WorldNow_Header_topline63011.gifheader11.gifwebworldnow11-bannerworld (1)

 

 

‘DIRECT INVASION’

 

 

 

 

 

 

McDonald's in Moscow

21 August 2014, 11:19 Russia Denies Sanctions Revenge On McDonald’s Tweet Russia’s food safety agency has denied it has closed fourMcDonald’s restaurants in Moscow as an act of revenge for US sanctions. Rospotrebnadzor insisted there was no
photo: Creative Commons / Zac allan

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

Share Watch more news videos | Latest from the US CopyPolice in St. Louis released video showing officers shooting and killing a man – a shooting that occurred only 10 days after an officer in nearby
photo: AP / Matt Rourke

The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic is opening up, with ozone depletion rates that are unprecedented for this time of year, the U.N. weather agency said Friday, Sept. 8, 2000.

The world agreed to stop using CC14 as part of the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol, which attained universal ratification in 2009. A chemical used in dry cleaning and fire extinguishers may have been
photo: AP / NASA

Spotted seal - Phoca largha (Ark Animal Photo) KLeo

The long-held idea that Europeans were the first to bring tuberculosis to the Americas when they arrived in the 15th Century has been thrown into doubt. Instead, a study suggests that the deadly disease was present in the area hundreds of years
photo: Ark Animal Photo

Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) presidential candidate Marina Silva attends a Mass for late presidential candidate Eduardo Campos at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. Campos was aboard a small private jet that crashed on Wednesday, Aug. 13 into a residential area in the southeastern port city of Santos. He had been running third in polls, and was replaced by environmentalist Marina Silva.

Environmental activist Marina Silva has unexpectedly found herself centre stage in Brazil‘s presidential election campaign, following the death in a plane crash of Eduardo Campos, the candidate for the Brazilian Socialist Party(PSB). But Ms
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

President Barack Obama talks about health care reform as he announces his nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, not pictured, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 13, 2009

Washington, Aug 20 (EFE). — President Barack Obama spoke out on Wednesday about the videotaped beheading by the Islamic militant groupISIL of a U.S. journalist, describing the murder as “an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

In this Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 file citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, rebels from al-Qaida affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra waving their brigade flag as they step on the top of a Syrian air force helicopter, at Taftanaz air base that was captured by the rebels, in Idlib province, northern Syria.

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait detained a prominent Sunni Muslim cleric at the Gulf state‘s airport on Wednesday after the United Statesincluded him on a sanctions list on suspicion that he is funneling money to militants in Iraq and Syria, a security
photo: AP / Edlib News Network ENN, File

 

 

ISIS releases video of beheaded American journalist

20 Aug 2014

 

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, better known as ISIS, an Islamic terrorist group released a video on Tuesday showing a man,they claim is a missing Americanjournalist’s beheading at the hands of a member of the terrorist group. ISIS leaders said the purpose for releasing the horrific video is to send a message to the… 
FILE - In this May 27, 2011 file photo, American journalist James Foley, of Rochester, N.H., who was last seen on Nov. 22 2012 in northwest Syria, poses for a photo in Boston. Foley's family plans to mark his 40th birthday with a plea for his safe return. His parents, John and Diane Foley, will lead a prayer vigil Friday evening, Oct. 17, 2013 at a church in Rochester.

 

 

 

 

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

JERUSALEM (AP) — When Israel completes its damage assessment from its latest war with Hamas, it may conclude that one of the biggest casualties was its all-important relationship with the United States. A recentAmerican decision to hold back on the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip have fired rockets at Israelfor a second day after fighting resumed with the collapse of truce talks and anIsraeli air strike that killed three people in Gaza. Claiming that Israel had “opened a gateway to hell”,
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

A sign for Wall St. is shown outside the New York Stock Exchange

(Close): Apple shares surged to an all-time high on Tuesday helping to drive shares on Wall Street higher for a second consecutive day. Shares in the tech giant closed up 1.4% at $100.53,
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

Southern California wildfire burns out of control

KERNVILLE, Calif. (AP) — An out-of-control wildfire inSouthern California’s Kern County has scorched about 5 square miles of dry brush and prompted evacuations in several neighborhoods. U.S. Forest Servicespokeswoman Cindy Thill said early Tuesday
photo: US DoD / Jason Kriess

US ship neutralizes chemical weapons

In this file image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, members of a chemical weapons investigation team take samples from the ground in the Damascus countryside of Zamalka, Syria.

