Egypt government dissolves Brotherhood NGO – report

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

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

Kenya moves to leave international court

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

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

Cyprus lawmakers reject key term for EU/IMF bailout

Demonstrators shout slogans during an anti-bailout protest outside of the parliament in capital Nicosia, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013.

Cypriot MPs have rejected legislation demanded by international creditors in return for the second instalment of a 10bn-euro (£8.7bn) EU/IMF bailout. Lawmakers voted 23 to 21 against two bills bringing co-operative banks under the central bank’s…
photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

Rumsfeld concedes Iraq War influences Syria debate

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is interviewed at his office in Washington, on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011.

Posted by CNN‘s Leigh Ann Caldwell Updated 9/5/13 12:00 p.m. ET (CNN) – While sharply criticizing President Barack Obama as an ineffective leader on Syria, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld conceded that faulty intelligence in the lead…
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

Syria strike set to overshadow G20 summit

Syria strike set to overshadow G20 summit

World leaders from G20 are meeting in St Petersburg, Russia, amid sharp differences over possible US military action against Syria, in response to what theUS administration calls a deadly chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government….
photo: EC / EC

Egypt: Interior minister survives bombing

Egyptian interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim moments before the military funeral of two policemen killed in the Port Said violence on Saturday, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Several policemen grieving for two colleagues heckled Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the force, when he arrived for their funeral, according to witnesses.

CAIRO (AP) — An explosion on Thursday targeted the convoy of Egypt‘s interior minister in Cairo‘s eastern Nasr City district, security officials and state television said. The minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, survived the attack. The officials said it…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Fukushima crisis: ‘Ice wall’ test to begin soon

Japanese Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, second right, in protective gear is explained how the radiation-contaminated water leaks are dealt by workers at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant during his inspection tour in Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013.

Tweet TokyoSep 5 (IANS) The Japanese government will soon begin a test to surround the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with an ‘ice wall’ to arrest the flow of contaminated groundwater, government officials confirmed Thursday. The…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama and Putin bring chill wind to St Petersburg as spectre of Syria crisis looms over G20 summit

05 Sep 2013

 

American president Barack Obama has touched in St Petersburg, Russia, ahead of the G20 summit. Mr Obama arrived today from Sweden, the first stop on his three-day overseas trip. The Stockholm visit was added after Mr Obama cancelled plans to hold talks ahead of the G20 with Russian presidentVladimir Putin in Moscow, in retaliation for Russia… 
On the eve of the G20 Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Channel One and the Associated Press news agency. The interview was recorded in Novo-Ogaryovo on September 3, 2013.

 

Egypt: Interior minister survives bombing

Egyptian interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim moments before the military funeral of two policemen killed in the Port Said violence on Saturday, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Several policemen grieving for two colleagues heckled Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the force, when he arrived for their funeral, according to witnesses.

CAIRO (AP) — An explosion on Thursday targeted the convoy of Egypt‘s interior minister in Cairo‘s eastern Nasr City district, security officials and state television said. The minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, survived the attack. The officials said it…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Fukushima crisis: ‘Ice wall’ test to begin soon

Japanese Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, second right, in protective gear is explained how the radiation-contaminated water leaks are dealt by workers at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant during his inspection tour in Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013.

Tweet TokyoSep 5 (IANS) The Japanese government will soon begin a test to surround the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with an ‘ice wall’ to arrest the flow of contaminated groundwater, government officials confirmed Thursday. The…
photo: AP / Kyodo News, Pool) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDI

Ready for war? Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin set to lock horns over Syria at …

President Barack Obama gestures as he answers questions during a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, at the Rosenbad Building in Stockholm, Sweden.

Vladimir Putin welcomes President Barack Obama and the other heads of the world’s leading and emerging nations to a G20 summit in St Petersburg tomorrow morning. The event will crackle with tensions over the case for punitive strikes against Syria
photo: AP / Martinez Monsivais

Kerry makes case to House for action in Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry testifies before the Senate with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey at the Senate Hart Office Building in Washington D.C. Sept. 3, 2013. Kerry and Dempsey testified to the Senate on the upcoming decision by congress for U.S. Military intervention in Syria. Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo (Released)

Secretary of State John Kerry says that when chemical weapons were used inSyria last spring, President Obama did not have a “compelling” enough case to push for a U.S. military response. Testifying to the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, Kerry…
photo: US DoD / A. Kirk-Cuomo

New Malian President Keita promises unity and peace

A Malian soldier walks in the street as Malian troops work with French forces to battle radical Islamic rebels in Gao, Mali, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013.

Mali’s newly sworn in leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita pledged on Wednesday (03.09.2013) to unite the deeply divided West African nation. Keita’s inauguration marks a return to civilian rule following a coup in March, 2012. ‘IBK’ as he is popularly…
photo: AP

Attacks on security forces kill 12 in Iraq

A man inspects the aftermath of a car bomb attack at the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Bombings and shootings targeting security forces across Iraqkilled at least 12 people Wednesday, officials said, as authorities found the bodies of 16 people killed in an attack overnight on two Shiite families south of Baghdad. The…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Egypt interim govt committed to poll timetable

Egypt's chief justice Adly Mansour, center, is applauded by by chiefs of the constitutional court after he is sworn in as the nation's interim president Thursday, July 4, 2013. The chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court was sworn in Thursday as the nation's interim president, taking over hours after the military ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

CAIRO – Egypt‘s interim president Adly Mansour on Tuesday vowed his government will stick to a timetable for elections next year and hoped to lift a state of emergency in mid-September. Mansour, in his first television interview since the military…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

 

 

 

 

Ariel Castro Reportedly Found Hanging in Prison Cell

04 Sep 2013

 

Ariel Castro, who was sentenced on August 1 to life in prison, plus 1,000years, for kidnapping, imprisoning, and repeatedly raping Gina DeJesus,Amanda… 
Ariel Castro

 

 

 

 

Attacks on security forces kill 12 in Iraq

A man inspects the aftermath of a car bomb attack at the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Bombings and shootings targeting security forces across Iraqkilled at least 12 people Wednesday, officials said, as authorities found the bodies of 16 people killed in an attack overnight on two Shiite families south of Baghdad. The…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Egypt interim govt committed to poll timetable

Egypt's chief justice Adly Mansour, center, is applauded by by chiefs of the constitutional court after he is sworn in as the nation's interim president Thursday, July 4, 2013. The chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court was sworn in Thursday as the nation's interim president, taking over hours after the military ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

CAIRO – Egypt‘s interim president Adly Mansour on Tuesday vowed his government will stick to a timetable for elections next year and hoped to lift a state of emergency in mid-September. Mansour, in his first television interview since the military…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Putin warns US against one-sided Syria action

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with John Daniszewski, the Associated Press's Senior Managing Editor for International News during an AP interview at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has warned the US against taking one-sided action in Syria, but has also said that Russia “doesn’t exclude” the possibility of supporting a UN resolution authorising military strikes. He says that such an…
photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko

Strong Quake Shakes Tokyo Area; No Damage Seen

Tokyo Tower at night

TOKYO — A strong earthquake has shaken the Tokyo area and eastern Japan, though no injuries or damage was immediately reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake early Wednesday registered a magnitude of6.9 but was centered offshore…
photo: Creative Commons / ?????

Fort Hood Shooter Forcibly Shaved in Prison

Soldiers hold a candle light vigil at Fort Hood, Texas, Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. Authorities said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The Army psychiatrist sentenced to death for theFort Hood shooting rampage has been forcibly shaved. Maj. Nidal Hasan began growing a beard in the years after the November 2009 shooting that left 13 dead and 30 wounded. The…
photo: AP / LM Otero

Americans want to bring Princess Di back to life

John Loughrey, a supporter of Princess Diana, poses for photographers outside the High Court at the conclusion of the inquest into Princess Diana's death, jsa1

Princess Diana is the deceased celebrity many Americans would want to bring back to life while most men would prefer to die before their spouses, according to a new survey about mortality released on Tuesday. The majority of Americans questioned in…
photo: AP / Akira Suemori

Sudan: Oil Will Keep Flowing

File - Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, President of Sudan, and Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, greet each other at the Independence Ceremony of the new nation.

After meeting on Tuesday with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, PresidentOmar al-Bashir of Sudan said oil from South Sudan would continue to flow through his country’s pipelines. Although Mr. Bashir had ordered the pipelines closed and accused…
photo: UN / Isaac Billy

 

 

 

 

 

Japan to fund ice wall to stop reactor leaks

03 Sep 2013

 

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government announced Tuesday that it is funding a costly, untested subterranean ice wall in a desperate step to stop leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after repeated failures by the plant’s operator. The decision is widely seen as a safety appeal just days before the International Olympic… 
In this photo provided by Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), NRA commissioners inspect storage tanks used to contain radioactive water at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), in Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, Friday, Aug. 23, 2013.

 

 

 

Australia ready for gay marriage, says Kevin Rudd

In this Sept. 1, 2013 photo, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks to the crowd during the Australian Labor Party's campaign launch in Brisbane, Australia.

Prime minister, a practising Christian, hits back at religious right by saying Biblepreaches universal love among all people Kevin Rudd pledges to legalise gay marriage within 100 days if Labor is re-elected. Photograph: Stefan Postles/Getty Images
photo: AP / Tertius Pickard

Verizon and Vodafone strike record deal

 Verizon Internet provider, Broadband, wireless New York (mk1)

Verizon Communications has agreed to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone out of its US wireless business. The deal marks the third biggest corporate takeover in history. US telecom giant Verizon and Vodafone announced Monday that the…
photo: WN / Minakumari

Egypt’s deposed president Mohammed Morsi to stand trial over Cairo protest deaths

Palestinian men gather during a demonstration in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on August 23, 2013. Nearly 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi loyalists and security forces, sparking international concern and condemnation.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Egypt’s deposed President Mohammed Morsi is to go on trial for allegedly inciting his supporters to kill protesters demonstrating outside his palace while he was in power, it was reported….
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Obama seeks Syria support from former foe McCain

Republican Sen. John McCain during a TV interview, at the World Economic Forum, held at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention center, in Southern Shuneh, 34 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Amman, Jordan, Saturday, May 25, 2013.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is inviting Sen. John McCain to the White House, hoping his foe in the 2008 presidential election will help sell the idea of aUS military intervention in Syria to a nation deeply scarred by more than a decade of…
photo: AP / Mohammad Hannon

Asia stocks gains as China manufacturing improves

A man watches an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, April 8, 2009.

BANGKOK (AP) Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday after manufacturing surveys suggested China’s economic slowdown is plateauing. The region’s gains came despite subdued growth in U.S. incomes and consumer spending that put a dampener on Wall
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

Opinion: Merkel wins debate with the facts

Photo provided by German broadcaster WDR shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, of the Christian Democrats and her Social Democratic challenger Peer Steinbrueck as they shake hand prior to the only live televised debate ahead of the national elections in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013.

During the televised debate between the chancellor and her main opponent, the presenters were very careful to ensure that speaking times were equal for both participants. But throughout much of the 90-minute duel between the Christian Democrat‘s…
photo: AP / WDR, Max Kohr

George Bush mistakenly announces Nelson Mandela’s death

Official portrait of George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States of America.

Though he remains in critical condition, former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from the Pretoria, South Africa hospital he has received treatment in since June, to continue his recovery at home. When the news broke that Mandela
photo: US DoD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Syria asks UN to stop ‘any aggression’

02 Sep 2013

 

Syria has asked the UN to prevent “any aggression” against Syria following a call over the weekend by US President Barack Obama for punitive strikes against the Syrian military for last month’s alleged chemical-weapons attack.US military action will be put to a vote in Congress, which ends its summer recess on September 9, giving Syrian… 
Free Syrian Army fighters ride a motorbike to approach Syrian Army tanks in Idlib, north Syria, Sunday, March 11, 2012.

 

 

 

Egypt’s deposed president Mohammed Morsi to stand trial over Cairo protest deaths

Palestinian men gather during a demonstration in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on August 23, 2013. Nearly 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi loyalists and security forces, sparking international concern and condemnation.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Egypt’s deposed President Mohammed Morsi is to go on trial for allegedly inciting his supporters to kill protesters demonstrating outside his palace while he was in power, it was reported….
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Obama seeks Syria support from former foe McCain

Republican Sen. John McCain during a TV interview, at the World Economic Forum, held at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention center, in Southern Shuneh, 34 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of Amman, Jordan, Saturday, May 25, 2013.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is inviting Sen. John McCain to the White House, hoping his foe in the 2008 presidential election will help sell the idea of aUS military intervention in Syria to a nation deeply scarred by more than a decade of…
photo: AP / Mohammad Hannon

Photo provided by German broadcaster WDR shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, of the Christian Democrats and her Social Democratic challenger Peer Steinbrueck as they shake hand prior to the only live televised debate ahead of the national elections in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013.

During the televised debate between the chancellor and her main opponent, the presenters were very careful to ensure that speaking times were equal for both participants. But throughout much of the 90-minute duel between the Christian Democrat‘s…
photo: AP / WDR, Max Kohr

George Bush mistakenly announces Nelson Mandela’s death

Official portrait of George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States of America.

Though he remains in critical condition, former South African President Nelson Mandela was discharged from the Pretoria, South Africa hospital he has received treatment in since June, to continue his recovery at home. When the news broke that Mandela
photo: US DoD

Veteran broadcaster David Frost dies

 Secretary-General Kofi Annan (right) is interviewed by David Frost, host of BBC´s "Breakfast with Frost", during his official visit to the United Kingdom(gm1)

Sir David Frost, the journalist and broadcaster whose lengthy career covered everything from cutting-edge 60s satire to heavyweight interviews and celebrity gameshows, has died of a heart attack on a cruise ship, his family said. The 74-year-old,…
photo: UN

Senegal’s Macky Sall appoints new prime minister

Senegalese president-elect Macky Sall smiles as he greets the press after incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade called him to concede, in Dakar, Senegal in the early hours of Monday, March 26, 2012.

Senegalese President Macky Sall appointed Justice Minister Aminata Touré(pictured) as the country’s new prime minister on Sunday after sacking the previous government, Touré told state radio By News Wires (text) President Macky Sall of…
photo: AP / Tanya Bindra

Seamus Heaney 1995 Nobel Prize winner literature dies

Seamus Heaney

The winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for literature has died. Seamus Heaney ofNorthern Ireland passed away on Friday, August 30, 2013. He has been described as one of the English language’s leading poets. He passed away in a Dublinhospital after a…
photo: Public Domain / SeantheOC

 

 

 

Tunisia opposition stages protest as crisis deepens

01 Sep 2013

 

Thousands of opposition supporters have marched in Tunisia‘s capital Tunis, demanding the immediate resignation of the Islamist-led government. The protesters formed a 3km-long (two miles) human chain from the parliament building to the… 
Protesters formed a human chain to protest against the national government headed by Ali Laareidh in Tunis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013.

Obama asks Congress to approve Syria strike

President Barack Obama receives an update in the Oval Office from Lisa Monaco

US president Barack Obama stepped back from the brink on Saturday and delayed an imminent military strike against Syria to seek approval from the US Congress in a gamble that will test his ability to project American strength abroad and deploy his…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Merkel and Steinbrück prepare for German TV election debate

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sings the national anthym during an election campaign in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, Aug.30, 2013.

Three weeks before Germans go to the polls, the top candidates for chancellor,Angela Merkel and Peer Steinbrück, are to lock horns on TV. It’s the only such debate ahead of the vote, although the opposition wanted two. Chancellor Angela Merkel and…
photo: AP / Michael Probst

Many see Pope Francis I as an agent of change; others as one of prophecy

Many see Pope Francis I as an agent of change; others as one of prophecy

“As you know, the duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome, and it seems to me that my brother cardinals went to fetch him at the end of the world. But here I am.” Those were the words of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio ofArgentina, who…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

At Alpbach, UN chief urges greater action to meet anti-poverty, sustainability goals

At Alpbach, UN chief urges greater action to meet anti-poverty, sustainability goals

Print 31 August 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged participants at the European Forum Alpbach to boost action towards achieving the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to shape a shared vision…
photo: UN / /Evan Schneider

UN weapons inspectors return from Syria as clock ticks

UN weapons inspectors return from Syria as clock ticks

Ban Ki-Moon promises to expedite analysis amid pressure on team to report findings before any US air strikes are launched UN weapons inspector collects samples in Syria. The tests are being carried out in two unidentified laboratories inEurope….

Always consider what follows the ‘quick strike’

31 Aug 2013

 

So the U.S. launches a military strike. Then what? As the Obama administration and the U.S. military plot military action against Syria, they should be spending just as much time — and arguably more — considering what happens next. Once Washington crosses the threshold of action, there’s no retreating from blame for anything that follows, whether… 
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman maneuvers alongside the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard during a replenishment-at-sea in the Gulf of Oman, 28 August, 2013.

