 

Chocolate tycoon heads for landslide victory in Ukraine presidential election

23 May 2014

 

Petro Poroshenko has faced down protesters and rivals to lead the opinion polls before the first round of voting on Sunday Presidential hopeful Petro Poroshenko meets supporters in Uma. Photograph: Reuters For a man with presidential ambitions, it was not a propitious scene. Petro Poroshenko stood atop a bulldozer between a line of police and an… 
Ukrainian presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko is welcomed by his supporters during a rally in Kruvuy Rig, Ukraine, Saturday, May 17, 2014.

Air Force file photo of the first launch of a Trident missile on Jan. 18, 1977 at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Security team flunks drill in which “terrorists” hijack warhead at Montana silo WASHINGTON — Armed security forces at a nuclear missile base failed a drill last summer that simulated the hostile takeover of a missile launch silo because they
photo: US DoD / Naval Historical Center

Special event on “Equality for women is progress for all” , on the occasion of the International Women’s Day-8 March, organized by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women)Participants:    Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General;     Mr. John W. Ashe, President of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly;     H.E. Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former United States Secretary of State,  U.S. Senator;    Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women; and,    Mr. Andrea Nunez, Vice President of the World YWCA Board.Moderated by?

The UN Security Council, acting at the request of Nigeria, on Thursday imposed sanctions on Boko Haram in a bid to cut off funding and weapons to the extremist group. Nigeria had requested the measure on Monday because of the recent surge in Boko
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

A Molotov cocktail thrown by protesters flies over police during their clash in central Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014.

BLAHODATNE, UKRAINE — In the deadliest raid yet onUkrainian troops, pro-Russia insurgents attacked a military checkpoint Thursday, killing 16, and the interim prime minister accused Moscow of trying to disrupt the upcoming election for a new
photo: AP / Darko Vojinovic

Guatemala's former President Alfonso Portillo, center, is escorted in hand cuffs by National Police officers and representatives from the Commission Against Impunity, left, at an air force base at Guatemala City, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. Police captured fugitive Portillo in northern Guatemala Tuesday, a day after U.S. prosecutors indicted him on charges of laundering money stolen from foreign donations meant to buy children's books.

Travel deals NEW YORK – (AP) — Guatemala‘s ex-president has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy in New York as part of a bribery scandal. Alfonso Portillo was sentenced Thursday to a prison term of
photo: AP / Moises Castillo

An anti-government demonstrator stands behind a makeshift barricade Friday morning, April 23, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand

Hours after it declared a coup d’etat, Thailand‘s military instituted a media blackout on Thursday. “All radio and television stations, satellite and cable, must stop normal programming and broadcast army content until told otherwise,” an army
photo: AP / Vincent Yu

South African President Jacob Zuma, left, during a guard of honor with South African President Deputy Kgalema Motlanthe, right, during the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, Feb 9, 2012.

Pretoria, May 21: Jacob Zuma was Wednesday electedPresident of South Africa by members of the National Assembly. “In terms of Item 6 of part A, Schedule A of the Constitution, I declare the honourable Jacob Zuma duly elected president of the
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

** ARCHIV ** Ebay-Logo vor der selbst gewaehlten Adresse "Marktplatz 1" der Deutschlandzentrale des Internet-Auktionshauses ebay im brandenburgischen Kleinmachnow suedlich von Berlin, fotografiert am 27. Oktober 2008. Bei eBay sind nach Angaben des Unternehmens im Schnitt staendig mehr als 28 Millionen Artikel im Angebot. Polizei und Verbrauchschuetzer warnen allerdings, dass in Internet-Auktionshaeusern auch Gefahren lauern. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner) --- ** FILE ** Ebay-logo in front of the adress "Marked place 1" of the internet trade company ebay German headquarter in the village of Kleinmachnow on the southern outskirts of Berlin, photographed Monday, Oct. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner)

NEW YORK (AP) — E-commerce site eBay is asking users to change their password after a cyberattack compromised a database containing encrypted passwords. The company says there is no evidence of any unauthorized activity and no evidence any financial
photo: AP / Sven Kaestner

Coups and terror are the fruit of Nato’s war in Libya

22 May 2014

 

Iraq may have been a blood-drenched disaster and Afghanistan a grinding military and political failure. But Libya was supposed to have been different. Nato‘s war to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 was hailed as the liberal intervention that worked. The western powers might have had to twist the meaning of the UN resolution about protecting… 
Red Cross personnel search for remains at the site of one of Tuesday's car bomb in Jos, Nigeria, Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

 

 

South African President Jacob Zuma, left, during a guard of honor with South African President Deputy Kgalema Motlanthe, right, during the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, Feb 9, 2012.

Pretoria, May 21: Jacob Zuma was Wednesday electedPresident of South Africa by members of the National Assembly. “In terms of Item 6 of part A, Schedule A of the Constitution, I declare the honourable Jacob Zuma duly elected president of the
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

** ARCHIV ** Ebay-Logo vor der selbst gewaehlten Adresse "Marktplatz 1" der Deutschlandzentrale des Internet-Auktionshauses ebay im brandenburgischen Kleinmachnow suedlich von Berlin, fotografiert am 27. Oktober 2008. Bei eBay sind nach Angaben des Unternehmens im Schnitt staendig mehr als 28 Millionen Artikel im Angebot. Polizei und Verbrauchschuetzer warnen allerdings, dass in Internet-Auktionshaeusern auch Gefahren lauern. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner) --- ** FILE ** Ebay-logo in front of the adress "Marked place 1" of the internet trade company ebay German headquarter in the village of Kleinmachnow on the southern outskirts of Berlin, photographed Monday, Oct. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner)

NEW YORK (AP) — E-commerce site eBay is asking users to change their password after a cyberattack compromised a database containing encrypted passwords. The company says there is no evidence of any unauthorized activity and no evidence any financial
photo: AP / Sven Kaestner

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.

Tuareg rebels in Mali say they have defeated government forces in heavy fighting for control of the key northern town of Kidal. Several government soldiers were killed, wounded or captured, a rebel spokesman said. UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an
photo: AP

A view of Gwalior Fort is one of the biggest fort in central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It was built in around 8th century on an isolated hillock overlooking the Gwalior town

BHOPAL: Mild tremors were felt in eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh including Jabalpur and Mandla on Wednesday night as earthquake struck in Bay of Bengal about 400 km
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

In this image made from video provided NTA via APTN, and taken Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010, patients are seen in hospital beds following violence in Jos, Nigeria. Dozens of people were killed over the holiday weekend in attacks across Nigeria, including 32 that died in central Nigeria in a series of bomb blasts in the worst violence to hit the region in months.

4:52 PM ET Two explosions in the central Nigerian city of Jos killed at least 46 people on Tuesday, police said, while wounding dozens more. The car bombs were detonated about a half-hour apart at a bus terminal and market. “I can’t tell you the
photo: AP / NTA via APTN

This Friday, May 16 2014 photo shows the General Motors logo

General Motors General Motors said today it’s recalling another 2.42 million vehicles. The Detroit-based automaker now expects to post recall-related costs of $400 million for the second quarter, including $200 million in costs it announced on May
photo: AP / Paul Sancya

Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone reads his message during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, to mark the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII election

Published May 20, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 Gplus0 VATICAN CITY – The Vatican has denied that its former No. 2 is under criminal investigation for allegedly misusing 15 million euros. But it didn’t rule out that the
photo: AP / Pier Paolo Cito

 

 

 

 

Russia signs 30-year gas deal with China

21 May 2014

 

Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China. The deal between Russia’s Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been 10 years in the making. No official price has been given but it is estimated to be worth over $400bn. Russia has been keen to find an alternative energy… 
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, background left, and China's President Xi Jinping, background right, smile during signing ceremony in Shanghai, China on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 while Russian Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, foreground left, and China's CNPC head Zhou Jiping, foreground right, signing the deal.