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio meets Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

Travel deals BUENOS AIRESArgentina – Three relatives ofPope Francis died in a car crash Tuesday along a provincial highway in Argentina, the Vatican and local highway police said. Police Superintendent Jorge Raineri said the small car
photo: Creative Commons

8th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly. Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations onferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields; and Follow -up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit: draft resolution  Statement by His Excellency Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist republic of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka will deny visas to UN investigators looking into allegations of war crimes during the civil war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said. The United Nations Human Rights
photo: UN / Aliza Eliazarov

 

 

 

 

MYSTERY: Unknown Bombers Hit Libyan Capital

Libya

 

 

 

 

 

Gaza Strip cease-fire extended 24 hours

19 Aug 2014

 

More talks planned between Israel, Hamas aimed at ending war MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH Associated Press Comments A Palestinian man stands near the rubble of the house of Hussam Kawasma, one of three Palestinians identified by Israel as suspects in the killing of three Israeli teenagers, after it was demolished by theIsraeli army in the West Bank city of… 

Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip.

 

 

 

UN sends aid to half a million fleeing violence in Iraq

Full ArticleKhaleej Times 

19 Aug 2014

 

The initial aid shipments will contain 3,300 tents and 20,000 plastic sheets for shelter, 18,500 kitchen sets and 16,500 jerry cans. The United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday it was launching a major aid operation to get supplies to more than half a million people displaced by fighting in northern Iraq.… 

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

 

 

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff walks to a podium, to speak on the death of presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, at the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. Campos died Wednesday when the small plane that was carrying him and several campaign officials plunged into a residential neighborhood in the port city of Santos, a City Hall official there said.

Brasilia, Brazil – Environmentalist Marina Silva could unseat incumbent Dilma Rousseff in Brazil‘s October presidential vote, a poll found on Monday, a stunning political twist after Silva‘s running mate was killed in a plane crash. Silva, a
photo: AP / Eraldo Peres

President Barack Obama speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. Taking a two-day break from summer vacation, President Barack Obama met with top advisers at the White House Monday to review developments in Iraq and in racially charged Ferguson, Missouri, two trouble spots where Obama has ordered his administration to intervene.

Related Articles National Guard troops ordered intoFerguson: a sign of riots crisis 18 Aug 2014 Ferguson riots left a ‘deep wound’ acrossAmerica 17 Aug 2014 Violence returns to Ferguson as autopsy shows Michael Brownshot at least six
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

Palestinian supporters of the Islamist Hamas during a demonstration in support of the Hamas delegates who are due to take part in the talks that resumed in Cairo on August 17, 2014 in Rafah in southern Gaza Strip.

 
A senior Israeli official has told Sky News an agreement has not been reached with Hamas on a possible extension of an existing five-day ceasefire in Gaza. It comes amid Palestinian media reports that a new ceasefire deal has been drawn up between a
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

A man is detained after a standoff between protesters and police Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, during a protest for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. Brown's shooting has sparked more than a week of protests, riots and looting in the St. Louis suburb.

