Yemeni militants seize palace, attack president’s home
President Barack Obama in State of the Union: America is turning the page
Three ways to protect our precious forests
Domestic violence damages health and shortens lives
UN says despite progress fight against Ebola is far from won
US-built Ebola treatment centers in Liberia are nearly empty as outbreak fades
French Mayor Anne Hidalgo: City Of Paris To Sue Fox News
Shelling in eastern Ukraine kills at least 6 civilians
Isis threat to Japanese hostages exposes risk in Abe’s counter-terror strategy
Rocketing vaccine cost warning
SA’s health workers to help fight Ebola in Sierra Leone
French woman kidnapped in Central African Republic
Mystery Greek tomb contained at least 5 corpses, experts say
Yemen: Rebels Surround Prime Minister’s Home
In Rare Move, Turkish President Convenes Cabinet
Europe beefs up terror fight
Full ArticlePhiladelphia Daily News
PARIS – French police are keeping nine people in custody as part of an antiterror investigation connected to last week’s attacks in Paris that have put Europe on high alert, officials said Sunday. They said three women who were arrested have been released. Amid the heightened European vigilance, a far-right rally inGermany planned for Monday was…
Sierra Leone News: Bonthe Island suspected Ebola case…Lab test proves negative
Ghana Remains At High Risk Of Ebola
Two Earth-sized planets could be hiding in our solar system
Train services resume after smoke alarm disruption
PM puts jobs at heart of campaign
Shots fired outside US vice president’s home
Miss Universe Contestant From Lebanon Slammed After She Takes A Selfie With Miss Israel
Islamic State in Iraq free 350 Yazidis
Israel PM slams impending ‘war crimes’ probe
Abe pledges US$2.5bn in Mideast aid
Angela Merkel: Terrorism Is ‘Nothing But Blasphemy’
Yemen president’s aide seized in Sanaa
Tugboat sinking in China kills 22 including 8 foreigners
U.N. peacekeeper killed in attack on base in northern Mali
Obama tells Congress that sanctions on Iran could lead to war
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama vowed Friday to stop any attempt byCongress to ratchet up sanctions against Iran while the U.S. and partner countries negotiate over its nuclear program. Obama also warned lawmakers that they would be responsible if a sanctions drive were to lead to the collapse of the ongoing talks. A diplomatic failure could…
Poor sleep ‘early warning sign’ for drink and drug issues
ICC Opens War Crimes Probe in Palestinian Territories
2014 the hottest year since records began, climate experts confirm
Nations Cup organisers dismiss Ebola, venue fears
Pope tells Filipinos to reject corruption
Pope, On Visit To Philippines, Defends Catholic Ban On Contraception
US climbers tell of ‘inspirational’ El Capitan climb
2 men reach top of Yosemite’s El Capitan in historic climb
Italy Accused of Paying al-Qaeda Ransom to Free Girls
Fierce battle for airport breaks out in Ukraine
UN Official Warns of Israeli-Palestinian ‘Downward Spiral’
Hezbollah says arrested operative confessed to spying for Israel
Pope on Charlie Hebdo: There are limits to free expression
POPE WATCH: Children too short to see the pope left in tears
Arrested teen saves officer in trouble: Detainee saves life of police officer
Five Yemenis transferred by US from Guantanamo to Oman, Estonia: Pentagon
Full ArticleSouth China Morning Post
The Pentagon transferred five Yemenis held at Guantanamo prison to foreign custody on Wednesday in the first handover of detainees this year, sending four toOman and one to Estonia despite Republican calls for a moratorium on the resettlements. US officials said all five Yemenis, held for a dozen or more years at the military prison at a US Navy…
Catalan Leader Calls Early Vote in Push for Independence
Ohio man accused of plotting to attack US Capitol, arrested
Japan unveils record defense budget
Controversial French Comedian Arrested Over Facebook Post On Paris Attacks
US gives LRA commander, war crimes suspect to Ugandans
Italy President Napolitano resigns
Former MI5 head warns Britain will descend into ‘vigilantism’ unless tougher security measures are introduced
Charlie Hebdo publishes new issue, one week after attack
The new edition of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has gone on sale, with a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad on its cover. Three million copies are being printed – a week after Islamist gunmen murdered eight journalists at the magazine and four other people in Paris. The cartoon shows the Prophet weeping while holding a sign…
Former MI5 head warns Britain will descend into ‘vigilantism’ unless tougher security measures are introduced
Moving on from Haiti’s deadly earthquake
Unpacking the War on Terror
Pope Francis touches down in Sri Lanka for ‘mercy mission’
Egyptian Court Overturns Hosni Mubarak’s Final Conviction
Regular naps are ‘key to learning’
Cristiano Ronaldo wins 3rd FIFA Player of the Year award
ZURICH — Cristiano Ronaldo hopes his third FIFA Player of the Year award brought him closer to being remembered as one of soccer’s all-time greats. The Portugueseforward, who led Real Madrid to its record 10th European title, received 37.66 percent of votes of national team coaches and captains and selected media to add to the FIFA…
Divers retrieve 2nd black box from AirAsia crash
Full ArticlePhiladelphia Daily News
PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) – Divers retrieved the crashed AirAsia plane’s second black box from the bottom of the Java Sea on Tuesday, giving experts essential tools to piece together what brought Flight 8501 down. The cockpit voice recorder was freed from beneath the heavy remnants of a wing at a depth of about30 meters (100 feet), a day after…
Living among Gaza’s dead