 

 

 

In this image made from video provided NTA via APTN, and taken Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010, patients are seen in hospital beds following violence in Jos, Nigeria. Dozens of people were killed over the holiday weekend in attacks across Nigeria, including 32 that died in central Nigeria in a series of bomb blasts in the worst violence to hit the region in months.

4:52 PM ET Two explosions in the central Nigerian city of Jos killed at least 46 people on Tuesday, police said, while wounding dozens more. The car bombs were detonated about a half-hour apart at a bus terminal and market. “I can’t tell you the
photo: AP / NTA via APTN

This Friday, May 16 2014 photo shows the General Motors logo

General Motors General Motors said today it’s recalling another 2.42 million vehicles. The Detroit-based automaker now expects to post recall-related costs of $400 million for the second quarter, including $200 million in costs it announced on May
photo: AP / Paul Sancya

Malawi vice president Joyce Banda at Mudi House in Blantyre, Malawi.

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, faced stiff challenges from a field of 12 candidates in elections Tuesday in a poor, politically fractious country that is heavily dependent on foreign donors and has struggled with
photo: Creative Commons

Panos Panay, Microsoft's vice president for Surface Computing

NEW YORK — Microsoft announced a larger version of itsSurface tablet to make the device more compelling as a laptop replacement. The Surface Pro 3 will have a screen measuring 12 inches diagonally, up from 10.6inches in previous models.
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend the opening ceremony of the Year of Chinese tourism in Russia, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, March 22, 2013.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met yesterday with Chinese President Xi Jinping (???) in a diplomatic boost for the isolated Russian leader, but his spokesman said the two sides had yet to agree on a widely anticipated multibillion-dollar
photo: AP / Sergei Ilnitsky

Thai police officers line up in the shade as they provide security at the business district in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, April 29, 2010

Thailand’s army chief imposed martial law yesterday after months of deadly anti-government protests caused political paralysis, but insisted the intervention did not amount to yet another military coup. Gun-toting troops fanned out after martial law
photo: AP / Apichart Weerawong

This photo taken March 1, 2013 and released on Tuesday March 5, 2013, by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French soldiers from the 2e REP legionnaires regiment patrolling in the desert in Northern Mali.

Paris – France has delayed plans to redeploy 3 000 soldiers to fight militants across West Africa, saying it first needs to help deal with a fresh outbreak of violence in northern Mali. Paris had hoped to move the troops from its former colony Mali
photo: AP / Ghislain Mariette

 

 

 

 

Balkan floods affect over one million people, destruction “terrifying”

20 May 2014

 

MAGLAJ – Bosnia said on Monday that more than a quarter of its 4 million people had been affected by the worst floods to hit the Balkans in living memory, comparing the “terrifying” destruction to that of the country’s 1992-95 war. The extent of the devastation became apparent in Serbia too, as waters receded in some of the worst-hit… 
A severely damaged car stands in a flooded street in Obrenovac, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, May 19, 2014.

Coach Louis van Gaal watches the Dutch players warm up prior to the 2014 World Cup Group D qualifying soccer match Netherlands against Turkey at Amsterdam ArenA, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal was hired as Manchester United manager on Monday, tasked with repairing the damage from David Moyes‘ disappointing 10 months in charge and reviving the fortunes of one of the world’s biggest clubs. The 62-year-old
photo: AP / Peter Dejong

Jerome Kerviel, center, followed by his lawyer Olivier Metzner, arrives at the Paris courthouse, Tuesday Oct. 5, 2010. The Paris court will hand down a verdict in the case of the former French trader accused of masterminding one of history's biggest trading frauds and costing one of France's largest banks billions in losses. Kerviel, the 33-year-old former index futures trader at Societe Generale SA, risks five years in prison and a euro 375,000 ($513,000) fine on charges related to the claim that he covered up bets worth nearly euro 50 billion, or more than the bank was worth, between late 2007 and early 2008.

19 May 2014, 13:04 French Rogue Trader Kerviel Behind BarsTweet A French rogue trader convicted for his role in the near collapse of Societe Generale bank has been detained after spending two months on a protest walk.Jerome Kerviel journeyed from
photo: AP / Laurent Cipriani

South Korea's president-elected Park Geun-Hye waves as she arrives to give her victory speech on a stage in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012.

Apologizing for a rescue operation that saved only a fraction of the passengers on a ferry that sank last month, South Korea‘s president said she plans to dismantle the country’s Coast Guard and reform its emergency and safety systems. President Park
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

The Wormald Ice Piedmont covers large parts of the Wright Peninsula on eastern Adelaide Island, Antarctica, and terminates in high ice cliffs on Laubeuf Fjord.

Antarctica is rising unusually quickly, revealing that hot rock in the Earth‘s mantle hundreds of miles below the icy continent is flowing much faster than expected, researchers say. Antarctic ice is more than 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers) thick on
photo: Creative Commons / Vincent van Zeijst

In this Saturday, May 17, 2014 photo, families of victims of an accident at an apartment construction site in Pyongyang,

SEOUL, South Korea — A 23-story apartment building that might have housed more than 90 families collapsed last week in Pyongyang, theNorth Korean capital, a South Korean government official said yesterday, after theNorth reported a “serious”
photo: AP / Jon Chol Jin

In this undated photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from left, and his wife Ri Sol Ju clap hands as they watch a performance of the Moranbong Band to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, in an undisclosed location of North Korea.

BEIJING — Yet another urban legend about North Korea bites the dust. The ex-girlfriend of leader Kim Jong Un, reportedly executed by firing squad last year, turned up apparently alive and well on a state television broadcast Friday night. Hyon Song
photo: AP / Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service

Free Syrian Army fighter carry the body of their comrade away from the front line during clashes against Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

BEIRUT (AP) — The death toll in Syria‘s three-year conflict has exceeded 160,000, an activist group said Monday, a harrowing figure that reflects the country’s relentless bloodletting that appears no closer to a resolution. The Britain-based Syrian
photo: AP / Manu Brabo

 

 

 

 

The human cost of Syria’s conflict

19 May 2014

 

Beirut – At least 162 000 people have been killed in Syria‘s three-year-old conflict, a monitoring group said on Monday, and thousands more are missing after being captured by President Bashar al-Assad‘s forces and rebels trying to overthrow him. The pro-opposition, British-based Syrian… 
 
This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Revolution Against Assad's Regime which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies on a street in Aleppo, Syria Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

In this Saturday, May 17, 2014 photo, families of victims of an accident at an apartment construction site in Pyongyang,

SEOUL, South Korea — A 23-story apartment building that might have housed more than 90 families collapsed last week in Pyongyang, theNorth Korean capital, a South Korean government official said yesterday, after theNorth reported a “serious”
photo: AP / Jon Chol Jin

Free Syrian Army fighter carry the body of their comrade away from the front line during clashes against Syrian Army in Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

BEIRUT (AP) — The death toll in Syria‘s three-year conflict has exceeded 160,000, an activist group said Monday, a harrowing figure that reflects the country’s relentless bloodletting that appears no closer to a resolution. The Britain-based Syrian
photo: AP / Manu Brabo

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a Security Council meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 28, 2014

MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev must immediately stop its punitive operation in southeastern Ukraine and work to settle the conflict in the country peacefully, the
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service

Antarctica - Adelie penguins on an iceberg near Cape Crozier, Ross Island.