The Times of India

 

FERGUSON: US National Guard troops deployed in a suburbanMissouri town on Monday as authorities struggled to contain week-old protests triggered when a police officer shot dead an unarmed black teenager. State governor Jay Nixon lifted an overnight
photo: AP / Charlie Riedel

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addresses a meeting via videolink from Ecuador's London embassy during the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

 
Today, after two years of self-imposed imprisonment, he met with the press to announce that he will be leaving the embassy soon, but – “…but perhaps not for the reasons that Murdoch press and Sky news are saying at the
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, chats with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as they are to open the Cebit tech fair in Hanover, northern Germany, Monday, Feb 28, 2011.

MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) – The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned Monday the German ambassador in Ankara to express concern over recent reports of German intelligence agencies eavesdropping on talks between officials from the United
photo: AP / Ronny Hartmann

Roger Federer, from Switzerland, celebrates after defeating David Ferrer

 
Roger Federer won an unprecedented sixth championship inCincinnati, overcoming one bad set. Serena Williams dominated for her first title.Federer extended his record of finals perfection in Cincinnati, beating David Ferrer6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the
photo: AP / Al Behrman

 

‘Israel must end collective punishment of Gaza’s people,’ pleads UN commissioner Pierre Krähenbühl

18 Aug 2014

 

The United Nations‘ top humanitarian official in the Middle East has issued an impassioned appeal for a new deal for Gaza to end the “collective punishment” of its 1.8 million inhabitants imposed by Israel‘s seven-year blockade of the territory. As Egyptian mediators prepared to renew efforts today to persuade Israel and Hamas to agree a durable… 
Palestinians flee their houses following an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assange talks of leaving embassy, sowing confusion

18 Aug 2014

 

LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sowed confusion Monday with an announcement that appeared to indicate he was leaving his embassy bolt hole, but his spokesman later clarified that that would not happen unless the impasse over his extradition were resolved. Assange made the cryptic comments during a press conference at the Ecuadorean… 

ARCHIV: Der Gruender der Internet-Plattform WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, lehnt waehrend seines Hausarrests an der geoeffneten Haustuer in Bungay, England (Foto vom 15.06.11). Showdown im Konflikt um Wikileaks-Gruender Julien Assange zwischen Ecuador und Grossbritannien: Der ecuadorianische Aussenminister Ricardo Patino kuendigte an, sein Land werde am Donnerstag (16.08.12) ueber den Asylantrag Assanges entscheiden, der sich seit dem 19. Juni in der Botschaft des suedamerikanischen Landes aufhaelt. Die britische Regierung stellte klar, dass sie an der Auslieferung Assanges an Schweden festhaelt, wo er zu Vergewaltigungsvorwuerfen befragt werden soll. (zu dapd-Text) Foto: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/dapd

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kurdish forces ‘take control’ of Iraq’s Mosul dam

18 Aug 2014

 

Kurdish forces have taken control of most of Iraq’s largest dam after battlingIslamic State fighters in nearby villages, reversing some of gains made by the insurgents in the north with US military support. The forces, also known as the peshmerga, will have full control of the Mosul Dam in “just a matter of time,” said Fuad Hussein,… 
A Kurdish peshmerga fighter prepares his weapon at his combat position near the Mosul Dam at the town of Chamibarakat outside Mosul, Iraq, Sunday, Aug 17, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Guinea bears brunt of West Africa Ebola havoc

18 Aug 2014

 

After seven years of hard work and conscientious saving, Issouf Balde was about to realise his life-long dream of fulfilling one of the five pillars of Islam by travelling to the holy land of Mecca for the Islamic pilgrimage, but the Ebola virus dashed his hopes. “My travel agent returned my money for the trip, saying that the embassy ofSaudi… 

Guinea Police secure the area around a man who collapsed in a puddle of water on the street, and people would not approach him as they fear he may be suffering from the Ebola virus in the city of Conakry, Guinea, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014.

 

 

 

Simulated view of a black hole in front of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The ratio between the black hole Schwarzschild radius and the observer distance to it is 1:9.