 

Amid crackdown, Egypt’s protesters shift tactics

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi run for cover from tear gas fired by police, not seen, during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 30, 2013.

CAIRO – Reeling from a fierce security crackdown, the Muslim Brotherhood brought out mostly scattered, small crowds Friday in its latest protests of Egypt‘s military coup. While the remnants of the Brotherhood‘s leadership are still able to exhibit…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

DR Congo rebels retreat from eastern frontline

FILE - In this November 30, 2012 file photo, M23 rebels withdraw from the Masisi and Sake areas in eastern Congo.

Rebels fighters declared a ceasefire “to give peace a chance” and retreated from strategic hills in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo Friday. But Rwanda, accused of supporting the rebels, reportedly moved troops towards the border. ByJosh
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

US plans ‘limited act’ against Syria over chemical claim

President Barack Obama meets with his Cabinet and senior officials in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 8, 2013.

President Barack Obama has said the US is considering a “limited narrow act” in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army. Mr Obamastressed that no “final decision” had been made, but ruled out putting…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Bosnia: Convicted War Criminal Welcomed as a Hero

Former speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament Momcilo Krajisnik enters the courtroom of the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal for his appeals verdict in the Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday March 17, 2009. Krajisnik hears Tuesday if U.N. judges will overturn his conviction for orchestrating ethnic cleansing campaigns that left thousands of Muslims and Croats dead. Both the defense and the prosecution are appealing Krajisnik's 27-year sentence.

Singing Serbian national songs and waving flags, more than 2,000 people on Friday welcomed home as a national hero a convicted war criminal, Momcilo Krajisnik. Mr. Krajisnik, 68, was arrested in 2000 and convicted by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal…
photo: AP / Bas Czerwinski, Pool

UNASUR Summit in Suriname Welcomes Back Paraguay

File - Former dictator Desi Bouterse, the presidential candidate of the New Democratic Party, greets supporters at a campaign rally in Paramaribo, Suriname Saturday May 21, 2005.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Paraguay is being welcomed back into a group ofSouth American nations known as UNASURThe country was officially reinstated during a yearly summit held Friday in Suriname. UNASUR had temporarily suspended Paraguay after it…
photo: AP / Edward Troon

Portugal asks for 2 more planes to fight wildfires

A prescribed burn in a Pinus nigra stand in Portugal Wildfires are caused by a combination of factors such as topography, fuels, and weather. Other than reducing human infractions, only fuels may be altered to affect future fire risk and behavior.

LISBON, Portugal – Wildfires are scorching large areas of forest in Portugal and the country has asked other European nations to send two more water-dropping aircraft to help battle the blazes. Jorge Dias, spokesman for Portugal’s NationalCivil…
photo: Creative Commons / Paulo Fernandes

France backs action on Syria as US seeks coalition, UK rejects move

30 Aug 2013

 

DAMASCUS: French President Francois Hollande gave a boost Friday to US hopes of forging an international coalition for possible strikes against Syriaafter British lawmakers rejected any involvement in military action. The White House had signalled on Thursday that US President Barack Obama, guided by the “best interests” of the United States, was… 
France backs action on Syria as US seeks coalition

France says military strike against Syria possible by Wednesday

In this photo taken Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, French President Francois Hollande addresses the troops at the airport following his two-hour-long visit to Timbuktu, Mali.

PARISFrench President Francois Hollande said a military strike on Syria could come by Wednesday and that Britain’s surprise rejection of armed intervention would not affect his government’s stand. “France wants firm and proportionate…
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

DR Congo rebels announce troop withdrawal

File - Indian peacekeepers with the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), deployed to the country's North Kivu Province, stand guard over Bunagana and the rebel stronghold of Runyonyi, as fighting continues between the M23 splinter group and Government FARDC forces, 23 May, 2012.

The M23 rebel movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be withdrawing troops from the frontline of fighting with Congolese and UN forces, according to the group’s chief. Bertrand Bisimwa, the civilian president of M23, told Al Jazeera on…
photo: UN / Sylvain Liechti

Colombia braced for nationwide protests

Students dodge police water canons as they protest in downtown Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013.

Colombia‘s largest cities were braced on Thursday for marches by students and labour unions in support of a growing nationwide strike by miners, truckers, coffee growers, milk producers and potato farmers protesting against everything from high fuel…
photo: AP / Fernando Vergara

Philippines and China Dispute Visit

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei speaks during a news briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. China, the world's most prolific executioner, put a Filipino man convicted of drug trafficking to death on Thursday despite a clemency appeal from the Philippine president. Hong told a regular news briefing that the case was handled in accordance with the law and that the countries had been in contact over it.

MANILA — The Philippines and China, already locked in a territorial dispute, engaged in a diplomatic tussle on Thursday. The Philippine president canceled a visit to a trade fair in China after being told to stay away, while China insisted that it…
photo: AP / Andy Wong

$59 billion black budget: US spying detailed in secret report

People make their way along a subway platform at Grand Central Station in New York, Monday June 19, 2006, in New York. A book excerpt released Sunday, June 18, 2006, on Time magazine's Web site says U.S. officials received intelligence that al-Qaida operatives had been 45 days away from releasing a deadly gas into the city's subways when the plan was called off by Osama bin Laden 's deputy in 2003.

US spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks ofSeptember 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information on a range of national security threats, according…
photo: AP / Shiho Fukada

India’s first defence satellite GSAT-7 launched successfully

Scientists look on as India's first unmanned mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft, background, is unveiled at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Satellite Centre in Bangalore, India, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008.

August 29: India‘s first exclusive defence satellite GSAT-7 was successfully launched by European space consortium Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket fromKourou spaceport in French Guiana today, giving a major push to the country’s maritime security….
photo: AP

‘Mega-canyon’ discovered under ice in Greenland

Canyon cascades, highlands of Isunngua, Greenland.

Hidden beneath Greenland‘s ice sheet is a massive canyon that’s more than 460 miles long and up to 2,600 feet deep at points. by A 3D computer rendering of the subglacial canyon, looking northwest from central Greenland. (Credit: J. Bamber/University
photo: Public Domain / Algkalv

Obama advocates limited strikes in Syria

29 Aug 2013

 

US President Barack Obama says the United States has “concluded” that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against civilians, and advocated the use of a “tailored, limited” military strike in response. Obamawas referring to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta last week that aid agencies say killed at… 
President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at The Associated Press luncheon during the ASNE Convention, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Washington.
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

Tropical storm floods western cities in Taiwan

Local residents walk through floodwaters from passing Tropical Storm Kong-Rey in Tainan, Taiwan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013.

Tropical Storm Kong-Rey battered Taiwan on Thursday, dumping more than 500millimetres (19 inches) of rain on the heavily populated west coast and causing…
photo: AP

Obama says no decision made on Syria

President Barack Obama talks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a phone call in the Oval Office, July 12, 2013.

Washington, August 29: US President Barack Obama Wednesday said that he has not made a decision about how to respond to the use of chemical weapons inSyria‘s internal conflict, media reported. “I have not made a decision,” the president said in an…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

UN pressure to delay intervention in Syria

UN pressure to delay intervention in Syria

Britain and the US were under pressure last night to delay military action in Syriauntil the United Nations completes its investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime. With an impending military attack now all…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Latin America, UN remain supportive of Haiti peacekeepers

Latin America, UN remain supportive of Haiti peacekeepers

UNITED NATIONS — Countries participating in a UN-led stabilization mission inHaiti on Wednesday pledged their continued support, citing encouraging signs the government is taking calls for electoral reform seriously. But during a Security Council
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

Fort Hood killer Hasan sentenced to death

A pedestrian walks in front of 13 crosses and flowers in front of a church outside of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers during a rampage on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009

Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan has been sentenced to death for the killing of 13 people in 2009 at a Texas military base. The jury took just over two hours on Wednesday to decide on the former army psychiatrist’s fate. Prosecutors had called for the…
photo: AP

Iraq bombings, shooting claim at least 66 lives

This citizen journalist image provided by the Rebels Gathering of Hawija on the group's Facebook page shows people inspecting protesters' dead bodies at a hospital in Hawija, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq.

Baghdad area residents awoke to a coordinated wave of bombings mainly targeting Shiite areas, and seven members of a single family were killed as they slept in an apparently sectarian attack in Iraq on Wednesday. At least 66 were killed and many more…
photo: AP / Rebels Gathering of Hawija

At least 26 killed in flurry of bombings across Afghanistan

A soldier from NATO-led forces, center, is seen outside the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qargha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed almost two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack that began before midnight on Thursday, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012.

Six people were killed in a bomb attack on a base operated by Polish and Afghan forces in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni on Wednesday, local officials and a Reuters witness said. Another 20 people – including at least nine soldiers – died in a…
photo: AP / Ahmad Jamshid

Western intervention looms after reported Syrian chemical weapons attacks

28 Aug 2013

 

August 28, 2013 — Updated 0730 GMT (1530 HKT) (CNN) — Warships armed with cruise missiles plow the waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cabinet-level officials hold a National Security Council meeting at the White House Tuesday night. And U.S. officials all but tell U.N. inspectors in Syria to get out of the way. For almost two years, Obama… 
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, left, and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman transit the Strait of Gibraltar en route to the Mediterranean Sea, 3 August, 2013.
photo: US Navy / MCS3 Jamie Cosby

 

 

 

Attacks kill at least 58 people in Iraq: Officials

A Baghdad municipality worker cleans, while people and security forces inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013.

BAGHDAD: A coordinated wave of bombings tore through Shia Muslim areas in and around the Iraqi capital early Wednesday, killing at least 58 and wounding many more, officials said. The blasts, which came in quick succession, targeted residents out…
photo: AP / Khalid Mohammed

Pakistan court drops charges against Khan

Cricketer-turned-politician and head of Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf or Moment for Justice Imran Khan leaves the Supreme Court after his case hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug 28, 2013.

Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday dropped contempt charges against cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, accepting his explanation that he never intended to bring senior judges into disrepute. Khan, the head of Pakistan’s third largest…
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

When to strike: Tense decisions for Obama on Syria

This Tuesday, July 9, 2013 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian rebels running during heavy clashes with Syrian soldiers loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preparations for a highly anticipated strike on Syria could lead to an awkward decision on timing. Few doubt that President Barack Obama is preparing for a U.S.-led military action to retaliate for what the U.S. and its allies say…
photo: AP / Aleppo Media Center AMC

US sends envoy to North Korea to seek Kenneth Bae release

A South Korean man watches a television news program showing Korean American Kenneth Bae at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 2, 2013.

The US is to send a senior official to North Korea to request the release of a US man jailed in the communist state. Robert King, the US special envoy for North Korean rights, will arrive in Pyongyang on Friday, the state department said. He will…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Herder dies of bubonic plague in Kyrgyzstan after being bitten by flea

File - Himalayan Marmot - (Marmota himalayana) - photographed at Tshophu Lake altitude 4100 metres near Jangothang Bhutan.

A 15-year-old Kyrgyzstani herder has died of bubonic plague after being bitten by a flea – the first case of Black Death in the country for over 30 years. In an effort to calm fears of an epidemic, an emergency quarantine zone has been set-up to…
photo: Creative Commons / Christopher Fynn

Taliban kill 12 Afghan civilians, aid workers

Afghan soldiers stand guard as smoke rises from the gate of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday June 25, 2013. The Taliban said they have hit one of the most secure areas of the Afghan capital with a suicide attack, as a series of explosions rocked the gate leading into the presidential palace.

August 27: Insurgents shot and killed 12 civilians in two separate incidents over the weekend, including six aid workers employed on government projects, officials said today. The bodies of six victims were found in the Gulran district of western…
photo: AP / Ahmad Jamshid

Zimbabwe Announces Plans For A $300 Million ‘Disneyland In Africa’

Main falls of Mosi-oa-Tunya or Victoria Falls

Zimbabwe‘s Victoria Falls There’s no Disneyland in Africa, but if comments from Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality minister are any indication, a big-time theme park along those lines may be in the works for an area near the iconic Victoria Falls….
photo: European Community / John Walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russia’s warning falls on deaf ears as Britain and US prepare to bomb

27 Aug 2013

 

Russia warned Britain and America yesterday that they would be in “grave violation of international law” if they carried out air strikes against the Syrianregime without the approval of the United NationsAmid growing concern athome and abroad about the legitimacy and wisdom of the UK participating in an attack on the Assad regime without UN… 
File - Russian President Vladimir Putin watched the final phase of large-scale military exercises involving Eastern and Central Military District forces at the Tsugol test ground, 17 July, 2013.

 

 

Kerry: Chemical arms use in Syria has consequences

Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, about the situation in Syria.

Secretary of State John Kerry says there is “undeniable” evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria, with intelligence strongly pointing to Bashar Assad‘s government, and “this international norm cannot be violated without…
photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Deadly raid could derail Israeli-Palestinian talks

Palestinian mourners carry the body of one of three slain Palestinian during their funeral procession, at the Qalandia refugee camp, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013.

JERUSALEM — Palestinians warned Monday that newly restarted peace talks could be derailed after a deadly clash between Palestinian refugees and Israeli security forces. Three Palestinians were shot and killed at the Kalandia refugee camp near…
photo: AP / Majdi Mohammed

Summary Box: Stocks Sag After Kerry’s Remarks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to U.S. Embassy staff in Doha, Qatar

SYRIA: The stock market sagged Monday after the Obama administrationratcheted up pressure against SyriaSecretary of State John Kerry said there was “undeniable” evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria last week, and suggested…
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

How the Dow Jones Industrial Average Fared Monday

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

The stock market sagged Monday after the Obama administration ratcheted up pressure against SyriaSecretary of State John Kerry said there was “undeniable” evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria last week, and suggested the…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

U.N. results could be deliberately misinterpreted, says Assad

FILE -- In this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013 file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech at an Iftar dinner with political and religious figures in Damascus, Syria. A U.N. team that is supposed to investigate an alleged deadly chemical attack near the Syrian capital Damascus last week left their hotel Monday, as President Bashar Assad denied his troops used chemical weapons during the fighting in the rebel-held suburb. Assad told Russia's Izvestia daily, in an interview published Monday, that the accusations that his troops used chemicals were responsible were "politically motivated."

As war rhetoric escalates, Syria’s PresidentBashar Al-Assad has mounted a robust counterattack — rejecting that his forces used chemical weapons and warning that the U.S. will suffer a historic defeat in case it launches a military…
photo: AP / SANA

Even as U.S. hands over fight to Afghans, some troops still take fire

	Even as U.S. hands over fight to Afghans, some troops still take fire

COMBAT OUTPOST WILDERNESS, Afghanistan — For weeks, the fierce duel playing out in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan between U.S. and insurgent artillery crews had been decidedly one-sided – deadly only for the Taliban. With better…
photo: USMC / Anthony L. Ortiz

Kerry To Make Syria Statement At 2 P.M.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walk and talk

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver a statement Monday on the situation in Syria as the Obama administration toughens its rhetoric over the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad‘s regime.The State
photo: Public Domain / State Department

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOTS FIRED AT UN

Snipers Target Inspectors In Syria… List Of Possible Military Targets Circulating In White House…

Karzai arrives in Pakistan for talks

26 Aug 2013

 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has arrived in Islamabad for talks with thePakistani officials on restarting peace process with the Taliban. It will beKarzai‘s first meeting with Nawaz Sharif, who took office… 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug, 24, 2013.
photo: AP / Ahmad Jamshid

Iraq bombings: at least 47 killed in day of terror

shop in the northeastern Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013.

Car bombs, roadside bombs and shootings killed at least 47 people in Iraq on Sunday, police and medical sources said, as tensions intensified between Sunniand Shi’ite Muslims across the Middle EastSunni Muslim insurgents and the…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Hague hints at Syria military move

Black columns of smoke rise from heavy shelling in the Jobar neighborhood, east of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013.

The Foreign Secretary declined to be drawn on the options being considered byWestern allies but would not rule out the possibility of air strikes or other measures being taken within days. And he told MPs demanding the recall of parliament from its…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Myanmar village rocked by sectarian violence

Mothers carrying their children walk past the debris of burnt buildings in Htan Gone village of Kantbalu township, Sagaing division, Myanmar, Monday, Aug. 26, 2013.