Antarctica is now losing about 160 billion tonnes of ice a year to the ocean – twice as much as when the continent was last surveyed. The newassessment comes from Europe‘s Cryosat satellite, which has a radar instrument specifically designed to
photo: USAP, National Science Foundation / Nate Biletnikoff

CSIRO Laboratories at Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania.

Tweet Canberra, May 19 (IANSAustralian researchers has developed a new online tool called “We Feel” which analyses words from millions of tweets to display a real-time view of our emotions, a statement from Australia’snational science agency, the
photo: Creative Commons / Damien Ramon Naidoo

packaged foods that are killing you

Packaged foods help in time-management, but experts say they are killing you slowly Mornings are a rushed affair and to make life easy, you pour a glass of milk over the cereal that you picked from the supermarket. So you think you’ve had a wholesome
photo: WN / Geeta

Atletico's coach Diego Simeone from Argentina is thrown in the air by his players

Peace FM Online

Atletico Madrid have been crowned champions of La Liga following a dramatic draw in the final fixture against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Saturday. Barcelona needed a

photo: AP / Andres Kudacki

 

 

 

 

South Sudan’s civil war puts 5 million at risk of ethnic violence and famine

18 May 2014

 

Women walk for miles, barefoot down muddy tracks, to come to malnutrition clinics. They carry with them listless and emaciated children. In this small part ofJonglei state, more than a quarter of children are thought to be severely malnourished – well above crisis levels. In areas where conflict is fiercer, life is harder still. At one clinic,… 
A resident at the Tomping camp sits outside a damaged shelter, Juba, South Sudan, 12 March, 2014. The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other agencies have started relocating thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in the protection of civilians area of the Tomping IDP camp outside of Juba to a new location at UN house in the capital due to heavy rains and flooding.

 

Atletico's coach Diego Simeone from Argentina is thrown in the air by his players

Atletico Madrid have been crowned champions of La Liga following a dramatic draw in the final fixture against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Saturday. Barcelona needed a
photo: AP / Andres Kudacki

Former trader Jerome Kerviel leaves his lawyer's office in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012.

Travel deals PARIS – (AP) — A rogue trader facing three years in prison for one of the biggest trading frauds in history is appealing to the French presidentJerome Kerviel, who almost took down his bank, Societe Generale, with 4.9 billion euros in
photo: AP / Remy de la Mauviniere

People build a dam made up of sandbags by the bank of the Sava river in Sremska Mitrovica, 90 kilometers west of Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Record flooding in the Balkans leaves at least 20 people dead in Serbia and Bosnia and is forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Meteorologists say the flooding is the worst since records began 120 years ago.

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) ? Tens of thousands fled their homes Saturday in Bosnia and Serbia, evacuated by boat or helicopter as rising waters surged into villages and towns. Authorities said the record flooding killed at least 20 people and the death
photo: AP / Darko Vojinovic

Brazil's fans cheer during a friendly soccer match against Argentina in Goiania, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012.

PARIS: Three Brazilian host cities — Fortaleza, Natal andRecife — are at higher risk than the other nine of a dengue fever outbreak during the World Cup, scientists said on Saturday. In absolute terms, the risk is low in all event venues, but
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

Wupatki National Monument encompasses several ruins of Native American villages, or pueblos, in a rather stark, dry, and unlikely area, USA

A skeleton discovered in a watery grave called Hoyo Negro – or black hole – has shed light on the origins of the original people of the Americas. The skeleton of a teenage girl, found in a cave in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, is between 12,000 and
photo: Creative Commons / Magnus Manske

Kashmiri supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance and sing to celebrate the victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP government in India's general elections, in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 17 May 2014. Modi led India's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to unprecedented victory on 16 May in general elections, crushing the incumbent Indian National Congress.

India‘s incoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was mobbed by jubilant supporters as he arrived in Delhi to take part in a victory parade after his historic win. Narendra Modi’s BJM party’s was swept to power by the most resounding election
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

 

 

 

 

 

Indian election: Modi readies for victory parade

17 May 2014
India‘s Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is to take part in a victory parade inDelhi after his opposition BJP party secured the most decisive election victory in three decades. Mr Modi will fly to Delhi from his home state of GujaratCurrent PMManmohan Singh, whose Congress party was crushed in the poll, is expected to resign. Mr Modi, a
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and India's next prime minister Narendra Modi receives a giant floral garland from supporters after his landslide victory in Vadodara, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, Friday, May 16, 2014.

 

 

 

Dinosaur footprint, USA

The “largest creature ever to walk the Earth” has been discovered in Argentina, palaeontologists say. Continue reading the main story This gigantic dinosaur stood 40m long and 20m tall, based on the length of its enormous thigh bones.
photo: Creative Commons / Greg Willis

A Bangladeshi woman whose relatives are missing wails holding her child on the bank of River Kirtankhola, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009. A small ferry packed with about 60 people capsized in southern Bangladesh early Thursday after it was rammed from behind by a sand-laden trawler, killing at least one person, police said.

The Associated Press MUNSHIGANJ, Bangladesh (AP)—Rescuers have recovered at least 26 bodies after a ferry capsized during a storm in a river in central Bangladesh,
photo: AP / Saidur Rahman

One World Trade Center, center, rises above the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tears in her eyes, firefighter widowMaureen Fanning emerged Thursday from the new Sept. 11 museum deep beneath ground zero, unable to bring herself to look at all of it. “I just think it would be a little too overwhelming today,”
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez, right, speaks to his attorney Charles Rankin during a hearing at Bristol Superior Court Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, in Fall River, Mass.

BOB SALSBERG Associated Press= BOSTON (AP) â?? Aaron Hernandez ambushed and shot to death two men after a chance encounter inside aBoston nightclub, prosecutors said Thursday as they announced new murder charges against the former NFL star, who was
photo: AP / The Boston Globe, Jonathan Wiggs, Pool

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika waves as he arrives at his campaign headquarters in the Hydra district of Algiers, Friday April 10, 2009, a day after the Algerian presidential election.

By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika, newly re-elected despite suffering a stroke last year, has proposed a raft of reforms including setting a two-term presidential limit and delegating more authority to the
photo: AP

Bangladeshis watch a rescue operation after a ferry capsized, on the banks of the Meghna River at Munshiganj, 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.

DHAKA: A heavily-laden ferry capsized and sank in centralBangladesh on Thursday after being caught in a storm, leaving at least 12 people dead and hundreds more missing, police and officials said. Survivors of what is the latest in a string of ferry
photo: AP / A.M. Ahad

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, Abdullah Abdullah

Afghan voters will return to the polls next month to choose a successor to outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose refusal to sign a deal permitting US troops to stay beyond the end of the year has raised security concerns as the Taliban wages
photo: Creative Commons / Employee of the U.S. State Department

Homs is a victory for no one

16 May 2014

 

The evacuation of rebel fighters from the Old City of Homs is being widely portrayed as major victory for the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Rather incredulously, some in the opposition are even claiming it as a win for their own side. The truth is, given the scenes of utter devastation witnessed by the media and returning residents, it is grotesque to… 
Residents carry some of their belongings in the al-Hamidiyeh neighborhood of Homs, Syria, Saturday, May 10, 2014.