Hesham el-Moghraby stands in the centre of his living room, looking down at two large tombs. He takes his baseball cap off, runs one hand over his head, and puts the cap back on. “There is no other place that I know,” Moghraby tells Al Jazeerafrom inside his family’s dark shack, which brims with piles of salvaged tyres, firewood, plastic tubing,…
Pope Francis touches down in Sri Lanka for ‘mercy mission’
Egyptian Court Overturns Hosni Mubarak’s Final Conviction
U.S. CENTCOM Twitter, YouTube Hacked, Apparently by IS Group
Canadian police make third terror arrest
Ronaldo on top of the world again
Nigeria’s ignored massacre: 2,000 slaughtered by Boko Haram, 30,000 flee their homes
One of Africa‘s most senior church leaders has accused the West of ignoring the threat of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, days after the reported slaughter of up to 2,000 people by the group. Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos and president of the Nigerian Bishops Conference, spoke as bodies lay strewn on the ground in Baga,…
Millions of Iraqis displaced by ISIL
Resallah Khalil, a 29-year-old mother of seven, has been living in an old warehouse hall in southern Baghdad along with her sister-in-law’s eight-member family. The dark, stuffy, overcrowded hall is divided into dozens of 24-square-metre rooms by torn, unwashed clothes, and shelters around 1,000 people – most of whom are women and children.…
Abbas to participate in Paris march
Je Suis Charlie: Paris Rallies Amid Global Support
Princess Diana Was Allegedly Pregnant With Dodi Fayed’s Baby When She Died In Paris Car Crash
David Cameron to discuss cyber crime threat with President Obama
UN to host new Libya peace talks in Geneva next week
SpaceX launches for NASA, no luck with rocket landing at sea
Nigeria massacre deadliest in history of Boko Haram
France attacks: World leaders gather for mass Paris rally
World leaders are gathering in Paris ahead of a march in the French capital to show unity after three days of terror that left 17 people dead. Some 40 leaders are to go to the rally, expected to dwarf Saturday marches that saw 700,000 take to the streets. About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers are being deployed across the French capital to…
AirAsia crash: object on sonar may be fuselage, say searchers
Indonesian searchers with wreckage from AirAsia flight 8501. Photograph: AchmadIbrahim/AP Indonesian search teams have said a sonar scan may have located the fuselage of the AirAsia airliner that crashed two weeks ago with the loss of all 162 people on board. Searchers have also been detecting pings, believed to be from the aircraft’s black box…
French leader declares “war” on radical Islam after attacks
A sign Saturday night on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris reads, in English, “Paris isCharlie,” a sign of solidarity with the victims of the Wednesday massacre at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. (Peter Dejong, The Associated Press) RelatedStories Jan 11:Hundreds gather in solidarity in New York after Paris attacksViolence fuels debate among…
Charlie Hebdo attack: French police hunt accomplices
Police in France are hunting for any accomplices of the gunmen who killed 17 people in two days of terror attacks. One key figure is Hayat Boumeddiene, the partner of Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed when police stormed a supermarket inParis on Friday. She was said to be with Coulibaly when a policewoman was killed and is described as “armed…
SpaceX launches for NASA, no luck with rocket landing at sea
Nigeria massacre deadliest in history of Boko Haram
Eight killed by suicide bomber at Shiite mosque in Pakistan
Six killed in run-up to Ukraine peace talks
London cleric Abu Hamza sentenced to life in U.S. prison
Cuba is said to release at least two dozen detainees
Islamic Terrorists Planning ‘Mass Attacks Against The West,’ Warns MI5
UN: Ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Central African Republic
Ukraine conflict: Crimea hit by shortages
‘Dozens Killed’ As Boko Haram Attacks Villages
Record-breaking cold closes US schools, cancels flights
Rajapaksa faces tough test as voting ends with high turnout
Father Throws Five-Year-Old Daughter To Her Death From Tampa Bridge
Nigerian leader kicks off re-election campaign
The orphans of Gaza
The rooms of the al-Amal Institute for Orphans in Gaza City could belong to any child, with Donald Duck stickers plastered to the walls and stuffed teddy bears arranged in rows upon tidy bedspreads. But the brightness is a facade: These children draw war. They sketch rockets and Israeli fighter jets, pictures of people shattering…
New Antibiotic Could Help Fight Superbugs
Nasa finds 8 new planets in ‘life zone’
US Official Names The North Korean General Who May Have Ordered The Sony Hack
Suicide bomber kills at least 33 at Yemen police enrollment
There Are Rumors That Lionel Messi Could Leave Barcelona After Feud With Coach Turns Ugly
U.N. confirms Palestinians will be ICC member from April 1
Boko Haram threatens Cameroon with violence in video
FRANCE IN SHOCK
EU wants explanation from Turkey on migrant smugglers
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union wants Turkey to explain how human traffickers could have taken two cargo ships filled with migrants out of the country and toward the EU without the authorities noticing. European Commissionspokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said Tuesday that “given what has happened in recent days with…
Tail of missing AirAsia plane discovered in Java Sea
Full ArticlePhiladelphia Daily News
PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) – Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle spotted the tail of the missing AirAsia plane in the Java Sea on Wednesday, the first confirmed sighting of any major wreckage 11 days after Flight 8501 disappeared with 162 people on board, an official said. Following days of strong currents and murky water that hindered the…