Htan GoneMyanmar – Members of a 1 000-strong Buddhist mob torched dozens of homes and shops in north-western Myanmar following rumours that a Muslim man tried to sexually assault a young woman, officials and witnesses said, as the country was once…
photo: AP / Khin Maung Win

Of 6 weekend wildfires, firefighters contain only 2

Of 6 weekend wildfires, firefighters contain only 2

Six wildfires burned across the region this weekend, according to the CaliforniaDepartment of Fire and Forestry. Four of the fires were still burning Sunday evening, but…
photo: US Army / Richard Goldenberg

Italy will continue to support Afghanistan after 2014, PM says

Italy will continue to support Afghanistan after 2014, PM says

Kabul – Italy will continue to support war-torn Afghanistan in both the military and civilian realms after NATO troops withdraw in 2014, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta assured Afghan leaders Sunday in Kabul. Letta, who assumed office in April,…
photo: USMC / Justin A. Moeller

Egypt courts hear cases against Mubarak, Islamists

An Egyptian military police soldier stands guard, as a helicopter carrying former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 85, departs the Maadi Military Hospital en-route to the Cairo Police Academy--turned--court in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013. Mubarak, under house arrest after being released from detention last week, is standing retrial in charges of complicity in the killings of protesters during 2011 Egyptian uprising.

Comment () Tweet CAIRO (AP) — Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is being taken by helicopter to a Cairo courthouse to face retrial in connection with the killings of protesters in 2011, the same day as a separate court is to begin…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

12 Yemeni air force cadets die in Al Qaeda attack

Yemeni officers inspect the site of a damaged bus following a bomb attack in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013

Tweet Sanaa, Aug 25 (IANS) Al Qaeda affiliates Sunday launched a bomb attack on a bus near the air force base in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, killing 12 air force cadets, officials and witnesses said. “A bus carrying 24 air force…
photo: AP / Hani Mohammed

Aid group details signs of chemical attack in Syria

25 Aug 2013

 

Beirut • An international aid group said Saturday that medical centers it supported near the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack nearDamascus had received more than 3,000 patients showing symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic nerve agents on the morning of the… 
In this photo taken on a government organized media tour, a Syrian army soldier walks on a street in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013.

12 Yemeni air force cadets die in Al Qaeda attack

Yemeni officers inspect the site of a damaged bus following a bomb attack in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013

Tweet Sanaa, Aug 25 (IANS) Al Qaeda affiliates Sunday launched a bomb attack on a bus near the air force base in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, killing 12 air force cadets, officials and witnesses said. “A bus carrying 24 air force…
photo: AP / Hani Mohammed

Arrests in Egypt go beyond Islamists

Supporters of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi pray in Nasr City, suburb of Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 8, 2013.

CAIRO – Having crushed the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian authorities have begun cracking down on other dissenters, sometimes labeling even liberal activists or labor organizers as dangerous Islamists. Ten days ago, the police arrested two…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Australia’s opposition leader pledges stronger economy if elected PM

Opposition leader Tony Abbott speaks to the crowd during the 2013 Coalition Campaign Launch in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013.

By James Grubel CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, favorite to win September 7 elections, launched his campaign on Sunday promising to build a stronger economy, putting bulldozers on the ground and cranes in…
photo: AP / Tertius Pickard

March On Washington 50th Anniversary

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington.

Prof Jeffrey Sachs‘ remarks at the March on Washington 50th Anniversary.Delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial: “If the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, as Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, it is because righteous souls in…
photo: Creative Commons / Monack

Health Fears Grow In Damascus With Reported Chemical Attack

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.

The writer is a Syrian citizen living in Damascus who is not being further identified out of safety concerns. Damascenes are shedding tears for the fallen and expressing fear and confusion in the aftermath of what could prove to be one of the worst…
photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime

US, PH vow freedom of navigation in SEA

US, PH vow freedom of navigation in SEA

THE United States and the Philippines have vowed to maintain freedom of navigation in Southeast Asia increasingly beset by maritime territorial rows, the two military allies said. The military chiefs of the two countries made the pledge in the United
photo: US DoD / Sean K. Harp

Djokovic serves up speech at UN

Djokovic serves up speech at UN

NEW YORK CITY — World number one Novak Djokovic took a break from his US Open preparations on Friday to address the United Nations, where he encouraged youngsters to follow his path to global stardom….
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Fear Spreads Through Palestinian Camps in Syria

24 Aug 2013

 

Close to 50,000 children from Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Syria have fled Syria, being among the more than one million other children according toPalestinian Popular Committees in the Damascus-Homs area and head ofU.N. children’s agency UNICEFAnthony Lake, said in a statement. Roughly 75% of the Palestinian youngsters fleeing Syria are… 
Fear Spreads Through Palestinian Camps in Syria

Huge Calif. wildfire reverberates in 2 states

Huge Calif. wildfire reverberates in 2 states

FRESNO, Calif. – After burning for nearly a week on the edges of California’sYosemite National Park, a massive wildfire of nearly 200 square miles has now crossed into it, and firefighters have barely begun to contain it. Enlarge In this undated…
photo: US Army / Richard Goldenberg

UN demands prompt probe of Syria chemical claims

UN demands prompt probe of Syria chemical claims

Damascus: A top UN official was to visit Syria Saturday for talks as demands grew for a prompt probe into opposition claims the regime unleashed a chemical attack that killed hundreds. US President Barack Obama said the alleged use of chemical…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Cruise lines expand their horizons, add new ports of call

Cruise lines expand their horizons, add new ports of call

It’s an ever-changing panoply: Every year, cruise lines tinker with ship itineraries. They find new ports to visit, adjust cruise durations, stay longer in interesting destinations, conceive new experiences onboard and ashore. It’s all…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Gibraltar criticises Spanish police dive

Gibraltar criticises Spanish police dive

Gibraltar has strongly criticised Spanish police for sending divers to inspect an artificial reef in waters claimed by the British territoryGovernor Sir Adrian Johnssaid the action constituted a serious violation of UK sovereignty over Gibraltar….
photo: WN / Marzena

One foreign soldier killed in Afghan explosion

One foreign soldier killed in Afghan explosion

KABUL, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — One foreign soldier was killed Saturday morning in an explosion in eastern Afghanistan. “One International Security Assistance Force(ISAF) service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern…
photo: US Army / Justin A. Moeller

Military jury convicts soldier in Fort Hood attack

Military jury convicts soldier in Fort Hood attack

FORT HOOD, TEXAS: A military jury on Friday convicted Maj. Nidal Hasan in the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, making the Army psychiatrist eligible for the death penalty in the shocking assault against American troops by one of their own…
photo: US Army / Anthony L. Ortiz

UN urges Khartoum against oil shutdown

UN urges Khartoum against oil shutdown

The UN Security Council urged Khartoum on Friday to halt its threat to close the economically vital pipeline network carrying South Sudanese oil. In a unanimous declaration, the 15 council members welcomed South Sudan President Salva Kiir‘s…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

UN says Syrian child refugees tops one million mark

23 Aug 2013

 

The number of registered child refugees fleeing Syria’s violence has topped the one million mark in another grim milestone of the deepening conflict, twoUN agencies said Friday. Roughly half of all the nearly two million registered refugees from Syria are children, and some 740,000 of those… 
A Syrian refugee boy, right, sits outside his tent next to his family at a temporary refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Monday, May 20, 2013. Oxfam an international aid organization is appealing for more funds to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, saying warmer weather will increase health risks due to lack of shelter, water and basic sanitation. Oxfam says it needs $53 million dollars to improve access to water and proper sanitation for Syrian refugees. So far the aid group has received $10.6 million dollars.

Fukushima inspectors ‘careless’, Japan agency says, as nuclear crisis grows

23 Aug 2013

 

Reuters August 23, 2013 – 09:24 HIRONO, Japan (Reuters) – The operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant was careless in monitoring tanks storing dangerously radioactive water, the nuclear regulator said on Friday, the latest development in a crisis no one seems to know how to contain.Tokyo Electric Power Co. also failed to keep… 
In this Wednesday, June 12, 2013 file photo, the steel structure for the use of the spent fuel removal from the cooling pool is seen at the Unit 4 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Israel hits Lebanon after rocket attack

FILE -- In this May 28, 2006, file photo, Palestinian guerillas from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command flash victory signs while standing at the damaged entrance of the tunnel leading to their base after Israeli warplanes attacked it, near the Mediterranean coastal town of Naameh, south of Beirut, Lebanon. Israeli warplanes struck a target south of Beirut early Friday Aug. 23, 2013,

JERUSALEM – The Israeli air force struck a Palestinian group in Lebanon on Friday, officials said, hours after a different organisation said it fired four rockets at the Jewish state from Lebanon. Israeli aircraft “targeted a terror site located…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla, File

Ban Ki-moon pushes Syria to allow for chemical attack probe

Secretary-General Addresses Denver Forum Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing The Denver Forum, speaks on “The United Nations in Today’s World”.

BEIRUT/SEOUL: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Friday renewed his push for Syria to allow UN inspectors immediate access to investigate allegations that the government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts ofDamascus. “I…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Pakistani Taliban commander welcomes talks offer

In this Thursday Aug. 15, 2013 photo, Asmatullah Muawiya, head of the Taliban’s faction of fighters from central Punjab province, listens to reporters at an undisclosed place in Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan: A senior Pakistani Taliban commander welcomed the government’s recent offer to hold peace talks, raising the possibility the militant group has changed its stance after shunning negotiations earlier this year. Asmatullah…
photo: AP / Ishtiaq Mahsud

Staff Sgt. Bales apologizes for Afghan massacre

Television trucks are parked Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, near the barricaded road outside the building housing a military courtroom on Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state, where a preliminary hearing began Monday for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales.

The U.S. soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians during pre-dawn raids last year apologized for the first time for his “act of cowardice,” but could not explain the atrocities to a military jury considering whether he should one day have a shot at…
photo: AP / Ted S. Warren

Insurgent attacks across Iraq kill at least 24

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) — Insurgent attacks across Iraq, including a suicide bombing targeting a Shiite wedding party, killed at least 24 people Thursday, authorities said. Attacks have been on the rise in Iraq since a deadly security crackdown in April on a…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Striking a Conciliatory Note, Mugabe Takes Oath of Office

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe arrives for the burial of a prominent member of his party, Misheck Chando, in Harare, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.

JOHANNESBURG — Robert G. Mugabe was sworn in as president of Zimbabweon Thursday in a pomp-filled ceremony in the capital, Harare, that extends by five years his 33-year rule. Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international…
photo: AP / Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

Google Doodle celebrates influential composer Claude Debussy with Clair de lune sequence

The Blue Grotto French composer Claude Debussy was a regular visitor to Anacapri.

Google has marked the 151st anniversary of the birth of French composer Claude Debussy with a musical doodle. The works of Achille-Claude Debussy were considered a seminal force in the classical music of the 20th Century. His highly influential and…
photo: Creative Commons / Elenagm

President Robert Mugabe to be sworn in as Zimbabwe leader today

22 Aug 2013

 

President Robert Mugabe is due to be sworn in today for a seventh term asZimbabwe‘s leader. Thursday has been declared a public bank holiday to allow his supporters to attend the ceremony. Mr Mugabe won the election with a landslide 61 per cent of the total votes against… 
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe , delivers his speech at the launch of his party's election campaign in Harare, Friday, July, 5, 2013.

Pro-Morsi alliance calls for protest against Egyptian army

Supporters of ousted Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans during a rally, in Nasser City, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, July 4, 2013.

Cairo, August 22: Supporters of Egypt‘s ousted president Mohamed Morsi called on the Egyptian people to protest against the army Friday. The National Alliance toSupport Legitimacy, consisting of 33 Islamic movements, including the Muslim…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Egyptian court could free Mubarak as crisis deepens

Egyptian medics and army personnel escort former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

CAIRO (Reuters) – Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could be freed from jail after a court reviews his case on Wednesday, potentially stirring further unrest in a country where army-backed authorities are hunting down his Muslim Brotherhood
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

US Air Force lacks volunteers to operate drones

An Israeli air force unmanned plane fly over the Tel Nof base, central Israel, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. Israel's air force has introduced a fleet of large unmanned planes that it says can fly as far as Iran. Air force officials say the Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 86 feet (26 meters), making them the size of passenger jets. They say the planes can fly 20 consecutive hours, and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying payloads.

August 20: The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study. Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone…
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Angela Merkel visits Dachau concentration camp

German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks to the top during the 'Petersburg Dialogue' in the Munich residence Thursday, July 16, 2009

German president is first to enter site of Nazi centre for detention of ‘undesirables’, where more than 41,000 died German chancellor Angela Merkel (second left) withDachau survivor Max Mannheimer (second right). Photograph:Schiffmann/AFP/Getty…
photo: AP / Michaela Rehle

300 Tons of Contaminated Water Leak From Japanese Nuclear Plant

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits one of the Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) facilities at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

TOKYO — Three hundred tons of highly contaminated water have leaked from a storage tank at the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Japan‘sPacific Coast, its operator said on Tuesday, raising further concerns over the site’s…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Pakistani Officials Seize 100 Tons Of Bomb-Making Equipment In Major Bust In Quetta

A Pakistani police officer stands guard at the shrine of popular sufi Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore, Pakistan on Friday, July 2, 2010.

By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan Aug 20 (Reuters) – Security forces seized 100tons of bomb-making material from Quetta, one of Pakistan’s most violent cities, on Tuesday night, a security official said. The material was the same type used in two…
photo: AP / K.M. Chaudary

India Heading Toward Crisis Point?

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh making an aerial survey of disaster affected areas of Uttarakhand, on June 19, 2013.

There Won’t Be a Crisis in India – Unless It Is In One Already As readers are probably aware, India’s government is trying to “fix” its own economic policy mistakes by curtailing the economic freedom of its citizens, or putting it…
photo: PIB of India

Syrian activists claim hundreds killed in poison gas attacks

21 Aug 2013

 

Related articles Activists accuse Assad forces of using nerve gas inDamascus attack SYRIAN opposition activists have accused PresidentBashar al-Assad’s regime of killing 635 people on Wednesday in “poisonous gas” attacks on rebel strongholds near Damascus. The Syrian governmentissued a denial and said the allegations were aimed at derailing a… 
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian victim who suffered an alleged chemical attack at Khan al-Assal village according to SANA, receives treatment by doctors, at a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday March 19, 2013.

Egyptian court could free Mubarak as crisis deepens

Egyptian medics and army personnel escort former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

CAIRO (Reuters) – Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could be freed from jail after a court reviews his case on Wednesday, potentially stirring further unrest in a country where army-backed authorities are hunting down his Muslim Brotherhood
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

US Air Force lacks volunteers to operate drones

An Israeli air force unmanned plane fly over the Tel Nof base, central Israel, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. Israel's air force has introduced a fleet of large unmanned planes that it says can fly as far as Iran. Air force officials say the Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 86 feet (26 meters), making them the size of passenger jets. They say the planes can fly 20 consecutive hours, and are primarily used for surveillance and carrying payloads.

August 20: The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study. Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone…
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Angela Merkel visits Dachau concentration camp

German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks to the top during the 'Petersburg Dialogue' in the Munich residence Thursday, July 16, 2009

German president is first to enter site of Nazi centre for detention of ‘undesirables’, where more than 41,000 died German chancellor Angela Merkel (second left) withDachau survivor Max Mannheimer (second right). Photograph:Schiffmann/AFP/Getty…
photo: AP / Michaela Rehle

300 Tons of Contaminated Water Leak From Japanese Nuclear Plant

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits one of the Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) facilities at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

TOKYO — Three hundred tons of highly contaminated water have leaked from a storage tank at the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Japan‘sPacific Coast, its operator said on Tuesday, raising further concerns over the site’s…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Pakistani Officials Seize 100 Tons Of Bomb-Making Equipment In Major Bust In Quetta

A Pakistani police officer stands guard at the shrine of popular sufi Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore, Pakistan on Friday, July 2, 2010.

By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan Aug 20 (Reuters) – Security forces seized 100tons of bomb-making material from Quetta, one of Pakistan’s most violent cities, on Tuesday night, a security official said. The material was the same type used in two…
photo: AP / K.M. Chaudary

India Heading Toward Crisis Point?

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh making an aerial survey of disaster affected areas of Uttarakhand, on June 19, 2013.

There Won’t Be a Crisis in India – Unless It Is In One Already As readers are probably aware, India’s government is trying to “fix” its own economic policy mistakes by curtailing the economic freedom of its citizens, or putting it…
photo: PIB of India

Ex-Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf charged in assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, speaks during a press conference in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, March 31, 2013. An angry lawyer threw a shoe at former President Pervez Musharraf as he headed to court in southern Pakistan on Friday to face legal charges following his return to the country after four years in self-imposed exile, police said.

Facebook Follow @washtimes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday outlawing “conversion” therapy for gay teenagers. Will he now change his stance on allowing gay marriage in the state? Login to Vote View results…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

New Leak Found at Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Plant

20 Aug 2013
VOA News The operator of Japan‘s troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant says at least 300 tons of radioactive water have leaked from a storage tank at the coastal facility. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said Tuesday it is…
New Leak Found at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant

India Heading Toward Crisis Point?