One World Trade Center, center, rises above the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 in New York.

Algeria’s Bouteflika offers reforms to skeptical opposition

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika waves as he arrives at his campaign headquarters in the Hydra district of Algiers, Friday April 10, 2009, a day after the Algerian presidential election.

By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika, newly re-elected despite suffering a stroke last year, has proposed a raft of reforms including setting a two-term presidential limit and delegating more authority to the
photo: AP

Bangladeshis watch a rescue operation after a ferry capsized, on the banks of the Meghna River at Munshiganj, 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.

DHAKA: A heavily-laden ferry capsized and sank in centralBangladesh on Thursday after being caught in a storm, leaving at least 12 people dead and hundreds more missing, police and officials said. Survivors of what is the latest in a string of ferry
photo: AP / A.M. Ahad

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, Abdullah Abdullah

Afghan voters will return to the polls next month to choose a successor to outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose refusal to sign a deal permitting US troops to stay beyond the end of the year has raised security concerns as the Taliban wages
photo: Creative Commons / Employee of the U.S. State Department

ferry Sewol

SOUTH Korea‘s prosecutor has indicted 15 crew members over last month’s ferry sinking, four of them on homicide charges, in a disaster that has left more than 300 people dead or missing. Prosecutors said yesterday they brought homicide charges
photo: Creative Commons / jinjoo2713

 Saudi women walk past cars in a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, street Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006. Interior Minister Prince Nayef said this week that allowing women to drive is not a priority in the kingdom because more important women´s issues, such as allowi

Saudi Arabian man has reportedly divorced his wife after she sent him a video which showed her driving the family car. Saudi women are subjected to a de facto ban on driving in the kingdom because they are not allowed to apply for licences, a fact
photo: AP Photo

INDIA-PRIME-MINISTER-MANMOHAN-SINGH-BICENTENARY-CELEBRATION-INDIAN-MESUEM

Ten years as head of government have taken a toll onManmohan Singh, as they might of any other figure, no matter how sturdy. But the evaluation of posterity is likely to do him greater justice than that of his contemporaries, as the Prime Minister
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

 

A protester walks past a burning pro-Russian tent camp near the trade union building in Odessa, Ukraine, on May 2, 

 

The Right Goal in Ukraine

Don’t be distracted by Putin and his antics. The real test is stabilizing Ukraine.

Odessa, Ukraine

 

 

Nigeria rules out prisoner swap for missing girls

15 May 2014

 

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out the release of Boko Haramfighters in exchange for the freedom of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the militants a month ago. Britain’s Africa Minister Mark Simmonds, in Nigeria for talks about the international rescue mission, told reporters on Wednesday that he raised the
Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls of the Chibok secondary school, in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, May 13, 2014.

 

INDIA-PRIME-MINISTER-MANMOHAN-SINGH-BICENTENARY-CELEBRATION-INDIAN-MESUEM

Ten years as head of government have taken a toll onManmohan Singh, as they might of any other figure, no matter how sturdy. But the evaluation of posterity is likely to do him greater justice than that of his contemporaries, as the Prime Minister
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

A miner cries as rescue workers carry the dead body of a miner from the mine in Soma, western Turkey, Wednesday, May 14, 2014.

As people in Turkey start looking for answers after one of the country’s worst mining tragedies, attention has quickly turned to mining safety standards in the western town of Soma. The issue of mining safety was on the political agenda before
photo: AP / Emrah Gurel

Clashes with police during turkey taksim protests

SOMATurkey — Anger and grief boiled over into a violent protest Wednesday in the western Turkish town of Soma, where officials said at least 245 miners died in a coal mine explosion and fire. Nearly 450 other miners were rescued, the mining company
photo: Creative Commons / Mstyslav Chernov

Rescue workers carry a rescued miner outside the mine in Soma

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared three days of national mourning in Turkey after a huge explosion ripped through a coal mine in Soma yesterday. A few hours ago President Erdogan confirmed in a press conference that 363 miners have
photo: AP / Emrah Gurel

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

ROME (Reuters) – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi repeated accusations on Wednesday that he was forced out of office at the height of the euro zone crisis in 2011 as the result of a “plot” by European Unionofficials. Berlusconi‘s
photo: AP / Riccardo De Luca

John Ging, Operations Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Tweet Washington, May 14 (IANSUS President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on five individuals for their roles in the escalating conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), media reported Wednesday. Obamasigned an executive order Tuesday,
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

Location of the astrobiology EXPOSE-E and EXPOSE-R facilities on the International Space Station.

Tweet Moscow, May 14 (IANS/EFERussia has no intention of prolonging the use of the International Space Station after 2020, as the US is proposing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin said here Tuesday. Russia wants to redirect the money
photo: Public Domain / NASA

 

 

 

Turkey mine blast kills at least 201, hundreds trapped

14 May 2014

 

SOMA: At least 201 people were killed and hundreds more remained trapped underground after an explosion at a coal mine in western Turkey, the government said today, warning that rescue efforts faced a race against time. The toll has risen rapidly since Tuesday’s disaster in the province of Manisa, when a total of 787 mineworkers became trapped… 
Miners carefully carrying a rescued friend hours after an explosion and fire at a coal mine killed at least 17 miners and left up to 300 workers trapped underground, in Soma, in western Turkey, late Tuesday, May 13, 2014, a Turkish official said.

John Ging, Operations Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Tweet Washington, May 14 (IANSUS President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on five individuals for their roles in the escalating conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), media reported Wednesday. Obamasigned an executive order Tuesday,
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

Location of the astrobiology EXPOSE-E and EXPOSE-R facilities on the International Space Station.

Tweet Moscow, May 14 (IANS/EFERussia has no intention of prolonging the use of the International Space Station after 2020, as the US is proposing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin said here Tuesday. Russia wants to redirect the money
photo: Public Domain / NASA

National alert system would help save lives

National alert system would help save lives In recent weeks, we have experienced the destruction of entire communities in some of ourSouthern states. Part of Florida was subjected to unusually heavy rain and floods, and many people were forced to
photo: US Army / Jessi McCormick

iSomalia: ‘African Solution’ or Subjugation?

Wednesday, 14 May 2014, 3:48 pm ArticleSomalia: ‘AfricanSolution’ or Subjugation? by Abukar Arman May 13, 2014 One of the most potent intoxicants in Africa today is the canned phrase “African solutions for African problems.” While ‘ASAP’ is an
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

South Sudan Church Expands Aid Amidst Conflict, Begins Healing and Reconciliation

Episcopal Relief & Development is strengthening the crisis response of the Episcopal Church in South Sudan & Sudan (ECSSS) by providing financial and technical assistance to its humanitarian arm, SUDRA (the SudaneseDevelopment and Relief
photo: UN / Isaac Billy

Joint Special Representative Brahimi Steps Down as Special Envoy to Syria Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) announces that he will accept the resignation of Lakhdar Brahimi (right) from his post as Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, effective 31 May 2014.