Ex-Guatemalan dictator Rios Montt’s retrial suspended
Republicans in control of US Congress after eight years
Grieving family haunted by AirAsia victim’s final birthday wish
100 days in power for Afghan president, but no government
Prince Ali to challenge Blatter
At least 12 Ukrainian servicemen killed in road accident
European Stocks Are Falling After A Big Asian Sell-Off
Let the Iraqi Army have its day
On January 6, Iraq will hold its annual Army Day parade in Baghdad. The ceremony evokes mixed feelings amongst Iraqis: after all, the parade marches under massive crossed swords wielded by giant bronze hands modelled on those of Saddam Hussein himself. For the Kurds it is an ominous ritual, a leftover from an era when Baghdad’s military power far…
Thousands flee homes in Kashmir as India-Pakistan clashes spread
About 6,000 civilians in Indian-controlled region leave homes as intense shelling reported along border …
European Stocks Are Falling After A Big Asian Sell-Off
Kashmir: Five killed in India-Pakistan clashes
Mexico missing students: Iguala mayor’s wife charged
Barack Obama advised to make laws to ensure US ‘torture’ techniques are never used again
Boston Marathon bomb suspect death penalty deal rejected
France seeks end to Russia sanctions over Ukraine
French President Francois Hollande says he wants Western sanctions on Russia to be lifted if progress is made in talks on the Ukraine conflict this month. He did not specify which sanctions – imposed by the EU, US and Canada – could be lifted. The sanctions began after Russia annexed Crimea in March. Mr Hollande said Russian President Vladimir…
Taiwan’s ex-president receives medical parole after 6 years in prison
A son seeking justice for Litvinenko
Papandreou launches party, aims for post-election role
‘Brave little girl,’ 7, survives plane crash that killed her family, walks nearly a mile …
Amal Clooney claims threat over Peter Greste case
Boko Haram seizes 40 boys, men in northern Nigeria
Israel mulls war crimes lawsuits against top Palestinians
War with Isis: The West is wrong again in its fight against terror
Islamic State (Isis) will remain at the centre of the escalating crisis in the Middle East this year as it was in 2014. The territories it conquered in a series of lightning campaigns last summer remain almost entirely under its control, even though it has lost some towns to the Kurds and Shia militias in recent weeks. United Statesair strikes in…
A son seeking justice for Litvinenko
Papandreou launches party, aims for post-election role
‘Brave little girl,’ 7, survives plane crash that killed her family, walks nearly a mile …
Amal Clooney claims threat over Peter Greste case
Boko Haram seizes 40 boys, men in northern Nigeria
Israel mulls war crimes lawsuits against top Palestinians
Italy takes control of drifting ship carrying 450 migrants
BRINDISI: Italian sailors managed on Friday to take control of a crewless merchant ship as it drifted towards the country’s southern shores in rough seas with 450 migrants on board, in the second such incident in two days. Six coastguard officers were lowered from a helicopter onto the deck of the Ezadeen as it floated some 40 kilometres off…
Palestine on the ropes
Even though I was at an end-of-year retreat, I stayed up late last Monday to catch the breaking news covering the outcome of a vote that was taking place at the UN Security Council. It concerned a Palestinian proposal “put in blue” to the UN earlier in the week and that Ambassador Dina Kawar of Jordan had submitted to a vote at the Security…
U.S. imposes sanctions on North Korea for Sony hack
Full ArticlePhiladelphia Daily News
WASHINGTON – Two weeks after blaming North Korea for hacking into Sony Pictures, the Obama administration on Friday imposed new sanctions on the repressive government as part of what it described as a broader attempt to tackle threats to U.S. cybersecurity. Under a new executive order signed by President Obama, the Treasury Department imposed…
Libyan on trial for US embassy bombings dies at 50
Thousands flee homes as Australian wildfires rage
Egypt border guards shoot dead Gazan: medics
Scientists explain how stem cells and ‘bad luck’ cause cancer
US sanctions North Korea over Sony cyberattack
US stocks: Data weighs on Wall Street’s first trading day of 2015
U.N. extends mandate of tribunal trying Hariri bomb suspects
Where Afghan law fails women
Families of Shanghai victims grieve, seek answers
Police seal off Madrid train station in bomb hoax
After deadly blaze, burnt-out ferry towed to Italy
Kenyan Court Suspends Parts of New Security Law
First AirAsia crash victim laid to rest
US Vice President Biden, Rousseff meet in Brazil
Enjoy peace and love in your neighborhood…..Hello 2015
Nasa to hack Mars rover Opportunity to fix ‘amnesia’ fault
Mars rover Opportunity, which has been exploring the Red Planet for more than 10 years, is suffering from memory problems, Nasa has said. The six-wheeled vehicle – not to be confused with Curiosity, which launched in 2011 – keeps resetting unexpectedly. The Opportunity team thinks an age-related fault affecting the flash memory used by the robot is…
Tunisia’s new president takes oath of Office
Deadly suicide blast targets Houthi rebels in Yemen
U.S. Transfers Five Guantanamo Detainees To Kazakhstan
Boy, 2, shoots and kills mom at Idaho Walmart
Several thousand protest conviction of Putin foe near Moscow’s Red Square
Ukraine president Poroshenko to meet Putin, Obama in peace talks
As U.S.-led combat mission ends, Afghan women fear oppression
Iran Hangs Seven on Christmas Day
BY:
The Iranian regime hanged seven citizens on Christmas morning and at least 12 others in the days before and after the holiday, according to Iranian dissidents monitoring the human rights situation.