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh making an aerial survey of disaster affected areas of Uttarakhand, on June 19, 2013.

There Won’t Be a Crisis in India – Unless It Is In One Already As readers are probably aware, India’s government is trying to “fix” its own economic policy mistakes by curtailing the economic freedom of its citizens, or putting it…
photo: PIB of India

Ex-Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf charged in assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, speaks during a press conference in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, March 31, 2013. An angry lawyer threw a shoe at former President Pervez Musharraf as he headed to court in southern Pakistan on Friday to face legal charges following his return to the country after four years in self-imposed exile, police said.

Facebook Follow @washtimes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday outlawing “conversion” therapy for gay teenagers. Will he now change his stance on allowing gay marriage in the state? Login to Vote View results…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

Egypt presses crackdown as Muslim Brotherhood leader arrested

In this image taken from Egypt State TV, Mohammed Badie, the supreme leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, is seen after being detained by Egyptian security in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013.

Egypt‘s military-backed rulers are pressing on in their crackdown against theMuslim Brotherhood with the arrest early Tuesday of the group’s spiritual leader who had been in hiding near the huge sit-in in support of the country’s ousted Islamist…
photo: AP / Egypt State TV

Fukushima nuclear plant: Radioactive water leak found

In this Wednesday, June 12, 2013 file photo, a construction worker walks beside the underground water tanks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma in Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Radioactive water has leaked from a storage tank into the ground at Japan‘s Fukushima plant, its operator says. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said the leak of at least 300 tonnes of the highly radioactive water was discovered on Monday….
photo: AP / Toshifumi Kitamura

Floods cover more than half of Philippine capital

Office workers cross a flooded street using makeshift floats during heavy rain at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013.

MANILA, Philippines — Flooding caused by some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record submerged more than half the capital Tuesday, turning roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government
photo: AP / Aaron Favila

Prince William Talks Newborn Son, Admits He’s A Rascal

This image taken by Michael Middleton, the Duchess's father, in early August 2013 and supplied by Kensington Palace, shows the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their son, Prince George, in the garden of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, England.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent a few quiet weeks with Prince Georgeout of the limelight. With the whole world waiting to hear what the newborn is like, however, Prince William couldn’t stay silent forever. On Monday, he gave his first…
photo: AP / Michael Middleton/TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Egyptian Authorities Arrest Muslim Brotherhood Chief

Leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, Mohammed Badie, speaks during a press conference at the group's parliamentary office in Cairo, Egypt Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. Egypt's opposition called the results of parliamentary elections invalid on Tuesday claiming vote rigging appears to have secured an overwhelming victory for the ruling party.

Egyptian authorities have arrested Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Badie, escalating a crackdown on the group following the military&aposs ouster of president Mohamed Morsi. The 70-year-old Badie was taken into custody early Tuesday in a…
photo: AP / Nasser Nasser

Egypt in turmoil: At least 24 police officers killed in ambush

19 Aug 2013

 

CAIRO – At least 24 police officers were killed Monday when militants ambushed two mini-buses in the latest bloodshed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where security forces have been battling emboldened Islamist extremists for months. Egyptian state TV reported that militants forced the off-duty police officers from the buses and shot them… 
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

China sets date for disgraced politician Bo Xilai’s trial

In this March 11, 2012 photo, Bo Xilai, then Chongqing party secretary, adjusts his glasses during a plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Disgraced Chinese politician Bo goes on trial Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013

The trial of the disgraced senior Chinese politician Bo Xilai will start on Thursday when he will face charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power, according to the Xinhua state news agency. The former Communist Party secretary of the major…
photo: AP / Andy Wong

Egypt: from Anarchy to Insanity Needs Global Intervention

	Egypt: from Anarchy to Insanity Needs Global Intervention

Egyptian military junta, historically hated and feared appears to have gained the upper hand in cold blooded massacres of the innocent civilians demonstrating against the perpetuated military brutality – a challenge to global human conscience that…
photo: UN / Evan Schneider

Additional crews arrive to help fight Idaho fire

	Additional crews arrive to help fight Idaho fire

BOISE, Idaho – Fire managers expressed optimism Sunday in their battle against a wildfire that has scorched nearly 160 square miles and forced the evacuation of 2,300 homes near the central Idaho resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley….
photo: USAF / Tim Chacon

Several Utah wildfires continue to burn, evacuations remain in some places

Several Utah wildfires continue to burn, evacuations remain in some places

Several wildfires continued to burn across Utah on Sunday, continuing to prompt mandatory evacuations. After torching a historic lodge and some homes, forcing evacuations and cutting power to Dugway, the Patch Springs Fire — at 31,000acres, the…
photo: USAF / Tim Chacon

34 dead, dozens missing in sunken Philippine ferry

Philippine Navy and Coast Guard divers continue their search and rescue operation off Talisay coast, Cebu province Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013

Divers plucked two more bodies from a sunken passenger ferry on Sunday and scrambled to plug an oil leak in the wreckage after a collision with a cargo ship. The accident near the central Philippine port of Cebu that has left 34 dead and more than 80…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Egypt on edge after storming of protester mosque

Aug. 17, 2013: A member of Egyptian security forces, at left, tries to keep crowds away from the al-Fatah mosque, in Ramses Square, downtown Cairo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013.

TONY G. GABRIEL Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) â?? Egypt remained on edge Sunday after security forces stormed a Cairo mosque a day earlier and the ousted president’s Muslim Brotherhood remained poised to hold further street protests despite a possible…
photo: AP / Hussein Tallal

Egypt regime mulls ban on Muslim Brotherhood

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi wave national flags and his posters during a rally in Nasser City, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 1, 2013.

The Egyptian Prime Minister has proposed dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. Some 250 followers of the Islamist group now face possible charges of murder and terrorism. Egyptian forces were questioning some 250…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Thousands of Syrian refugees begin to floods the Iraq Kurdistan border

18 Aug 2013

 

Thousands of refugees are pouring across the border into Iraqi Kurdistan, theUnited Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported.Syrians fleeing the on-going conflict have been streaming through Northern Iraq across a recently constructed pontoon bridge over the Tigris since Thursday, the UN has reported. As many as 10,000 may… 
File - In this Friday, Feb. 15, 2013 photo, a Syrian Kurdish refugee plays on a pile of dirt in the Dumiz refugee camp in northern Iraq.

Mexico captures leader of cocaine-trafficking Gulf Cartel 

18 Aug 2013

 

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican security forces on Saturday caught the leader of the cocaine-trafficking Gulf Cartel, the second major gang boss capture in just over a month as President Enrique Pena Nieto fights cartel… 
Soldiers guard a street in the area where, according to Mexico's Defense Minister, Mexican drug cartel leader Ignacio Coronel Villareal, aka Nacho Coronel, was killed during an army raid in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, Thursday July 29, 2010.

34 dead, dozens missing in sunken Philippine ferry

Philippine Navy and Coast Guard divers continue their search and rescue operation off Talisay coast, Cebu province Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013

Divers plucked two more bodies from a sunken passenger ferry on Sunday and scrambled to plug an oil leak in the wreckage after a collision with a cargo ship. The accident near the central Philippine port of Cebu that has left 34 dead and more than 80…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Egypt on edge after storming of protester mosque

Aug. 17, 2013: A member of Egyptian security forces, at left, tries to keep crowds away from the al-Fatah mosque, in Ramses Square, downtown Cairo, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013.

TONY G. GABRIEL Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) â?? Egypt remained on edge Sunday after security forces stormed a Cairo mosque a day earlier and the ousted president’s Muslim Brotherhood remained poised to hold further street protests despite a possible…
photo: AP / Hussein Tallal

Egypt regime mulls ban on Muslim Brotherhood

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi wave national flags and his posters during a rally in Nasser City, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 1, 2013.

The Egyptian Prime Minister has proposed dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. Some 250 followers of the Islamist group now face possible charges of murder and terrorism. Egyptian forces were questioning some 250…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

German tourist killed in water-bus accident in Venice

German tourist killed in water-bus accident in Venice

German tourist has been killed on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. A collision between a gondola and a larger water bus was the cause. A 50-year-old German tourist was killed in Venice on Saturday when the gondola he was in with his family…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Utah wildfire tally rises to 9, stretches resources

Utah wildfire tally rises to 9, stretches resources

Mandatory evacuation orders and road closures remained in place in several Utahcommunities Saturday as crews battled at least nine fires that had torched almost 20 homes and were stretching firefighting resources. The latest losses came Friday, when…
photo: USAF / Tim Chacon

Crimes at sea: the dark side of cruise ships

Crimes at sea: the dark side of cruise ships

In her deep research into sex crimes on cruise ships – and also the very particular and distinct culture on board these floating mega-liners – Dr Jill Poulston, a tourism academic, saw a…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Philippines: 300 Feared Dead After Ferry Crash

17 Aug 2013

 

A ferry with over 800 passengers and crew on board has sunk after colliding with a cargo ship near the Philippine city of Cebu. The coastguard said the MV Thomas Aquinas listed after hitting the Sulpicio Express Seven Cargo vessel and the captain gave the order to abandon ship. A Navy boat guards the cargo ship that collided with the ferry Officer… 
Volunteers search near the bow-damaged cargo ship Sulpicio Express Siete Saturday Aug. 17, 2013, a day after it collided with a passenger ferry off the waters of Talisay city, Cebu province in central Philippines.

CIA acknowledges Area 51 — but not UFOs or aliens

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.

LAS VEGAS UFO buffs and believers in space aliens are celebrating the CIA’s clearest acknowledgement of the existence of Area 51, the top-secret Cold Wartest site that has been the subject of elaborate conspiracy theories for decades. The recently…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

Philippines: 17 Killed as Cargo Ship And Passenger Ferry Collide Off Coast

In this Sept. 7, 2009 photo released by the Philippine Air Force 505th Search and Rescue Squadron based at the 3rd Air Division in Zamboanga city, Lita Casumlum, a ferry survivor, bottom, is hoisted by an air force rescuer after she was spotted in shark-infested waters off Zamboanga peninsula in southern Philippines after bobbing with a life-jacket for more than 30 hours.

At least 17 people were killed when a passenger ferry carrying nearly 700 people collided with a cargo ship and sank in the central Philippines on Friday night, officials said. About 575 people were rescued by government vessels and small fishing…
photo: AP / Philippine Air Force

South Africa: Pistorius to Face New Gun Charges

Olympian Oscar Pistorius stands following his bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, a South African prosecutor said Tuesday as he charged the sports icon with premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. He did not elaborate before a break was called in the session.

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius will face new charges of recklessly firing a weapon in public when he appears in court next week for a hearing in his trial on charges of having murdered his girlfriend, South African new outlets reported on Friday. Citing…
photo: AP

Suspected Boko Haram attack in north Nigeria kills 11

Nigerian troops patrol at Maiduguri, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug 1, 2009. Banks and markets reopened in this northern Nigerian city after five days of fierce fighting between police and a radical Islamist sect.

Published August 16, 2013AFP Nigerian police, part of the joint forces in Bornostate, pose prior to a patrol in Maiduguri on June 5, 2013. Suspected Boko HaramIslamists have stormed a town in northeast Nigeria, opened fire on police and civilians…
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Zara Co-founder Rosalia Mera Dies at Age 69

 Zara Clothing Store - boutique shop - wnhires (rt1)

Rosalia Mera, co-founder of fashion retail chain Zara, has died at the age of 69.Mera suffered a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday while on vacation with her daughter, Sandra, in Menorca and died the following day, according to Spanish
photo: WN

South Korea Proposes Talks to Reunite Families Divided by War

South Korea's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party waves to her supporters upon her arrival to cast her ballot for the presidential election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012.

SEOUL, South Korea — President Park Geun-hye of South Korea said Thursday that South and North Korea should resume arranging reunions of families separated by the Korean War six decades ago, and she renewed a proposal to build an “international…
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man

Death toll in Lebanon bombing climbs to 22

Lebanese army soldiers, stand guard in front the burned car of Sheik Saleh Aridi who was killed by a bomb explosion, in Baissour village, near the resort town of Aley, east of Lebanon, Wedneday Sept. 10, 2008.

Beirut, Aug 16 (EFE). — The number of fatalities from a carbomb attack in a Shi’ite Muslim neighborhood of Beirut has reached 22, a Lebanese police source told Efe Friday. Another 228 people were injured in…
photo: AP / Ahmad Omarl

Report: NSA Broke Privacy Rules Repeatedly

16 Aug 2013
VOA News A prominent U.S. newspaper says it has obtained a National Security Agency internal audit and other top secret documents, showing that the agency “has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority, thousands of times” each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008. The Washington Post reported…
A banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, is displayed at Central, Hong Kong's business district, Monday, June 17, 2013.

Iran appoints pragmatist Salehi to head nuclear program

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi speaks during a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasool, unseen, in Kabul, Afghanistan

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed outgoing Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to head the Atomic Energy Organization on Friday, state media said, replacing a hardliner with a pragmatist to take charge of Tehran‘s nuclear…
photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq

Egypt army vows to use live ammunition to defend state buildings

Egyptian army soldiers take their positions on top and next to their armored vehicles while guarding an entrance to Tahrir square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 16, 2013.

Government claims actions are in spirit of 2011 revolution, as pro- and anti-Morsi marches planned after midday prayers Egyptian army soldiers take their positions on top and next to their armored vehicles while guarding an entrance to Tahrir Square,…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Death toll in Lebanon bombing rises to 22

A Lebanese army soldier passes in front of burned cars at the site of a car bomb explosion, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 16, 2013.

Lebanon’s interior minister says the death toll from the powerful car bomb that struck a south Beirut suburb has risen to 22. Marwan Charbel also says that officials are conducting DNA tests on Friday on body parts discovered near the vehicle…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

Israeli-Palestinian Talks, Egypt and Syria on Ban’s Agenda

Israeli-Palestinian Talks, Egypt and Syria on Ban's Agenda

Friday, 16 August 2013, 9:47 am Press Release: Israeli-Palestinian Talks, Egyptand Syria on Agenda As UN Chief Arrives In Middle East New York, Aug 15 2013 – The deadly violence in Egypt, the ongoing Syria crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian peace…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

We are treated as if we don’t belong to India: Omar

We are treated as if we don't belong to India: Omar

SrinagarAugust 15: Pained by the criticism over the communal violence in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday demanded to know why Kashmiris were treated differently. After taking the salute and hoisting the tricolour…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Ryanair Fires Pilot Who Questioned Airline’s Safety on TV

Ryanair at Girona airport

PARIS — Ryanair, the Dublin-based budget airline, confirmed Thursday that it had fired one of its most senior pilots and was pursuing legal action against him after the pilot raised safety questions about the airline’s fuel policy in a British
photo: Creative Commons / Grobuonis

Rockefeller Impostor Sentenced for San Marino Murder

Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who calls himself Clark Rockefeller, appears at Suffolk Superior Court Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Sitting next to him is defense attorney Jeffrey Denner, left. Rockefeller will get back about half of the gold coins and cash seized by federal authorities after he was arrested for allegedly kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter, Reigh Boss, during a supervised visit in Boston in July. Prosecutors agreed to turn over 160 gold coins _ worth about $140,000 _ and $6,480 in cash so he can pay for his defense.

German national and con man who posed as a member of the wealthyRockefeller family was sentenced to 27-years-to-life in prison for the 1985 murder of a man in San MarinoCalif. Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, 52, who blended into wealthy East Coast
photo: AP / Ted Fitzgerald, Pool

WikiLeaks: Manning apologizes, admits he ‘hurt US’

15 Aug 2013

 

August 14: US soldier Bradley Manning offered an apology in a military court today over his disclosures to WikiLeaks and acknowledged he “hurt theUnited States.” “I’m sorry that my actions have hurt people and have hurt the United States,” he… 
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, second from right, steps out of a security vehicle as he is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, for a pretrial hearing.

After hundreds killed, Egypt faces new uncertainty

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi clash with security forces near the largest sit-in by supporters of Morsi in the eastern Nasr City district of Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013.

CAIRO — Egypt faced a new phase of uncertainty on Thursday after the bloodiest day since its Arab Spring began, with nearly 300 people reported killed and thousands injured as police smashed two protest camps of supporters of the deposed…
photo: AP / Mohammed Abu Zeid

Egypt: VP ElBaradei resigns to protest raids

Pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei smiles during an interview with The Associated Press in his home in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt

CAIRO – Egypt‘s vice president and pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei has resigned to protest deadly police assaults against two sit-in protest camps by supporters of the ousted president. ElBaradei submitted his resignation Wednesday in a letter to…
photo: AP / Bernat Armangue

Broad international condemnation of killings in Egypt

Supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi count bodies in a makeshift morgue after police swept into their encampment with armored vehicles and bulldozers in the Nasr City district of Cairo Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013.