Tweet United Nations, May 14 (IANSUN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon Tuesday announced resignation of Lakhdar Brahimi as the jointUnited Nations-Arab League Special Representative on the Syria crisis, terming it a “tragedy for the Syrian people” and
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose father Farooq Abdullah is contesting Srinagar's seat for the lower house of parliament in India's general election, addresses an election rally on the outskirts of Srinagar on April 8, 2014. Indians have begun voting in the world's biggest election which is set to sweep the Hindu nationalist opposition to power at a time of low growth, anger about corruption and warnings about religious unrest. India's 814-million-strong electorate are forecast to inflict a heavy defeat on the ruling Congress party, in power for 10 years and led by India's famous Gandhi dynasty.

Srinagar, May 13: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expressed hope that the new government at the Centre would carry forward the dialogue process with Pakistan to address long-pending issues, including Kashmir. “Hope the new
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

 

 

 

Google Must Honor Requests to Delete Some Links, E.U. Court Says

By  and MARK SCOTT

 

An entrance to Google’s European headquarters, in Dublin. A decision by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Tuesday appeared to represent a blow for Google. CreditPaulo Nunes dos Santos for The New York Times

 The highest court in the European Union decided on Tuesday that Google must grant users of its search engine a right to delete links about themselves in some cases, including links to legal records.

The decision by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is a blow for Google, which has sought to avoid the obligation to remove links when requested by European users of its service.

 

Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped Nigerian girls for prisoners

13 May 2014

 

MAIDUGURI (Nigeria): The leader of the Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haramhas offered to release more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by his fighters last month in exchange for its members being held in detention, according to a video posted on YouTube on Monday. The search for the girls intensified as a senior US administration official said… 
People attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue kidnapped school girls of a government secondary school Chibok, during workers day celebration in Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, May 1, 2014.

 

 

Kerry to testify on alternative date on Benghazi

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin E. Dempsey speaks along with Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing at  the Hart Senate Office building in Washington D.C. Sept. 3, 2013. President Barack H. Obama is seeking congressional approval for a limited military strike in Syria in response to their government's alleged use of chemical weapons. Department of Defense Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel Hinton.

WASHINGTON — The State Department and a House panel are working on an alternative date for Secretary of State John Kerry to testify about information related to the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, ending the immediate threat of a subpoena for a…
photo: US DoD / Daniel Hinton

Conchita Wurst, Drag Queen, Wins Eurovision, Shuts Down Anti-Gay Critics

Conchita Wurst, ESC2014 Meet & Greet

Conchita Wurst won Eurovision on Sunday with her power ballad “Rise Like A Phoenix,” and her win ruffled feathers of homophobes who protest her…
photo: Creative Commons / Albin Olsson

 

‘Sick’ attack on black minister Christiane Taubira’s failure to sing national anthem La Marseillaise

French justice minister Christiane Taubira, left, addresses members of parliament during the questions to the government session, at the National Assembly in Paris, Tuesday April 23, 2013.

Right-wing French politicians were accused of racism on Monday after they attacked a black minister who failed to sing the national anthem at a public ceremony. Christiane Taubira, the Justice Minister, defended her decision to stay silent by saying…
photo: AP / Remy de la Mauviniere

Glenn Greenwald: ‘I don’t trust the UK not to arrest me. Their behaviour has been extreme’

Glenn Greenwald

The dogs can smell Glenn Greenwald long before they see him. As we drive up the hill to his house, a cacophony of barking greets us. The chorus is so overwhelming it makes me think of the National Security Agency (NSA) chiefs who Greenwald has…
photo: Creative Commons

South Sudan’s president says 2015 election to be delayed

South Sudan's president says 2015 election to be delayed

JUBA (Reuters) – South Sudan will postpone the 2015presidential election to give warring factions time to reconcile, President Salva Kiirsaid on Monday, but his rival in a conflict that is threatening to tear apart the world’s newest nation said…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

German hacker club offers Snowden membership

Chaos Computer Club

BERLIN (AP) â?? A German hacking group says it is offering honorary membership to NSA leaker Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, a U.S.soldier convicted of providing classified documents to…
photo: Creative Commons / GNU / GFDL

Bengal records nearly 80 percent turnout amid violence

 An Indian Muslim Women voter show the finger after casting the vote at  a polling station during the final phase of general elections in Kolkata on May 12, 2014. Voters headed to the polls Monday in the final phase of India's marathon election, with hardliner Narendra Modi expected to lead his Hindu nationalists to victory after 10 years of Congress party rule

Tweet Kolkata, May 12 (IANSPolitical violence left 24 injured as over two crore people – nearly 80 percent of the electorate – voted Monday in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal in the general election’s final phase. Dubbing the clashes…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

 

 

 

 

SCHOOLGIRLS FOR PRISONERS

 

 

 

 

 

Afghanistan attacks mark Taliban’s summer offensive

12 May 2014

 

Kabul‘s international airport came under attack on Monday as the Taliban announced the start of their annual summer offensive. Two rockets hit the airport but did not cause any casualties. There were also attacks on the US airbase inBagram, at a courthouse in Jalalabad in the east and elsewhere. Afghanistan is in transition, with a new… 
File - U.S. Army Sgt. Jeffery Harisch, a Brainerd, Minn., native, now a team leader with 4th Platoon, C Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, walks past the bazaar at Shor Tepah in Northern Balkh Province, Afghanistan, during a patrol, April 14, 2011.

 

Jordan reports new MERS death

Jordan reports new MERS death

AMMAN: A man has died in Jordan after being infected with the MERS virus, the government said today, on the eve of a World Health Organisation emergency meeting on the disease. The latest death brings to five the number of fatalities in Jordan from…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

Former Afghan war soldier: ‘Flashbacks of bullets overhead’

Former Afghan war soldier: 'Flashbacks of bullets overhead'

12 May 2014 Last updated at 10:32 BST There has been a “significant increase” in the number of UK veterans of the Afghanistan conflictseeking mental health treatment, says a charity. Combat Stress said it had received 358 new Afghanistan veteran…
photo: US Army / Javier Amador

Insects in the frying pan! Take a bite

Insects in the frying pan! Take a bite

London, May 12: Ever fancied eating insects for lunch? A whole lot of people in the world, especially the impoverished parts, do it. Now it is your turn. Insects can potentially provide food security to the world, according toArnold van Huis, an…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

UN agencies are failing severely malnourished children in Tanzania

UN agencies are failing severely malnourished children in Tanzania

Despite efforts from the government and donors, a doctor shares his experiences struggling to save malnourished children In Tanzania nearly 2% of under-fives are malnourished. PhotographGraeme Robertson For the past year I’ve been running a…
photo: UN / Isaac Billy

Storm season in Oklahoma brings out weather anxiety

Storm season in Oklahoma brings out weather anxiety

After deadly tornadoes in May 2013 in Oklahoma, storm survivors commonly experience strong feelings of anxiety, and even can develop post traumatic stress disorder. By Heather Warlick, Staff Writer • If you’ve lived in Oklahoma long enough, you…
photo: US DoD / Andy Thaggard

EU mulls tougher sanctions on Russia

EU mulls tougher sanctions on Russia

We can maintain the pressure on Russia in order to reach a political solution,” is how a high-ranking European Union diplomat in Brusselsdescribed this Monday’s summit (12.05.2014). The foreign ministers of the 28 EU states will receive several…
photo: European Community / EC

African invoice fraud hampers development of poorest nations

African invoice fraud hampers development of poorest nations

Kenyan children play at the sprawling Mathare slum, one of the largest and poorest in AfricaPhotographAntony Njuguna/Reuters More than $60bn (£36bn) has been illegally siphoned out of UgandaGhanaMozambique,Kenya and Tanzania over 10 years,…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Ukraine eastern regions hold ‘self-rule’ vote

11 May 2014

 

Pro-Russian rebels have started to cast ballots in a “self-rule” vote in easternUkraine, a move criticised by the US as “illegal” and which could pull the formerSoviet republic apart. Sunday’s poll, carried out as two “referendums” in the provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk, where armed men hold more than a dozen towns, marks a serious… 
Ballot boxes stand already bearing the flag of Donetsk People's Republic at a polling station, in preparation for the upcoming referendum in the center of Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, May 10, 2014. Two restive regions in eastern Ukraine are preparing to vote on declaring sovereignty and ceding from Ukraine, in a referendum on Sunday in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where pro-Russia insurgents have seized government buildings and clashed with police and Ukrainian troops.