Seven prisoners being held in Iran’s Abdelebad prison were hanged “at dawn on Christmas day,” according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an Iranian opposition group.
The latest round of state-sanctioned killings—which have hit an all time high in the past year—came just days after President Barack Obama praised Iran in an interview at the White House and said that it could be a “successful” member of the international community.
Obama claimed that Iran can be a “very successful regional power” if it decides to relinquish some portions of its contested nuclear weapons program, according to the interview, which was conducted with NPR.??”They’ve got a chance to get right with the world,” Obama was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, in the days leading up to Christmas, Iran “secretly hanged” another 10 prisoners who were being held in one of the regime’s most infamous and brutal prisons, according to the NCRI.
Iran also has been reportedly assisting the United States in recent days in its fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.
AirAsia Confirms Debris In Java Sea Is From Missing Jet
Ferry fire: Italian government has no idea how many people have died
The Italian government does not know how many passengers are missing after a deadly ferry blaze in the Adriatic in which at least ten people died. At the end of the rescue operation last night the country’s transport minister Maurizio Lupi said there were serious discrepancies in the ship’s manifest and that there could still be people unaccounted…
Storm kills 31 in Philippines, leaves 7 missing
Putin foe Alexei Navalny found guilty of fraud
Argentine president broke ankle by slipping on wet floor
Scotland confirms first case of Ebola
Ukraine president to meet leaders in peace bid
Number of people affected by Ebola tops 20,000 – UN health agency
Virgin Atlantic plane in Gatwick emergency landing
ISIL killed ‘nearly 2,000’ in Syria in months
Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501: ‘Insufficient evidence’ sea objects were from missing plane
Family of 10 misses ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei uses Twitter to blast US and says #BlackLivesMatter
U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan ends combat role
Boko Haram militants stage attacks in northern Cameroon
Hamas bars Gaza children bereaved in war from visiting Israel
Iran expands ‘smart’ Internet censorship
Russia revises military doctrine to name NATO as chief threat
Full ArticleThe Los Angeles Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law a new defense doctrine that identifies NATO as the chief threat to Russian security and claims the right to use nuclear weapons to counter any aggression that “threatens the very existence” of Russia. The revisions to the 2010 defense mission statement were few but appeared…
North Korea blasts Obama as ‘monkey’ over film
Ukraine govt, rebels swap 370 prisoners
Pak army kills 20 militants
Cristiano Ronaldo Transfer: Agent Reveals Whether He’ll Ever Leave Real Madrid
Militants attack African Union base; 9 dead
New Russian military doctrine lists NATO as top threat
Sony’s PlayStation, Micosoft’s Xbox offline in ‘hacker attack’
The online gaming networks for Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles — hot gifts this Christmas — have gone dark in what hackers said was a coordinated attack. The outage started Christmas Day and went into Friday, PlayStation and Xbox said on their Twitter feeds, adding that they were working to restore service. A new Twitter user…
Turkey frees schoolboy arrested for ‘insulting’ Erdogan
Benazir Bhutto assassination case be tried in military court: Rehman Malik
Kate Middleton Breaks With Royal Tradition, Enjoys Christmas Dinner With Her Parents
13-year-old Nigerian girl says father gave her to Boko Haram
Peace talks with Philippine communist rebels to restart soon, leader says
China Police Reportedly Fired On Tibetans During Protests
George H.W. Bush remains hospitalized, ‘still doing well’
Pope Francis condemns persecution in Christmas address
25 December 2014 Last updated at 11:50 GMT Pope Francis has delivered his traditional Christmas address from the balcony of St. Peter”s Basilica. He used it to denounced the “brutal persecution” of religious and ethnic minorities and talked about victims of conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Share this story…
ISIL claims pilot captured after jet downed
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has shot down a warplane from the US-led coalition over northern Syria, according to a…
French Joblessness Rises as Hollande Struggles to Revive Economy