 
An image of the galaxy Messier 82 compiling data fromNASA‘s Chandra X-Ray ObservatoryHubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. The intermediate-mass black hole M82 X-1 is the brightest object in the inset, at about 2 o’clock near the

n this photo taken Friday, Nov. 22, 2012, Miles Lappeman, owner of Finfoot Lake Reserve near Tantanana, South Africa, and his son Marc, right, walk past the carcass of a rhino. South Africa says at least 588 rhinos have been killed by poachers this year alone, 8 rhinos at the Finfoot Lake Reserve, the worst recorded year in decades. The number has soared as buyers in Asia pay the U.S. street value of cocaine for rhino horn, a material they believe, wrongly, medical experts say, cures diseases.

Poachers have hunted South Africa’s rhinos nearly to extinction—but conservationists have a bold new plan to evacuate the animals to safer ground. South Africa is the most dangerous place in the world to be a rhinoceros. Targeted for their horns,
photo: AP / Denis Farrell

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, northern Mali, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

 
updated 8:44 PM EDT, Sat August 16, 2014 A video of Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be the leader of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, is shown on September 25, 2013. Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group waging a campaign of
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

Nanjing Olympic Sports Center

NANJING China (Reuters) – The second Youth Olympicsopened in a wet Nanjing on Saturday with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach encouraging the teenage athletes to have fun and embrace social media. “You are here
photo: Creative Commons / Huang Sir

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri after shooting of michael brown

FERGUSON, Mo. — Anger spurred by the death of a black teenager at the hands of a white police officer boiled over again when protesters stormed into a Missouri convenience store — the same store that Michael Brownwas accused of robbing. Police and
photo: Creative Commons / Loavesofbread

Marina Silva with Eduardo Campos

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Brazilian Socialist Party is likely to announce environmentalist Marina Silva as its presidential candidate next week, replacing party leader Eduardo Campos who was killed in a plane clash, three leading local newspapers
photo: Creative Commons / José Cruz/ABr

Gravesend is in North Kent, England on the River Thames. Port of London Authority Tugs attending to the berthing of Polstream Panamax coal carrier, Arnia Krajowa, at Tilbury Power Station, the opposite side of the river.Clearly seen are the two coal handling machines, that unload coal from the holds on to a conveyor belt system to the coal store.

VOA News British police say one man has died and at least 19 people have been hospitalized after they were found inside a shipping container at a port east of London.
photo: Creative Commons / ClemRutter

 

 

 

 

 

Jihadis accused of new massacres in Iraq and Syria

17 Aug 2014

 

Islamic State (IS) militants have been accused of massacring hundreds of people in areas under their control in northern Iraq and eastern Syria. At least 80 members of the Yazidi religious minority are believed to have been killed with women and children abducted in a village in Iraq. IS is also accused of killing 700 tribesmen opposing them in… 
Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a new camp outside the old camp of Bajid Kandala at Feeshkhabour town near the Syria-Iraq border, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. Islamic State fighters view them as apostates and have vowed to kill any who did not convert to Islam.

 

 

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, northern Mali, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013.

updated 8:44 PM EDT, Sat August 16, 2014 A video of Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be the leader of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, is shown on September 25, 2013. Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group waging a campaign of
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

Nanjing Olympic Sports Center

NANJING China (Reuters) – The second Youth Olympicsopened in a wet Nanjing on Saturday with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach encouraging the teenage athletes to have fun and embrace social media. “You are here
photo: Creative Commons / Huang Sir

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri after shooting of michael brown

FERGUSON, Mo. — Anger spurred by the death of a black teenager at the hands of a white police officer boiled over again when protesters stormed into a Missouri convenience store — the same store that Michael Brownwas accused of robbing. Police and
photo: Creative Commons / Loavesofbread

Marina Silva with Eduardo Campos

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Brazilian Socialist Party is likely to announce environmentalist Marina Silva as its presidential candidate next week, replacing party leader Eduardo Campos who was killed in a plane clash, three leading local newspapers
photo: Creative Commons / José Cruz/ABr

Gravesend is in North Kent, England on the River Thames. Port of London Authority Tugs attending to the berthing of Polstream Panamax coal carrier, Arnia Krajowa, at Tilbury Power Station, the opposite side of the river.Clearly seen are the two coal handling machines, that unload coal from the holds on to a conveyor belt system to the coal store.