Turkey has urged the UN Security Council and Arab League to act quickly to stop a “massacre” in Egypt and Iran has warned of the risk of civil war, after Egyptiansecurity forces killed dozens of Islamist demonstrators. European leaders criticised…
photo: AP / Manu Brabo

Wrapping up visit, Ban calls for strengthening bonds between UN and Pakistan

Wrapping up visit, Ban calls for strengthening bonds between UN and Pakistan

Print 14 August 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today hailed the strong partnership between the United Nations and Pakistan on a wide range of issues, and voiced his hope that the country can build on the recent achievement of its first…
photo: UN / Eskinder Deebe

Malians return to polls for 2nd round of voting

Malians return to polls for 2nd round of voting

The Associated Press BAMAKO (AP)—From the ancient desert town of Timbuktu to refugee camps in neighboring countries, voters cast ballots Sunday to see who should lead Mali out of the political upheaval that left the country’s north in the hands of…
photo: UN / Blagoje Grujic

Dozens killed across Egypt as security forces, protesters clash

Supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi surround a burning police car during clashes with Egyptian security forces in Cairo's Mohandessin neighborhood, Egypt, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013.

By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Finn CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces killed at least 29 people on Wednesday when they moved in to clear a camp of protesters demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Mursi, in a dramatic dawn swoop…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

MSF pulls out of Somalia due to attacks

MSF pulls out of Somalia due to attacks

The international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has begun closing all its humanitarian operations in Somalia because of attacks on its staff. The withdrawal of MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a blow to the…
photo: UN / TOBIN JONES

Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners, who receive heroes’ welcome

14 Aug 2013

 

JERUSALEM — Hours before a second round of peace talks was set to resume, Israel early Wednesday released the first 26 of 104 Palestinian prisoners it agreed to set free to draw Palestinians back to the negotiating table. The prisoners were transferred to the West Bank and Gaza Strip shortly after 1 a.m., a move widely seen as timed to… 




 

 

 

A released Palestinian prisoner, center top, is welcomed after his arrival to the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Aug. 14 , 2013.



Egypt camps become deadly war zone

In a matter of hours, two peaceful protest camps in Cairo turned into unrecognizable war zones. And the violence is still under way. FULL STORY |

 

 

 

 

Pfc. Manning and People of the Lie

14 Aug 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. “The failure to report a crime,” wrote Dr. MScott Peck in “People of the LieThe Hope For HealingHuman Evil,” “is itself a crime.” This is the reason Pfc. Bradley Manning was arrested, court-martialed, found guilty on twenty charges, and faces a maximum sentence of 90 years in a military prison:… 
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, June 25, 2012, after a pre-trial hearing.

Dozens killed across Egypt as security forces, protesters clash

Supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi surround a burning police car during clashes with Egyptian security forces in Cairo's Mohandessin neighborhood, Egypt, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013.

By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Finn CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces killed at least 29 people on Wednesday when they moved in to clear a camp of protesters demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Mursi, in a dramatic dawn swoop…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Eurozone climbs out of recession

France's President Francois Hollande welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, before attending a friendly international football match between France and Germany Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.

The eurozone has climbed out of recession with better-than-expected growth of 0.3 percent in the second quarter led by Germany and France, the European Unionhas said. Data agency Eurostat said on Wednesday that the 18-month downturn which has cost…
photo: AP / Patrick Kovarik, Pool

Pope preaches ‘virtues of camaraderie’ to ‘bad boy’ Balotelli!

Italy - Rome - Vatican - Tourism.

Tweet London, Aug 14 (ANI): Pope Francis has reminded international football stars including Lionel Messi and Mario Balotelli of their social responsibility and told them that there is no place for…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Massachusetts: Two Plead Not Guilty to Aiding Marathon Bomb Defendant

Police officers guard the entrance to Franklin street where there is an active crime scene search for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, Friday, April 19, 2013, in Watertown, Mass

Two college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 20-year-old accused of working with his brother to place two bombs at the Boston Marathon, pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges that they hindered the investigation into the bombings….
photo: AP / Matt Rourke

Ban Ki-moon Says Nothing New About Drones

Ban Ki-moon Says Nothing New About Drones

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon apparently won applause in Pakistan for his remarks on drones. Several media outlets are running stories suggesting that he opposed all use of armed drones. But what did…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

India Gold Tax Increase, Festival Demand Seen Spurring Smuggling

India Gold Tax Increase, Festival Demand Seen Spurring Smuggling

The third increase in import taxes on gold this year by India, the world’s biggest user, is set to boost smuggling ahead of the festival and wedding seasons as official imports halt on central bank curbs, a trade group said. Gold premiums in India…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

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

DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press= BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) â?? Brazil demanded answers Tuesday from the U.S. about National Security Agency spying in the country and warned that trust between the two nations would be damaged if U.S. explanations about the…
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

Kerry: Israeli Settlements Should Not Derail Peace Talks

 

13 Aug 2013

 

VOA News U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says new Israeli settlementactivity should not derail peace talks with the Palestinians. Kerry said during a visit to Bogota, Colombia, on Monday that “the United States of America… 
An Israeli flag is seen in front of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 7, 2009.

Mexican President Invites Foreign Investment in Energy

Winning candidate of Mexico’s presidential election, Enrique Pena Nieto smiles as he arrives for a press conference in Mexico City, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.

MEXICO CITY — President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico on Monday, pushing one of the most sweeping economic overhauls in Mexico in the past two decades, proposed opening his country’s historically closed energy industry to foreign investment. Enlarge…
photo: AP / Alexandre Meneghini

A Malaria Vaccine Works, With Limits

A high-level event on the role of “Leadership in the Fight Against Homophobia” is held today at UN Headquarters to coincide with the commemoration of this year’s Human Rights Day.  South African singer and Goodwill Ambassador for the Roll-Back Malaria Partnership and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Yvonne Chaka Chaka (second from left), speaks at the event. She is joined by, from left: Blas Radi, LGBT human rights defender from Argentina; Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and Puerto Rican pop singer and actor Ricky Martin.

A new type of malaria vaccine gave 100 percent protection against infection to a small number of volunteers in recent tests — but under conditions that would be nearly impossible to reproduce in the countries where most malaria victims live.Related
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Malians await outcome of crucial presidential run-off

Malians await outcome of crucial presidential run-off

Vote counting is underway in the second and final round of the Malian presidential election. Malians hope it will unlock foreign aid and put their country back on the road to recovery and democratic governance. Malians went to the polls in a run-off…
photo: UN / Blagoje Grujic

Veterans receive medals from South Korea

Veterans receive medals from South Korea

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Sacrifices made six decades ago were rewarded Sunday when Korean War veterans were presented “Ambassador for Peace” medals from the South Korean government. An estimated 550 people watched as 130 vets were presented their…
photo: US DoD / Sun L. Vega

Defence announces end to combat duties in Afghanistan

Defence announces end to combat duties in Afghanistan

Australia’s elite special forces will help train Afghan counterparts next year but will not carry out raids against the Taliban – effectively bringing to an end Australiancombat…
photo: US Army / Vang Seng Thao

Samaras expected to make new visit to USA in September

	Samaras expected to make new visit to USA in September

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is planning to return to the USA in September after his three-day trip to Washington and New York last…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

US, Afghanistan sign deal allowing foreign troops post 2014

US, Afghanistan sign deal allowing foreign troops post 2014

WashingtonThe United States and Afghanistan have signed an agreement allowing presence of foreign troops beyond the end of 2014. The signing of the stalled…
photo: US Army / Bobby J. Yarbrough

Laszlo Csatary, Hungarian man charged with Nazi-era war crimes, dies at 98

12 Aug 2013
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Laszlo Csatary, a former police officer indicted in June by Hungarian authorities for abusing Jews and contributing to their deportation to Nazi death camps during World War II, has died. He was 98. His lawyer, Gabor Horvath B., said Csatary died Saturday of pneumonia in aBudapest hospital. Photos of the day World War…
FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file picture alleged Hungarian war criminal Laszlo Csatary sits in a car as he leaves the Budapest Prosecutor's Office after he was questioned by detectives on charges of war crimes during WWII and prosecutors ordered his house arrest in Budapest, Hungary.

Defence announces end to combat duties in Afghanistan

Defence announces end to combat duties in Afghanistan

Australia’s elite special forces will help train Afghan counterparts next year but will not carry out raids against the Taliban – effectively bringing to an end Australiancombat…
photo: US Army / Vang Seng Thao

US, Afghanistan sign deal allowing foreign troops post 2014

US, Afghanistan sign deal allowing foreign troops post 2014

WashingtonThe United States and Afghanistan have signed an agreement allowing presence of foreign troops beyond the end of 2014. The signing of the stalled…
photo: US Army / Bobby J. Yarbrough

EU hails Mali’s second round poll

EU hails Mali's second round poll

BAMAKO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — Mali‘s second round of presidential election has some faults but they are not applicable to challenge the regularity and the sincerity of the vote, declared Louis Michel, head of the European Union‘s electoral observation…
photo: UN / Marco Dormino

In Mali’s Election, Dashes of Optimism and Realism

In Mali’s Election, Dashes of Optimism and Realism

BAMAKO, Mali — In rain and mud, voters in Mali trickled into darkened polling stations on Sunday, hoping a vote for president will pull their country out of oneWest Africa’s deepest government collapses since the colonial era. Related In Mali, a…
photo: UN / Blagoje Grujic

Militants in Somalia seize UK-funded humanitarian aid

Militants in Somalia seize UK-funded humanitarian aid

Department for International Development confirms al-Shabaab stole and destroyed aid worth £480,000 in winter 2011-12 An African Union Mission in Somalia hands out biscuits to Somali children. UK-funded aid was seized by al-Shabaab militants between…
photo: UN / TOBIN JONES

Iraq unrest: US condemns Eid attacks

A woman inspect the aftermath of a car bomb attack on a store in the New Baghdad neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013.

The US has condemned Saturday’s bombings and shootings in Iraq in which more than 60 people were killed. It said those carrying out the attacks during celebrations marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan were enemies of Iraq and the…
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Change could aid kids with asthma

Change could aid kids with asthma

Travel Deals $79 — PA: Historic Lancaster Escape for 2 w/Breakfast   See all travel deals » Posted: Sunday, August 11, 2013, 1:09 AM Dr. Floyd Malveaux is executive director of the Merck Childhood Asthma Network and a member of the…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Breaking News

See realtime coverage

Globe and Mail  – ?9 minutes ago?
       
Supporters of the ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi fortified their two Cairo sit-in sites as security officials said their forces will move against the entrenched protest camps within 24 hours – perhaps as early as daybreak Monday.

At least 69 killed as deadly Baghdad bombings mark end of Ramadan

11 Aug 2013

 

A string of car bombs were detonated in and around Baghdad while people celebrated the end of Ramadan yesterday, killing at least 69 people and wounding 140 more. Twelve separate explosions targeted areas where Muslims were marking… 
People clean up the aftermath of a car bomb attack on a convenience store in the Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013.

Four killed in Ethiopian military plane crash in Mogadishu

10 Aug 2013

 

Mogadishu: An Ethiopian military cargo plane crash landed and burst into flames at Mogadishu airport, killing four crew members, officials with Somalisecurity and AU forces said. “It was a military cargo plane and there were six crew on board,” said one security official who asked not to be named. “Four of them died and two were… 
Four killed in Ethiopian military plane crash in Mogadishu

 

 

 

Police chief condemns Belfast riots as ‘mindless anarchy’

A Loyalist protester runs past a burning car during rioting in the centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Friday, Aug. 9, 2013.

Northern Ireland‘s chief constable has called violent street protests against a republican parade in Belfast “mindless anarchy and sheer thuggery”. Matt Baggottwas speaking after 26 police officers were injured during loyalist…
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

Mali election: Campaigning ends ahead of second round

Mali election: Campaigning ends ahead of second round

Campaigning has ended across Mali ahead of Sunday’s presidential election run-off. Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and ex-Finance MinisterSoumaila Cisse will contest the second round. The election is intended to restore democracy…
photo: UN / Blagoje Grujic

U.S. orders import ban on some Samsung mobile devices

In this photo taken Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, a man walks by advertising boards of HTC Corp., two at right, and Samsung Electric Co., in Taipei. Taiwan's top smartphone maker HTC is trying hard to halt its sliding sales and keep its status as a strong global brand in a market increasingly dominated by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. is trying hard to halt its sliding sales and keep its status as a strong global brand in a market increasingly dominated by Apple Inc. and Samsung.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday ordered a ban on the import and sale of some Samsung mobile devices after finding they infringed on two Apple’s patents for multitouch features and headphone jack…
photo: AP / Chiang Ying-ying

Madrid wants to include Spanish region in Gibraltar talks

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy points his finger during a press conference at the Moncloa Palace, in Madrid, Sunday, June 10, 2012. Spain became the fourth and largest country to ask Europe to rescue its failing banks.

Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Aug 9 (EFE). — Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoysaid here Friday that he is in favor of a fourpart dialogue Spain, Britain, Gibraltarand Spain’s Andalusia region to overcome current tensions surrounding theRock….
photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

 

 

 

 

Nagasaki marks 68th anniversary of atomic bombing

09 Aug 2013

 

TOKYO — Nagasaki mayor criticized Japan‘s government for lacking effort in international nuclear disarmament as the… 
 Smoke billows up over Nagasaki, Japan after bombing by atomic bomb on 9 August 1945. Two planes of the 509th Composite Group, part of the 313th Wing of the 20th Air Force, participated in this mission; one to carry the bomb, the other to act as escort.

 

 

US drones kill 12 in 3 airstrikes: Yemen official

A US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile stands on the tarmac of Kandahar military airport as Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke at a meeting with tribal leaders in Kandahar city, Afghanistan, Sunday June 13, 2010.

The U.S. has sharply escalated its drone war in Yemen, with military officials in theArab country reporting 34 suspected al-Qaida militants killed in less than two weeks, including three strikes on Thursday alone in which a dozen died. The action…
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini, Pool

Snowden link to Lavabit encrypted email service closure

A banner supporting Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, is displayed at Central, Hong Kong's business district, Friday, June 21, 2013.

An encrypted email service thought to have been used by fugitive US intelligenceleaker Edward Snowden has abruptly shut down. Ladar Levison, owner of the Texas-based Lavabit service, said legal reasons prevented him explaining his decision. But he…
photo: AP / Kin Cheung

Thein Sein faces nuclear challenge

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) meets with the President of the Union of Myanmar, Thein Sein, in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, 30 April, 2012.

By David Santoro Myanmar needs to honor its nonproliferation promises. This, in short, is the key finding of the US Department of State‘s 2013 Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms ControlNonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,121

US Navy 030302-N-5362A-003 Military working dog, Camp Patriot, Kuwait, USA

As of Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, at least 2,121 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The…
photo: Public Domain / Bot Multichil lT

Pet store owner in shock after python kills two brothers in New Brunswick

A boa constrictor sits in its cage during a press conference at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar speaks announced a proposed ban on bringing Burmese pythons and eight other kinds of large snakes in the country, saying they threaten the environment.

Autopsies will be done Tuesday in Saint John on the two young brothers believed to have been strangled to death by a python that escaped from a pet store in northern New BrunswickConnor Barthe, 5, and his brother Noah, 7, were found lifeless in an…
photo: AP / Seth Wenig

Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest China’s rule

A Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest Chinaese repressive rule in Tibet

Article by Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent Dharamshala. Dharamshala: – ATibetan monk reportedly died early Tuesday morning after setting himself on fire near the Boudhanath shrine, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal, to protest…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

Pakistan Floods Kill At Least 80

A NASA satellite image showing the Indus River at the time of floods.  The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin.

ISLAMABAD — Heavy rains that caused flash floods and collapsed houses in different parts of Pakistan have killed 80 people and displaced more than 80,000over the past four days, a Pakistani official said Tuesday. Civil and military authorities…
photo: NASA / NASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UN experts: Al-Qaeda affiliates remain a threat

08 Aug 2013

 

UNITED NATIONS — Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership has a diminished ability to direct global terror operations but the threat from loosely linked affiliates and individuals radicalized by its “infectious ideas” is becoming more sophisticated, UN experts said Wednesday. In a report to the Security Council, the panel monitoring UN sanctions against… 
A wide view of the meeting of the Security Council on cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security, 6 August, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Thein Sein faces nuclear challenge

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) meets with the President of the Union of Myanmar, Thein Sein, in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, 30 April, 2012.