Pope Francis: Bible demands caring for the ‘poorest and most excluded’

Pope Francis: Bible demands caring for the ‘poorest and most excluded’

Pope Francis condemned the growing disparity of wealth on Friday. Speaking to a group of United Nations agency leaders, the Pope said theBible demands an economic system that cares for the “poorest and most excluded.” He asked the leaders to resist…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

UN readies aid in S Sudan

UN readies aid in S Sudan

Juba – The United Nations in South Sudan was readying aid on Saturday for towns ravaged by conflict but was waiting to see if a new ceasefire deal holds between the president and rebel leader before sending it. President Salva Kiir and rebel…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Afghan forces kill 63 Taliban militants, wound 41 others

Afghan forces kill 63 Taliban militants, wound 41 others

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, May 10 (Xinhua) — Afghan security forces have killed 63 Taliban militants and injured 41 others in Ghazni provincesince Friday night and the operation is still continuing, an army spokesman Nazifullah Sultani said…
photo: US Army / Javier Amador

 

 

 

 

South Sudan leaders reach ceasefire

10 May 2014

 

South Sudan‘s president has reached a ceasefire agreement with a rebel leader, a US official has said, after a vicious cycle of revenge killings drew international alarm. US national security adviser Susan Rice welcomed the peace agreement in a statement, saying it “holds the promise of bringing the crisis to an end”. A ceasefire in January between… 
South Sudan leaders reach ceasefire

 

Let children stand up for themselves

Let children stand up for themselves

Related Articles ‘Helicopter parents’ creating a generation incapable of accepting failure 30 Aug 2013 Helicopter parents should brace for impact 08 Jun 2012 ‘Helicopter parents’ hinder children’s learning 26 Dec 2007 Is this the most…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Foreign rebels among 63 killed in Ghazni operations

Foreign rebels among 63 killed in Ghazni operations

At least 63 militants including foreign rebels were killed during military operations in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan. The interior ministry of Afghanistan…
photo: US Army / Nikayla Shodeen

UNSC warns action against Nigerian girls’ abductors

UNSC warns action against Nigerian girls' abductors

The UN Security Council Friday strongly condemned the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria and attacks by extremist Islamic group Boko Haram, threatening to…
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

Dallas-area trees took a beating in powerful storms

Dallas-area trees took a beating in powerful storms

Commuters were still dodging downed trees that blocked streets Friday morning, while workers cleared debris after powerful storms whipped through the area the previous day. The National Weather Service said the damage was probably caused by…
photo: US Army / Nick Atwood

US hails South Sudan peace deal, urges swift implementation

US hails South Sudan peace deal, urges swift implementation

South Sudan’s president and rebel chief signed a ceasefire deal Friday vowing to end nearly five months of civil war, with the US urging both sides to “swiftly” implement their promises. President Salva Kiir and rebel boss Riek Machar, who shook…
photo: UN / Isaac Billy

Rio’s 2016 Olympic Preparations Are So Bad, The IOC Considered London Instead [Report]

Rio's 2016 Olympic Preparations Are So Bad, The IOC Considered London Instead [Report]

See Also The preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are so far behind schedule that London was reportedly considered to re-host the games in the same venues used in 2012, according to the London Evening Standard. “At a comparable…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Chinese Engineers Are Designing A Massive High-Speed Railway To Connect China And The US

A policeman watches while a CRH high-speed train leaves the Beijing West Railway Station for a test run on part of Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway line in Beijing, China, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

The proposed line would begin in north-east China and run up through Siberia, pass through a tunnel underneath the Pacific Ocean then cut through Alaska and Canada to reach the continental US. Digging a hole to Chinamay not sound as crazy in the…
photo: AP / Alexander F. Yuan

 

‘PRESIDENT PARK, HEAR OUR VOICES!’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

South Korea Ferry Victims’ Families March On Presidential Palace

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. officials ‘hitting the ground’ in Nigeria to help find missing girls

09 May 2014

 

May 9, 2014 — Updated 0734 GMT (1534 HKTAbuja, Nigeria (CNN) — U.S. militaryofficials arrive in Nigeria on Friday to help in the search for hundreds of girls kidnapped by Islamist militants, the Pentagon said. The seven will join advisers supporting local efforts to find the girls abducted over three weeks ago, said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John… 
Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue kidnapped school girls of a government secondary school Chibok, in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday May 5, 2014.

 

 

Brazil’s World Cup squad worth ‘half a billion’

Messi shirt.

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil‘s 23-strong World Cup squad is worth an estimated half a billion euros, Brazilian financial daily Valor reported Thursday, a day after Luiz Felipe Scolari named his list. According to a calculation by Pluri Consultoria…
photo: Creative Commons / BrokenSphere

Palestinian president, US official discuss peace process

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Tweet Gaza, May 9 (IANSPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed the recent developments in the Israeli-Palestinian peace processwith the US National Security Adviser Susan Rice. “During the meeting in Ramallah(Thursday), Abbas and Rice
photo: US DoS / U.S. Department of State

Berlusconi to begin community service for tax fraud

** FRAME GRAB **In this frame grab from an handout pre-recorded video message made available by APTN, Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi comments on the Italian highest court sentence that confirmed for him a four-year term for tax fraud, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to start a year of community service at a care home near Milan. He was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud last year, commuted to four hours work a week with elderly dementia…
photo: AP / ho via APTN

We Will Dismantle Boko Haram – President Mahama Vows

President John Dramani Mahama, foreground speaks during his inauguration ceremony, in Accra, Ghana, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013.

President John Mahama has directed the National Security Council (NSC) to enhance security measures in the country as part of efforts to prevent terrorist attacks. The President made this known in a letter he wrote fromNigeria, where he, in his…
photo: AP / Gabriela Barnuevo

Nigerian President Vows Kidnapped Girls Will Be the ‘Beginning of the End of Terror’

Nigeria's President, Goodluck Jonathan, arrives for a summit to address a seminar on security during an event marking the centenary of the unification of Nigeria's north and south in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014.