 
VOA News British police say one man has died and at least 19 people have been hospitalized after they were found inside a shipping container at a port east of London.
photo: Creative Commons / ClemRutter

  Traditionalists: Yazidi Kurds

IRBIL, Iraq — Airstrikes pounded the area around Iraq’s largest dam on Saturday in an effort to drive out militants who captured it earlier this month, as reports emerged of the massacre of some 80 members of the Yazidi religious minority by Islamic
photo: WN / Jamal Penjweny

 

 

 

Iraq crisis: Yazidi villagers ‘massacred’ by IS

16 Aug 2014

 

Militants in northern Iraq have massacred at least 80 men from the Yazidi faith in a village and abducted women and children, reports say. Islamic State (IS) fighters entered Kocho, 45km (30 miles) from Sinjar, on Friday afternoon, reportedly telling men to convert to Islam or die. The group’s atrocities against non-Sunni Muslims have shocked… 

Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather at a park near the Turkey-Iraq border at the Ibrahim al-Khalil crossing, as they try to cross to Turkey, in Zakho, 300 miles (475 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014.

 

 

 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, accompanied by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, talks about the START Treaty, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010.

Germany’s foreign intelligence service listened in on calls made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, his predecessor Hillary Clinton and for years monitored its NATO partner Turkey, the German magazine Der Spiegelreported on Saturday.
photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta

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

 
Bangui, Central African Republic – Suspected ex-rebels from the Central African Republic‘s Seleka movement massacred at least 34 people in several northern villages over the past three days, an officer in the Africanpeacekeeping force MISCA told AFP
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano, left, talks with reporters during a news briefing at the conclusion of his meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, right, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, 21, 2012.

MOSCOW, August 15 (RIA Novosti) — The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, will visit Iran on August 17 for meetings with Iranian
photo: AP / IRNA,Adel Pazzyar

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

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Suspected IslamistBoko Haram fighters have abducted dozens of boys and men in a raid on a remote village in northeast Nigeria, loading them onto trucks and driving them off, witnesses who fled the violence said
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Luis Suarez, of Uruguay, runs during a training session at the Sports Center FC Barcelona Joan Gamper in San Joan Despi, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014

 
Luis Suarez trained with his new Barcelona team-mates for the first time on Friday Barcelona striker Luis Suarez trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Friday morning after the Court of Arbitration for Sportrelaxed the
photo: AP / Emilio Morenatti

In this photo provide by MSF, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), taken on Friday, March 28, 2014, healthcare workers from the organisation, react, as they prepare isolation and treatment areas for their Ebola, hemorrhagic fever operations, in Gueckedou, Guinea.

By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea has declared a public health emergency over an Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 1,000people in three West African states and is sending health workers to all affected border points, a government
photo: AP / Kjell Gunnar Beraas, MSF

Flybe Embraer ERJ 145 (G-ERJA) lands at Birmingham International Airport, England.

 
LONDON (AP) — A British air accident report has recounted how a pilot briefly lost control of a passenger plane after his artificial arm became detached from the control yoke during landing. The report, published Thursday, said the
photo: Public Domain / Arpingstone

 

 

Space is the place to solve the riddle of life, maybe

15 Aug 2014

 

Understanding how life got started here on planet Earth may mean searching for its counterparts “out there” HOW did early Earth’s inert matter give rise to its teeming life today? That’s one of the biggest questions in science – and has long been one of the hardest to answer. We’ve known for 60 years that life’s most basic building blocks can form… 

Supernova SN 2014J Explodes: New data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has provided stringent constraints on the environment around one of the closest supernovas discovered in decades.

