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 Employees of Samsung Electronics Co. walk by their company logo at the headquarters of Samsung Electronics Co. in Seoul Friday, Jan. 14, 2005. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its net profit topped US$10 billion last year, reaching a new landmark in i

Samsung Electronics ranked seventh on the world’s top 100brands list, valued at US$45.5 billion. Hyundai Motor moved up to 40th at $10.4billion, and

U.S. Military Supports Ebola Fight

MONROVIA, Liberia — Six U.S. military planes arrived in theEbola hot zone Thursday with more Marines, as West Africa’s leaders pleaded for the world’s help in dealing with a crisis that one called “a tragedy unforeseen in modern times.” “Our people

Tourists arriving from Mexico leave the Jose Marti international airport in Havana, Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

HAVANA (AP) — The number of Cubans heading to the United States has increased dramatically since the island lifted travel restrictions last year, eliminating a costly exit visa and making it easier for emigrants to return to the island, new U.S.

In this Monday Aug. 4, 2014 file photo, Nigerian port health officials wait to screen passengers at the arrivals hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Two new cases of Ebola have emerged in Nigeria and, in an alarming develop

Mariama Diallo In 2013, the World Bank ranked Sierra Leoneand Liberia as second and sixth respectively among the top 10 countries with the fastest-growing GDPs. But the ongoing Ebola outbreak is threatening to change that. As the numbers

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro, center, addresses the nation on live television flanked by Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, left, and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. Maduro said that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez will face a "complex and hard" process after undergoing his fourth cancer-related operation in Cuba on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Chavez named Maduro as his chosen political heir.

Reuters A World Bank arbitration tribunal has determinedVenezuela must pay ExxonMobil Corp. around $1.6 billion to compensate for a2007 nationalization, the award posted on the ICSID website on Thursday showed. The award is far below the amount of

A Palestinian fishermen inspect their destroyed fishing boat hauled up onto the shore, close to the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 26, 2014. Two Palestinians were wounded when Israeli navy vessels destroyed two Gaza-bound boats smuggling cigarettes and tobacco from Egypt, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. Photo by Amed Deeb / WN

Sharon Behn GAZA— Under the Oslo accords of the 1990s,Palestinian fishermen are supposed to be able to fish 37 kilometers (20 nautical miles) off the coast of Gaza, but Israel has tightened that limit to within 11 kilometers (six nautical

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri after shooting of michael brown

Reuters KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI— The St. Louis area is bracing for more racial unrest tied to the police killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brownand anger over another police killing of a black teenager Wednesday night is expected to add fuel to the
photo: Creative Commons / Loavesofbread

 

 

 

 

 

Suicide bombings in Yemen kill at least 50 people

Full Article

09 Oct 2014

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni officials say two suicide bombings, one in the capital, the other in the south, have killed at least 50 people. Security and hospital officials say 30 people died when a suicide bomber set off his explosives in central Sanaaon Thursday morning at a gathering of supporters of the rebel Shiite Houthis who recently overran

People gather at the site of a suicide bombing as Yemeni security officials collect debris in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014.





Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, center, sits amidst his defense team members before the International Criminal Court in The Hague

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta became the first sitting president to appear at the International Criminal Court, where his lawyers say the prosecution has failed to find evidence to back crimes against humanity charges.Kenyatta, 52, today is

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a local resident clears the debris of his house following a strong earthquake in Ning'er in southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday, June 3, 2007.

Outdoor respite: Residents rest outdoor in the aftermath of an earthquake in the town of Yongping in southwest China’s Yunnan province. Photo: AP Beijing: A strong earthquake that hit southwest China’s mountainous Yunnan province has killed one

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gestures while delivering the keynote address at Marketo’s 2014 Marketing Nation Summit Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in San Francisco.

LAGUNA NIGUEL, California: Billionaire investor Warren Buffetton Tuesday predicted Democrat Hillary Clinton would run for the US presidency in 2016 and win. “Hillary is going to run,” said Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of conglomerate

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, October 07: At least eight Shia militia volunteers from the Peace Brigades, affiliated with the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were killed and 10 were injured in a suicide bombing in Iraq Tuesday. A suicide bomber, driving a military

Mexico violence

MEXICO CITYPresident Enrique Pena Nieto sought Monday to confront a growing human-rights nightmare, declaring that his government would launch an investigation into reports that police had rounded up 43 student-teachers late last month, then

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, right, enters the courtroom of the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday Nov. 3, 2009.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former Bosnian Serb leaderRadovan Karadzic said Tuesday he expects to be acquitted of genocide and all other charges, as judges retired to consider their verdicts in his five-year war crimes trial. Karadzic is charged

Thai new Prime Minister Prayuth Chan–ocha salutes upon arrival to attend an establishment anniversary of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard in Chonburi Province, Thailand .Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Three months after overthrowing Thailand's last elected government, this Southeast Asian nation's junta leader is stepping out of his army uniform for good - to take up the post of prime minister in a move critics say will only extend his time at the helm and consolidate the military's grip on power.

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday dismissed calls to lift martial law, saying it would continue until sweeping national reforms are in place, despite calls by tourism bodies to scrap a measure that has deterred many
photo: AP / Sakchai La

 

 

Heading for Ground War in Syria and Iraq

Full ArticleThe People’s Voice

08 Oct 2014
Believe nothing Obama says. His policies are polar opposite duplicitous rhetoric.Big Lies repeat one after another. His word isn’t his bond. His pledge to avoid moreMiddle East ground war is meaningless. All signs suggest it’s coming. More on this below. William Blum knows how US imperial works as well as anyone. He documented it over six
File - U.S. Army Soldiers with 4th Platoon, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colo., and Iraqi national police search for anti-coalition forces in the area of Dora in southern Baghdad, Iraq, July 23, 2007.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, center, sits amidst his defense team members before the International Criminal Court in The Hague

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta became the first sitting president to appear at the International Criminal Court, where his lawyers say the prosecution has failed to find evidence to back crimes against humanity charges.Kenyatta, 52, today is

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a local resident clears the debris of his house following a strong earthquake in Ning'er in southwest China's Yunnan Province Sunday, June 3, 2007.

Outdoor respite: Residents rest outdoor in the aftermath of an earthquake in the town of Yongping in southwest China’s Yunnan province. Photo: AP Beijing: A strong earthquake that hit southwest China’s mountainous Yunnan province has killed one

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gestures while delivering the keynote address at Marketo’s 2014 Marketing Nation Summit Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in San Francisco.

LAGUNA NIGUEL, California: Billionaire investor Warren Buffetton Tuesday predicted Democrat Hillary Clinton would run for the US presidency in 2016 and win. “Hillary is going to run,” said Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of conglomerate

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, October 07: At least eight Shia militia volunteers from the Peace Brigades, affiliated with the powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were killed and 10 were injured in a suicide bombing in Iraq Tuesday. A suicide bomber, driving a military

Mexico violence

MEXICO CITYPresident Enrique Pena Nieto sought Monday to confront a growing human-rights nightmare, declaring that his government would launch an investigation into reports that police had rounded up 43 student-teachers late last month, then

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, right, enters the courtroom of the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday Nov. 3, 2009.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former Bosnian Serb leaderRadovan Karadzic said Tuesday he expects to be acquitted of genocide and all other charges, as judges retired to consider their verdicts in his five-year war crimes trial. Karadzic is charged

Thai new Prime Minister Prayuth Chan–ocha salutes upon arrival to attend an establishment anniversary of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard in Chonburi Province, Thailand .Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. Three months after overthrowing Thailand's last elected government, this Southeast Asian nation's junta leader is stepping out of his army uniform for good - to take up the post of prime minister in a move critics say will only extend his time at the helm and consolidate the military's grip on power.

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday dismissed calls to lift martial law, saying it would continue until sweeping national reforms are in place, despite calls by tourism bodies to scrap a measure that has deterred many
photo: AP / Sakchai Lalit

Ebola must never again be allowed to claim lives for want of basic healthcare

Full ArticleThe Guardian

06 Oct 2014

The UK must take a lead in the fight to eradicate Ebola, ensuring universal health coverage becomes a reality, says the shadow secretary of state for international development

Peacekeepers with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) wear protective masks while on duty at UN offices in the capital city of Monrovia, 11 September, 2014, as the peacekeeping chief visits to assess the Ebola outbreak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Rousseff to face rival Neves in Brazil election run-off

Full ArticleSouth China Morning Post

06 Oct 2014

Brazil’s unpredictable election took another twist on Sunday, with left-leaningPresident Dilma Rousseff being forced into a run-off race as expected, but against a centre-right challenger who only surged in the final week of the campaign. Rousseff will face Aecio Neves in the October 26 run-off vote, required as no single candidate won an outright

President Rousseff to face rival Neves in Brazil election run-off

 

 

 

FILE - In this file photo dated Feb. 28, 2013, former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, known as "Baby Doc," attends his hearing at court in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as Haitian authorities charged Duvalier with human rights abuses and embezzlement but a judge ruled he should face charges only for the alleged financial crimes. It is announced Saturday Oct. 4, 2014, that Haitian ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has died of a heart attack.

HAITI’S former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who ruled the impoverished Caribbean nation with an iron fist from 1971 until his ouster in 1986, has died of a heart attack. He was 63. The death on Saturday of Baby Doc, as

Ebola threat in U.S., and we're not prepared to contain it, experts warn

Mistakes and missteps in the handling of the first Ebola case in the United States trouble lawmakers, international organizations and some public health experts who say the government needs to step up its strategy to contain the virus. “Where is the

Jean Claude Duvalier Dead: Haitian Ex-Dictator Dies At 63

DUVALIER




Syrian refugees: ‘We want to go home. That is our dream’

Full ArticleThe Observer

05 Oct 2014
Nine-year-old Iman holds her little sister Aya, who has spina bifida, in a game of hopscotch. Iman carried Aya during the family’s two-month journey from Syria toLebanon. Photograph: Giles Duley Sometimes the photographs you don’t take are as important as those you take. I’ve just been introduced to Aya, who sits in front of me on a concrete
File - A boy plays with a soccer ball inside Za’atri refugee camp, host to tens of thousands of Syrians displaced by conflict, near Mafraq, Jordan, 7 December, 2012.

 

 

 

 

Ebola threat in U.S., and we're not prepared to contain it, experts warn

Mistakes and missteps in the handling of the first Ebola case in the United States trouble lawmakers, international organizations and some public health experts who say the government needs to step up its strategy to contain the virus. “Where is the

AFGHAN ARMY DEATH RATE SPIKES 30 PERCENT IN PAST YEAR

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan army desperate for more advanced military equipment is suffering death rates 30 percent higher in the 2014 fighting season, the army’s first against the Taliban without large-scale assistance from the U.S.-led
photo: USMC / John A. Martinez

Alan Henning: Government abandoned him, says aid worker

Full ArticleBBC News

04 Oct 2014

4 October 2014 Last updated at 10:38 BST A colleague of Alan Henning has accused the British government of abandoning the aid worker, after Islamic State released a video purporting to show his beheading. David Cameron has said Britain would do all it could “to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice”. Speaking on the

 
Refugees watch from the Turkish side of the border as smokes rises after a mortar shell landed in the city center of Kobani in Syria as fighting intensified between Syrian Kurds and the militants of Islamic State, seen from Mursitpinar near Suruc, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014.




Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi, center, is escorted by officials upon his arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010.

 
Barcelona‘s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi has had his tax fraud charge upheld despite the player’s father making a E5 million ($7.5 million) payment in August 2013 to cover alleged unpaid taxes. Photo: AFP Madrid: ASpanish court on Friday




Health worker Xolisa Madikane, left unseen, tests blood for the HIV virus at a container lab next to the Gugulethu Community Health Clinic in Gugulethu on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, Tuesday, July 21, 2009. South Africa launched a high-profile trial of an AIDS vaccine created by its own researchers Monday, a proud moment in a nation where government denial, neglect and unscientific responses have helped fuel the world's worst AIDS crisis.

A “perfect storm” of urban change that began in 1920s Kinshasaled to the catastrophic spread of HIV across Africa and into the wider world, according to scientists who used genetic sequencing and historical records to trace the origins

FILE - This Jan. 26, 2012 file photo shows former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaking in Miami. Bush is reiterating that he won't join Mitt Romney on the GOP presidential ticket. Bush says no one's asked him to submit personal documents to the team picking Romney's vice presidential nominee. He also says he's certain he won't be asked, either. Bush says he backs his “friend” and fellow Floridian, Sen. Marco Rubio.

WASHINGTON — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wants to be president. That’s according to his brother, former President George W. Bush, who recently encouraged him to enter the 2016

Smoke rises from the airport outside Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, May 26, 2014

Heavy clashes between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk intensified on Friday in a struggle for control of the city’s airport. Despite a cease-fire agreed to on Sept. 5, the strategic location has

 A sperm cell fusing with an ovum. - agm1

CLEVELAND (AP) — In a story Oct. 1 about a woman being inseminated with the wrong sperm, The Associated Press reported erroneously the number of women who sued. Only one sued, not two. A correct version of the story was sent Oct. 2. A corrected

Mideast Lebanon Gaza

Sweden‘s new centre-left government will become the first major European Union country to recognise the state of Palestine, Prime MinisterStefan Lofven announced on Friday. Within the EU, some countries, such asHungary, Poland and Slovakia

Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.

Reuters VIENNA— A high-level U.N. nuclear watchdog team will visit Tehran for talks in coming days, Iran said on Friday, more than a month after it missed a deadline for addressing questions about its suspected atomic bomb research. Diplomats told

UN accuses Islamic State of ‘gross rights abuses’

Full ArticleBBC News

02 Oct 2014

A “staggering array” of human rights abuses has been committed by Islamic State(IS) militants and associated armed groups over a nine-week period in Iraq, the UN says. It says that abuses committed between 6 July to 10 September may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. Iraqi leaders must unite to restore control over IS

in this Monday, June 30, 2014 photo, militants from the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) celebrate the group's declaration of an Islamic state, in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. The militant extremist group's unilateral declaration of an Islamic state is threatening to undermine its already-tenuous alliance with other Sunnis who helped it overrun much of northern and western Iraq. (AP Photo)




Hong Kong leader says he will not step down

Full ArticleAl Jazeera

03 Oct 2014

Authorities in Hong Kong have offered to hold talks with pro-democracy protesters who are continuing to occupy central areas of the southern Chinese city, pressing for political reforms. Minutes before a midnight deadline set by the protesters for Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying to resign passed, Leung said he would send his chief

A pro-democracy protester is taken away by police officers as an ambulance tries to leave the compound of the chief executive office in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014.




reen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and world stock price at the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2009.” src=”http://cdn7.wn.com/vp/i/08/7bb3bfa5cfd5f4.jpg” alt=”South Korean currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and world stock price at the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2009.” width=”150″ height=”94″ />

Related media Travel deals BANGKOK – (AP) — Hong Kong stocks fell further Friday as pro-democracy protests entered a second week but most other Asian markets rose ahead of reports on U.S. employment and factory orders. KEEPING SCORE: Hong Kong’s

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron talks during a joint news conference with Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday pledged support for Afghanistan's newly sworn-in president and the country's new unity government, saying during a surprise visit to Kabul that Britain is committed to helping Afghans build a more secure and prosperous future.