The tone at the World Economic Forum in Nigeria today was tempered by the 276 school girls being held hostage by an extremist group, asNigerian President Goodluck Jonathan vowed the kidnappings would be the “beginning of the end of terror in…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Sikorsky wins $1.24 billion US helicopter deal

Sikorsky wins $1.24 billion US helicopter deal

Travel Deals $39 & up — Amtrak: One-Way Northeast Fares, 25% Off   See all travel deals &#187The Associated Press Posted: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 5:12 PM STRATFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut helicopter manufacturerSikorsky Aircraft Corp. has…
photo: US Army / Javier Amador

 

 

Islamic militant attack in Nigeria kills hundreds

08 May 2014

 

ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press= LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) â?? Islamic militants who have triggered international outrage over the kidnapping of more than 270Nigerian schoolgirls opened fire on a busy marketplace, killing hundreds of people in a new spasm of violence in the country’s northeast. The attack escalates Nigeria’s growing crisis from a… 
A police officer stand guards during a demonstration calling on government to rescue kidnapped school girls of a government secondary school Chibok, during workers day celebration in Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, May 1, 2014.

 

 

WHO most polluted cities list sees New Delhi smog trump Beijing

Smog and fog envelop the Rajpath, the ceremonial boulevard, behind, as a police man, center, controls traffic in the morning in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014.

An effort by the World Health Organization to measure pollution in cities around the world has found New Delhi admits to…
photo: AP / Tsering Topgyal

Scientists create ‘alien’ life form with artificial genetic code

A-B-Z-DNA Side View

For the first time, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have created a new organism based on E. coli in the lab that passes along artificially engineered DNA. by 7 May 2014 9:38 PM BST facebook twitter linkedin googleplus more more + email…
photo: Public Domain / Thorwald

 

Plight of displaced South Sudanese on agenda as Ban addresses UN food committee

Plight of displaced South Sudanese on agenda as Ban addresses UN food committee

Print 7 May 2014 – Having just met with displaced, war-wearySouth Sudanese sheltering in United Nations compounds, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged immediate help to end hunger and malnutrition around the world, warning that up to a…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Monica Lewinsky speaks out on affair with Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

WASHINGTON — Monica Lewinsky says there’s no question her boss — Bill Clinton — “took advantage” of her when he was president. But she says their affair was consensual and if there was any abuse involved, it came afterward, when…
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

Angelina Jolie Calls Mass Nigerian Kidnappings ‘Unthinkable Cruelty’

UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie reacts during visit to the memorial center of Potocari near eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica

Angelina Jolie is speaking out to condemn the mass kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls…
photo: AP / Amel Emric

5 things you can do about climate change

5 things you can do about climate change

updated 3:15 PM EDT, Tue May 6, 2014 (CNN) — Climate change isn’t something in the far-off future: It’s a potentially disastrous reality that’s already starting to have effects that are expected to worsen, experts say.Longer summers and heavier…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

UN Chief Calls for ‘Bold’ Action to Curb Global Warming

UN Chief Calls for 'Bold' Action to Curb Global Warming

 

United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon is calling on countries around the world to take strong measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming. “I am asking them (world countries) to announce bold commitments and actions that…

photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Verdict due in Thai PM power abuse case

07 May 2014

 

Thailand‘s Constitutional Court is set to decide whether to remove Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra from office on abuse of power charges, a ruling that threatens to plunge the kingdom further into turmoil. Wednesday’s legal procedure comes as Shinawatra stands accused in the country’s highest court of abusing her authority by transferring a… 
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra speaks during an interview with foreign media at Government House in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013. Yingluck said Saturday that while she sees no quick end to her country's deep political impasse, her government is willing to negotiate with opponents to end the crisis.

 

Monica Lewinsky speaks out on affair with Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

WASHINGTON — Monica Lewinsky says there’s no question her boss — Bill Clinton — “took advantage” of her when he was president. But she says their affair was consensual and if there was any abuse involved, it came afterward, when…
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

 

Angelina Jolie Calls Mass Nigerian Kidnappings ‘Unthinkable Cruelty’

UNHCR goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie reacts during visit to the memorial center of Potocari near eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica

Angelina Jolie is speaking out to condemn the mass kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls…
photo: AP / Amel Emric

5 things you can do about climate change

5 things you can do about climate change

updated 3:15 PM EDT, Tue May 6, 2014 (CNN) — Climate change isn’t something in the far-off future: It’s a potentially disastrous reality that’s already starting to have effects that are expected to worsen, experts say.Longer summers and heavier…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

UN Chief Calls for ‘Bold’ Action to Curb Global Warming

UN Chief Calls for 'Bold' Action to Curb Global Warming

United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon is calling on countries around the world to take strong measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming. “I am asking them (world countries) to announce bold commitments and actions that…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, left,talks next to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim during a press conference in Mexico City, Monday, June 14, 2010.

HE founded the world’s most famous software company and is dedicated to eradicating malaria. Now Bill Gates could be set to add another line to his CV: World’s first trillionaire. That’s according to financial forecasters who predict…
photo: AP / Eduardo Verdugo

US gets new 10-year lease on military base in Djibouti

US gets new 10-year lease on military base in Djibouti

The United States secured a 10-year lease for a military base in Djibouti that it uses to launch counterterrorism missions, including drone strikes, in Yemen and the Horn of AfricaUS President Barack Obama and his Djiboutian counterpart, Ismail
photo: UN / Tobin Jones

 

IMF says Dubai may need to do more to avert property bubble

IMF says Dubai may need to do more to avert property bubble

By Martin Dokoupil DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai may need stronger measures to counter property speculation in the emirate, a seniorInternational Monetary Fund official said on Tuesday as it warned again about a potential real estate bubble. Growth in the…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

 

 

Nigeria’s abducted schoolgirls: We’ll sell them as slaves, pledges Boko Haram terror leader

06 May 2014

 

In a chilling message, the leader of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in the north ofNigeria last month, and said that he would sell them into slavery. “I abducted your girls,” Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in the one-hour video released on Monday. “By Allah, I… 
Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue kidnapped schoolgirls of a government secondary school Chibok, in Abuja, Nigeria. Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

 

Southeast Kansas still in storm radar blind spot

Southeast Kansas still in storm radar blind spot

JOPLIN, Mo. — A new radar system helped meteorologists inOklahoma detect debris from a tornado just as it was hitting Quapaw last month, but a similar radar in Missouri failed to see debris from the same storm when theEF2 twister bore moments…
photo: US Army / Jessi McCormick

The worst place to be a mother

The worst place to be a mother

London – Somalia is the worst country on Earth to be a mother, according to a report published by Save the Children which calls for more action to protect mothers and children in crisis-hit areas. The London-based charity estimates that 800 mothers…
photo: UN / Marco Dormino

EU Hardens Position on South Stream Pipeline Over Ukraine Crisis

EU Hardens Position on South Stream Pipeline Over Ukraine Crisis

MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union has hardened its stance on the construction of the South Stream natural gas pipeline amid the Ukrainian crisis, the EU commissioner for energy said in an interview with the Financial Times
photo: European Community / Adam Chelstowski

 

Bomb kills 3 policemen in western Afghanistan

Bomb kills 3 policemen in western Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan official says a roadside bombing has killed three policemen and wounded two in the country’s westernHerat provinceDistrict police chief Shir Agha Alokozay says the attack took place in the…
photo: US Army / Nikayla Shodeen

US urged to act after threats to sell Nigeria schoolgirls

US urged to act after threats to sell Nigeria schoolgirls

KANO, NIGERIA: Calls for the United States to help find and free hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria are mounting after Boko Haramclaimed the abduction and threatened to sell the girls as “slaves”. “I abducted your girls,” the Islamist…
photo: WN / RTayco

Petition demands Obama stay away from Arkansas after recent tornadoes

Petition demands Obama stay away from Arkansas after recent tornadoes

On Saturday, Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., announced thatPresident Obama would visit Arkansas Wednesday to visit communities devastated by recent tornadoes. But a number of people don’t want Obama there, and have started an online petition to keep him…
photo: US Army / Jessi McCormick

22 immigrants die as boats sink

In this photo released by the Hellenic Coast Guard, local fishermen look a yacht used to transport immigrants illegally that overturned in a fatal accident near the Greek island of Samos, on Monday, May 5, 2014. At least 22 people drowned in the incident in the eastern Aegean Sea, while 36 were rescued and others remain missing. Coast guard officials recovered the bodies of two women, a man and a boy from the sea, and later found a further 18 bodies, including three children, inside the yacht after it was towed to Samos.