 

 

 

Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated – WHO

Full ArticleThe Irish Times 

15 Aug 2014

 

Staff with the World Health Organisation battling an Ebola outbreak in West Africasee evidence the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimates the scale of the outbreak, the UN agency said on its website yesterday. The death toll from the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola stood on Wednesday at 1,069 from 1,975 confirmed, probable and… 

Liberian policemen, right, dressed in riot gear disperse a crowd of people that blocked a main road after the body of someone suspected of dying from the Ebola virus was not removed by health workers in the city of Monrovia, Liberia. Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this photo provide by MSF, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), taken on Friday, March 28, 2014, healthcare workers from the organisation, react, as they prepare isolation and treatment areas for their Ebola, hemorrhagic fever operations, in Gueckedou, Guinea.

By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea has declared a public health emergency over an Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 1,000people in three West African states and is sending health workers to all affected border points, a government
photo: AP / Kjell Gunnar Beraas, MSF

Flybe Embraer ERJ 145 (G-ERJA) lands at Birmingham International Airport, England.

 
LONDON (AP) — A British air accident report has recounted how a pilot briefly lost control of a passenger plane after his artificial arm became detached from the control yoke during landing. The report, published Thursday, said the
photo: Public Domain / Arpingstone

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or Moment for Justice, party Chairman Imran Khan is seen on screen, as he addresses through a video link from his recovery bed, to an election campaign rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, May 9, 2013.

Thousands have gathered in the Pakistani city of Lahore as a key opposition rally got under way, demanding the government’s ouster over allegations of vote fraud. The demonstration is led by Imran Khan, famous cricketer-turned-politician who heads
photo: AP

An Egyptian woman covers her mouth from heavy smoke after supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi blocked a road by setting waste on fire in Matariya Square, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014

D. Parvaz is the special projects editor at Al Jazeera Englishonline. She was in Cairo in July and August 2013, and witnessed the violent dispersal of protesters at the Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in on August 14. Al Jazeera asked her to share her
photo: AP / Ahmed Abdel Fattah, El Shorouk Newspaper)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Drop-in at the Accountability Commission for Women’s and Children’s Health first meeting, co-chaired by PM Harper of Canada and President Kikwete of Tanzania.    Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization and Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, Vice.  Chairs, were also resent.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Drop-in at the Accountability Commission for Women’s and Children’s Health first meeting, co-chaired by PM Harper of Canada and President Kikwete of Tanzania.    Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization and Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, Vice.  Chairs, were also resent. Press briefing with the Vice Chairs

United Nations, August 14: With more than one million people affected by the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the WHO has warned that there is “no early end in sight” to the severe health crisis and called for “extraordinary measures” to stop
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

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

MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev‘s Twitter account has been hacked, and the words on his resignation were fake, the Russian government press service said Thursday. “The (latest) tweets are not
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service

Trees are reflected on a board displaying photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the country's successful long range rocket launch outside North Korean embassy in Beijing Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013.

 
North Korea has launched several missiles into the sea to coincide with a visit by Pope Francis to the South. Three rockets were fired as the pope’s plane approached Seoul – and there were reports of a further three, shortly after he touched
photo: AP / Andy Wong

Pope Francis Welcomed by South Korean Leaders, North Korean Rockets

14 Aug 2014

 

VOA News Pope Francis received a warm welcome from South Korean PresidentPark Geun-hye on Thursday as he began a five-day visit to the country. During his trip, Francis will participate in a Catholic youth festival and a mass for peace and reconciliation on the divided and tense Korean peninsula. In… 

Pope Francis Welcomed by South Korean Leaders, North Korean Rockets
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

 

 

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Drop-in at the Accountability Commission for Women’s and Children’s Health first meeting, co-chaired by PM Harper of Canada and President Kikwete of Tanzania.    Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization and Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, Vice.  Chairs, were also resent.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Drop-in at the Accountability Commission for Women’s and Children’s Health first meeting, co-chaired by PM Harper of Canada and President Kikwete of Tanzania.    Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization and Dr Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, Vice.  Chairs, were also resent. Press briefing with the Vice Chairs