By David Santoro Myanmar needs to honor its nonproliferation promises. This, in short, is the key finding of the US Department of State‘s 2013 Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms ControlNonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and…
photo: UN / Mark Garten

US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,121

US Navy 030302-N-5362A-003 Military working dog, Camp Patriot, Kuwait, USA

As of Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, at least 2,121 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The…
photo: Public Domain / Bot Multichil lT

Pet store owner in shock after python kills two brothers in New Brunswick

A boa constrictor sits in its cage during a press conference at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar speaks announced a proposed ban on bringing Burmese pythons and eight other kinds of large snakes in the country, saying they threaten the environment.

Autopsies will be done Tuesday in Saint John on the two young brothers believed to have been strangled to death by a python that escaped from a pet store in northern New BrunswickConnor Barthe, 5, and his brother Noah, 7, were found lifeless in an…
photo: AP / Seth Wenig

Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest China’s rule

A Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest Chinaese repressive rule in Tibet

Article by Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent Dharamshala. Dharamshala: – ATibetan monk reportedly died early Tuesday morning after setting himself on fire near the Boudhanath shrine, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal, to protest…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

Pakistan Floods Kill At Least 80

A NASA satellite image showing the Indus River at the time of floods.  The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin.

ISLAMABAD — Heavy rains that caused flash floods and collapsed houses in different parts of Pakistan have killed 80 people and displaced more than 80,000over the past four days, a Pakistani official said Tuesday. Civil and military authorities…
photo: NASA / NASA

Separatists kill 14 in SW Pakistan

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers watch a damaged bus at the site of a bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Twin bomb attacks against Pakistani navy buses that were talking employees to work Tuesday killed at least four people and wounded more than 50 others.

Quetta – Rebel separatists killed 14 people, including three security personnel, after stopping vehicles at a fake checkpoint in Pakistan’s volatile southwest on Tuesday, officials said. The attack appears to have mainly targeted people originally…
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

US military evacuates embassy personnel from Yemen

File - A Yemeni soldier guards the front of the main entrance of the US Embassy, background, in the capital San'a, Yemen Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military evacuated non-essential U.S. governmentpersonnel from Yemen on Tuesday due to the high risk of attack by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across theMiddle East and…
photo: AP / Nasser Nasser

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch is so feared by the West

07 Aug 2013

 

The closing of embassies in the Middle East and North Africa by the U.S. and other Western countries “due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks” has once again focused attention on the Yemen-based group, al-Qaeda in theArabian Peninsula. In May, U.S. President Barack Obama identified AQAP as the al-Qaeda branch “most active in plotting… 
Police in an armored vehicle secure a road leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013. The State Department on Tuesday ordered non-essential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen to leave the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,121

US Navy 030302-N-5362A-003 Military working dog, Camp Patriot, Kuwait, USA

As of Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, at least 2,121 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The…
photo: Public Domain / Bot Multichil lT

Pet store owner in shock after python kills two brothers in New Brunswick

A boa constrictor sits in its cage during a press conference at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar speaks announced a proposed ban on bringing Burmese pythons and eight other kinds of large snakes in the country, saying they threaten the environment.

Autopsies will be done Tuesday in Saint John on the two young brothers believed to have been strangled to death by a python that escaped from a pet store in northern New BrunswickConnor Barthe, 5, and his brother Noah, 7, were found lifeless in an…
photo: AP / Seth Wenig

Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest China’s rule

A Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in Nepal to protest Chinaese repressive rule in Tibet

Article by Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent Dharamshala. Dharamshala: – ATibetan monk reportedly died early Tuesday morning after setting himself on fire near the Boudhanath shrine, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu, Nepal, to protest…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

Pakistan Floods Kill At Least 80

A NASA satellite image showing the Indus River at the time of floods.  The 2010 Pakistan floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Baluchistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin.

ISLAMABAD — Heavy rains that caused flash floods and collapsed houses in different parts of Pakistan have killed 80 people and displaced more than 80,000over the past four days, a Pakistani official said Tuesday. Civil and military authorities…
photo: NASA / NASA

Separatists kill 14 in SW Pakistan

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers watch a damaged bus at the site of a bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Twin bomb attacks against Pakistani navy buses that were talking employees to work Tuesday killed at least four people and wounded more than 50 others.

Quetta – Rebel separatists killed 14 people, including three security personnel, after stopping vehicles at a fake checkpoint in Pakistan’s volatile southwest on Tuesday, officials said. The attack appears to have mainly targeted people originally…
photo: AP / Shakil Adil

US military evacuates embassy personnel from Yemen

File - A Yemeni soldier guards the front of the main entrance of the US Embassy, background, in the capital San'a, Yemen Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military evacuated non-essential U.S. governmentpersonnel from Yemen on Tuesday due to the high risk of attack by al-Qaida that has triggered temporary shutdowns of 19 American diplomatic posts across theMiddle East and…
photo: AP / Nasser Nasser

Russia’s top court cuts Khodorkovsky sentence

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, right, reacts after being sentenced as he seen from behind bars at a court room in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010. Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to six more years in prison Thursday following a trial seen as payback for his defiance of Vladimir Putin's power. Judge Viktor Danilkin sentenced Khodorkovsky to fourteen years after convicting him of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds, but the judge said the new sentence is counted from his 2003 arrest and includes his previous term in jail. Khodorkovsky is in the final year of an eight-year prison sentence.

Former Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is due to walk free in August of next year after his latest prison sentence was cut by two months. The supreme court reduced the sentences of Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev by two months at an appeal…

Troops killed six unarmed people in temple during Thai ‘Red Shirt’ protests, court rules

06 Aug 2013

 

A court in Thailand has ruled that six unarmed people who were killed inside aBuddhist temple were shot dead by troops using high-velocity rounds who had taken up positions on railway tracks overlooking the site. The Thai military has always denied its troops fired into the temple. In a ruling that could lead to the prosecution of the troops who… 
File - A Red Shirt protester holds a poster while gathered with others in front of the Government House to call for the release of political prisoners who have been jailed since the 2010 anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Intercepts from Qaeda leaders sparked US global alert

File - Shown on a computer screen is a frame grab from a DVD prepeared by Al-Sahab production showing al-Qaida's No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahari delivering his address seen in Islamabad, Pakistan, shown June 20, 2006.

By Nicolas REVISE – WASHINGTON Intercepts between Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri and the leader of the group’s Yemen affiliate sparked the closure of US missions overseas and a global travel alert, US media reported Monday. The New York Times said…
photo: AP / B.K.Bangash

Senate Wary of New Iranian President

Iranian presidential candidate Hasan Rowhani, a former Iran's top nuclear negotiator, casts his ballot during presidential elections at a polling station in downtown Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Senate urges White House to build action plan to wipe out Iranian nuclear program Comment () Tweet U.S. Senate leaders want the Obama administrationto test new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s stance on the country’s nuclear program. If Iran wants…
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

White House to Announce Russia Trip Plans Soon

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is seen during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March, 1, 2011.

WASHINGTON — The White House is saying it will announce in the coming days whether President Barack Obama is going to cancel a visit to MoscowObama‘s plan to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin has been up in the air with Russiagranting…
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Senators Call for End to Afghan Helicopter Deal

Republican presidential candidates former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, gestures as he talks to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich during a Republican presidential debate Monday Jan. 23, 2012, at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla.

WASHINGTON — Twelve Republican and Democratic senators are calling on thePentagon to cancel all contracts to buy helicopters for Afghan security forces from a state-run Russian arms exporter that is a top weapons supplier to the Syrian government….
photo: AP / Paul Sancya

Zimbabwe elections: Why is nobody dancing after Mugabe’s latest win?

Supporters gather at the Harare airport Friday July 4, 2008 to welcome Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, portrait on placard, on his return to Harare from Egypt, where he attended the African Union summit.

August 5, 2013 — Updated 1727 GMT (0127 HKT) Editor’s note: Wilf Mbanga is the founder and editor of The Zimbabwean, an independent newspaper. He lives in self-imposed exile in the UK after being declared an enemy of the state by the Zimbabwean…
photo: AP /

Berlusconi supporters threaten ‘civil war’

Former Italian Premier and leader of the center-right coalition Silvio Berlusconi addresses a rally in Rome, Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Could Silvio Berlusconi‘s sentence at Italy‘s highest court on Thursday bring theItalian government to its knees? His supporters talk of “civil war” if Berlusconi is not allowed to continue practicing politics. You have to admit, Silvio Berlusconi…
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Former South African President Nelson Mandela, center, with his wife Graça Machel, left, as he celebrates his birthday with family in Qunu, South Africa, Wednesday, July 18, 2012.

JOHANNESBURG — The city of Johannesburg has apologized for a mix up over a warning notice it delivered to the house of Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who is critically ill in a hospital. The city said Monday that the notice was…
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death toll rises as floods sweep Pakistan

06 Aug 2013
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider KARACHI – The death toll from monsoon rains inPakistan has risen to more than 80 in the last five days, as much of the country has been inundated, flooding many cities and towns from north to south. The National Disaster Management Authority warned on Monday that more rain than usual was expected this and next month. “At… 
Pakistani soldiers rescue a resident from an area flooded by heavy rains on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013.

 

 

 

Assad says Syria opposition a failure

05 Aug 2013

 

Syria‘s President Bashar al-Assad has described the main oppositionNational Coalition as a “failure”, adding that it can have no role in ending the country’s war. Syria’s crisis will only be solved by stamping out “terror”, President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday, in reference to rebels fighting his regime. “This opposition is not reliable, it is… 
 Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks at a press conference in Cairo Monday, Oct. 2, 2000. Assad, in his first press conference since assuming the Syrian presidency in July, said Syria is ready to negotiate peace with Israel whenever Israelis are "tr

 

 

 

 

Assad regime’s ballistic missiles killing children in Syria: HRW

In this Sunday, March 11, 2012 file photo, a man carries a boy who was severely wounded during heavy fighting between Syrian rebels and Syrian Army forces in Idlib, north Syria

BeirutBallistic missiles used by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assadare killing many civilians, including children, an international rights group said on Monday. These missiles “are hitting populated areas, causing large numbers of…
photo: AP / Rodrigo Abd

US official visits senior Egypt Islamist in jail

An Egyptian Muslim cleric shouts slogans with hundreds of supporters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential hopeful Khairat el-Shater outside the Higher Presidential Elections Commission, in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, April 5, 2012.

HAMZA HENDAWI Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) â?? A top U.S. diplomat met early on Monday a jailed senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, part of mediation efforts to end the standoff between Egypt‘s military-backed government and protesters…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Heavy rains, floods kill 60 in Pakistan; Karachi worst-hit

People get off from a boat after rescued by soldiers from a flooded area caused by heavy rains on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013.

IslamabadHeavy monsoon rains and flash floods across Pakistan have killed 60 people over the past three days, with southern port city of Karachi being worst-hit, officials said on Monday. Most of the people were killed in Karachi where some areas…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces election will be held on September 7

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks during a press conference at the Parliament House in Canberra, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called an election for Sept. 7 and said Sunday that it will be fought over who can be trusted to manage the Australian economy as it transitions from a decade-old mining boom fed by Chinese industrial demand that is now…
photo: AP / Lukas Coch

Iran’s Rohani takes oath on vowing to rescue economy

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

Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani was set to take the oath before parliament on Sunday a day after taking office with a promise to work to ease cripplingWestern sanctions. Rohani formally took office on Saturday at a ceremony in which he received…
photo: AP / Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader

Morocco king orders probe into Spanish rapist release

Police officers clash with demonstrators gathered outside the parliament in Rabat, Morocco, Friday Aug. 2, 2013, to protest the release of a Spanish paedophile.

RABAT – Morocco’s king on Saturday announced an investigation into the release of a Spanish paedophile convicted of raping 11 children aged between four and 15. Daniel Galvan Vina, said to be in his 60s, was pardoned by King Mohammed VI and freed on…
photo: AP / Mustapha Houbais

Hezbollah leader rallies members amid pressure in Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaks during a rally to mark Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah makes a rare public appearance Friday during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, or Al-Quds day, pledging to continue to support the Palestinian cause. (Hussein MallaThe Associated PressBEIRUT — The leader…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

 

 

 

 

 

Diplomatic efforts to defuse Egyptian crisis ongoing

04 Aug 2013

 

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Egypt without further bloodshed continued over the weekend. While the situation remained extremely tense, some spoke of initial signs of a willingness to compromise. The US deputy secretary of state, William Burns, met on Saturday both with senior supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi and… 


Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013.

Nigeria: Doctors Treating Lead-Poisoned Children

03 Aug 2013

 

LAGOS, Nigeria — Doctors Without Borders say they can start treating child victims in Nigeria of one of the world’s worst recorded lead poisoning cases after a cleanup was held up for two years by a lack of funding. Dr. MichelleChouinard said Friday that more than 1,000 children need treatment that will take one or two years. She said it is too… 
In this Wednesday, June 9, 2010 photo, children farm in Yangalma village, where most of the children suffering from lead poisoning come from, in Gusau, Nigeria. Among the flat lands and dried-out creekbeds of northern Zamfara state, Nigerian officials say more than 160 people have died from lead poisoning, the majority of them children. At least six villages remain contaminated with the lead, released during illegal, but highly profitable gold mining in the poor region

Hezbollah leader rallies members amid pressure in Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speaks during a rally to mark Jerusalem day or Al-Quds day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah makes a rare public appearance Friday during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, or Al-Quds day, pledging to continue to support the Palestinian cause. (Hussein MallaThe Associated PressBEIRUT — The leader…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

UN probes allegations of rebel atrocities in Syria

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

BEIRUT — United Nations experts are investigating allegations that rebels killed dozens of Syrian soldiers in a village near Aleppo after they captured it from government troops, an incident that could amount to a war crime, the world body’s…
photo: AP / Narciso Contreras

Chinese Government Launches Anti-Internet Rumor Website

In this July 14, 2010 file photo, Chinese use computers at an Internet cafe in Beijing. The news agency of China's ruling Communist Party launched an Internet search site Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, giving its own sanitized view of the Web following Google's closure of its China-based search engine last year over censorship.

A new Chinese government website made with the cooperation of executives fromYahoo, China Telecom, Baidu, and Sohu is setting out to debunk urban legends on the Internet. The site, py.qianlong.com, is an attempt by…

Egypt authorities to start breaking up Morsi protest camps ‘within hours’

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013.

EGYPTIAN authorities have outlined plans to break up two sit-ins by supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi, saying they would set up a cordon around the protest sites, as riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators threatening a TV…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Zawahiri Claims US Plotted Morsi’s Downfall

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Since the merge of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad with Al-Qaeda in juni 2001 he is the second man of Al-Qaeda, next to Osama bin-Laden
Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri has accused the United States of “plotting” to overthrow Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. In an audio recording posted to militant Islamist forums, he said the US colluded with the Egyptian military,…
photo: Public Domain

Berlusconi’s Followers Threaten Fragile Truce in Italy

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi jokes with lawmakers during a confidence vote, in Rome, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011.

ROME — Lawmakers from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s political party said Friday that they were prepared to resign en masse to protest Mr. Berlusconi’s definitive conviction for tax fraud, a move that would effectively sink the uneasy…
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

Archaeologists think they’ve found the cross of Jesus

A triptych with Jesus on the cross in the middle, Gethsemane in the left and Resurrection of Jesus in the right panel.

Relic found within small stone chest The archaeologists came across a small stone chest while working in the ruins of the Balatlar Church. The chest bore two crosses which were carved into the stone. Inside the chest were a number of relics believed…
photo: Public Domain / Estormiz

Egypt offers safe exit to Islamists if they end sit-ins

02 Aug 2013

 

CAIRO: Egypt‘s interim government on Thursday urged supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi to return to their homes and end the sit-ins inCairo, assuring them a safe exit if they do so peacefully. The military-backed government had on Wednesday ordered the… 
Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi sit outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where protesters have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013.

John Kerry pledges early end to Pakistan drone strikes

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, Pakistan Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has concluded a visit to Pakistan by pledging to end drone strikes against militants “very, very soon”. Correspondents say his comments are intended as a message to ease anti-American resentment in…
photo: AP / Jason Reed, Pool

US Drone Strikes In Pakistan ‘May End Soon’

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., talks on a phone in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 in Washington.

August 2013, 22:51 US Drone Strikes In Pakistan ‘May End Soon‘ Tweet The UScould end its controversial drone strikes in Pakistan “very soon”, according toSecretary of State John Kerry in remarks welcomed by Islamabad. Mr Kerry suggested there was…
photo: AP / Alex Brandon

Kazakh dissident banker held in southern France

BTA Bank

He was a favorite of Kazakhstan‘s longtime leader as the energy-rich nation emerged from decades of Soviet rule, but he turned against his mentor and used his vast wealth to bankroll a nascent opposition. He was granted asylum in Britain, then became…
photo: Creative Commons / Flickr

Wall Street indexes set records

In this Nov. 1, 2010 photo, Thomas Bishop, left, talks with a fellow specialist on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 1, 2010.