Two Men Arrested In Sydney Over Attack Plot
India separatists blamed for killing 63 tribesmen
Omar Abdullah resigns as J-K CM
France finds no links among 3 attacks in 3 days
Bodo militants kill 37 in Assam, PM Narendra Modi calls it ‘act of cowardice’
Experimental DNA vaccines show promise in Ebola fight
Full ArticleThe Times of India
LONDON: Scientists may have finally found an effective vaccine against Ebola, with two experimental DNA vaccines to prevent Ebola virus and the closely relatedMarburg virus proving to be safe and generating a similar immune response in healthy Ugandan adults as reported in healthy US adults earlier this year. The vaccines given separately and…
Reading e-books before bedtime may disrupt body clock
Cambodian doctor faces murder rap in HIV outbreak
Report: At least 60 journalists killed in 2014
Leaders agree on Ukrainian peace talks this week
Official from hated Ben Ali regime claims victory in Tunisia presidential election
WikiLeaks Releases Purported CIA Documents on Operatives’ Travel
Hindu switch sparks anger
Spain: Princess Cristina to be tried for fraud
Full ArticleThe Malta Independent
A Spanish judge on Monday ordered the king’s sister, Princess Cristina, to be tried along with her husband on charges of tax fraud – making her the first member of the country’s royal family to face charges in court since the royalty was restored in 1975. In issuing the indictment, Judge Jose Castro went against a prosecutor’s Dec. 9 recommendation…
Official from hated Ben Ali regime claims victory in Tunisia presidential election
WikiLeaks Releases Purported CIA Documents on Operatives’ Travel
Hindu switch sparks anger
Timeline of events before, after NYPD cop deaths
Obama: North Korea’s actions are cybervandalism, not war
Strong quake hits east Indonesia; no tsunami warning
NK Moral Hacks Attack US Virtual Hacks and Win, for Now
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling Since America‘s movie industry shows what is supposed to occur, and nothing occurs unless it is in the movies, most Americans are unaware that the age of artificial intelligences and automated perceptions and living is already here. And since media technologies alter psychological attachments and…
Police union links cop killings to protests; NYPD critics condemn shootings
Add comment Reprints + – Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, speaks during a news conference after the bodies of two fallen NYPDpolice officers were transported from Woodhull Medical Center, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in New York. Photo Credit: AP / John Minchillo advertisement | advertise on newsday A police union…
Tunisians voting for new president
Voices of grief and determination in Peshawar
Banda Aceh ten years on: A decade after the tsunami, the province is slowly rebuilding itself
Russia: Why oil crash could threaten Vladimir Putin with a palace coup
Kenya to US: Our terror laws are better than yours
Mother arrested for murder of 8 children
Kepler spacecraft finds a second life – and an important new exoplanet
NASA‘s Kepler spacecraft should have been rendered useless by a 2013 hardware failure, but instead its secondary mission — called K2 — has just yielded its first major discovery in the form of a particularly exciting exoplanet. The limping spacecraft, which was designed to survey the galaxy for new planets, has been kept on the road because of…
Egypt to reopen Gaza crossing tomorrow
N Korea offers assistance to US into Sony cyber attack
Israel hits Hamas site in Gaza with fresh airstrikea
Colombia Farc rebels kill five soldiers before truce
Antarctic tourism may pose disease threat to penguins
Russian prosecutors want ten years in jail for Kremlin foe Navalny
Sinjar Operation Continues; 142 Killed Across Iraq
Silence of the sheikhs puts Washington’s Iraq strategy in doubt
Washington: The US plan to save Iraq from the advances of the so-called Islamic State was in trouble even before it was conceived – years before its unveiling in September, the marauding fundamentalists had systematically eliminated hundreds of the Iraqi tribal warriors who Washington believed would take up arms against the new threat posed by IS.…
8 children killed, mother stabbed, in Australia
Obesity could be a disability, EU court rules
Accused Boston bomber says satisfied with defense lawyers
CAR Sees Child Soldier Increase
Militant video claims Tunisia assassinations
Boston Marathon bombing suspect appears in federal court
Official: 28 die in clashes in Central African Republic
President Obama Right To Call For Trade With Cuba: Half Century Of Failed Embargo Is Enough