United Nations, August 14: With more than one million people affected by the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the WHO has warned that there is “no early end in sight” to the severe health crisis and called for “extraordinary measures” to stop
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

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

 
Cairo/Jerusalem, August 13: Palestinian militants launched more rockets into Israel prompting the Israelis to resume their strikes on Gaza Stripmoments after the Egypt brokered five-day truce began between the two sides Thursday. The new ceasefire
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Saudi Arabia has handed over a check for $100 mln to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help finance the UN's center to combat global terrorism.

Saudi Arabia has handed over a check for $100 mln to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help finance the UN’s center to combat global terrorism. The UN chief welcomed the gift at a ceremony in his office and said the recent upsurge in terrorism in a
photo: AP / Evan Schneider

Arecibo Observatory

This image is one of several radar views of the asteroid 1950DA as observed on March 4, 2001 by astronomers using the Arecibo Observatory inPuerto Rico. A new study of asteroid 1950 DA released Aug. 13, 2014 finds that the space rock is actually a
photo: Public Domain / File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske)

Eduardo Campos in Brasilia in 2010

Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday, local television channel GloboNews reported, throwing the country’s October election into disarray and knocking local financial markets lower. Campos’ private
photo: Creative Commons / Renato Araújo

Tiefencastel derailment

 
Three train cars derailed and 11 people were injured on Wednesday (local time) after a Swiss mountain train ran into a landslide in the Alps. One carriage slid off the tracks onto a steep slope and was halted by trees. The accident
photo: Creative Commons / Leyo

Headquarters of the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland.

WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – A developing U.S. cyber security program would not only hunt down and halt potential computer attacks but also strike back without staff oversight, according to former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, Edward
photo: Creative Commons

Military sends more advisers, but still no boots for Iraq

Full ArticleCanberra Times 

13 Aug 2014

 

Survival assured?: Yazidi Iraqi refugees are safe for now, according to GeneralMartin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of StaffPhotoNew York TimesWashingtonThe US military has sent 130 additional advisers to northern Iraq to plan for the evacuation of refugees under siege by Islamist militants, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel… 
US military sends more advisers, but still no boots for Iraq

 

 

Isis terror will affect everyone

Full ArticleBelfast Telegraph 

13 Aug 2014

 

Bloodthirsty Islamic State militants threaten Iraqi civilians with genocide. But the country’s barbaric civil war could also have effects on the West – with dire consequences for all of us, writes Patrick CockburnIraq has disintegrated. Little is exchanged between its three great communities – ShiaSunni and Kurd – except gunfire. The outside… 

A follower of the ancient Yazidi religion prays at the holy Lalish temple in the Mountains of Shikhan near Dahuk, 260 miles (430 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. US President Barack Obama has authorized airstrikes to protect U.S. interests and personnel in the region.

Ukraine denounces Russian ‘cynicism’ as aid convoy nears border

13 Aug 2014

 

Related Articles Hapless victims of the West’s waiting game 13 Aug 2014 Russia andUkraine set for tense stand off over ‘aid’ convoy 12 Aug 2014 Ukraine bans Russia aid convoy amid ‘Trojan Horse‘ fears 12 Aug 2014 Russia sends 280 aid lorries to Ukraine 12 Aug 2014 “The level of Russian cynicism knows no bounds,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the… 
A convoy of white trucks carrying humanitarian aid passes along the main road M4 (Don highway) Voronezh region, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.