KABUL (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise visit

At PK12, the last checkpoint at the exit of the town, a Muslim woman who was on a truck attacked by looters walks to join another vehicle, as Chadian soldiers protect the lorry as thousands of Muslim residents from Bangui and Mbaiki flee the Central African Republic capital Bangui in a mass exodus using cars, pickups, trucks, lorries and motorcycles, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.

Katarina Hoije BANGUI— Muslims who fled attacks in theCentral African Republic’s capital Bangui over the past 10 months are starting to return, only to find their homes looted and destroyed. Tens of thousands of Muslims fled the

Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Mohokare River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 (2006). The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "place of the red sandstone".[1]

Gillian Parker JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICALesotho’s national general elections will be held at the end of February, two years earlier than planned. The announcement Thursday came after government coalition leaders signed an agreement meant to

People look at damaged vehicles, at the scene of a car bomb explosion, at the central market, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. A car bomb exploded in a market in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Tuesday morning, and dozens of people are feared dead, witnesses said. They immediately blamed Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group whose birthplace is Maiduguri and which is accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation.

VOA News The man who says he is Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a new video, dismissing reports that he was killed by theNigerian military. The video, obtained by French news agency AFP and released Thursday, shows the man saying

Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George arrive for their visit to New Zealand at the International Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, April 7, 2014.

2 October 2014, 12:45 Photographers Told To Leave Prince George Alone Tweet Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have written to two photographers to stop them following Prince George. A Buckingham Palace

Children arriving home from school walk past the main entrance to The Ivy Apartments complex, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in Dallas. The man diagnosed with having the Ebola virus was staying at the complex with family.

Two days after he was sent home from a Dallas hospital, the man who is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was seen vomiting on the ground outside an apartment complex as he was bundled into an

China FM issues warning over ‘illegal’ protests in Hong Kong

Full ArticleThe Siasat Daily

02 Oct 2014

October 02: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has issued a stern warning against any “illegal” protests in Hong Kong. Currently on a visit to Washington, Wang also warned that the matter was an “internal affair” for China. His U.S. counterpart,Secretary of State John Kerry, also urged Hong Kong to exercise restraint in dealing with the protests.

Pro-democracy student protesters sleep on an occupied main street outside of the government complex in Hong Kong, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014.



Britain's Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George arrive for their visit to New Zealand at the International Airport, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, April 7, 2014.

2 October 2014, 12:45 Photographers Told To Leave Prince George Alone Tweet Lawyers for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have written to two photographers to stop them following Prince George. A Buckingham Palace

Children arriving home from school walk past the main entrance to The Ivy Apartments complex, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in Dallas. The man diagnosed with having the Ebola virus was staying at the complex with family.

Two days after he was sent home from a Dallas hospital, the man who is the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was seen vomiting on the ground outside an apartment complex as he was bundled into an

The Curiosity rover is a nuclear-powered Mars rover that is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission by the United States. The MSL spacecraft—with its payload Curiosity—was launched on 26 November 2011 and successfully landed on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on 6 August 2012

MUMBAI: Isro and Nasa have set up a joint Mars working group to enhance co-operation between the two countries in the explorations of the Red Planet. Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan and Nasa administrator Charles Boldensigned a charter in this regard

US Navy 100315-N-1928O-009 U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, works on a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft

By Will FultonPublished October 01, 2014 Facebook0 Twitter0 livefyre Email Print (REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski) The United States Department of Justice has charged four hackers with computer fraud and copyright infringement for stealing over

South Korean rescue helicopters fly over a South Korean passenger ship

Jason Strother SEOUL— South Korean lawmakers have agreed to launch a new investigation into April’s deadly passenger ferry accident, bringing an end to a months-long deadlock in the country’s National Assembly. But the country’s

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they participate in a joint news conference, Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.

VOA News President Barack Obama hosts Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu for talks Wednesday that are expected to focus on nuclear talks with Iran. The White House

 

Citizens inspect the site of a car bomb attack while security forces prepare to tow away a destroyed car in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013.

VOA News Acts of terrorism and violence in Iraq killed more than 1,100 people in September, continuing what has been a particularly deadly year for the country. The United Nations mission in Iraq reported Wednesday

Japanese volcano death toll rises, with many more still missing

Full ArticleThe Guardian

01 Oct 2014

Seven more bodies recovered from Mount Ontake on Wednesday morning, but reports vary on how many people are still unaccounted for

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 and released by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), JGSDF personnel and fire fighters head for the summit of Mount Ontake to rescue people who have been trapped in the mountaintop lodge during the eruption as plumes of gas and ash are spewed out, one day after the volcano became active in central Japan.




In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 and released by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), JGSDF personnel and fire fighters climb the ash-covered slope, heading for the summit of Mount Ontake to rescue people who have been trapped in the mountaintop lodge during the eruption, one day after the volcano became active in central Japan.

Rescue workers in Japan have recovered 12 more bodies fromMount Ontake, bringing to 48 the number of those killed by Saturday’s volcanic eruption. The search resumed despite fears of
  • Ebola Patients Won?t Be Treated In Ghana ? UN

    The United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) team has clarified that Ebola affected patients will not be treated inGhana despite establishing a Mission in the country. The head of the UNMEER team, Anthony Banbury who

    A U.S. Army soldier with the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, walks past an American Flag hanging in preparation for a ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Sept. 11, 2011 at Forward Operating Base Bostick in Kunar province, Afghanistan.

    Officials from Afghanistan and the United States have signed a long-delayed security agreement to allow American troops to stay in the country after the end of the year, filling a campaign promise by new President Ashraf Ghani. National security
  • 2014 Hong Kong protests

    MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) – Protests in support of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement will take place in 10 European and six US cities on Wednesday, October 1, according to the Facebook page of the “Unitedfor Democracy: Global Solidarity
  • An anti-government protester is taken away by police officers as he blocks a main road in downtown Hong Kong at New Year's Day Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013 to call for the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

    Related articles Gold poised for worst month in more than a year Oil set for third monthly fall as strong greenback weighs SYDNEY — Asianmarkets were in a hesitant mood on Tuesday as investors wondered what China’sresponse would be to civil unrest
  • An Interpol image shows an undated photo of Luka Rocco Magnotta, a Canadian fugitive recently captured in Berlin.

    MONTREAL- A Canadian admitted in court on Monday that he killed a Chinese student and mailed body parts to Canadian political parties and schools but his lawyer said the defendant was schizophrenic and therefore not criminally responsible. Laying out
    photo: Interpol

    Global wildlife populations down by half since 1970 – WWF

    Full ArticleReuters

    30 Sep 2014

    * Biggest drops in Latin America, among freshwater species * Kuwait consumes, wastes more per head than anywhere else * Three “planetary boundaries” crossed, two more threatened By Tom Miles GENEVA, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The worldpopulations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles fell overall by 52 percent between 1970 and 2010, far faster

     
    A tiger in the forest - wildlife - animal




    HUMANS CAUSING DEADLY HEAT WAVES




    Ashraf Ghani sworn in as Afghanistan President

    29 Sep 2014

    Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s new President, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the2001 U.S-led invasion toppled the Taliban. He became President of Afghanistan in a peaceful transition Monday after a six-month election season that ended with marathon

    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, left, is sworn in by Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi, during his inauguration ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014.

     

     

    George Clooney is flanked by his wife Amal Alamuddin as they leave the Aman luxury Hotel in Venice, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Saturday, the actor's representative said, out of sight of pursuing paparazzi and adoring crowds.

    Clooney’s representative released a statement, which Peoplepublished quickly after the event. “George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were married today in a private ceremony in Venice, Italy.” People also confirmed that former mayor of
  • Plumes of smoke and ash billow from Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt in Otaki Village, in Nagano prefecture, Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. A Japanese military helicopter rescued three people Sunday morning from the spectacular volcanic eruption that sent officials scrambling to reach many more injured and stranded on the mountain. Mount Ontake in central Japan erupted shortly before noon Saturday, catching mountain climbers by surprise and injuring at least 34, including 12 seriously, according to Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The tally was lower than reported by local officials earlier, but the disaster agency warned that the numbers could still change.

    Local authorities said there were roughly 150 hikers in the area at the time of the Japan volcano eruption, according to the agency, which raised the Volcanic Alert Level for Ontake from 1 to 3. At least 30 people have been seriously injured in Japan

    4 governors visit Afghanistan for terror briefings

    NEW YORK (AP) — Four U.S. governors made a surprise visit toAfghanistan on Saturday as part of a delegation to receive counterterrorism briefings and greet troops stationed there. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with Brian Sandoval of Nevada,

    This video image taken from Egyptian State Television shows 83-year-old former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011, as his historic trial began on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him from office. The scene, shown live on Egypt's state TV, was Egyptians' first look at their former president since Feb. 10, the day before his fall when he gave a defiant speech refusing to resign.

    An Egyptian court is due to rule on the retrial of deposed president Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled him. The court on Saturday will deliver its verdict on the
  • Orioles Yankees Baseball

    NEW YORKThe end of an era. The perfect script. Derek Jetercapped his Yankee Stadium farewell with a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning, the latest — and perhaps last — storybook moment of his charmed and illustrious career, to
  • Afghans carry the body of a suicide attack victim at the hospital in Maymana, Faryab province north west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.

    KABUL: A major Taliban offensive in eastern Afghanistan over the past week has left up to 100 civilians and security personnel dead, 12 of them beheaded, officials said on Friday, as violence worsens with the withdrawal of US-led troops. This
    photo: AP / Talash Suroosh

    A man walk past policemen standing guard near a road leading to the site of Thursday's explosion in Urumqi, China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, Friday, May 23, 2014.

    Up to 50 people, including 40 “rioters”, have been killed in a number of explosions in China’s Xinjiang province, officials have said. They said earlier that at least two people had been killed and many others injured in the blasts in Luntai county,
    photo: AP / Andy Wong

     

     

     

     

     

    Clooney, Alamuddin tie the knot in Venice

    Full ArticleKhaleej Times

    28 Sep 2014

    Venice’s Grand Canal turned into an aquatic red carpet as the tuxedo-clad actor and his guests crossed the lagoon from the Cipriani hotel for dinner. Venice – The world’s most famous bachelor, George Clooney, broke a vow to remain single on Saturday and married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin during a weekend of lavish celebrations in

    George Clooney on his way to marry Amal Alamuddin, in Venice, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014.

     

     

     

     

    More than 30 believed dead at Japanese volcano

    Full ArticleThe Columbus Dispatch

    28 Sep 2014

    TOKYORescue workers have found 30 or more people unconscious and believed to be dead near the peak of an erupting volcano in central Japan, local government and police said. Nagano prefecture posted on its website that about 30 people had heart and lung failure, the customary way for Japanese authorities to describe a body until police doctors

     
    A military helicopter, aiding in rescue operations, flies above Mount Ontake as it continues to erupt, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014, in Nagano prefecture. Military helicopters plucked several people from the Japanese mountainside Sunday after a spectacular volcanic eruption.

     

     

     

     

    4 governors visit Afghanistan for terror briefings

    NEW YORK (AP) — Four U.S. governors made a surprise visit toAfghanistan on Saturday as part of a delegation to receive counterterrorism briefings and greet troops stationed there. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with Brian Sandoval of Nevada,
    photo: US DoD / Public Domain
  • This video image taken from Egyptian State Television shows 83-year-old former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011, as his historic trial began on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him from office. The scene, shown live on Egypt's state TV, was Egyptians' first look at their former president since Feb. 10, the day before his fall when he gave a defiant speech refusing to resign.

    An Egyptian court is due to rule on the retrial of deposed president Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled him. The court on Saturday will deliver its verdict on the
    photo: AP / Egyptian State TV

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ebola: UN mission readies to start work as virus death toll surpasses 3,000

    Full ArticleUnited Nations

    26 Sep 2014

    Print 26 September 2014 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today said it is intensifying its cooperation with a wide range of partners trying to accelerate work on experimental therapies and vaccines as it announced thatEbola has now sickened more than 6,500 and killed more than 3,000. “Exposure of health-care workers to EVD

    In this photo provided by the Spanish Defense Ministry, aid workers and doctors transfer Miguel Pajares, a Spanish priest who was infected with the Ebola virus while working in Liberia, from a plane to an ambulance as he leaves the Torrejon de Ardoz military airbase, near Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Pajares was in stable condition at a Madrid hospital on Thursday after being evacuated from Liberia, health officials said.
    photo: AP

     

     

    Orioles Yankees Baseball

    NEW YORKThe end of an era. The perfect script. Derek Jetercapped his Yankee Stadium farewell with a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning, the latest — and perhaps last — storybook moment of his charmed and illustrious career, to

    Afghans carry the body of a suicide attack victim at the hospital in Maymana, Faryab province north west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012.

    KABUL: A major Taliban offensive in eastern Afghanistan over the past week has left up to 100 civilians and security personnel dead, 12 of them beheaded, officials said on Friday, as violence worsens with the withdrawal of US-led troops. This

    A man walk past policemen standing guard near a road leading to the site of Thursday's explosion in Urumqi, China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, Friday, May 23, 2014.

    Up to 50 people, including 40 “rioters”, have been killed in a number of explosions in China’s Xinjiang province, officials have said. They said earlier that at least two people had been killed and many others injured in the blasts in Luntai county,

    Palestine and Hamas Flags adorn the streets in the preparation of the anniversary of Hamas Islamic movement foundation in refugee camp of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip on December 10, 2011. Photo by AHMED DEEB/ WN

    Mohamad Torokman/Reuters Hamas and Fatah have agreed on a unity government to take over in Gaza. The two Palestinian factions announced the deal following a breakthrough Thursday in talks held under the auspices ofEgypt‘s
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Venezuela Suffers Another Blackout

    Full ArticleVoa News

    26 Sep 2014

    Reuters CARACAS— Another blackout hit various states across Venezuela on Thursday in an irritation for locals and embarrassment for President Nicolas Maduro‘s government which runs the electricity sector. The South American OPECmember nation has been

    Venezuela Power Outages

    A man walk past policemen standing guard near a road leading to the site of Thursday's explosion in Urumqi, China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, Friday, May 23, 2014.