President Barack Obama used negotiations over bringing home a couple of imprisoned Americans as an opportunity to refashion the entire U.S.-Cuba relationship. He’s aiming to reopen the embassy, relax trade and travel restrictions, and improve communication systems. Of course, sustained caterwauling began immediately from the usual…
The Pope’s Diplomatic Miracle: Ending the U.S.-Cuba Cold War
As the first Latin American Pope, Francis was the power behind the historic thawing of U.S.-Cuban relations, the Vatican revealed today. Vatican City — Shortly after the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected as Pope Francis in March 2013, he reached out to American president Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro to…
Russian Sailors Leave French Port While Mistral Deal Remains Uncertain
Boko Haram kills 32, abducts 185 in Nigeria
Geert Wilders Prosecuted For ‘Inciting Hatred’
Colombia’s Farc guerilla group declare unilateral ceasefire
230 bodies of Islamic State victims found in mass grave in Syria
North Korea marks third anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death
Church of England announces first female bishop
Obama: ‘It’s Time For A New Approach’ On Cuba
President Barack Obama made a statement from the White House on Wednesday at noon following the . “Neither the American or the Cuban people are well-served by a policy that’s rooted in events that took place before many of us were born,”Obama said. Obama described the changes as the most “significant” to occur inAmerica‘s Cuba policy in decades.…
North Korea marks third anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death
UN says Ebola-hit nations at risk of hunger
Al Jazeera
Methane on Mars raises hopes in search for life
Hamas Wins EU Court Bid Against Inclusion on Terror List
Pakistan mourns school slaughter
US stocks rise; Russian ruble continues to slide
Obama warns Islamic State
Full ArticleThe Columbus Dispatch
FORT DIX, N.J. — President Barack Obama used a holiday-season visit to a U.S. military base yesterday to issue a tough warning to Islamic State militants, saying a U.S.-led coalition will permit no safe haven to the group and will destroy it eventually. Obama spoke to hundreds of camouflage-wearing…
Greenland ice ‘adding to rising sea levels’
Melting ice from the coast of Greenland could make a much bigger contribution to rising sea levels than has previously been thought, a new study suggests. Scientistsbelieve a previously overlooked side-effect of global warming could greatly increase the rate of melting of the vast Greenland ice sheet. The ice covers 1.7 million square kilometres…
‘At least 20 students killed’ in Taliban attack on army school in Pakistan
Taliban gunmen in Pakistan have reportedly killed up to 20 students and taken hundreds more hostage alongside their teachers at an army-run school in the northern city of Peshawar. A spokesperson for the terrorist group told agencies that suicide bombers had been sent into the Army Public School to target army personnel on orders not to harm young…
Suspect in five killings barricaded in Philadelphia house
Burkina Faso’s former ruling party suspended
France Urges African Nations to Take Charge of Security
Families of Newtown victims sue rifle manufacturer
17-year-old high school senior reportedly makes $72m in financial markets
ECOWAS Retains Prez Mahama As Chair
Apparent Hostage Situation Erupts in Sydney
AS the siege exploded in Sydney’s Lindt Cafe, the world watched.
IN the United States, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and other 24-hour news channels had already dedicated most of their Monday morning programming to coverage of the emergency.
When the situation climaxed with hostages fleeing and heavily armed authorities storming the cafe in Sydney’s central business district, people around the world watched live.
Sydney Siege Gunman Identified As Iran-Born, Self-Described Cleric Man Haron Monis
One of the very strange non-sequiturs in today’s Syndey hostage siege, now approaching its 15th hour, is that the gunman who prepared for a long standoff with authorities somehow forgot to pack the ISIS flag and as reported earlier, has been said to demand it from the outside world. Strange to say the least. But the bigger question remains: who is he? Now, courtesy of a report in Australia’s The Age we know. The man who continues to hold more than a dozen people hostage, placing Sydney’s CBD into lockdown is no stranger to the NSW police or the judiciary. Self-described cleric, Man Haron Monis, 50, first came to attention of police when he penned poisonous letters to the family of dead Australian soldiers seven years ago. Last year he was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife and mother of two.