NEW YORK — The stock market got jolted out of the summer doldrums Thursday by better news on the economy, sending indexes back to all-time highs. The Standard & Poor?s 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Russell 2000index all set…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

S&P 500 closes above 1,700 points for first time

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 16, 2010

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market roared back to record highs on Thursday, driven by better news on the economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Russell 2000 index set all-time highs. The S&P broke through…
photo: AP / Seth Wenig

Cleveland Kidnapper Ariel Castro Gets Life Plus 1,000 Years in Prison

A truck is pulled out a driveway from a house Tuesday, May 7, 2013, where three women who vanished a decade ago were held, in Cleveland.

One of the victims said she spent 11 years ‘in hell’ and that Castro deserved what he got Comment () Tweet By pleading guilty to more than 900 charges, 53 year-old Castro would receive life in prison without the possibility of parole. In a lengthy…
photo: AP / Tony Dejak

NSA chief tries to win over hackers at cyber fair

Gen. Keith B. Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and head of the U.S. Cyber Command, testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine cybersecurity, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, focusing on preparing for and responding to the enduring threat.

It doesn’t get much stranger, even in Las VegasGeneral Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, stood in front of a crowd, selling the idea of US government surveillance programmes. His audience? More than 3,000cybersecurity…
photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Uruguay’s House OKs legal marijuana market plan

01 Aug 2013

 

Uruguay‘s lower house of congress has voted 50-46 after 13 hours of passionate debate to create a legal marijuana industry in hopes of fighting organized crime. The plan now goes to the Senate, where passage is expected to make Uruguay the first country in the world to license and regulate the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for… 
A man smokes marijuana outside the Congress where lawmakers debate a bill to legalize marijuana and regulate production and distribution in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, July 31, 2013.



Manning aquitted of aiding enemy

31 Jul 2013

 

FORT MEADE, MD. | U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy — the most serious charge he faced — but was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges Tuesday, more than three years after he spilled secrets to WikiLeaks. The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before reaching her… 
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, center, is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Tuesday, May 21, 2013, before a pretrial military hearing.

WikiLeaks on Manning verdict: ‘Extremism’

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange waves to supporters after he made a statement to the media and supporters at a balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange branded Pfc. Bradley Manning‘s espionage conviction Tuesday an episode of “national security extremism” while other supporters expressed relief that he was acquitted of the most serious charge. Among…
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

Scientists Are Petitioning NASA To Search for Martian DNA

Engineers work on a model of the Mars rover Curiosity at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012.

NASA‘s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took and returned this image on January 28, 2004, NASA Needs More Women, Top Official Says Einstein’s Cosmic Speed LimitPasses New Test NASA Astronaut Says Spacesuit Water Leak Was ‘ScarySituation‘ (Video) Did…
photo: AP / Damian Dovarganes

A Look at Pfc. Bradley Manning’s Court-Martial

File - Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, center, is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, June 25, 2012, after a pre-trial hearing.

FORT MEADE, Md. — U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning has been acquitted of the most serious charge he faced, aiding the enemy, but was convicted of 19 other counts for leaking a trove of classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The…
photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

Portugal PM wins confidence vote, vows to meet bailout goals

From right; Portugal Prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho, President of AIP Jorge Rocha de Matos and Director of AIP Jose Eduardo Carvalho with Barroso, center

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal‘s prime minister ruled out any backtracking on its bailout terms on Tuesday as his revamped government easily won a confidence vote intended to show it has repaired an internal rift over austerity. Speaking to parliament…
photo: EC / © European Commission

Rising Sea Levels Threaten Fate Of 1,400 US Cities [Study]

Liberty of the Seas docked in the Port of Miami.

Rising sea levels may not seem that big of a deal right now. However, a new study suggests that our carbon emissions now are already locking in the watery fate of 1,400 US cities, including Miami, Florida. The study adds that, unless there are…
photo: Creative Commons / Captain-tucker

Operation Cross Country: FBI frees 105 teens trapped as sex slaves

Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, speaks during a news conference at FBI headquarters in Washington, Monday, July 29, 2013, about "Operation Cross Country."

A story from NBCnews reports that the FBI sex-trafficking sting involved over 70 cities and that many of the teens came from broken homes and the youngest victim was 13 years old, according to the agency. The report from Foxnews quotesRonald Hosko…
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Stocks Slip as a Busy Week for Markets Begins

A screen indicates the current exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against Japanese yen behind the both countries' flags at a foreign exchange firm in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 21, 2012.

NEW YORK — Stocks are slipping on Wall Street as a busy week for financial markets gets underway. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 15,521 Monday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell six points, or 0.4…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Taliban free hundreds in Pakistan jailbreak

30 Jul 2013

 

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider Pakistan Taliban KARACHI – As many as 243 prisoners escaped after heavily armed Pakistan Taliban, some dressed in police uniform, stormed one of the main prisons in Pakistan’s northwesternKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Province late on Monday to free militants belonging to the outlawed group and other banned sectarian outfits. Thirty… 
A plainclothes police officer takes a photo with his mobile phone of a damaged gate of center jail caused by Taliban militants attacked, Tuesday, July 30, 2013 in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.

Operation Cross Country: FBI frees 105 teens trapped as sex slaves

Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, speaks during a news conference at FBI headquarters in Washington, Monday, July 29, 2013, about "Operation Cross Country."

A story from NBCnews reports that the FBI sex-trafficking sting involved over 70 cities and that many of the teens came from broken homes and the youngest victim was 13 years old, according to the agency. The report from Foxnews quotesRonald Hosko…
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

A screen indicates the current exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against Japanese yen behind the both countries' flags at a foreign exchange firm in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 21, 2012.

NEW YORK — Stocks are slipping on Wall Street as a busy week for financial markets gets underway. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 15,521 Monday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell six points, or 0.4…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Togo parliamentary poll disputed

inauguration of the new general head office of the direction of the taxes of Togo. Togo and finance     inauguration du nouveau siège social de la direction général des impôts du Togo. Togo et finance le president de la republique du togo Faure Gnassingbe, Abasse Bonfo

Lome – Togo‘s main opposition on Monday rejected provisional electoral results showing the ruling party winning two-thirds of parliamentary seats, allowing the president’s family to maintain its decades-long grip on power. The main opposition…
photo: WN / Eteh

China arrests four disciples of Tibetan Lama, who is serving life sentence

A latest image coming out from Tibet showing a portrait of Trulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche

Article by Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent Dharamshala. Dharamshala: Reports are emerging that Chinese authorities from Sichuan Province have arrested four of the five petitioners for Trulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche. They were detained while travelling…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

US calls for calm in Egypt as violence escalates

US calls for calm in Egypt as violence escalates

The USCanada and the United Nations has called for calm and peace in Egyptamidst escalation of violence in the country leaving more than 100 people dead and some 4,500 injured. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken toEgyptian leaders…
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

In Darfur, Tribal Rivalries Claim Nearly 100

South Sudanese men participate in the country's anniversary celebrations, at the John Garang mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, Monday, July 9, 2012.

VOA News Fighting between rival Arab tribes in Sudan‘s long-troubled Darfurregion has killed as many as 94 people. …
photo: AP / Shannon Jensen

Organizers estimate 2 million in Rio for pope

Pope Francis looks at his watch after arriving to the stage on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO — Organizers estimate that some 2 million people have come out to Copacabana beach for the final evening of World Youth day with PopeFrancis. Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable…
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

Dozens killed as wave of car bombings hits Iraq

29 Jul 2013

 

A wave of over a dozen car bombings hit central and southern Iraq during morning rush hour today, officials said, killing at least 47 people in the latest coordinated attack by insurgents determined to undermine the government. The blasts, which wounded scores more, are part of a months-long surge of attacks that is reviving fears of a return to… 
Iraqi security forces inspect the site of a bomb explosion in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 28, 2013.
photo: AP / Nabil al-Jurani

US calls for calm in Egypt as violence escalates

US calls for calm in Egypt as violence escalates

The USCanada and the United Nations has called for calm and peace in Egyptamidst escalation of violence in the country leaving more than 100 people dead and some 4,500 injured. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken toEgyptian leaders…
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine
 

In Darfur, Tribal Rivalries Claim Nearly 100

South Sudanese men participate in the country's anniversary celebrations, at the John Garang mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, Monday, July 9, 2012.

VOA News Fighting between rival Arab tribes in Sudan‘s long-troubled Darfurregion has killed as many as 94 people. …
photo: AP / Shannon Jensen

Organizers estimate 2 million in Rio for pope

Pope Francis looks at his watch after arriving to the stage on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO — Organizers estimate that some 2 million people have come out to Copacabana beach for the final evening of World Youth day with PopeFrancis. Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable…
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

John Kerry’s Wife Leaves Boston Rehab Hospital

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry

BOSTON — The wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has walked out of aBoston rehabilitation hospital after successful treatment for a seizure she experienced earlier this month. State Department spokesman Glen Johnson said Saturday that doctors…
photo: Creative Commons / State Department photo/ Public Domain

Israel to release 104 Palestinian prisoners

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

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will free 104 Palestinian prisoners to coincide with the resumption of long-stalled peace talks. “I agreed to free 104 Palestinians in stages, after the start of negotiations and according…
photo: AP / //Ronen Zvulun

Saudi man dies in kingdom from MERS coronavirus: Health Ministry

Coronaviruses

DUBAI (Reuters) – A Saudi man has died of the coronavirus Middle EastRespiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Saudi Health Ministry said on Saturday, raising to 39 the number of deaths from the SARS-like virus in the kingdom where it first emerged…
photo: Creative Commons / Dr. Fred Murphy

More Than 1,000 Prisoners Escape In Massive Libyan Jailbreak

In this Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 file photo, a Libyan man takes pictures of the courtyard of Abu Salim prison, in Tripoli, Libya. Human Rights Watch said it has uncovered evidence of a wider use of waterboarding in American interrogations of detainees than has been acknowledged by the United States.

More than 1,000 inmates, many convicted of serious crimes, have escaped from a prison in Libya‘s eastern city of Benghazi, the country’s prime minister confirmed….
photo: AP / Francois Mori

Nearly 1,200 convicts escape from prison in Libya’s Benghazi

28 Jul 2013

 

> • Nearly 1,200 convicts have escaped from al-Kuifiya prison in Libya‘s eastern city of Benghazi. • Most of the convicts held in the prison face criminal charges. • But no official remarks about the cause of the incident have come out. TRIPOLI, July 27 (Xinhua) — Nearly 1,200 convicts have escaped from al-Kuifiya prison in Libya’s eastern city of… 
File - In this Saturday, June 8, 2013 photo, Libyans are seen during fighting outside the office of the Libya Shield pro-government militia in Benghazi, Libya.

In Darfur, Tribal Rivalries Claim Nearly 100

South Sudanese men participate in the country's anniversary celebrations, at the John Garang mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, Monday, July 9, 2012.

VOA News Fighting between rival Arab tribes in Sudan‘s long-troubled Darfurregion has killed as many as 94 people. …
photo: AP / Shannon Jensen

Organizers estimate 2 million in Rio for pope

Pope Francis looks at his watch after arriving to the stage on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO — Organizers estimate that some 2 million people have come out to Copacabana beach for the final evening of World Youth day with PopeFrancis. Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable…
photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

John Kerry’s Wife Leaves Boston Rehab Hospital

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry

BOSTON — The wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has walked out of aBoston rehabilitation hospital after successful treatment for a seizure she experienced earlier this month. State Department spokesman Glen Johnson said Saturday that doctors…
photo: Creative Commons / State Department photo/ Public Domain

Israel to release 104 Palestinian prisoners

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

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will free 104 Palestinian prisoners to coincide with the resumption of long-stalled peace talks. “I agreed to free 104 Palestinians in stages, after the start of negotiations and according…
photo: AP / //Ronen Zvulun

Saudi man dies in kingdom from MERS coronavirus: Health Ministry

Coronaviruses

DUBAI (Reuters) – A Saudi man has died of the coronavirus Middle EastRespiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Saudi Health Ministry said on Saturday, raising to 39 the number of deaths from the SARS-like virus in the kingdom where it first emerged…
photo: Creative Commons / Dr. Fred Murphy

More Than 1,000 Prisoners Escape In Massive Libyan Jailbreak

In this Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 file photo, a Libyan man takes pictures of the courtyard of Abu Salim prison, in Tripoli, Libya. Human Rights Watch said it has uncovered evidence of a wider use of waterboarding in American interrogations of detainees than has been acknowledged by the United States.

More than 1,000 inmates, many convicted of serious crimes, have escaped from a prison in Libya‘s eastern city of Benghazi, the country’s prime minister confirmed….
photo: AP / Francois Mori

Outrage In Italy After Black Minister Endures Racist ‘Banana Attack’

Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kashetu Kyenge speaks at a press conference in Rome, Friday, May 3, 2013.

The latest racist attack against Italy‘s first black minister Cecile Kyenge, pictured July 16, 2013, in which a banana was hurled at her during a rally, sparked outrage across the political spectrum. See Also The latest racist attack against Italy’s…
photo: AP / Domenico Stinellis

Mali votes for the future

27 Jul 2013

 

Bamako, Mali – Mali’s crucial presidential election on Sunday will take place in an atmosphere of hope but shaded by uncertainty. Uncertainty because since the end of military rule, Mali has held five elections. All had significant problems. More uncertainty because of the political turmoil that has plagued us for the past 20 months…. 
Election workers are checked by United Nations peacekeepers before entering local election headquarters, in Kidal, Mali Saturday, July 27, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

North Korea military marks Korean War ceasefire anniversary

North Korean military veterans wave to their leader Kim Jong Un during a mass military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice Saturday, July 27, 2013.

North Korea has celebrated the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War by staging a major military parade. The ceasefire in the 1950-53 war is celebrated in North Korea as “Victory Day.” North Korean state television showed a lavish parade…
photo: AP / David Guttenfelder

70 Morsi supporters shot dead by security forces

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi carry an injured man to a field hospital following clashes with security forces at Nasr City, where pro-Morsi protesters have held a weeks-long sit-in, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, July 27, 2013.

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces shot dead at least 70 supporters of oustedPresident Mohammed Morsi early on Saturday, his Muslim Brotherhood said, deepening the turmoil which has convulsed Egypt for weeks. Brotherhoodspokesman Gehad El-Haddad said…
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra

Tunisia Brahmi murder: State funeral to be held for MP

CAPTION CORRECTS THE SPELLING OF MOHAMMED Supporters of the Islamist Ennahda movement demonstrate as they chants slogans and hold a picture of assassinated politician Mohammed Brahmi during a demonstration in Tunis, Tunisia, Friday, July 26, 2013.

A state funeral is due to be held for Tunisian opposition leader Mohamed Brahmiwho was killed on Thursday by gunmen in the capital, Tunis. His death has sparked widespread unrest. One protester died in overnight clashes in the southern town of…
photo: AP / Amine Landoulsi

Japan’s PM calls for high-level talks with China

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives a statement to the media after a meeting with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, unseen, at the Istana in Singapore on Friday July 26, 2013.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Friday for a leaders’ summit or a foreign ministers’ meeting between his country and Chinaas soon as possible, adding that such talks should be held without preconditions….
photo: AP / Bryan van der Beek

Cambodian poll campaign nears end, rights group calls it flawed

Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, arrives for a final campaign rally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 26, 2013.

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia‘s political parties hit the streets on Friday in a final push for votes in Sunday’s general election, but a rights group said the campaign had been biased in favor of Prime Minister Hun Sen‘s party, widely expected to…
photo: AP / Heng Sinith

Spain train driver to be questioned by police

Rail personnel and firefighters inspect derailed cars at the site of a train accident in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on Thursday, July 25, 2013.

The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing at least 80 people, was under police guard in hospital on Friday after the accident, which an official source said was caused by excessive speed. The eight-carriage train came off the tracks, hit a…
photo: AP / Lalo Villar

Divided Egypt braces for rival rallies

Egyptians living in Malaysia hold up a poster of Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and an Egyptian flag during a rally to support the army and police to confront terrorism and violence in Egypt, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, July 26, 2013.