    Up to 50 people, including 40 “rioters”, have been killed in a number of explosions in China’s Xinjiang province, officials have said. They said earlier that at least two people had been killed and many others injured in the blasts in Luntai county,

    Facebook

    By now, you’ve probably heard something about Ello, the ad-free, invite-only, independent social network that has seemingly gone viral over the last week. The ad-free social network has quickly — and somewhat inexplicably — gained a reputation for

    City of Anchorage

    7:33 PM ET A 6.2 magnitude earthquake rattled Alaska on Thursday. Luckily, while very strong, it was a very deep quake, so no major damage was reported. Alaska Public Media reports: “The shaking caught the attention of residents across a large swath

    President Barack Obama, with Attorney General Eric Holder standing at his right, delivers remarks during a ceremony honoring the 2010 National Association of Police Organizations award winners in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, May 14, 2010.

    The betting in Washington on when Attorney General Eric Holder would step down may have started just weeks after he was sworn in, when he said in a speech that the U.S. is “essentially a nation of cowards” that fears frank discussion of race.
  • File - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir speaks after meeting with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, in the capital Juba, South Sudan, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014.

    Reuters NEW YORKThe United States is ready to expand sanctions against South Sudan political and military officials to ensure progress in peace talks and a quick halt to fighting in the country, the U.S. envoy to South Sudan said on Thursday.
  • FBI Director nominee James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination. Comey spent 15 years as a federal prosecutor before serving in the George W. Bush administration, where he is best known for facing down the White House over a warrantless surveillance program.

    VOA News Terrorist plots against the United States and Europemay still be in the works despite this week’s airstrikes against the al-Qaida cell known as Khorasan. FBI Director James Comey told reporters in WashingtonThursday he is “not
  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev after their meeting at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 9, 2014.

    VOA News Iran‘s president is placing heavy blame on Western countries for the rise of extremism in the Middle East, citing colonialism and what he called “strategic blunders.” Hassan Rouhani told the United Nations General Assembly on

    Brazil releases ‘good’ mosquitoes to fight Dengue fever

    Full ArticleBBC News

    25 Sep 2014

    25 September 2014 Last updated at 04:34 BST Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that suppresses Dengue fever. The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease. The initiative is part of a programme also taking place in

  • A technician shows mosquitoes that are infected with a dengue-blocking bacteria called "Wolbachia" in the Tubiacanga neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

     

    Apple iMac aluminium

    A security flaw discovered in one of the most fundamental interfaces powering the internet has been described by researchers as ‘bigger than Heartbleed, the cmoputer bug that affected nearly every computer user earlier in the year. Known as the ‘Bash
  • In this May 10, 2012 file photo, British Prime Minister David Cameron is seen in London.

    British warplanes are poised to join international air strikes on the Islamic State terror group in Iraq after David Cameron told the United Nationsthat the UK was ready to play its part in confronting ” an evil against which the whole world must
  • United States President Barack Obama attends a meeting of the United Nations Security Council regarding the threat of foreign terrorist fighters during the 69th session of the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014.

    President Barack Obama used his annual speech to the United Nations to warn Islamic State fighters to “leave the battlefield while they can” and asked the world to back a US-led campaign against the militants in Iraq and Syria. In a speech to the UN
  • File - This undated image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014 shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria.

    Young British Muslims whose families have lived in the UK for generations are more at risk of radicalisation than recent migrants to Britain, according to new research which reveals the common characteristics of those most vulnerable to recruitment
  • President Barack Obama listens during a bilateral meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014.

    U.S. President Barack Obama said that too many Israelis were ready to abandon a bid for peace in the region and, in a departure from his prepared remarks, added that this was something Israelis should think about. “The violence engulfing the region
    photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
  • File - A man walks past a burnt out building following an attacked by Boko Haram in Bama, Nigeria, Thursday, Feb, 20. 2013. The latest attack by suspected Islamic extremists in Nigeria's northeast has left 115 people dead.

    Lisa Schlein GENEVA— The United Nations refugee agency saysBoko Haram insurgents have increased cross-border attacks as they pursue refugees from northern Nigeria who fled into Cameroon, seeking safety. TheUNHCR says it is stepping up efforts
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    ‘KOBANI IS IN DANGER’

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    India’s Mars satellite successfully enters orbit, bringing country into space elite

    Full ArticleThe Guardian

    24 Sep 2014
    Prime minister Narendra Modi exultant as India’s landmark achievement puts China in the shade ..
    .
    India's first Mars satellite 'Mangalyaan' enters orbit.



     

    File - Emma Watson at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

    The website set up threatening to publish naked photographs of actress Emma Watson was a PR stunt. The countdown on emmayouarenext.com has ended and the site now redirects to rantic.com, a self-proclaimed “social media marketing enterprise”. A page
    photo: Creative Commons / David Shankbone

    Turkey's new President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspects an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony before a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of ethnically divided Cyprus on Monday, Sept. 1, 2014. This is Erdogan's first visit abroad since his election last month. Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.

    NEW YORK: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is considering expanding support for Western and Arab operations against theIslamic State group to include military involvement. His comments yesterday toTurkish reporters in New York
    photo: AP / Petros Karadjias

    A worker is busy at the UPS distribution center at the International Cargo Airport in Cologne, western Germany, Monday Nov. 1, 2010. After intercepting two mail bombs addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, investigators found out that packages that terrorists in Yemen attempted to smuggle onto an aircraft in a brazen al-Qaida terror plot were moved through Cologne.

    Three people are confirmed dead following a shooting at a UPSCenter in Birmingham, Alabama Tuesday morning. At 9:21 a.m., police received calls about an active shooter. At
    photo: AP / Martin Meissner

    In this courtroom drawing, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, leans forward as he is handcuffed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, after a hearing where he pleaded not guilty Friday, March 8, 2013, to plotting against Americans in his role as al-Qaida's top spokesman.

    The son-in-law of Osama bin Laden was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. A Manhattan federal jury found Suleiman Abu Ghaith, 48,
    photo: AP / Elizabeth Williams

    A Palestinians return to their homes, which witnesses said was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in the east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

    VOA News Talks between Israel and the Palestinians to cement the Gaza cease-fire agreement signed last month resumed Tuesday in Cairo . The Egyptian-mediated deal was delayed
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    People participate in an anti-abortion rally in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

    Spain has dropped plans to enact one of Europe‘s strictest abortion laws. Legislation passed in January would have made abortions in Spain illegal in all cases except when
    photo: AP / Arturo Rodriguez

    BOMBS AWAY IN SYRIA

    Getty

    U.S., 5 Arab Countries Begin Offensive On Islamic State Strongholds… An Hour Of Bombardment… About 150 Precision-Guided Weapons… ISIS: Attacks Will Be Answered… Releases Second Video Of British Hostage…





    Jury Holds Arab Bank Liable For Aiding Hamas Terrorists

    Full ArticleForbes

    22 Sep 2014

    An 11-member Brooklyn jury found Arab Bank Arab Bank liable for facilitating terrorist acts in Israel and the Occupied Territories, handing plaintiff lawyers a big victory in their campaign to win damages over terrorist attacks — and presenting big headaches to international banks and the U.S. State Department, which sees such lawsuits as potential

    File - In this photo taken Jan. 20, 2011, a woman walks in front of the building that houses the Arab Bank, center, in Downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon's economy boomed in 2010.



    ISIL posts second video of UK hostage

    Full ArticleAl Jazeera

    23 Sep 2014

    The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has released a video showing Britishjournalist John Cantlie, who is being held hostage by the fighters, appearing to criticise US-led attacks on the group, the SITE monitoring service has said. The five-minute video was posted online on Tuesday, just hours after a wave of

    In this still image taken from an undated video published on the Internet by Al-Furqan, the media arm of the Islamic State group militants, captive British journalist John Cantlie speaks into the camera on the first of what he says will be a series of lecture-like "programs" in which he says he will reveal "the truth" about the Islamic State group.





    Apple iPhone

    The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus certainly got the support ofApple’s fanbase. They turned out in droves to pick up their new phones on Friday, helping the new devices sell 10 million in just three days. Apple says that the new number sets a record for
    photo: AP / Julie Jacobson

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

    Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff will maintain economic stimulus including the use of public banks in a possible second term as the global crisis could hurt jobs, wages and investment in the country, she said. “Doubts” about growth in China and
    photo: AP / Felipe Dana

    Alibaba Group

    Related media Travel deals Alibaba‘s initial public offering now ranks as the world’s biggest at $25 billion, netting underwriters of the sale a more than $300 million windfall after the e-commerce giant and some shareholders parted with additional
    photo: Creative Commons / CES 2012 – Alibaba

    Parliament Speaker, acting president and presidential candidate Bronislaw Komorowski speaks during rally in Ciechanow, central Poland, Friday, July 2, 2010

    Warsaw, September 22: Polish President Bronislaw Komorowskiappointed the new Polish government led by the newly sworn-in Prime MinisterEwa Kopacz at the presidential palace Monday. Replacing Donald Tusk, who would head the European Council, Kopacz
    photo: AP / Alik Keplicz

    Australia´s top Muslim cleric Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly at Lakemba Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque for midday prayers in Sydney, Friday, Oct. 27, 2006. Sheik al Hilaly is at the centre of a storm over comments in a sermon last month which he blamed women i

    Canberra, September 22: Following the attack on a mosque inSydney last week, the Islamic Council of Western Australia (ICWA) is planning to set up a hotline for its members in Western Australia, media reports said. A mosque was damaged in Sydney
    photo: AP /Mick Tsikas

    Hundreds of pro-democracy activists march on a downtown street to demand universal suffrage in Hong Kong Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.

    September 22: Hong Kong students today began a week-long boycott of classes, gathering in their thousands for what democracy activists say will be a wider campaign of civil disobedience against China’s refusal to grant the city unfettered democracy.
    photo: AP / Vincent Yu

    Sierra Leone Ebola measures draw criticism

    Related articles Sierra Leone’s Ebola shutdown uncovers 70 dead in capital Ebola crisis spiralling out of control, says Obama UN says $1bn needed to fight Ebola FREETOWN — Sierra Leone’s 72-hour nationwide shutdown entered its final day on Sunday as
    photo: UN / Andrey Tsarkov

    NASA Mars Orbiter Arrives at Red Planet Tonight: Watch It Live

    Full ArticleYahoo Daily News

    21 Sep 2014

    A NASA spacecraft built to study the atmosphere of Mars like never before will arrive at the Red Planet tonight (Sept. 21) and you can watch it live online. After 10 months in deep-space, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is expected to enter orbit around Mars and begin a one-year mission studying the planet’s

    MARS Maven

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ISIL and Ebola Are Sideshows:  

      Iran, China and Wealth Are The Main Events

    Full ArticleWorldNews.com

    21 Sep 2014

    Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling With regards to terminology, a sideshow is a minor attraction offered in addition to the main entertainment at a circus or fair. Concerning behavior, it pertains to an action that is outrageous, even bizarre.(1) In the realm of geopolitics, a sideshow is a minor spectacle, a lesser event or

    President Barack Obama drops by a meeting held by National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice with Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai and Christian Religious Leaders of the Middle East in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Sept. 11, 2014.

    Thousands join global protests for action on climate change in over 160 countries

    Full ArticleStandart News

    21 Sep 2014

    From Melbourne to Manhattan, tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday to stage the biggest display of popular support for climate action ever seen, and demand that their leaders take action. The day of protests, which organisers claimed involved some 2,700 events in 161 countries, came on

    Climate March

     

     

     

     

     

    Indian spacecraft ‘Mangalyaan’ enters Mars neighbourhood

    Full ArticleBBC News

    22 Sep 2014
    India‘s maiden mission to Mars has “entered the Martian neighbourhood”, its space agency says, 48 hours before its planned arrival in orbit. Launched last November, the spacecraft – known informally as Mangalyaan – will complete a 300-day journey to reach the orbit on Wednesday. If it succeeds, India will become the
    The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) rocket lifts off carrying India's Mars spacecraft from the east coast island of Sriharikota, India, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.

    Sierra Leone Ebola measures draw criticism

    Related articles Sierra Leone’s Ebola shutdown uncovers 70 dead in capital Ebola crisis spiralling out of control, says Obama UN says $1bn needed to fight Ebola FREETOWN — Sierra Leone’s 72-hour nationwide shutdown entered its final day on Sunday as
    photo: UN / Andrey Tsarkov

    McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain arrives at the circuit for the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012.

    Night rider: Lewis Hamilton on his way to victory in Singaporeand the formula one championship lead. Photo: Getty Images SINGAPORE: Daniel Ricciardo has added another podium finish to his stunning Formula One season, but British driver Lewis
    photo: AP / Dita Alangkara

    File - President Barack Obama walks through the Rose Garden of the White House, May 6, 2014.

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of getting inside theWhite House after scaling a fence is a veteran who was awarded a medal for his service in Iraq and retired due to disability, the Army said Sunday. Authorities have identified the intruder from
    photo: White House / Pete Souza

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

    TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Pope Francis has called on moderate Muslims and all religious leaders to condemn Islamic extremists who “pervert” religion to justify violence, as he visited Albania and held it up as a model for interfaith harmony. One of the
    photo: AP / Victor R. Caivano

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walks before a ceremony outside his office in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011.

    Reuters ISTANBUL— President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday no ransom had been paid for the release of Turkish hostages held by Islamic Statemilitants but he declined to be drawn on whether their release freed Turkey‘s hand to take a more active
    photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici

    Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai speaks during a news conference at his resident in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. Ghani Ahmadzai, one of two presidential candidates in Afghanistan, said that talks on a national unity government will continue but that it cannot accommodate two leaders.

    Omar Sobhani/REUTERS After months of bitter disputes, Ashraf Ghani will become the president of Afghanistan. He and his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, signed an agreement to form
    photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini

    Soldiers from the Kenyan Defense Forces gather at the entrance to the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013.

    Mohammed Yusuf NAIROBI— Security forces in Kenya have been blamed for an unorganized response to last year’s militant attacks on theWestgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, and for failing to heed security warnings ahead of time. One year after that
    photo: AP / Ben Curtis

    Scottish referendum results: Nation rejects independence by a clear margin

    Full ArticleThe Independent

    19 Sep 2014

    Scotland has said No to independence and preserved its 307-year-old union withEngland after an historic referendum which gripped voters and smashed electoral records. From the Borders to the Highlands and Islands, almost four million Scotstook to the polls as the nation delivered a decisive victory for the campaign to remain part of the United

    Ballot boxes are opened as counting begins in the Scottish Independence Referendum for the Aberdeenshire Council area, Aberdeen, Scotland, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014.