Sydney cafe siege: Australia becomes the latest country to have its sense of invulnerability shattered
For the past 10 years or so, Australian governments – and the public – have kidded themselves that they could have it both ways. They could join US-led adventures inAfghanistan and Iraq, earning themselves kudos with Western allies. And they could feel more or less safe from any kind of terrorist backlash, convinced thatAustralia was too small…
McCain prepared to help Obama close Guantanamo
CNN
December 14, 2014 — Updated 1439 GMT (2239 HKT)Washington (CNN) — An unlikely ally is offering a glimmer of hope that President Barack Obama can make good on his vow to close Guantanamo Bay before leaving office. Republican Sen. John McCain, a…
British torture inquiry not afraid to embarrass PM, head says
Intelligence committee chief Sir Malcolm Rifkind says he will ask US for missing passages revealing any UK involvement in torture and rendition …
Sierra Leone Bans Public Christmas Celebrations
Indonesia landslide kills 18
Series of attacks kill many in Afghanistan
India police question man for pro-Islamic State tweets
Lima climate summit extended as poor countries demand more from rich
MH17 investigation: Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko promises quick resolution
Speaking on a visit to Australia, Poroshenko vowed to expose those responsible for the deaths of the 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight …
U.S. urges Colombia to make quick progress to peace
Italy’s Renzi proposes tougher corruption laws amid Rome scandal
Thousands of Italians protest economic reforms
HK protesters vow to keep up fight for free elections
Japan elections set to boost Abe’s power
‘Magic mushroom’ in Queen Elizabeth II’s garden
US needs to show it’s still top dog
Nigeria opposition picks ex-general for polls
Seven dead as suicide attacks rock Kabul
West Bank tensions soar after death of Palestinian official Ziad Abu Ein
Twin blasts hit Nigerian city Jos, kill about 20
Wild storm soaks California, thousands lose power
Canada dismemberment killing was planned and deliberate: prosecutor
President George W Bush ‘knew everything’ about CIA interrogation
Former US President George W Bush was “fully informed” about CIA interrogation techniques condemned in a Senate report, his vice-president says. Speaking to Fox News, Dick Cheney said Mr Bush “knew everything he needed to know” about the programme, and the was “full of crap”. has defended its use of methods such as…
Detroit’s Bankruptcy Is Over, Michigan’s Governor Says
Report distorts CIA success foiling terrorist plots
Malala, Satyarthi receive Nobel Peace Prize
Report details Brazil regime abuses
727 Iraqi Kurdish fighters killed since IS rise in June
Stocks Are Making A Comeback
Some Democracies also Behead Their Humanitarians
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling Over the last century democracy has become regarded as the ideal system of government. Osama bin Laden, and others like him, didn’t think so. But if democracy is a pre-eminently legitimate form of government that provides a political and social structure within which people can live happy, fulfilled…
Former Top Chinese Official Jailed For Life Over Graft
Stocks Are Making A Comeback
Israelis indict American in alleged plot to attack Muslim holy sites
Senate summary report on CIA detention programme must not be end of story
Dutch to begin assembling MH17 wreckage for investigation
Usmanov to give back Nobel Prize medal after buying it for $4.1 million
Frenchman held 3 years by al-Qaida freed in Africa
Transparency International released its global report ranking 175 countries on a corruption perception scale. Nina dos Santos breaks down the rankings.
CIA Torture Report Set for Senate Release Over Bush Objections
The real lessons from Hagupit
December 9, 2014 — Updated 0423 GMT (1223 HKT) Editor’s note: Mong Palatino is an activist on youth issues and former member of the Philippine House of Representatives. He blogs at ASEAN Beat. The views expressed are his own. (CNN) — Seeing the first set of images from the typhoon zone in the Philippines is like experiencing a dreadful sense of…
Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone case number surpasses Liberia
Samaras Risks Snap Elections With December President Vote
Why is diesel now bad news?
2014 devastating year for children: Unicef
Syria conflict: UN in record humanitarian aid appeal
Risks of nuclear war is rising because of global tensions and insecure stockpiles, warn experts
Urgent action is needed to minimise the risk of a nuclear war, more than 120 senior military, political and diplomatic figures from across the world have warned. Ahead of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, which starts today, the experts…
Risks of nuclear war is rising because of global tensions and insecure stockpiles, warn experts
Full Article The Independent 08 Dec 2014
Urgent action is needed to minimise the risk of a nuclear war, more than 120 senior military, political and diplomatic figures from across the world have warned. Ahead of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, which starts today, the experts…
Uber banned in India following sexual assault allegations
Washington Post Reporter, Detained For Months In Iran, Is Charged
U.S. sends 6 prisoners from Guantanamo to Uruguay
Hagel: Afghan training is key in war’s final act
Veteran, 99, recalls painful memories of Pearl Harbor attack
Pakistani Taliban hit by surge of counter-terror operations
Global Movement Against Child Marriage Grows Stronger
ONE MILLION EVACUATED
Typhoon Hagupit Churns Across Phillippines.. Over A Million Head To Shelter.. One Of The World’s Largest Peacetime Evacuations.. Power Cut And Trees Fell
Qassem Suleimani: can this man bring about the downfall of Isis?
Qassem Suleimani with a group of peshmerga fighters in Kurdistan Photograph:None Qassem Suleimani is not used to defeat. So, when the Iraqi army fled in the face of the Sunni insurgent group, Islamic State (Isis) in June, the Iranian general was on unfamiliar ground. In 48 fateful hours from 10 June, six divisions of Iraqi forces had capitulated,…
Ukraine ceasefire deal talks may be held on Dec. 9: Poroshenko
France’s Hollande meets Putin on Ukraine crisis
Somali prime minister voted out of office by lawmakers
Hagel: 10,800 Troops To Stay In Afghanistan After Dec. 31
Swiss Hostage Kills Guard And Flees Militants
Peacekeeper in Liberia tests positive for Ebola virus
Luke Somers: British-born photojournalist ‘killed by al-Qaeda after failed rescue attempt in Yemen’
A British-born photojournalist has reportedly been killed by al-Qaeda militants inYemen during a failed rescue attempt by US special forces. Luke Somers, 33, had been held hostage since being kidnapped in the capital, Sana’a, in September 2013as he left a supermarket. His captors had taunted his family after a previous attempt by American and…
Military has given millions in surplus equipment to Wis. police
Bill Cosby’s Star On The Walk Of Fame Vandalized With ‘Rapist’ Allegations
Egypt government denies fabricating evidence in Mohamed Morsi trial
Former top Chinese official arrested in corruption probe
Vatican closes the book on financial practices ‘from Middle Ages’
The Independent
Vatican officials will be forced to work from a strict new financial rulebook from 1 January 2015, as Pope Francis makes the final push to clean up the Holy See after decades of sleaze. The accounting manual will improve the Holy See’s financial…
France agrees to compensate Holocaust deportees
Rome mayor faces threats from mobsters
Does AI really threaten the future of the human race?