Tense Egypt braced Friday for a showdown in the streets between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and his army-backed opponents, who have called rival rallies across the Arab world‘s most populous country. Tensions soared when the military…
photo: AP / Lai Seng Sin

 

 

Italian police swoop on Mafia in Rome

26 Jul 2013

 

Italian police launched anti-mafia operations in Rome and the southernCalabria region on Friday, issuing at least 100 arrest warrants. Italian media described the Rome operation as the largest-ever launched in the capital. ByNews Wires (text) Italian police said they launched two major anti-mafia operations Friday in Rome and the southern… 
italian police officers, Rome Italy

 

 

 

 

Japan’s PM calls for high-level talks with China

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives a statement to the media after a meeting with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, unseen, at the Istana in Singapore on Friday July 26, 2013.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Friday for a leaders’ summit or a foreign ministers’ meeting between his country and Chinaas soon as possible, adding that such talks should be held without preconditions….
photo: AP / Bryan van der Beek

Cambodian poll campaign nears end, rights group calls it flawed

Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, arrives for a final campaign rally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 26, 2013.

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia‘s political parties hit the streets on Friday in a final push for votes in Sunday’s general election, but a rights group said the campaign had been biased in favor of Prime Minister Hun Sen‘s party, widely expected to…
photo: AP / Heng Sinith

Spain train driver to be questioned by police

Rail personnel and firefighters inspect derailed cars at the site of a train accident in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on Thursday, July 25, 2013.

The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing at least 80 people, was under police guard in hospital on Friday after the accident, which an official source said was caused by excessive speed. The eight-carriage train came off the tracks, hit a…
photo: AP / Lalo Villar

Divided Egypt braces for rival rallies

Egyptians living in Malaysia hold up a poster of Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and an Egyptian flag during a rally to support the army and police to confront terrorism and violence in Egypt, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, July 26, 2013.

Tense Egypt braced Friday for a showdown in the streets between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and his army-backed opponents, who have called rival rallies across the Arab world‘s most populous country. Tensions soared when the military…
photo: AP / Lai Seng Sin

Obama administration won’t use ‘coup’ for Egypt

Egyptian soldiers stand guard atop an armored personnel vehicle on a bridge that leads to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 26, 2013.

BRADLEY KLAPPER Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) â?? The Obama administration told lawmakers Thursday that it won’t declare Egypt‘s government overthrow a coup, U.S. officials and lawmakers said, allowing the United States to continue providing $1.5…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Syrian refugees: how many are there and where are they?

A close-up view of the Za'atri camp for Syrian refugees as seen on July 18, 2013, from a helicopter carrying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

As part of the Guardian‘s series on the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Syria, we are updating our numbers on refugees. They show a population still urgently in need of help • Download the data A Syrian refugee flashes a victory signin…
photo: US DoS

N. Korea marking 60th anniversary of war’s end

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, arrives at the cemeteries of fallen fighters of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on Thursday, July 25, 2013 in Pyongyang, North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea — U.S.Chinese and North Korean war veterans on Thursday joined North leader Kim Jong Un at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. Kim, who took over as leader after his father Kim Jong Il‘s death…
photo: AP / Wong Maye

 

 

 

Over 70 dead in Spanish high-speed train crash

25 Jul 2013

 

More than 70 people were killed and over 100 were injured when a high-speed train derailed late on Wednesday near the city of Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain, authorities said. The train carrying more than 200 passengers was travelling from… 
Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a train derailment in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Syrian refugees: how many are there and where are they?

A close-up view of the Za'atri camp for Syrian refugees as seen on July 18, 2013, from a helicopter carrying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

As part of the Guardian‘s series on the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Syria, we are updating our numbers on refugees. They show a population still urgently in need of help • Download the data A Syrian refugee flashes a victory signin…
photo: US DoS

N. Korea marking 60th anniversary of war’s end

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, arrives at the cemeteries of fallen fighters of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on Thursday, July 25, 2013 in Pyongyang, North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea — U.S.Chinese and North Korean war veterans on Thursday joined North leader Kim Jong Un at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. Kim, who took over as leader after his father Kim Jong Il‘s death…
photo: AP / Wong Maye

Togo voters head to the polls in long-delayed elections

Les partisans de UFC union des forces pour le Changement . Togo politique élection election         les population de lomé pour le bal final   Togo and Africa

People in Togo are preparing to go to the polls in long-delayed parliamentary elections. Thursday’s vote is seen as an indication of what will happen in the presidential elections next year. Experts say it could expose weaknesses in the grip of…
photo: WN / Eteh

22 people killed, 64 wounded in attacks in Iraq

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

BAGHDAD, July 24 (Xinhua) — Bomb and gunfire attacks, mainly targeting Iraqi security forces, in the predominantly Sunni areas in Iraq on Wednesday killed 22 and wounded some 64 others, as the country struggles to contain the worst violence since…
photo: AP / Karim Kadim

Royal baby: The prince meets his people in world media frenzy

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge hold the Prince of Cambridge, Tuesday July 23, 2013, as they pose for photographers outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London where the Duchess gave birth on Monday July 22.

It was the moment they had all been waiting for. With a joke about the new baby having more hair than his father, and a passing mention of privacy after this very public introduction to his people, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought their…
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis)

Pressure mounts for Morsi release as 13 die in Egypt clashes

Opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi carry their injured friend who was wounded during clashes with Morsi supporters, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 22, 2013.

Pressure was growing on Egypt’s new leaders to release Mohamed Morsi from detention after clashes between supporters and opponents of the deposed Islamist president left 13 people dead. The clashes broke out on Monday and raged into Tuesday, leaving…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

Duchess of Cambridge and royal baby ‘doing well’

People queue to look at a notice proclaiming the birth of a baby boy of Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on display for the public view at Buckingham Palace in London, Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

The royal baby and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are said to be “doing well” amid hopes that the world will get its first glimpse of the future king later today. 560 315 TelegraphPlayer_10196561 11:11AM BST 23 Jul 2013 Duchess of Cambridge gives…
photo: AP / Sang Tan

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands attend youth mass on Brazil’s Copacabana beach

24 Jul 2013

 

Tens of thousands of young Catholics from around the world flocked to Rio’s famed Copacabana beach to kick off a youth festival that will feature several appearances by Pope Francis. Bikinis and beach volleyball gave way to rosaries and prayers for world peace as youths settled on the Brazilian shoreline for a night of religious events related… 
Thousands of young pilgrims get revved up as they gather on Copacabana Beach for a World Youth Day inaugural Mass in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Egyptian Army Chief Urges Friday Protests Against Violence

24 Jul 2013

 

Egypt&aposs army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is calling for mass rallies Friday to give the military a mandate to confront what he called “violence and terrorism.” He made the appeal during a televised speech Wednesday. Egypt has seen weeks of turmoil and deadly clashes following… 
Egyptian protesters opposed to president Mohammed Morsi chant slogans in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012.

 

 

 

 

Royal baby: The prince meets his people in world media frenzy

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge hold the Prince of Cambridge, Tuesday July 23, 2013, as they pose for photographers outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London where the Duchess gave birth on Monday July 22.

It was the moment they had all been waiting for. With a joke about the new baby having more hair than his father, and a passing mention of privacy after this very public introduction to his people, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought their…
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis)

Pressure mounts for Morsi release as 13 die in Egypt clashes

Opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi carry their injured friend who was wounded during clashes with Morsi supporters, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 22, 2013.

South China Morning Post

Pressure was growing on Egypt’s new leaders to release Mohamed Morsi from detention after clashes between supporters and opponents of the deposed Islamist president left 13 people dead. The clashes broke out on Monday and raged into Tuesday, leaving…

photo: AP / Hussein Malla

Egypt   Photos   Protests   Violence   Wikipedia: 2013 Egyptian coup d’état

 

 

 

 

Syria conflict: Top US general outlines military options

23 Jul 2013

 

The top US military officer has outlined the costs, risks and benefits of possible American military involvement in the Syrian conflict. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Martin Dempsey offered five military options, including limited strikes and establishing a no-fly zone. But he said using force in Syriawould be “no less… 
File - Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey gives remarks during a ceremony honoring the Military Times 2011 Soldier of the Year.

 

 

 

Duchess of Cambridge and royal baby ‘doing well’

People queue to look at a notice proclaiming the birth of a baby boy of Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on display for the public view at Buckingham Palace in London, Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

The royal baby and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are said to be “doing well” amid hopes that the world will get its first glimpse of the future king later today. 560 315 TelegraphPlayer_10196561 11:11AM BST 23 Jul 2013 Duchess of Cambridge gives…
photo: AP / Sang Tan

Death toll mounts in renewed Cairo clashes

Opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi burn posters bearing his picture during clashes against Morsi supporters, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, July 22, 2013.

A fresh wave of clashes between opponents and supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in central Cairo overnight Monday has left at least six people dead, as Islamists vow to continue protests until he is reinstated. By NewsWires
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

‘North Korea halts work at long-range rocket site’

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

SeoulFresh satellite images confirm that North Korea has halted construction at a facility to launch a new generation of long-range rockets, a US research institute said on Tuesday. The building of a new launch pad, missile assembly building and…
photo: AP / KCNA

8 injured as Southwest Airlines plane landing gear collapses

Southwest Airlines

Eight people were injured after the front landing gear of a Southwest Airlines plane with 150 people on board collapsed on landing at New York’s La Guardia airportyesterday. The accident left the Boeing 737-700 with its nose resting against…
photo: Creative Commons / Kevinboydston

Rescue teams in China’s quake-hit Gansu

Residents injured in the earthquake receive medical treatment at a camp in Meichuan town in Minxian county of Dingxi city in northwest China's Gansu province on Monday, July 22, 2013.

Rescue efforts are under way following two powerful earthquakes in China that killed at least 89 people. The quakes hit Gansu province on Monday morning, with the majority of casualties in Dingxi city. More than 800…
photo: AP

13 years on, Delhi police chargesheet dead Hansie Cronje

 Hansie Cronje ,South Africa , Cricket  (rks2)

New Delhi: More than a decade after the late South African cricketer Hansie Cronje‘s name emerged in the 2000 match fixing scandal, the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet at a court here in Delhi on…
photo: AP

US Stocks End Higher, Helped by Gold Miners

NYSE Euronext market indicators are shown on a board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 in New York

NEW YORK — The stock market is closing at a record high despite a disappointing quarterly performance from McDonald’s. A big week for corporate results began Monday with second-quarter earnings for the hamburger chain falling short of Wall Street‘s…
photo: AP / Henny Ray Abrams

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a boy! Catherine gives birth to royal baby

By Dana Ford. Laura Smith-Spark and Richard Allen Greene, CNN
July 22, 2013 — 
Watch this video

Catherine gives birth to a boy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duchess Kate has checked into St. Mary’s Hospital and is in labor. Royal baby. Britain’s Prince William stands next to his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, as she leaves the King Edward VII hospital in central London in December.

 

 

Japan Election: Shinzo Abe Hails Landslide Win

22 Jul 2013
The Japanese prime minister‘s ruling coalition has won a solid majority in the country’s upper house elections, gaining control of both chambers of parliament. Shinzo Abe‘s decisive win is being seen as a mandate to press ahead with difficult economic reforms – an endorsement for the Liberal Democratic Party‘s ‘Abenomics’ programme,…
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe arrives for a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, a day after the party's landslide victory over the ruling Democratic Party of Japan led by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in parliamentary elections. Abe stressed Monday that the road ahead will not be easy as he tries to revive Japan's sputtering economy and bolster its national security amid deteriorating relations with China.

 

 

 

 

Japan PM Abe’s mandate is much smaller than it looks

Japanese Prime Minister and the Liberal Democratic Party leader, Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Monday, July 22, 2013.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s landslide election victory at the weekend was anything but a ringing endorsement from voters. The vast majority never voted for his coalition. Abe’s mandate is much smaller than his ruling bloc’s…
photo: AP / Koji Sasahara

EU to consider sanctions against military wing of Hizbullah

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, right, talks with Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn during the EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 22, 2013.

(European Union governments could decide to blacklist the military wing ofHizbullah today, in a major policy reversal fuelled by concerns over the Lebanese militant movement’s activities in Europe. Britain has sought to persuade its EU peers since…
photo: AP / Yves Logghe

Egypt’s liberals seek to ban political Islamists from government

Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi carry posters of Morsi as they march past Egyptian army soldiers during a demonstration in front of the National Council for Human Right building in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, July 21, 2013.

A growing backlash against Egypt’s political Islamists looked set to intensify over the coming weeks as the nation’s revolutionary forces outlined demands to ban religious parties and outlaw political campaigning from mosques. Fuelled by a climate of…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

Chris Froome’s ‘Monumental’ Tour De France Win

Tour de France 2013

Chris Froome has won the 100th Tour de France title, finishing more than four minutes ahead of his closest rival in the overall standings. The 28-year-old, who learned to ride on dirt tracks in Kenya, crossed the finish line in Paris arm-in-arm with…
photo: Creative Commons

Portuguese govt to stay in power for crisis

 José Manuel Barroso, President of the EC, receives Anibal Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal. ula1

LISBON — Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva on Sunday said the coalition government will stay in power until the end of their term in 2015, rejecting calls for snap elections to resolve a political crisis eroding Lisbon‘s credibility with…
photo: European Community, 2007 Berlaymont, Brussels

19 Colombian soldiers killed in clashes with FARC rebels

Colombian soldiers stand in formation at the Military Fort in La Macarena, Colombia, Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Colombia's military killed Jorge Briceno, also known as Mono Jojoy, the field marshal and No. 2 commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in bombing raids and combat targeting a major encampment at the edge of the country's eastern plains, in the hills near La Macarena.

TAME, COLOMBIA: Nineteen Colombian soldiers were killed in clashes blamed on the country’s Marxist FARC guerrillas, defense ministry sources said on Sunday, the heaviest casualties the armed forces have suffered since the government began peace talks…
photo: AP / Fernando Vergara

Customs losing propaganda battle as $4.6m message falls on deaf ears in Afghanistan

Customs losing propaganda battle as $4.6m message falls on deaf ears in Afghanistan

THE federal government has spent $4.6 million on a “black ops”-style program to convince Hazaras in Afghanistan not to make the perilous boat journey to Australia— but it has failed to win the propaganda battle on the streets of Kabul and…
photo: USMC / David McKenzie

 

 

 

 

 

G20 backs plan to stop global tax avoidance and evasion

21 Jul 2013

 

Finance ministers from the G20 group of leading nations have formally backed plans to tackle international… 
Participants in the Joint G20 Finance and Labour Ministers Meeting, 19 July 2013, Moscow, Russia.

Belgium: King Albert makes way for son Philippe

King Albert II of Belgium, left, holds up his hand with Crown Prince Philippe as they attend the national ball in the Marolles district of Brussels on Saturday, July 20, 2013.

BRUSSELS: Belgium will get a new king Sunday when the current monarch, Albert, abdicates following a 20-year reign and hands over the throne to his son Philippe. At 79, Albert will first sign away his rights as the largely ceremonial ruler of the…
photo: AP / Benoit Doppagne

Egypt starts on new constitution

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi wave national flags as one holds anti-Egypt's military chief, General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi slogan during a protest at a park in front of Cairo University, where protesters have installed their camp in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 19, 2013.

A 10-strong panel of legal experts, appointed by interim President Adly Mansour, is to start work on Sunday on amending Egypt‘s constitution. They have 30 days to draft changes paving the way for new parliamentary and presidential elections. The…
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Japan’s ruling coalition heads to likely election victory

An elderly woman casts her vote in Japan's upper house parliamentary elections at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, July 21, 2013.

The Japanese began voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election expected to givePrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc a strong mandate to push through difficult economic reforms. But early turnout was low, according to local media reports. By…
photo: AP / Koji Sasahara

In Kerry’s Mideast announcement, hints of success and challenge

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before a meeting in Ramallah, West Bank, on July 19, 2013.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had tentatively agreed to resume peace talks after three years, he did so standing alone as dusk fell over the Jordanian capital. The image…
photo: US DoS

Somalia: UN rights office concerned over draft law that would curtail press freedom

Somalia: UN rights office concerned over draft law that would curtail press freedom

Saturday, July 20, 2013: The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over a draft law in Somalia that would require journalists to reveal their sources and prevent them from disseminating information against Islam orSomali
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

Obama’s Second-Term Inaugural Ambitions Meet Political Reality

President Barack Obama receives the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama watches during the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the Trayvon Martin case during remarks in the White House briefing room July 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama said, ‘Trayvon Martin could’ve been me, 35 years ago.’ (Photo by Win
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

Five people sentenced to jail for Costa Concordia disaster

File - Ongoing operations to remove fuel from the half sunken hulk of the luxury ship Costa Concordia a month after it ran aground are seen outside the port of Isola del Giglio island in Tuscany, Italy, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.

Reuters July 20, 2013 – 12:03 ROME (Reuters) – Four Costa Concordia crew members and a company official were sentenced to jail in Italy on Saturday for their part in the 2012 cruise ship disaster that killed 32 people, leaving onlyCaptain
photo: AP / Giorgio Fanciulli