     U.N. Security Council declares Ebola threat to peace and security

    19 Sep 2014
    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council on Thursday declared theEbola outbreak in
    .N. Security Council declares Ebola threat to peace and security

     

     

     

     

    Libya: Let the scramble for oil money begin

    Full ArticleAl Jazeera

    19 Sep 2014

    The ever-deepening political, ideological and geographical fault lines dividingLibya into two power blocs have finally reached the gates of one of the country’s most important and well-respected institutions: the Central Bank. Last week, theHouse of Representatives (HoR), Libya’s internationally-recognised governing body, dismissed the governor

    In this Saturday, July 26, 2014 frame grab from video obtained from a freelance journalist traveling with the Misarata brigade, fighters from the Islamist Misarata brigade fire towards Tripoli airport in an attempt to wrest control from a powerful rival militia, in Tripoli, Libya.



    parliament house, brisbane, australia

    photo: GFDL / Sardaka

    British Prime Minister David Cameron makes a statement to the media about Scotland's referendum results, outside his official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, Sept. 19, 2014. Scottish voters have rejected independence, deciding to remain part of the United Kingdom after a historic referendum that shook the country to its core. The decision prevented a rupture of a 307-year union with England, bringing a huge sigh of relief to the British political establishment.

    David Cameron is preparing to announce a major devolution of powers to England following the Scottish independence referendum result. With the tide appearing to be moving heavily towards a No vote, he is expected to call for a fresh review of whether
    photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

    Muslim perform ablution from the fountain waters inside the compound of Kashmir's Jamia Masjid during Ramadan in Srinagar August 28, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

    Jessica Berman A new study says the global population is growing faster than expected and projects the number of people globally will rise to just under 11 billion people by 2100. The study, which is an extension of a 2013United Nations report, says
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    A young Japanese woman holding a child looks at the whale balloon of a pro-whaling group in Shimonoseki, southwestern Japan, Sunday, May 20, 2002. The plenary session of the 54th annual International Whaling Commission starts Monday in the Japan's once-thriving whaling capital. Japan is pushing hard for the IWC to overturn a ban on commercial whale hunts.

    Henry Ridgwell LONDONThe International WhalingCommission has voted to uphold a court ruling banning Japan from hunting whales in the Antarctic Ocean. Conservationists hailed the ruling as a victory, butTokyo says it will submit revised
    photo: AP / Katsumi Kasahara

    Protesters stand on the corner of a street in Quan Doan 4, Binh Duong province, near Song Than 2 Industrial Park in Vietnam, Wednesday, May 14, 2014.

    VOA News Vietnam has countered a human rights report that accuses the country of increasing cases of police brutality. In a statement posted to the foreign ministry website Thursday, spokeswoman Tran Thi Bich Van says Vietnam has a “firm
    photo: AP / Jeff Nesmith

    Tree pangolin (Manus tricuspis) in central Democratic Republic of the Congo

    Reuters DAKAR/LIBREVILLE — Alongside dirt roads twisting through the dense tropical forests of Gabon, the scaly bodies of lifeless long-snouted pangolins dangle from sticks stuck in the ground by hunters. The pangolin, a mammal that looks like an
    photo: GFDL / Valerius Tygart

    President Barack Obama's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, currently vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, stands in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, where the president announced he is nominating Yellen to be chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Ben Bernanke.

    VOA News The head of the U.S. central bank says a “large share” of American families are “extraordinarily vulnerable” because they lack the savings or other assets needed to weather
    photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For the Love of Scotland

    Full ArticleReal Clear Politics

    18 Sep 2014

    WASHINGTON — Scotland’s referendum on independence will be decided by voters whose hearts say yes but whose heads say no. This is why the energy of the campaign in one of the most consequential democratic consultations in history has been with the Yes side. Passion, imagination and hope are always more inspiring than reason, calculation and doubt.

    In this Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, file photo, a "No" campaign supporter and a "Yes" campaign supporter chat holding posters after a No campaign event where a number of speeches were made by different people and politicians in Glasgow, Scotland.



    Isis release ‘Flames of War’ video warning Obama of attacks troops could face in Iraq

    Full ArticleThe Independent

    18 Sep 2014

    The Islamic State (Isis) group has released a video appearing to warn the US that fighters are waiting in Iraq if President Barack Obama chooses to send troops in there. The 52-second film, entitled ‘Flames of War’ purports to be a trailer and shows tanks being hit, wounded US soldiers and men on their knees as they are about to be executed. It

    President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with members of the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House, Sept. 10, 2014.

    President Barack Obama speaks as he attends a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, Thursday, April 24, 2014.

    President Barack Obama‘s request for congressional backing to train and arm rebels battling Islamic State militants in Syria is halfway home after its easy approval by the GOP-controlled House sent the issue to the Senate, where leaders in both
    photo: AP / Junko Kimura-Matsumoto

    President Barack Obama speaks to service men and women at MacDill Air Force Base Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 in Tampa, Fla. The president arrived in Tampa on Tuesday evening and met with Centcom commander Gen. Lloyd Austin III and other leaders at MacDill, including members of the Centcom international coalition.

    In a symbolic show of support for Ukraine‘s fledgling government, President Barack Obama is meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the Oval Office on Thursday after the leader of the former Soviet republic speaks to a rare joint session
    photo: AP / Chris Urso

    The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally called Mangalyaan (Sanskrit: ????????, English: Mars-craft) is a Mars orbiter that was successfully launched on 5th November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India‘s first mission to Mars will attempt to put a spacecraft in orbit around the red planet next week, in a crucial test of a low-cost project carrying the country’s hopes to join the leaders of a global space race. A
    photo: Creative Commons / Nesnad

    Educators cannot teach nationalistic and ethnic ideology, but instead must instruct students on ‘belonging to Islam…

    ISIS is a Sunni jihadist group in the Middle East that has proclaimed itself as a caliphate. ISIS claims religious authority over all Muslims all over the world and strives to bring most of the Muslim world under its political control. It has been
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    French police secure the area where they exchanged fire and were negotiating with a gunman who claims connections to al-Qaida and is suspected of killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers, Wednesday, March 21, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France.

    Pope Francis may have often spoken out against the “evil” of drug use, but the Vatican was facing embarrassment on Tuesday after 9lb of cocaine was found in a car bearing diplomatic plates associated with the Holy See. The car, which was
    photo: AP / Bruno Martin

    Qatar emir: No support for extremists

    Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, center, attends the opening session of the Arab League Summit in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, March 26, 2013.

    Related media Travel deals BERLIN – (AP) — The emir of Qatarsays his oil-rich Gulf nation has provided no support for the Islamic State extremist group. Following meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al
    photo: AP / Ghiath Mohamad

    NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, view the historic Dragon capsule.

    NASA is a giant step closer to once again launching Americansfrom U.S. soil. On Tuesday, the space agency said it has picked SpaceX and Boeing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in the next few years. NASA Administrator Charles
    photo: Public Domain / Bill Ingalls

    Iran and the U.S. Are Allies Against ISIS but Aren’t Ready to Admit It Yet

    Nic192914



    SCREENED FOR LOYALTY

     

     

     

    Human rights abuses by Thai junta reinforce climate of fear

    17 Sep 2014
    Since seizing power from an elected government more than three months ago,Thailand‘s National Council for Peace and Order – the governing body of the coup makers – has continued to violate people’s freedoms. Last week, Amnesty International launched a report detailing human rights abuses that have taken place. It may herald stronger sanctions from
    In this Aug. 21, 2014 file photo, Thai new Prime Minister Prayuth Chan–ocha arrives to attend an establishment anniversary of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Queen's Guard in Chonburi, Thailand.

    French Prime Minister Manuel Valls delivers his speech at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. France's prime minister faces a confidence vote in a parliament increasingly frustrated with unpopular President Francois Hollande's handling of the economy, including dissidents within his Socialist Party.

    French Prime Minister Manuel Valls won a vote of confidence on Wednesday in a tense ballot, allowing him to push through economic reforms that have divided his Socialist Party.The government&aposs once comfortable margin was diluted
    photo: AP / Francois Mori

    Desecrated graves are seen in the main Jewish cemetery of Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. Police and Jewish officials say the cemetery has been desecrated, with some gravestones marked with swastikas and overturned. The desecration came as Jews marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz death camp, a symbol of the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed millions.

    A 93-year-old man has been charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving as an SS guard at the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp, prosecutors said Monday. Oskar Groening is accused of helping operate the death camp in occupied Poland
    photo: AP / Christian Lutz

     Bangkok,Thailand - Crocodiles - Crocodiles Farm - Reptiles. (ps1)

    A woman in Thailand decided to end her life in a horrible, public way, by jumping into a crocodile enclosure. Police say the 65-year-old woman’s family told
    photo: WN / patricia

    Egyptian army soldiers stand guard on the border with Egypt in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on July 5, 2013. Egyptian official said the country's border crossing with Gaza Strip in northern Sinai has been closed indefinitely, citing security concerns. The decision comes hours after suspected Islamic militants attacked four sites in northern Sinai and Egyptian soldier was killed early today, targeting two military checkpoints, a police station and el-Arish airport, where military aircraft are stationed. Photo by Ahmed Deeb /  WN

    Reporting from Cairo— Six policemen were killed Tuesday when a bomb blast tore through their armored vehicle in the Sinai Peninsula, security officials said. It was the second such deadly attack this month. Egyptian security forces have
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    President Barack Obama speaks at the at the Urban and Metropolitan Policy Roundtable at the Eisenhower Old Executive Office Building in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009

    President Obama is projected to make the announcement on Tuesday, September 16th. His plan is to deploy the soldiers in an attempt to stop the spread of Ebola and help those that are infected. Originally, the pentagon authorized a 25 bed portable
    photo: AP / Alex Brandon

    U.S. soldiers patrol near the site of a suicide attack in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010

    Reporting from Kabul, AfghanistanTaliban insurgentsdetonated a suicide car bomb near a convoy of international soldiers in Kabulearly Tuesday morning, killing three soldiers and injuring nearly 20 troops and civilians,
    photo: AP / Allauddin Khan

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

    ECOWAS Chairman John Mahama refused to shake hands with the heads of state of the three Ebola-stricken nations he visited on MondaySeptember 15, over fear of contracting the deadly Ebola virus, the BBC?s UmaruFofana has
    photo: AP / Gabriela Barnuevo

    At least 3 foreign troops killed in Afghanistan suicide bombing

    Full ArticleFox News

    16 Sep 2014

    Published September 16, 2014FoxNews.com Facebook0 Twitter0 livefyre September 16, 2014: NATO and Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) The NATO-led international military coalition in Afghanistan said that three of its service members were killed and five others were wounded when a Taliban

    At least 3 foreign troops killed in Afghanistan suicide bombing
    photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq

    FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, file photo, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond speaks to The Associated Press during a visit to a house building project in Arbroath on the East coast of Scotland. The British government plans to offer Scotland more financial autonomy in the coming days as polls predict a very close vote in the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence. Chancellor George Osborne told BBC on Sunday that the government is finalizing plans to give Scotland "much greater" fiscal and tax autonomy and will unveil the proposals in the coming days. He spoke after polls showed a tightening of the vote ahead of the landmark September 18 referendum on whether Scotland should become independent from Britain.

    EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Alex Salmond wields no claymore sword and appears only sparingly in a kilt, and yet he has brought Scotland closer to independence than any Scottish warrior since union with England more than300 years ago. Dressed typically in
    photo: AP / Martin Cleaver

    Gazans rush to enjoy life after ruinous war

    GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — After a ruinous war, Gaza is rushing back to a veneer of normalcy at astonishing speed. Street cafes and beaches are packed with people until late at night. Families crowd the few public parks. Wedding halls are booked

     Mediterranean Sea / wam2

    1:33 PM ET i i An Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) ship carrying rescued migrants arrives at the AFM Maritime Squadron base at Haywharf inValletta‘s Marsamxett Harbour in October of last year. The number of migrants trying to make their way from the
    photo: creative commons / Juan-Les-Pins

    Prime Minister David Cameron speaks, during a visit to the 2014 Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, Monday July 14, 2014.

    British Prime Minister David Cameron appealed to Scots‘ emotions on his last visit to Scotland before this week’s historic referendum by warning them on Monday (local time) that a vote to leave the United Kingdomwould be irreversible. With opinion
    photo: AP / Andrew Matthews

     _IGP9043 air france flight company france

    Air France (AF) pilots embarked on the most disruptive strike since 1998 and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) is bracing for another walkout tomorrow as both carriers confront worker resistance to sweeping overhauls aimed at cutting costs. At Air France
    photo: WN / guillaume

    LAPD spokesman Lt. Andy Neiman, left, with officer Norma Eisenman, talks to reporters during a news briefing at LAPD headquarters regarding Christopher Dorner, who is suspected of a deadly revenge plot against the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday, Feb. 13,2013. Neiman said the department has returned to normal patrol operations and said approximately a dozen of the more than 50 protective details remain in place and will stay that way until the remains of Dorner are positively identified.

    Danièle Watts was detained by Los Angeles police after they mistook her for a prostitute. The actress, who played CoCo in Quentin Tarantino‘sDjango Unchained, revealed details of the incident via a post on her Facebook page.
    photo: AP / Richard Vogel

     Soccer player Ronaldinho from FC Barcelona waves after a friendly match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in Munich´s Allianz Arena, southern Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/Christof Stache) wam2

    Ronaldinho‘s new Mexican club have called for a local politician to be punished after he posted a racist slur against the Brazilian footballlegend on social media. Carlos Manuel Trevino Nunez, a member of the
    photo: AP Photo/Christof Stache

    Hollande: Threat From Islamic State Is Global

    15 Sep 2014

     

    International efforts to combat Islamic State militants have taken on added urgency after the beheading of a British aid worker and the threat to kill a second UK hostage. The brutal murder of David Haines comes amid moves to form a broad coalition against the terror group which has grabbed large swathes of territory inSyria and IraqForeign… 

    France's President Francois Hollande, left, welcomes his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Massoum, ahead of a conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and diplomats from around the world, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Monday, Sept. 15, 2014.

     

     

     

    Miss New York Kira Kazantsev, right, walks the runway after she was named Miss America 2015 during the Miss America 2015 pageant, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J.