A year later, recalling the ‘Mandela Magic’
December 5, 2014 — Updated 0121 GMT (0921 HKT) (CNN) — Last December 5, just after 7 p.m. South African time, I got a text message from one member of Nelson Mandela‘s family. “It’s imminent.” And so that’s how I knew a great man was taking his final breaths. “It’s done,” said the next message from those who were with him at the end. It was 9 p.m.…
It’s Official: A Secretary Of Defense Nominee Has Been Chosen
Lee Jin-man/APUS Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter during a news conference at the US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 18, 2013. See Also Ashton Carter, the former theoretical physicist who was briefly second-in-command at the Pentagon under Chuck Hagel, will be President Barack Obama‘s nominee to succeed Hagel as secretary of…
Hagel Insists He Wasn’t Fired As Defense Secretary
40 people rescued from flash floods in California
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe Purges ‘Treacherous’ Deputy
Orion launch scrubbed, reset for Friday
Nigeria repels attack by gunmen on French factory
Study: Killing wolves means more livestock attacks
Wind gusts stall launch of new Orion spacecraft
Full ArticleThe Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA stood poised to usher in a new era of exploration Thursday with the premier launch of its new Orion spacecraft. The unmanned test flight was set to begin with a sunrise liftoff, but was delayed after a boat strayed into the launch-danger zone and a minor rocket issue popped up. Then a wind gust halted the countdown…
How science is solving today’s development problems
Ebola, climate change and food security are just some of the challenges that research and science can help us face, and bring knowledge that we can act on …
Colombia peace talks with Farc rebels ‘to resume’ in Cuba
Five million children out of school in West Africa due to Ebola
Thailand’s Generals Promise Reform Amid Skepticism
Bhopal Disaster Haunts Survivors 30 Years Later
Israeli lawmakers approve dissolving parliament
Ukraine forms new pro-Western Cabinet
Afghanistan at crucial juncture
On Thursday, the so-called London Conference on Afghanistan will convene. Of all the high-profile international conferences that have been held on Afghanistan over the years – in Bonn, Tokyo, and Istanbul – this comes at a crucial juncture. At the end of October, British forces lowered the flag at Camp Bastion – from where they had engaged in…
UN food aid system fails Syria’s refugees
Russia, the West, and Gas Pipelines
EU, U.S. present Russia with united sanctions, energy front: draft
Stephen Hawking warns Terminator-style artificial intelligence could wipe out humankind
China’s ‘fox hunt’ must do more than attack the symptoms of corruption
Rain both welcomed, feared in drought-scarred state
DNA analysis on Richard III’s remains raises questions over royal succession
U.S. weighs a new front to create safe zone in Syria
Full ArticlePittsburgh Post-Gazette
Climate change impacts heat up UN talks in Lima
LIMA, Peru With 2014 on track to become the warmest year on record and time running short, more than 190 nations began talks on a new worldwide deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming from causing irreversible damage. New targets for fossil fuel use were announced ahead of the climate conference by the U.S., the European…
Controversial DNA test comes to UK
HIV evolving ‘into milder form’
WHO: Ebola Stabilizing in Some Places But Far From Over
Erdogan Hosts Putin To Tighten Turkey-Russia Alliance
Twin blasts hit Nigerian market
First gay mayor elected in Poland
Gauhar Khan slapped for wearing ‘short dress’
Pope urges Muslim leaders to condemn violence
Pope Francis has urged Muslim leaders to “clearly” condemn violent attacks carried out in the name of Islam after returning from a historic three-day visit toTurkey. The Catholic pope made the remarks on Sunday during a press briefing on board a plane carrying him back to Rome after wrapping up a three-day visit to Turkey. Francis said he had made…
Hong Kong protesters clash with police at government HQ
HONG KONG: Police unleashed pepper spray and baton charges at students who tried to storm Hong Kong‘s government headquarters early on Monday, as tensions soared in the third month of pro-democracy protests. With morning rush hour under way, fresh scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators at the main Admiralty protest site. Tearful…
Erdogan Hosts Putin To Tighten Turkey-Russia Alliance
Twin blasts hit Nigerian market
First gay mayor elected in Poland
Iraq uncovers 50,000 ‘ghost soldiers’
Sepp Blatter: Fifa boss faces more questions after World Cup claims
Just when you thought you had heard it all about Fifa and its handling of the selection process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, along comes more. Just when you might have assumed it could not get any worse, it does. More intrigue. More suspicion. And more allegations. The publication by the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee of a…