A yacht and a dinghy crammed with immigrants trying to enter Greece capsized today in the eastern Aegean Sea, leaving at least 22 dead, including four children, and several more missing. The vessels had been trying to enter Greece illegally when they…
photo: AP / Hellenic Coast Guard

 

 

 

 

WORLD HEALTH EMERGENCY

 

 

 

 

 

Pistorius defense enters critical phase at trial

05 May 2014

 

Oscar Pistorius‘ murder trial enters a critical phase Monday as his defense team attempts to recover from a faltering start and reinforce the disabled athlete’s claim that he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake because he was overwhelmed by a long-held fear of violent crime. Pistorius’ mindset when he stood on his stumps in a… 
Oscar Pistorius buries his head in his hand as he listens to cross questioning, in the second week of his trial, about the events surrounding the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in court during his trial in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday, March 10, 2014. Pistorius is charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend Steenkamp, on Valentines Day in 2013.

 

 

Russia to Appeal to UN to Delay Election in Ukraine Amid Violence

Russia to Appeal to UN to Delay Election in Ukraine Amid Violence

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Civic Chamber is preparing an appeal to the UN and the European Council to postpone the presidential election in crisis-hit Ukraine currently scheduled May 25, the first deputy secretary of the chamber…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

International panel of experts to re-examine all gathered data on MH370

International panel of experts to re-examine all gathered data on MH370

SYDNEY: An international panel of experts will re-examine all data gathered in the nearly two-month hunt for the missing Malaysia jet to ensure search crews who have been scouring a desolate patch of ocean for the plane have been looking in the right…
photo: US Navy / Official U.S. Navy Page

Baxter Springs won’t get FEMA aid after tornado

Baxter Springs won’t get FEMA aid after tornado

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. — Officials say the Baxter Springsand its residents affected by a recent tornado won’t get financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management AgencyRoger Nomer | AP Volunteer AnitaLeyba, of Joplin, Mo….
photo: US Army / Jessi McCormick

Police release Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams

Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams speaks to the media in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sunday May 4, 2014. Adams was released without charge Sunday after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in a decades-old Irish Republican Army killing, an event that has driven a dangerous wedge into Northern Ireland's unity government.

Sinn Fein party leader Gerry Adams has been released without charge after five days of police questioning over his alleged involvement in a decades-old Irish Republican Army killing, an event that has driven a dangerous wedge into Northern Ireland‘s…
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

Who wrecked Iraq? We did.

Who wrecked Iraq? We did.

Re “The Iraq takeaway,” Opinion, May 1 In his piece supporting the continued presence of U.S. troops in AfghanistanMax Boot says that “in hindsight … it is obvious that Iraq began to unravel the minute the last U.S. troops left.” I would…
photo: DOD / Public Domain

Obama to visit Arkansas towns hit by tornado

Obama to visit Arkansas towns hit by tornado

LITTLE ROCKArk. — U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor says President Barack Obama has accepted his invitation to visit the Arkansas communities that were hit last week by a deadly tornado. More News Read more National NewsPryor‘s office announced Saturday…
photo: US Army / Jessi McCormick

Dozens killed in Ukraine fighting and fire; OSCE monitors freed

Sloviansk, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine, during the Sloviansk standoff. The author of this photo, Aleksandr Sirota, visited his parents in the city on Easter holidays.

ODESSA/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – At least 42 people were killed in a street battle between supporters and opponents of Russia in southern Ukraine that ended with dozens of pro-Russian protesters incinerated in a burning building, bringing the…
photo: Creative Commons / Aleksandr Sirota

Search Ends After Afghan Landslide Kills Hundreds

04 May 2014

 

Hundreds of Afghan volunteers armed with shovels joined rescue teams in northernAfghanistan Saturday, in a futile attempt to locate survivors of a massive landslide that buried hundreds of villagers under tons of rock and mud. By… 
People walk on a street of Abi-Barik village in Badakhshan province

 

 

 

Al-Qaeda confirms death of commander in Yemen

04 May 2014

 

Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch has said that one of its local commanders died from wounds he suffered during an attack by the Yemeni army and US drones. A Twitter account associated with the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) issued a message saying Ali bin Likra al-Kazimy had died on Saturday after a military attack on one of its camps in the… 
In this Thursday, May 1, 2014 photo provided by Yemen's Defense Ministry, soldiers inspect the wreckage of a vehicle destroyed during fighting with al-Qaida militants in Majala of the southern province of Abyan, Yemen.

 

 

Dozens killed in Ukraine fighting and fire; OSCE monitors freed

Sloviansk, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine, during the Sloviansk standoff. The author of this photo, Aleksandr Sirota, visited his parents in the city on Easter holidays.

ODESSA/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – At least 42 people were killed in a street battle between supporters and opponents of Russia in southern Ukraine that ended with dozens of pro-Russian protesters incinerated in a burning building, bringing the…
photo: Creative Commons / Aleksandr Sirota

Three injured in clashes ahead of Italian Cup final

Napoli's fans throw flares during the Italian Cup final

ROME, May 3 (Reuters) – Three Napoli supporters were injured, one critically, in clashes before Saturday’s Italian Cup Final between Napoli and Fiorentina in RomeItalian television and news agencies…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

Ban welcomes release of abducted military observers, urges calm as violence spreads to Odessa

Ban welcomes release of abducted military observers, urges calm as violence spreads to Odessa

Print 3 May 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the release earlier today of European military monitors and accompanying Ukrainian staff abducted a week ago in the country’s crisis-torn eastern region, even as he expressed…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Obama troubled by botched execution

President Barack Obama gestures as he gives his inauguration address during a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington.

US President Barack Obama, in his first public comments on the case, called the botched execution of an Oklahoma inmate “deeply troubling” and announced that he is going to ask the US attorney-general to analyze problems surrounding the application…
photo: AP / Win McNamee, Pool

 

Afghan rescuers search for survivors under threat of third landslide

Afghan rescuers search for survivors under threat of third landslide

KabulAfghan police and villagers began a dangerous search for more than 2,000 people buried under a massive landslide in a remote mountainous region in the northeast on Saturday, amid concern the unstable hillside may cave in again. The United
photo: US Army / Nikayla Shodeen

India 3rd on list of ‘green buildings’ countries outside US

India 3rd on list of 'green buildings' countries outside US

WASHINGTON: India has been ranked third on the list of top 10 countries in leadership in energy and environmental design outside America, according to the latest US Green Building Council report. Canada followed by Chinaoccupy the top two slots in…
photo: WN / Geeta
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