     
    The performance that set Kira Kazantsev apart from her co-competitors at the 2015 Miss America pageant was her talent performance in which she sang the famous Pharrel William song “Happy”. She performed it in her own special way – by
    photo: AP / Mel Evans

    A column of Congolese M23 rebels motion to the photographer not to take pictures on the Goma to Rushuru road as they look for FDLR (Force Democratique de Liberation du Rwanda) returning from an incursion into Rwanda Near Kibumba, north of Goma Tuesday Nov. 27, 2012.

    Peter Clottey The leader of the Mai Mai Kifuafua rebel movement said he needs assurances from the Democratic of Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government that it will protect unarmed civilians in the territory the group controls before his 2,800
    photo: AP / Jerome Delay

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

    VOA News German Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to combat anti-Semitism in an address to a rally following an increase in attacks against Jews in Germany during the
    photo: AP / Michaela Rehle

    Manchester United's Angel Di Maria, right, takes the ball downfield as teammate Daley Blind looks

    Van Gaal has previously only overseen two defeats and two draws at the helm of United, but with Angel Di MariaDaley Blind and Radamel Falcao in his squad for the visit of QPR fans were confident that they would finally get to see the Dutch coach be
    photo: AP / Jon Super

    Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks at the Relationships Alliance Summit 2014 at the Royal College of GPs in London, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. Earlier David Cameron insisted the Government has a "fully worked through" strategy to tackle Islamic State (IS) extremists after Britain's role in Iraq moved beyond humanitarian aid. The Prime Minister stressed troops would not get involved in another war in the troubled country - but argued that limited action was needed to prevent violence.

    THE British government was last night stiffening its response to a brutal act of terror that has hit home hard: a British-voiced ­executioner ­beheading a British aid worker and threatening a second compatriot. Prime Minister David
    photo: AP / Daniel Leal-Olivas

     

    British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during a press conference at the end of the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014.

    Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group released a third video late on Saturday night, appearing to show the murder of British aid workerDavid HainesPrime Minister David Cameron said: “This is a despicable and appalling murder of an
    photo: AP / Jon Super

    File - A farmer with his donkey crosses the security gate to the Khor Abeche camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) controlled by the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), Sudan.

    The violence that once consumed Darfur has returned with renewed savagery, forcing a new generation into exile. In a country long beset by conflict, the continuing fighting in Sudan’s west has driven two million people from their homes and killed
    photo: UN / Albert Gonzalez Farran

     Deutsche Telekom AG´s headquarters in Bonn, Germany, Monday, May 7, 2007. (mb1)

    President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the Cross Hall in the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. In a major reversal, Obama ordered the United States into a broad military campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy” militants in two volatile Middle East nations, authorizing airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, as well as an expansion of strikes in Iraq.

    President Barack Obama will visit U.S. Central Command, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, on Wednesday for a briefing from his commanders on battle plans against the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State. “As we implement the President‘s
    photo: AP / Saul Loeb

     

     

     

    Oscar Pistorius May Avoid Jail After Convicted of Manslaughter

    Full ArticleBloomberg 

    12 Sep 2014

     

    Oscar Pistorius may not go to jail after he was convicted of manslaughter for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year. His sentence could range from a fine to more than a decade in prison, according to StephenTuson, an adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand inJohannesburgJudge Thokozile… 

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

     

     

     

    South African athlete Oscar Pistorius at the end of court proceedings, in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb 15, 2013. Pistorius was formally charged at Pretoria Magistrate's Court with one count of murder after his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV show participant, was shot multiple times and killed at Pistorius' upmarket home in the predawn hours of Thursday.

     
    The parents of Reeva Steenkamp have reacted with shock and disbelief after a judge acquitted star athlete Oscar Pistorius of her murder, convicting him of the lesser charge of culpable homicide. “We were shocked.ShockedDisappointed,”
    photo: AP / Antione de Ras

    French President Francois Hollande, left, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, right, talk together while German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, background left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov background right, talk together behind them during a break of a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2014. Top diplomats from the West and Russia trying to find an end to the crisis in Ukraine are gathering in Paris on Wednesday as tensions simmered over the Russian military takeover of the strategic Crimean Peninsula.

    French President Francois Hollande said during a visit toBaghdad on Friday that France is ready to step up military assistance for Iraq, as global efforts to defeat fighters intensified. It was the highest-profile visit to Iraq since militants led
    photo: AP / Alain Jocard

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pauses during a press conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. Nuclear talks with Iran have failed to reach agreement, but Kerry said differences between Tehran and six world powers made "significant progress."

    ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday it was “not appropriate” for Iran to join talks on confronting Islamic Statemilitants, as he appeared to play down how fast countries can commit to force or other steps in an
    photo: AP / Jason Reed

    Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his lawmakers at parliament, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, June 18, 2013.

    US secretary of state John Kerry has received pledges from top officials that Turkey will provide humanitarian assistance, logistics support and intelligence without becoming overtly involved in Washington’s military campaign against the Islamic
    photo: AP

    In this Tuesday May, 20, 2014 file photo, Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa.

     
    Anita Powell PRETORIA — South African track star Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, but cleared of more serious murder charges in connection with the killing of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his home last year.
    photo: AP / Themba Hadebe

    This panorama is a mosaic of images taken by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the NASA Mars rover Curiosity while the rover was working at a site called "Rocknest" in October and November 2012.

    After two years of exploration and driving, NASA‘s Curiosity rover has finally reached the base of Mount Sharp, a major goal of the mission. bySeptember 12, 2014 9:53 AM PDT facebook twitter linkedin googleplus more more + email tumblr stumble
    photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

    Dinosaur exhibit, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

     
    Faith Lapidus Scientists have given us a look at what they believe was the planet’s first semi-aquatic dinosaur – or at least their idea of what the creature called Spinosaurus looked like. The dinosaur spent part
    photo: Public Domain / Daderot

     

     

     

     

     

    Nasa’s human spacecraft set for December flight

    Full ArticleThe Times of India 

    12 Sep 2014

     

    WASHINGTON: Nasa‘s Orion spacecraft – built to take humans farther than they have ever gone before — is now ready for fueling. The Orion crew module, stacked atop its service module, moved out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. Orionwas transported to the payload… 

    The Orion spacecraft

     

     

    Islamic State supporters of Jihad

    The Australian government on Friday elevated it terrorism threat level to the second-highest warning in response to the domestic threat posed by Islamic State movement
    photo: WN Gaza

    Hamas official sees nothing wrong in negotiating with Israel

    In an apparent shift of views within Hamas, one of its senior officials said this week that the militant group sees nothing wrong with negotiating with Israel. Hamas does not recognize Israel and has opposed direct talks. Israel in turn considers
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    UN officers, one using binoculars, look towards Syria as they stand along the border between Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, and Syria, as security is tightened ahead of Land Day,Friday, March 30, 2012.

    THE UN has confirmed 45 Fijian peacekeepers being held captive in Syria have been released. The Fijians were serving in the UNDisengagement Observer Force, which is monitoring a 1974 ceasefire betweenIsrael and Syria in the Golan Heights.
    photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

    In this photo released by Prime Minister's Office of Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, center, listens to Masao Yoshida, director of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, while visiting the crippled plant first time since he took the office in Okuma, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011.

    MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – Masao Yoshida, the manager of TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear power plant who died from cancer last July, reacted with anger on hearing accusations of hesitation during the Fukushima crisis, the transcript
    photo: AP / Prime Minister’s Office of Japan

    Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sits in the council chamber as councillors look to pass motions to limit his powers on Monday November 18, 2013.

    TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to a hospital and is believed to have a tumor in his abdomen, health officials said Wednesday. Dr. Rueben Devlin from Humber Regional Hospital saidFord had been complaining of abdominal pains
    photo: AP / Chris Young

    Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.

    Reuters SAO PAULO— The destruction of the world’s largest rainforest accelerated last year with a 29 percent spike in deforestation, according to final figures released by the Brazilian government on Wednesday that confirmed a reversal in gains
    photo: Public Domain / Dake

    France's Thomas Heurtel, center, drives around Spain's Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol

    MADRID – France upset Spain 65-52 in front of its stunned fans in the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday. After dominating its first six games and blowing out France by 24 points in the group phase, Spain appeared to be the main
    photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

     

     

     

    A legacy of war is extended with new military campaign

    Full ArticleThe Times of India 

    11 Sep 2014

     

    WASHINGTON: In ordering a sustained military campaign against Islamic extremists in Syria and IraqPresident Obama on Wednesday night effectively set a new course for the remainder of his presidency and may have ensured that he would pass his successor a volatile and incomplete war, much as his predecessor left one for him. It will be a… 

     
    File - U.S. Army Soldier from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team return fire on insurgents from a rooftop in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007.

     

     

     

     

    Anger grows amid flood disaster in Kashmir and Pakistan

    Full ArticleBBC News 

    11 Sep 2014

     

    There is mounting anger in Indian-administered Kashmir amid accusations that the government has acted too slowly in the flood crisis. Many homes and even hospitals in the capital Srinagar are submerged but patchy communication means people do not know if their loved ones are safe. Across the border in Pakistan the authorities are preparing to… 

    Indian Army soldiers rescue flood- stranded people using a rope across a stream in Jammu on Saturday 06, September 2014.

    Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sits in the council chamber as councillors look to pass motions to limit his powers on Monday November 18, 2013.

    TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to a hospital and is believed to have a tumor in his abdomen, health officials said Wednesday. Dr. Rueben Devlin from Humber Regional Hospital saidFord had been complaining of abdominal pains
    photo: AP / Chris Young

    Deforestation and increased road-building in the Amazon Rainforest are a significant concern because of increased human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and further threats to biodiversity.

    Reuters SAO PAULO— The destruction of the world’s largest rainforest accelerated last year with a 29 percent spike in deforestation, according to final figures released by the Brazilian government on Wednesday that confirmed a reversal in gains
    photo: Public Domain / Dake

    France's Thomas Heurtel, center, drives around Spain's Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol

    MADRID – France upset Spain 65-52 in front of its stunned fans in the quarterfinals of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday. After dominating its first six games and blowing out France by 24 points in the group phase, Spain appeared to be the main
    photo: AP / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry laughs with Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on July 11, 2014, after he arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan for a meeting about steps to resolve the country's disputed presidential election between him and fellow candidate Ashraf Ghani.

    Reuters KABUL— Final results in Afghanistan‘s disputed presidential vote are expected to be released next week, and an election official said on Wednesday that a winner would be announced whether or not the two rival candidates forge a promised
    photo: US DoS

    A Petroleos de Venezuela, PDVSA, worker supervises the harbor at El Palito refinery in east Puerto Cabello about 74 miles (120 kilometers) of Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, March 28, 2003. The Venezuelan government insists it will be a reliable wartime supplier of oil to the United States despite sometimes testy relations and a slow recovery from a two-month oil industry st

    Reuters CARACAS— President Nicolas Maduro is mulling a politically risky move to raise highly-subsidized gasoline prices in Venezuela for the first time in 17 years, but he may be put off for now by fears of a social backlash. With 95 octane gas on
    photo: AP / Fernando Llano

    Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, right, waves back to members of the media as he follows Prime Minister David Cameron, left, into his official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London, Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

    BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron begged Scots not to break his heart by voting to become independent from the United Kingdom next week. Mr Cameron’s personal plea aimed to keep the 307-year-old union betweenEngland and Scotland intact and
    photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

    Trial of Oscar Pistorius : Palace of Justice, Church Square, pretoria

    VOA News South African running star Oscar Pistorius is set to hear the verdict in his murder trial as the proceedings resume in Pretoria on Thursday. Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to recount the evidence and testimony

     

     

     

     

     

    Beyond al-Qaeda: 13 years after 9/11

    Full ArticleAl Jazeera

    11 Sep 2014

     

    US President Barack Obama’s speech announcing a broad US campaign against the Islamic State group marks yet another shift in the way we understand our enemies. When the Cold War drew to a close after 45 years, the world’s major powers shared a certain world view. Threats came from states. These might be superpowers such as the Soviet Union,… 

    President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during a reception at the Columbus Anthenaem, Wednesday, Aug 18, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio.
    photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

     

     

     

     

    Ebola threatening Liberia’s existence, minister warns

    Full ArticleThe Times of India 

    10 Sep 2014

     

    MONROVIA: Ebola is threatening the very existence of Liberia as the killer virus spreads like “wild fire”, the defence minister warned on Tuesday, following a grimWorld Health Organization assessment that the worst is yet to come. After predicting an “exponential increase” in infections across West Africa, the WHO warned that Liberia, which has… 
    Health workers load the body of an amputee suspected of dying from the Ebola virus during the rain on the back of a truck, in a busy street in Monrovia, Liberia, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014.

     

     

     

     

     

    India and Pakistan floods: Thousands still marooned

    10 Sep 2014

     

    Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded in India and many more warned to leave their homes in Pakistan amid the worst flooding in the region in decades. The death toll in the two countries passed 440 as troops have been deployed to rescue people and provide relief. Officials say 400,000 people are stranded in… 
    Locals rescuing  flood-affected villagers of Mirbazar in Kulgam  District South kashmir  After heavy rains deluged the Village Wednesday  on 03, September 2014.

     

     

     

     

    Der Praesident von Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, traegt sich am Freitag (20.04.12) in Schloss Bellevue in Berlin in das Gaestebuch von Schloss Bellevue ein. Gauck traf sich mit Jonathan zu einem Gespraech

     
    Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered that posters calling for his re-election by using the hashtag #BringBackGoodluck2015 be torn down, his office said. The slogan is an echo of the #BringBackOurGirls social-media campaign that grew in
    photo: AP / Maja Hitij/dapd

    A family walks in Flood water submerged roads in  Bemina Srinagar Thursday on 04 September 2014.

    An aerial view seen from an airplane shows the floodedSrinagar city, September 9, 2014. T NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Flood waters started receding in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday, giving rescue teams a chance to reach tens of thousands of villagers
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    US Secretary of State John Kerry walks across the tarmac to his vehicle upon his arrival in Paris to attend a two-day meeting on Syria, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. Kerry and other top national envoys are aiming to bring Syria's main opposition group to attend face-to-face peace talks with the Syrian government.

    Travel deals BAGHDAD – (AP) — US Secretary of State John Kerry in Baghdad to meet with new Iraqi prime minister . Copyright 2014 The Associated PressAll rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
    photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

    Manadotua island, Manado,  Sulawesi

    JAKARTA: A strong earthquake hit off the coast of Sulawesi island in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or
    photo: Creative Commons / Matt Kieffer

    Colonel Steve Maurmann, USAF, (right), administers the oath of enlistment to Senior Airman Michael Cherry, 366th Air Expeditionary Group Civil Engineering Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. SRA Cherry chose to re-enlists 45 feet above ground,

     
    See Also The US Air Force has told a sergeant he will have to leave the military unless he agrees to take an oath with the phrase “so help me God,” officials said Tuesday. In the latest religious controversy to roil the air force, the atheist airman
    photo: US DoD

     ** ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND, SEPT. 23-24 - FILE ** Jose Padilla, center, is escorted to a waiting police vechicle by federal marshals near downtown Miami in this Jan. 5, 2006, file photo. The Bush administration´s decision to charge alleged al-Qaida ope

    Telling a judge that the U.S. government tortured her son in his own country to try to implicate him in a crime he was never charged with committing, the mother of convicted terrorism supporter Jose Padilla said the inhumane treatment damaged him
    photo: AP/J. Pat Carter

    Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new Apple Watch on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014

    CEO Tim Cook‘s keynote address this year was chock full of surprises — the Apple Watch, new, bigger iPhones, a new payment service, and embraces between Cook and Bono and The Edge, thanks to a surprise visit by musical guest U2. The Apple event was
    photo: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez

     

     

     

     

     

    US: New government is ‘milestone’ for Iraq

    09 Sep 2014

     

    The US has hailed the announcement of a new government in Iraq ahead of a drive to organise an international coalition against Islamic State (IS). Secretary of StateJohn Kerry said the US would stand with Iraqis in the fight against the group, which has seized large parts of the country. Mr Kerry begins a visit Jordan andSaudi Arabia on Tuesday… 

    Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks to Iraqi lawmakers before submitting his government in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014.
    photo: AP / Hadi Mizban, Pool

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Greenhouse gas levels rising at fastest rate since 1984

    09 Sep 2014

     

    A surge in atmospheric CO2 saw levels of greenhouse gases reach record levels in 2013, according to new figures. Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 2012 and 2013 grew at their fastest rate since 1984The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says that it highlights the need for a global climate treaty. But the UK’s… 
    In this photo taken Friday, July 8, 2011, smoke bellows from a chimney stack at BlueScope Steel's steelworks at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, Australia. Australia will force its 500 worst polluters to pay 23 Australian dollars ($25) for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit, with the government promising to compensate households hit with higher power bills under a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unveiled Sunday, July 10, 2011.

     

     

     

     

     

    Hundreds die as heaviest rain in 50 years catch India, Pakistan off guard

    09 Sep 2014

     

    By Abu Arqam Naqash and Adnan Abidi MUZAFFARABAD/SRINAGAR (Reuters) – The heaviest rains to fall on Kashmir in 50 years caught Indian and Pakistaniauthorities off guard, with criticism of their disaster preparedness growing on Tuesday as the number of dead hit 420 and thousands remained trapped on rooftops. On the Indian side of the heavily… 

     

     

     

     

     

    Iraq secures area around key dam after US strikes

    08 Sep 2014

     

    Iraqi forces say they have cleared Islamic State (IS) militants from a wide area around the strategic Haditha dam, helped by US air strikes. The jihadists have repeatedly tried to capture the dam in western Anbar province from government troops and their Sunni militia allies. The action marked a widening of US air strikes which have previously been… 

    Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, make their way to the front line to fight militants from the extremist Islamic State group at Mosul Dam, outside Mosul, Iraq, Monday, Aug 18, 2014. Boosted by two days of U.S. airstrikes, Iraqi and Kurdish forces on Monday wrested back control of the country's largest dam from Islamic militants, a military spokesman in Baghdad said, as fighting was reported to be underway for the rest of the strategic facility.

     

     

     

    Japan Considers Building Offshore Power Plant After Fukushima Disaster

    MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – Japan is considering investing $1.5 billion in a Norwegian-produced floating natural gas-fired power plant, as the country looks for new and safer ways to produce electricity following the 2011 Fukushima disaster,
    photo: UN / Mark Garten

    UN Says IS Using Children as Suicide Bombers

    MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – The UNrepresentative is horrified by disregard to children’s lives shown by the Islamic State and other extremist groups which are using children as suicide bombers. “I remain deeply concerned
    photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

     

     

    Israel wants force deployment in Gaza: report

    Indian Army Soldiers paddle a raft as they assist Kashmiri residents during flood rescue operations in the outskirts of Srinagar, India, Saturday on September 06, 2014.

    Five days of heavy rains have left more than 335 dead inPakistan and the Pakistan and Indian-administered areas of Kashmir, the region’s worst flooding in more than five decades. By Sunday, flooding had submerged at least 450 villages and triggered
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    U.S. President Barack Obama arrives for a G7 summit at the EU Council building in Brussels on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. The leaders of the Group of Seven will participate in a two day meeting in which they will discuss among other issues, the situation in Ukraine.

    WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will deliver a speech to Americans and consult with lawmakers this week to sell his plan to go on the offensive against Islamic State militants, but is trying to head off public concern about another big military
    photo: AP / Yves Logghe

     

     

     

    Sellafield nuclear clean-up bill will soar by billions

    07 Sep 2014

     

    The cost of cleaning up Britain’s toxic nuclear sites has shot up by £6bn, with theGovernment and regulators accused this weekend of “incompetence” in their efforts to manage the country’s legacy of radioactive waste. Anti-nuclearcampaigners and union leaders have been incensed by the increase, which was highlighted by Labour after a report by… 

    This is a Wednesday May 23, 2007 file photo of the Sellafield Nuclear Power Station in Sellafield, England.

     

     

     

    Homes burn after being hit by a shell in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. Strong explosions were heard early Sunday on the outskirts of the main rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine near the airport, raising new fears that a cease-fire signed two days ago is on the verge of collapse. Blasts powerful enough to be heard in downtown Donetsk came from the area near the airport, which has been under the control of government troops since May and has come under unremitting attacks from pro-Russia separatist rebels since then.

    Strong explosions have been heard on the outskirts of the main rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine near the airport, raising new fears that a ceasefire signed two days ago is on the verge of collapse. The ceasefire had appeared to be holding for much
    photo: AP / Sergei Grits

    File - Former child soldiers enlisted by Al Shabaab are handed over to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) after their capture by forces of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), 1 November, 2012.

    MogadishuSeptember 06Somalia‘s Islamist militant group al-Shabab has appointed Ahmad Umar as successor to its former leader AhmedAbdi Godane who was killed in a US air strike. Umar’s name was announced in an online statement by al-Shabab, vowing
    photo: UN / Tobin Jones

    President Barack Obama and President Pena Nieto of Mexico share a toast prior to a working dinner at Los Pinos

    WashingtonSeptember 06US President Barack Obama has abandoned a plan to force through immigration reform before the end of the summer, BBC reported Saturday. Tens of thousands of people try to get into the US from Mexico annually. Many are
    photo: White House / Pete Souza

    Roger Federer, of Switzerland, walks off the court

    NEW YORK – Marin Cilic completed a sensational set of shocking semi-finals by upsetting 17-times grand slam winner Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the U.S. OpenCroatian 14th seed Cilic‘s opponent in Monday’s final will
    photo: AP / Darron Cummings)

    Black sand forming when lava hits ocean. Kilauea Volcano. When lava contacts water, it cools rapidly and shatters into sand and fragmented debris of various size. Much of the debris is small enough to be considered sand.

     
    HONOLULU — Lava from one of the world?s most active volcanos is creeping slowly but steadily through cracks in the earth toward a rural subdivision on Hawaii?s Big IslandScientists warn that if the lava flow from Kilauea continues on
    photo: Creative Commons / Philip Maise

    Residents of a flood hit locality wade through a waterlogged street to move safer location in Srinagar Saturday on 06, September 2014.

    VOA News Monsoon rains and flash floods in northernPakistan and India have killed more than 200 people so far, while hundreds have been injured and tens of thousands have lost homes. Officials in Pakistan
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    Obama Malaysia Airlines

    WASHINGTON — An American air assault killed the head of an al Qaida-linked Somali terrorist group in East Africa earlier this week, Pentagonofficials said Friday. Ahmed Abdi Godane, who led the al Shabab terror network and had a $7 million

     

     

     

    Sierra Leone to impose lockdown to halt Ebola spread

    06 Sep 2014

     

    People in west African nation barred from leaving their homes on 18-21 September to ‘deal with Ebola once and for all’ A Sierra Leone health worker at an Ebola isolation unit in Kenema. More than 20 infected health workers have died in Sierra Leone since March. PhotographMichael Duff/AP Sierra Leone will impose a four-day nationwide “lockdown”… 
    Health worker's spray each other with disinfectant chemicals as they worked with a suspected Ebola virus death in Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014.

     

     

     

    Ghana?s Education System Below Standards - Report

    The latest Global Competitiveness report from the World Economic Forum indicates that Ghana?s educational system is below international standards. The survey was conducted on some 144 countries across the world, concerning doing business and a
    photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

    Afghanistan’s Rare Eart Elements valued at $1 trillion

    Afghanistan’s Rare Earth Elements have been valued at around $1 trillion despite being one of the poorest nations in the world. (Photo LiveScience) According to the latest report by US scientists, Afghanistan may be sitting on one of the
    photo: USMC / Joseph Scanlan

    Pentagon identifies soldier killed in Afghanistan

    The Pentagon has identified a soldier killed Thursday in an enemy attack in southeastern Afghanistan. Spc. Brian K. Arsenault, 28, ofNorthboroughMass., died from his injuries after his unit came under attack with
    photo: USMC / Joseph Scanlan

    In this image made from KRT video, and made available for the first time Tuesday April 7, 2009, showing the launch of a missile in Musudan-ri, North Korea on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

     
    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday continued its string of rocket and missile firings, launching three short-range projectiles into the waters off its east coast ahead of a major holiday celebrated by both Koreas, a South Korean
    photo: AP / KRT TV

    Cease-fire takes effect in eastern Ukraine amid discord and skepticism

     
    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a cease-fire Friday in the 5-month-old conflict against pro-Russia separatists, halting gunfire and artillery exchanges in his nation’s embattled east amid deep skepticism that the truce will hold.
    photo: European Community / Visit of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, to the EC

    Decimated Hamas makes ludicrous claims

    The Hamas terrorists that rule the Gaza Strip are good at one thing: Getting Palestinians killed. More than 2,100 Palestinians died in the 50-day war against Israel that ended on the same truce terms offered to Hamas in the early days of the conflict
    photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

    Ethiopia refugee camp submerged by floods

    Ethiopia‘s Lietchuor camp, home to almost 40,000 refugees from South Sudan, has been made uninhabitable by flooding, Doctors without Borders (MSF) said. The medical charity said in a statement on Friday that the camp in Ethiopia’s Gambella
    photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

     

    Pentagon Confirms That The Head Of Africa’s Largest Al Qaeda Affiliate Was Killed In A US Airstrike

     

    RTR28GZE

     

     

    The Pentagon has confirmed that Ahmed Godane was killed in the U.S. airstrike that targeted the Al Shabaab leader on September 2nd. Godane was in charge of one of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliates, a group that mutated from a local insurgency to a trans-national jihadist movement capable of striking beyond Somalia’s borders and attracting foreign fighters from around the world.

    “Godane’s removal is a major symbolic and operational loss to the largest al-Qaida affiliate in Africa,” White House Press Secretary Josh Ernest said in a statement released on September 5th.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Al-Qaida wants to portray Modi as enemy of Islam: US analyst

    Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi speaking at a program organised by business chambers ICC, BCC and MCCI on April 9, 2013 in Kolkata on Tuesday

     
    WASHINGTON: Al-Qaida, which has announced the creation of a separate wing for India, wants to portray Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an enemy of Islam and as such India should take its threat “very seriously”, a well-known American counter-terror
    photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

    Secretary of State John Kerry testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to examine the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    VOA News U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to enter into a sustained peace process to settle the
    photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

    Healthcare - Website

    Hackers infiltrated the US government‘s healthcare portal, but did not steal any data uploaded by customers. by September 4, 2014 6:07 PMPDT facebook twitter linkedin googleplus more more + email tumblr stumble delicious reddit pinterest digg The
    photo: WN / Sweet Radoc

    U.S. President Barack Obama, center, waves as he arrives for a group photo during a NATO summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. In a two-day meeting leaders will discuss, among other issues, the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

    Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009.

    The US justice department has announced a civil rights investigation into the police department involved in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer. The death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, from Ferguson in the state of
    photo: AP / Susan Walsh

    Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during a press conference at his residence in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, July 6, 2014. The country's election crisis deepened Sunday as the two presidential candidates, Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, sparred over the release of preliminary results and calls mounted for a broader investigation of suspect ballots amid allegations of massive fraud. Abdullah, who garnered the most votes in the first round of voting on April 5 but failed to get the majority needed to win outright, has boycotted the electoral institutions after alleging widespread ballot box stuffing and other efforts to rig the June 14 runoff vote against him.

    Reuters NEWPORT, WALES/KABUL — Afghanistan‘s rival presidential candidates pledged to NATO leaders on Thursday that they would form a government of national unity and sign legal agreements allowing foreign troops to stay on next year. The message
    photo: AP / Rahmat Gul

    Indian children, working at a roadside hotel, carry a table in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.

    Margaret Besheer UNITED NATIONS— A new report from theUnited Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, says violence against children is widespread across the globe. Among the disturbing findings, some 95,000 minors were murdered in 2012, and
    photo: AP / Mahesh Kumar A.

     

     

     

     

    Libyan revolutionary fighters returning from Sirte are welcomed at Al Guwarsha gate in Benghazi, Libya, Saturday Oct. 22, 2011.

     
    Reuters BENGHAZI— Government forces and helicopters belonging to a Libyan renegade general bombed ammunition sites of suspected Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military commander and residents said. Islamist forces have been
    photo: AP / Francois Mori

    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, centre, arrives at his hotel in Geneva Switzerland, Friday evening Nov. 8, 2013, following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

    Reuters GENEVA— Iran and the United States met in Genevafor bilateral talks on Thursday as international diplomacy intensifies to end a decade-old dispute over Tehran‘s atomic activities by a new deadline in late November. The office of European
    photo: AP / Jason Reed

    Indian Policemen stand guard at a check point in Srinagar on Thursday   03, July 2014. Security has been beefed up across the Kashmir Valley ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

    updated 1:24 AM EDT, Thu September 4, 2014 (CNN) — In a 55-minute long video, al Qaeda announced it will launch a new branch in the Indian subcontinent. Speaking in the video, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said the purpose is to “wage jihad
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks during a joint press briefing with France Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Pentagon Jan. 24, 2014.  Official DoD photo by Sgt. Aaron Hostutler USMC (Released).

    WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that more than 100 Americans are fighting with Islamic State militants, the first time the Pentagon chief has put a number on U.S. citizens aiding the terrorists. Hagel cited the
    photo: US DoD / Aaron Hostutler USMC

    The glucose meter was used to monitor glucose level in diabetic patient's blood. Hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia is harmful for health, weekly screening should be conducted to control blood glucose level.

    Jessica Berman The growing number of Type 2 diabetescases worldwide will make it difficult to control and eliminate tuberculosis. Experts have found a connection between the two diseases, reminiscent of HIV and TB. For reasons that are still
    photo: WN / Priya Dashini

    U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visit Mount Pleasant Primary School in Newport, Wales, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit.

    By Andy McFarlane BBC News The threat from Islamic Statemilitants in Iraq and Syria continues to feature heavily in the press. Under the headline “your move, Mr President,” the Independent questions whether Barack Obama can “rise to
    photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

    ** EDS NOTE: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS VIDEO ** This image made from an undated video broadcast Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005 on pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, shows al-Qaida's Ayman al-Zawahri speaking Kalashnikov rifle propped up behind him at an undisclosed location.

    Reuters DUBAI — Al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and “raise the flag of jihad” across the subcontinent. In a 55-minute video
    photo: AP / Al-Jazeera via APTN

     

     

     

     

    ISIS Is Beheading Journalists To Lure America Into Another Ground War. Remember The Iraq War’s Lessons.

    03 Sep 2014

     

    The recent murders of James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff by ISIS militants, brazenly brandishing knives and videotaping these executions are not only horrifying, but also infuriating for millions of Americans. The moment I saw a terrorist standing confidently over James Foley, ready to end the man’s life, I wanted retribution and immediately wished… 

    File - This still image from an undated video released by Islamic State militants on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, purports to show journalist Steven Sotloff being held by the militant group.

     

     

     

     

     

    File - Migrants try to salvage their belongings as French authorities start to clear out makeshift camps housing hundreds of illegal migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Africa in the English Channel port city of Calais, northern France, Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

    Natacha Bouchart says such a move would be illegal, but she wants to send a strong message to Britain French police expel migrants from a camp in Calais in July. PhotographDenis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images The mayor of Calais has threatened to shut
    photo: AP / Thibault Vandermersch

    President Barack Obama tries to wave away a fly buzzing around his head as he announces in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has ordered about 350 more troops to
    photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

    Corruption ‘impoverishes and kills millions

    A man holds a stack of current Afghani notes at a currency exchange market in Kabul, Afghanistan Monday, Sept. 30, 2002.

    An estimated $1tn (£600bn) a year is being taken out of poor countries and millions of lives are lost because of corruption, according to campaigners. A report by the US-based anti-poverty organisation One says much of the progress made over the past
    photo: AP / Lynne Sladky

    Trader Gregory Rowe, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, July 16, 2009

    By Akane Otani NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday, retreating from records set the previous month, as falling crude oil prices dragged energy shares down and offset strong manufacturing data. The S&P energy index (.SPNY)
    photo: AP / Richard Drew

    In this photo released on Sunday, April 13, 2014 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a Syrian forces tank arrives to take position during clashes with Syrian rebels, near the town of Rankous, Syria.

    Scott Bobb JERUSALEM— Israeli officials are following with concern the recent fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces near the contested Golan Heights. Forty-four U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji have been seized by Syrian Islamist rebels and
    photo: AP / SANA

    Saudi police stand guard outside the Safwa Palace in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam´s holiest city, Wednesday Feb. 7, 2007, where rival Palestinian leaders are attending a meeting. The Palestinians talks with strong Saudi support are meant to find ways

     
    VOA News Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested 88 men – half of whom are Saudis – and are suspected to be part of an al-Qaida terrorist cell operating in the kingdom. Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said a number of the suspects had
    photo: AP / Hasan Jamali

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

    Lisa Schlein GENEVA— Thousands of Nigerians have fled vicious attacks by Boko Haram and sought refuge in Cameroon in the past 10 days, officials from Cameroon and the United Nations say. Cameroonian authorities estimate at least 9,000 people have
    photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

     

     

     

    U.S. Military Carries Out Operation Against Al-Shabab Network In Somalia

    Full ArticleHuffington Post 

    02 Sep 2014

     

    WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military forces targeted the Islamic extremist al-Shabab network in an operation Monday in Somalia, the Pentagon said. Spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the U.S. was assessing the results and would provide more information when appropriate. No further details were available. The U.S. action comes after Somalia’s government… 

    This Nov. 4, 2008 file photo shows members of Somalia's al-Shabab jihadist movement seen during exercises at their military training camp outside Mogadishu.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ban Ki-moon: ‘no military solution to Ukraine crisis

    Full ArticleThe Guardian 

    02 Sep 2014

     

    UN secretary general calls for a political dialogue, as Kiev accuses Russia of launching a ‘great war’ A bomb shelter in Donetsk, which is on the frontline of artillery fights between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels. Photograph: Mstislav Chernov/AP UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has warned western powers “there is no military… 

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Cultural Opening Ceremony of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, hosted by the Government of Samoa, 31 August, 2014.

    Police And Protesters Violently Clash In Pakistani Capital

    A Pakistani police officer stands guard on a shipping container while supporters of Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri participate in an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Thousands of anti-government protesters heeding the call of the fiery cleric rallied in the streets of the Pakistani capital Tuesday for a second day despite early morning clashes with police who fired off shots and tear gas.

     
    Anti-government protesters armed with slingshots and hammers clashed repeatedly with police Sunday in the Pakistani capital, and the powerful military cautioned the prime minister against further use of force in the crisis that has triggered the
    photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

     

     

    The ‘Afghan Spring’ turns into an ‘Autumn of Discontent’

    01 Sep 2014

     

    As Afghanistan approaches the September 2 deadline for the inauguration of its new president – though this could be pushed by a few days – talk of an uprising has resurfaced. It is said that tens of thousands of ethnic non-Pashtuns anticipating a loss at the end of a total vote recount and a less than full partnership in a political

    Nader Mohsini, Spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) of Afghanistan announces that the Commission has completed its adjudication process of all complaints registered in relation to the country’s Presidential elections on 5 April, 13 May, 2014

     

     

    A Pakistani police officer stands guard on a shipping container while supporters of Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri participate in an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. Thousands of anti-government protesters heeding the call of the fiery cleric rallied in the streets of the Pakistani capital Tuesday for a second day despite early morning clashes with police who fired off shots and tear gas.

    Anti-government protesters armed with slingshots and hammers clashed repeatedly with police Sunday in the Pakistani capital, and the powerful military cautioned the prime minister against further use of force in the crisis that has triggered the
    photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

    File - A McDonald's fast-food restaurant.

     
    The arrival of McDonald’s symbolised the end of the Cold Warfor many Muscovites. But it now faces being frozen out of Russia after the fast-food firm revealed more than 100 of its restaurants are in danger of being closed by the government. The
    photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag

    File - British Member of Parliament George Galloway gives an interview to a television station, as anti-war protesters demonstrate outside the Iraq Inquiry, as former British Prime Minster Tony Blair gives evidence, London , Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.

    George Galloway has left hospital after being treated for injuries he suffered in a street attack in London. The Respect MP was posing for pictures in Notting Hill Gate, west London, when he was assaulted on Friday night. The MP
    photo: AP / Alastair Grant

    Ah-Meng the female Sumatran Orangutan, Singapore Zoo's most famous animal celibrity photographed on her regular morning walks in the zoo.Sadly she expired a few months later on 8-2-2008 living to the ripe old age of 48

    Mathematical models offer new insights into animal vocal sequences, but evolution of language remains a mystery Orangutans were one of seven species whose calls were compared with human language. Photograph: Dlillc/Corbis From ultrasonic bat chirps
    photo: Public Domain / Rudolph.A.furtado

    International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks at the IMF in Washington, Wednesday, July 2, 2014.

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — The Executive Board of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday voiced support for Managing DirectorChristine Lagarde as she was under investigation of negligence. “As we
    photo: AP / Susan Walsh

    President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, Thursday, July 10, 2014, about the economy. Austin is the final leg in his three city trip before returning to Washington.

    US president Barack Obama has said that he had not yet developed a strategy to combat Islamic State militants, months after the jihadist army, formerly known as Isis, erased the border between Iraq and Syria and more than a week after it beheaded an
    photo: AP / Jack Plunkett

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, waves as he arrives for an EU summit in Brussels, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. EU leaders, in a one day summit, are set to decide who will get the prestigious job as the 28-nation bloc's foreign policy chief for the next five years. They will also discuss the current situation in Ukraine.

    The behind-the-scenes campaign for top European Unionpositions burst into the open as Polish prime minister Donald Tusk staked a claim to the post of EU presidentTusk (57) is “definitely considering” the job
    photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

     

     

     

    EU leaders try to defuse Ukraine crisis as fears over war grow

    31 Aug 2014

     

    Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, who was made new president of the European council, and Italian foreign minister Federica Mogherini, the EU’s new foreign policy chief, after their nomination at the Brussels summit. Photograph: Yves Logghe/APEuropean leaders gathered in Brussels on Saturday night to wrestle with how to get a failing policy on… 

    British Prime Minister David Cameron, left, speaks with European Commission President elect Jean-Claude Juncker during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014.
    photo: AP / Yves Logghe

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    File - A McDonald's fast-food restaurant.

    The arrival of McDonald’s symbolised the end of the Cold Warfor many Muscovites. But it now faces being frozen out of Russia after the fast-food firm revealed more than 100 of its restaurants are in danger of being closed by the government. The
    photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag

    File - British Member of Parliament George Galloway gives an interview to a television station, as anti-war protesters demonstrate outside the Iraq Inquiry, as former British Prime Minster Tony Blair gives evidence, London , Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.

    George Galloway has left hospital after being treated for injuries he suffered in a street attack in London. The Respect MP was posing for pictures in Notting Hill Gate, west London, when he was assaulted on Friday night. The MP
    photo: AP / Alastair Grant

    Ah-Meng the female Sumatran Orangutan, Singapore Zoo's most famous animal celibrity photographed on her regular morning walks in the zoo.Sadly she expired a few months later on 8-2-2008 living to the ripe old age of 48

    Mathematical models offer new insights into animal vocal sequences, but evolution of language remains a mystery Orangutans were one of seven species whose calls were compared with human language. Photograph: Dlillc/Corbis From ultrasonic bat chirps
    photo: Public Domain / Rudolph.A.furtado

    International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks at the IMF in Washington, Wednesday, July 2, 2014.

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — The Executive Board of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday voiced support for Managing DirectorChristine Lagarde as she was under investigation of negligence. “As we
    photo: AP / Susan Walsh

    President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, Thursday, July 10, 2014, about the economy. Austin is the final leg in his three city trip before returning to Washington.

    US president Barack Obama has said that he had not yet developed a strategy to combat Islamic State militants, months after the jihadist army, formerly known as Isis, erased the border between Iraq and Syria and more than a week after it beheaded an
    photo: AP / Jack Plunkett

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, waves as he arrives for an EU summit in Brussels, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. EU leaders, in a one day summit, are set to decide who will get the prestigious job as the 28-nation bloc's foreign policy chief for the next five years. They will also discuss the current situation in Ukraine.

    The behind-the-scenes campaign for top European Unionpositions burst into the open as Polish prime minister Donald Tusk staked a claim to the post of EU presidentTusk (57) is “definitely considering” the job
    photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

    Ruckus in J&K assembly over land grab allegations against PDP leaders

    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir assembly was on Friday adjourned for a brief period following pandemonium over alleged involvement ofPDP leaders including deputy speaker Sartaj Madni in a land grabbing case. Speaker Mubarak Gul

     

     

    Syrian rebels attack peacekeepers in Golan Heights

    Full ArticleDenver Post
    30 Aug 2014
    Click photo to enlarge An armed group of men, not specified which group of rebels, gather at Syria‘s Quneitra border crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlledGolan Heights, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. It was unclear if the men were connected to an armed group that, the United Nations said, detained more than 40 U.N. peacekeepers during fighting
    An armed group of men, not specified which group of rebels, gather at Syria's Quneitra border crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. It was unclear if the men were connected to an armed group that, the United Nations said, detained more than 40 U.N. peacekeepers.

     

     

    George Galloway leaves hospital after London street attack

     
    File - British Member of Parliament George Galloway gives an interview to a television station, as anti-war protesters demonstrate outside the Iraq Inquiry, as former British Prime Minster Tony Blair gives evidence, London , Friday, Jan. 29, 2010.

    George Galloway has left hospital after being treated for injuries he suffered in a street attack in London. The Respect MP was posing for pictures in Notting Hill Gate, west London, when he was assaulted on Friday night. The MP
    photo: AP / Alastair Gran

    Ruckus in J&K assembly over land grab allegations against PDP leaders

    SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir assembly was on Friday adjourned for a brief period following pandemonium over alleged involvement ofPDP leaders including deputy speaker Sartaj Madni in a land grabbing case. Speaker Mubarak Gul
    photo: WN / Imran Nissar

    Over 50,000 remain in shelters in Gaza

    The Siasat Daily
    United Nations, August 28: At least 54,000 people still remained in 78 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) shelters in Gaza Strip, a UN official said. Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here, quoting a report
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 16, 2014.

     
    Novosti
    MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) — Russia’s PresidentVladimir Putin urged the militia in Ukraine to open a humanitarian corridor to allow besieged Ukrainian servicemen to leave battle ground, the Kremlin said in a statement Friday. “I
    photo: AP / Dmitry Lovetsky

    A woman raises her arm near Chinese national flags which are displayed to celebrate National Day Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in Shanghai, China.

     
    Voa News
    Hu Wei WASHINGTON— China‘s Ministry of Public Securityhas announced a new policy to encourage reporting people who obtain citizenship in another country, but still keep their Chinese citizenship. The move has led to a sharp debate about dual
    photo: AP / Eugene Hoshiko

    Trader Joseph Gliozzo with Cuttone & Company works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 31, 2010

    Russian troops in Ukraine spur concern * U.S. GDP revised higher in Q2, jobless claims fall * Banks in focus after reports of cyber attacks * Indexes down: Dow 0.25 pct, S&P 0.17, Nasdaq 0.26 pct (Adds background on Ukraine, economic data, updates
    photo: AP / Craig Ruttle

    UN says more than 3m have fled war

    29 Aug 2014

     

    More than three million Syrians are now registered as refugees and the desperate crisis is only getting worse, the UN’s refugee agency says. The UNHCR says Syria is now “the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era” with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes. The majority of refugees have fled to countries… 

    File - Children inside a classroom at Za’atri refugee camp, host to tens of thousands of Syrians displaced by conflict, near Mafraq, Jordan

     

     

     

     

    Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Sunday, March 16, 2014.

    MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) — Russia’s PresidentVladimir Putin urged the militia in Ukraine to open a humanitarian corridor to allow besieged Ukrainian servicemen to leave battle ground, the Kremlin said in a statement Friday. “I
    photo: AP / Dmitry Lovetsky

    A woman raises her arm near Chinese national flags which are displayed to celebrate National Day Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, in Shanghai, China.

    Hu Wei WASHINGTON— China‘s Ministry of Public Securityhas announced a new policy to encourage reporting people who obtain citizenship in another country, but still keep their Chinese citizenship. The move has led to a sharp debate about dual
    photo: AP / Eugene Hoshiko

    Trader Joseph Gliozzo with Cuttone & Company works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 31, 2010

    Russian troops in Ukraine spur concern * U.S. GDP revised higher in Q2, jobless claims fall * Banks in focus after reports of cyber attacks * Indexes down: Dow 0.25 pct, S&P 0.17, Nasdaq 0.26 pct (Adds background on Ukraine, economic data, updates
    photo: AP / Craig Ruttle

    President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One during his departure from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

    In a statement from the White House on Thursday, President Obama addressed the world on fire. ISIS terrorists are losing arms and equipment because of U.S. strikes, Obama said, adding that “our focus
    photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

    Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta meets with US Ambassador to Cambodia, William Todd, and US Ambassador to the US Mission to Asean, David Carden, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Nov 16, 2012.  DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo (Released)

    Turkey's new President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony where he formally took charge of the presidency from his predecessor, Abdullah Gul, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. Erdogan said that as the first president to be elected by the people _ instead of parliament _ his tenure would usher in an era of a “new Turkey, a great Turkey.”

    Turkey‘s new President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony where he formally took charge of the presidency from his predecessor,Abdullah Gul, at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, TurkeyPhoto: AP Ankara: Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s
    photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici

    REPEATED FOR IMPROVED TONAL QUALITY- A medical worker from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers who are working on the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, works at their laboratory in Entebbe 42kms (29 miles) from the capital Kampala Thursday Aug. 2, 2012.

    The National Institute of Health announced today that human trials of the Ebola vaccine will begin next week. But it won’t be ready in time for the West Africa’s crisis. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID), the branch of
    photo: AP / Stephen Wandera

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Turkey’s Erdogan aims to expand presidential power

    28 Aug 2014

     

    When Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected Turkey‘s new president (10.08.2014) with 52 percent of the vote, it wasn’t long until the obligatory, politically correct congratulations from all over Europe trickled in. German Chancellor Angela Merkelstressed Turkey’s great importance in a difficult region. But European Commissionleader Jose Manuel Barroso… 

    President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan gesture to supporters during a rally, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014.

     

     

     

    Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip on November 18, 2012. Israeli war planes hit a Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning, as the death toll mounted, despite suggestions from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that there could be a "ceasefire soon."Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

     
    August 27, 2014 — Updated 0506 GMT (1306 HKTJerusalem(CNN) — After more than seven weeks of heavy fighting, Israel and Hamas have agreed to an open-ended ceasefire. The truce announced Tuesday puts off dealing with core long-term issues on both
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Evan Webb, left, and Erik Yablou harvest organic potatoes, Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at Piedmont Biofarm in Pittsboro, N.C.. FoodLogiQ is working with farmers and distributors to incorporate a tracking system that will identify the specific farm where the food is produced. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

    Tough conditions likely to get tougher for many. PhotoGetty Images The world is headed “down a dangerous path” with disruption of the food system possible within a decade as climate change undermines nations’ ability to feed themselves,
    photo: AP / Gerry Broome

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

    The four words that Alex Salmond used to close his televised debating victory over Alistair Darling – “This is our time” – has left the Yescampaign with a renewed belief that they can still persuade Scotland to leave the union. Despite firm answers
    photo: AP / Scott Heppell

    President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, sitting in a wheelchair, waves as he arrives to vote in the presidential elections in Algiers,

    ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria’s president on Tuesday dismissed one of his main advisers — a former prime minister and powerful head of the ruling party — and banned him from state service. The announcement came without any explanation about why
    photo: AP / Sidali Djarbou

    British police officers speak with children following riots on Tuesday night, Manchester, England, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011.

     
    At least 1,400 children in the English town of Rotherham has in the years from 1997 to 2013 victims of atrocities as rape and trafficking. Vimeo According to a report that has been made ??for the
    photo: AP / Jon Super

    Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, March 25, 2010

    U.S. consumer confidence hits highest since October 2007 *Best Buy tumbles after results, DSW higher * Digital Ally gains again, has tripled this month * Indexes up: Dow 0.3 pct, S&P 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.1 pct (Updates to mid-morning, adds confidence
    photo: AP / Seth Wenig

    Palestinians who have been displaced due to Israeli bombardments, gather in an UNRWA school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,

    Gaza City – Egypt has proposed a new ceasefire in the Gaza conflict that would open key border crossings into the battered Palestinianterritory, after Israeli raids killed at least 10 more Palestinians. A 17-year-old boy was killed and about
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Israel and Hamas reach an uneasy cease-fire in 50-day Gaza war

    Full ArticleDenver Post 

    27 Aug 2014

     

    GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Israel and Gaza‘s ruling Hamas agreed Tuesday to an open-ended cease-fire after seven weeks of fighting — an uneasy deal that halts their deadliest war in years but puts off the most difficult issues. In the end, both sides settled for an ambiguous interim agreement in exchange for a period of calm. Hamas,… 

    Palestinians inspect a damaged house following Israeli air strikes in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip on November 18, 2012. Israeli war planes hit a Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning, as the death toll mounted, despite suggestions from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that there could be a "ceasefire soon.".Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

     

     

     

     

    Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip on November 18, 2012. Israeli war planes hit a Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning, as the death toll mounted, despite suggestions from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that there could be a "ceasefire soon."Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

    August 27, 2014 — Updated 0506 GMT (1306 HKTJerusalem(CNN) — After more than seven weeks of heavy fighting, Israel and Hamas have agreed to an open-ended ceasefire. The truce announced Tuesday puts off dealing with core long-term issues on both
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Evan Webb, left, and Erik Yablou harvest organic potatoes, Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at Piedmont Biofarm in Pittsboro, N.C.. FoodLogiQ is working with farmers and distributors to incorporate a tracking system that will identify the specific farm where the food is produced. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

    Tough conditions likely to get tougher for many. PhotoGetty Images The world is headed “down a dangerous path” with disruption of the food system possible within a decade as climate change undermines nations’ ability to feed themselves,
    photo: AP / Gerry Broome

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

    The four words that Alex Salmond used to close his televised debating victory over Alistair Darling – “This is our time” – has left the Yescampaign with a renewed belief that they can still persuade Scotland to leave the union. Despite firm answers
    photo: AP / Scott Heppell

    President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, sitting in a wheelchair, waves as he arrives to vote in the presidential elections in Algiers,

    ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria’s president on Tuesday dismissed one of his main advisers — a former prime minister and powerful head of the ruling party — and banned him from state service. The announcement came without any explanation about why
    photo: AP / Sidali Djarbou

    British police officers speak with children following riots on Tuesday night, Manchester, England, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011.

     
    At least 1,400 children in the English town of Rotherham has in the years from 1997 to 2013 victims of atrocities as rape and trafficking. Vimeo According to a report that has been made ??for the
    photo: AP / Jon Super

    Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, March 25, 2010

     
    U.S. consumer confidence hits highest since October 2007 *Best Buy tumbles after results, DSW higher * Digital Ally gains again, has tripled this month * Indexes up: Dow 0.3 pct, S&P 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.1 pct (Updates to mid-morning, adds confidence
    photo: AP / Seth Wenig

    Palestinians who have been displaced due to Israeli bombardments, gather in an UNRWA school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,

    Gaza City – Egypt has proposed a new ceasefire in the Gaza conflict that would open key border crossings into the battered Palestinianterritory, after Israeli raids killed at least 10 more Palestinians. A 17-year-old boy was killed and about

    Breaking Bad And Sherlock Dominate At The Emmy Awards

    26 Aug 2014

     

    Never mind that Breaking Bad wrapped up the second half of its final season nearly a year ago. Out of sight definitely didn’t mean out of mind for the Academy voters this year, as the acclaimed AMC drama dominated the Emmy Awards, facing off against HBO‘s Game of Thrones and True Detective, among other series, and coming out on top. That includes… 

    IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR THE TELEVISION ACADEMY - EXCLUSIVE - Aaron Paul, and from left, Vince Galligan, Anne Gunn and Bryan Cranston pose with their awards for outstanding drama series for their work on "Breaking Bad" at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles.

     

     

     

    Palestinians who have been displaced due to Israeli bombardments, gather in an UNRWA school in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip,

    Gaza City – Egypt has proposed a new ceasefire in the Gaza conflict that would open key border crossings into the battered Palestinianterritory, after Israeli raids killed at least 10 more Palestinians. A 17-year-old boy was killed and about
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Electronic Cigarette

    The World Health Organization is calling for a range of tough regulations restricting the use of e-cigarettes. In a report the health body recommends banning their indoor use and says sales to
    photo: Creative Commons / Sigismund von Dobschütz

    Palestinians inspect the damage in a chicken farm after it was targeted in an overnight Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 20, 2013. Israel carried out four air strikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket fire against southern Israel, an army spokesman said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, Palestinian medics and witnesses said. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

    Palestinians rest amid the rubble of the 15-story Basha Towerthat was leveled in early morning Israeli airstrikes. GAZA CITYGaza Strip (AP) —Israel bombed two Gaza City high-rises with dozens of homes and shops Tuesday, collapsing one
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

    Chinatown, London. Benedict Cumberbatch during filming of Sherlock.

    Hit series Sherlock scooped a hat-trick of awards at the star-spangled Emmys ceremony as it s co-creator revealed plans for a special episode of the hit show. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman won gongs for actor and supporting actor in a
    photo: Creative Commons

    Each biochip has hundreds to thousands of gel drops on a glass, plastic or membrane support. The biochip system can identify infectious disease strains in less than 15 minutes when testing protein arrays and in less than two hours when testing nucleic acid arrays.

    WASHINGTON: In a surprise finding, scientists have discovered that a family of proteins that helps viruses, such as HIV and Ebola, enter a cell can also block the release of these deadly viruses. “This is a surprising finding that provides new
    photo: Creative Commons / Argonne Laboratory’s Flickr page

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a media conference after a signing ceremony at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, June 27, 2014. The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed up to a trade and economic pact with the European Union, saying it may be the "most important day" for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called a snap election. PhotoAFP Russia vows to send another aid convoy as Ukraine claims tanks crossed border KievPresident Petro Poroshenko has dissolved Ukraine’sParliament and announced an election on
    photo: AP / Michel Euler

    Gaza death toll increases as Israeli strikes continue

    At least 112 Palestinians killed in more than 350 Israeli air strikes across the territory since the truce collapsed on 19 August A Palestinian man and baby look at the rubble of a mosque targeted in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.Photograph:
    photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

     

     

    Hundreds dead as Islamic State seizes Syrian air base

    25 Aug 2014

     

    BEIRUTIslamic State militants stormed an air base in northeast Syria on Sunday, capturing it from government forces after days of fighting that cost more than 500lives, a monitoring group said. The Syrian observatory for human rights said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died… 

     In this undated file picture released on Friday Nov. 29, 2013, and posted on the Facebook page of a militant group, members of Ahrar al-Sham brigade, one of the Syrian rebels groups, exercise in a train camp at unknown place in Syria. With a new label - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - the global terror network al-Qaida is positioning itself as a vanguard defending a persecuted Sunni community

     

     

     

     

     

    French interior minister Manuel Valls leaves the Elysee Palace following the weekly cabinet meeting in Paris, Wednesday Sept. 25, 2013. The French government has declared the economic crisis over and is promising that its budget for next year will bring growth and jobs, but experts are criticizing the proposal from all sides and a true rebound looks way off.

    updated 3:57 AM EDT, Mon August 25, 2014 (CNN) — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday presented President Francois Hollande with the resignation of the current government, the French presidency said. Hollandeasked Valls to form a new
    photo: AP / Remy de la Mauviniere

    Aircraft - Malaysia Airline - Airplane

    Malaysian Airline System Bhd. (MAS) is considering job cuts, a review of aircraft orders and replacing its chief executive officer after the national carrier suffered two disasters this year, people familiar with the plan said. The airline’s parent,
    photo: WN / Dominic Canoy

    Damage to the U.S. Post Office building in Napa, California.

    Andrew Brooks (C), associate winemaker of Bouchaine Vineyards, surveys fallen wine barrels after a 6.0 earthquake in Napa, CaliforniaAugust 24, 2014. NAPA Calif. (Reuters) – A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked wine country north of San
    photo: Creative Commons / Matthew Keys

    Malaysia Airlines booth at the 18th PTAA Travel and Tour Expo 2011 at SMX Mall of Asia, as seen in this February 20, 2011 photo.

    Perth, Australia, resident Laura Bushney, 26, reported her allegations to French police when the plane touched down in Paris on August 4. But she says the the airline itself tried to stifle her charges, even though she recorded parts of the alleged
    photo: WN / RTayco

     A 43 year old Congolese patient, center, who has been confirmed to have Ebola hemorrhagic fever, following laboratory tests, is comforted by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) nurse Isabel Grovas, left, and Doctor Hilde Declerck, right, i

    The first British citizen confirmed to be infected with the deadly Ebola disease was being evacuated from Sierra Leone on a jet sent by theRoyal Air Force, a Sierra Leone official said yesterday. The World HealthOrganisation was also considering
    photo: AP/WHO, Christopher Black, HO

    Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., emerges after a unanimous vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving him to become America's next top diplomat, replacing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

     
    Curtis was handed over to UN peacekeepers in the village of Al Rafid, Quneitra in the Golan Heights and after undergoing a medical checkup was turned over to US representatives A young American who has been held hostage for two years by an Islamic
    photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

    Dr. James LeDuc with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is silhouetted in front of a screen showing a map of Ebola outbreak areas in Africa at the start of the 49th Annual Conference for the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Sunday, Oct. 29, 2000, in Houston

    KINSHASA, Congo – Two Ebola-related deaths have been confirmed in Congo, the country’s health minister said Sunday, though local officials believe the cases are unrelated to the outbreak in West Africa that has killed more than 1,400
    photo: AP / Pat Sullivan
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