France to supply arms to Iraqi Kurds

Full ArticleThe Siasat Daily 

13 Aug 2014

 

Paris, August 13: French President Francois Hollande has announced that Francewould supply arms to Iraq‘s Kurdish forces to fight Islamic State (IS) militants who have overrun the country’s northern areas and triggered a security crisis, media reports said Wednesday. The move is “in response to the urgent need expressed by the regional authorities… 

Mourners and Sunni gunmen chant slogans against Iraq's Shiite-led government during the funeral of a man killed when clashes erupted between al-Qaida gunmen and Iraqi army soldiers on Friday, his family said, in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014.
photo: AP

Fire rises during an explosion following an Israeli strike on the border tunnels between Egypt and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 20, 2012. In a backdrop of airstrikes and mounting casualties, American efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the latest Gaza fighting between Israel and Hamas continues. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Officers were attempting to diffuse ordnance as it exploded leaving at least five dead, including AP journalist Simone Camilli Associated Pressjournalist Simone Camilli on a balcony in Gaza City, during Israeli air strikes.Photograph: Lefteris
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

This afternoon, President Obama issued a statement on the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was fatally shot on Saturday by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri: The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, andMichelle and I send our deepest
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Migrants rest inside a sports center after they were rescued by the sea rescue service at the Strait of Gibraltar near the coast of Tarifa

MADRID (AP) — Some 700 migrants stormed border fences to try to enter Spain‘s northwest African enclave city of Melilla from Morocco on Tuesday while the sea rescue service said it had picked up another 700 seeking to enter the
photo: AP / Marcos Moreno

In this Jan. 9, 2010 file photo, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks at a parade marking Police Day in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi lawmakers are working furiously to end the country's eight-month political deadlock with reports that a deal may be near to return Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to office.

White rhino female with a young at Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

Endangered: There may be as few as 8400 white rhino left inSouth Africa’s Kruger National ParkPhotoDuan Biggs Pretoria: South Africaplans to evacuate hundreds of rhino from the famed Kruger National Park to safe havens out of horn
photo: Creative Commons / Joonasl

Police wearing riot gear point their weapons at a car as it pulls away after tear gas was used by authorities Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo

Share Watch more news videos | Latest from the US CopyOfficers in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters inFerguson, Mo., renewing tensions after the Saturday police shooting death of unarmed Michael Brown, 18. Ferguson
photo: AP / Jeff Roberson

A man sits under a banner with the photo of Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as he drinks his tea at the " Al Mosheer Cafe" or "Marshal Cafe" in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2014.

VOA News Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi should be investigated for possible human rights violations in connection with the killing of hundreds of protesters last year in Cairo. In a new report Tuesday, the
photo: AP / Mohammed

Ethical to use untested Ebola drugs, says WHO

Full ArticleBBC News 

12 Aug 2014

 

Untested drugs can be used to treat patients infected with the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization says. The WHO said it was ethical in light of the scale of the outbreak and high number of deaths – over 1,000 people have died in west Africa..The statement was made after its medical experts met in Switzerland on Monday to discuss the issue.… 
FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2014 file 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. A spokeswoman for a Madrid hospital says a Spanish missionary priest who was evacuated from Liberia last week after testing positive for Ebola has died, Tuesday Aug. 12, 2014 in the Carlos III hospital where he was being treated.

 

 

 

 

 

Robin Williams: his hyped-up humor, energy forever silenced

12 Aug 2014
Tom Long Detroit News Film Critic Comments Williams (Kevin Winter / Getty Imagesfor TV Land) What to say when the funny man laughs no more? That comedy truly is tragedy turned on its head, and sometimes a smile cracks under the weight? That wit so fast and fearless flirts with danger? That the secrets spoken aloud on stage, the inner demons

Robin Williams in 2008
photo: Public Domain / High Contrast

 Academy Award winner Robin Williams arrives at the 76th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 29, 2004.

Robin Williams, the versatile actor whose madcap comic style made him one of television and film’s biggest stars, was found dead late yesterday from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern California. He was 63. The comedian’s appeal stretched
photo: AMPAS

Willis Island is an island in an external territory of Australia, located beyond the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea some 420 km east of Cairns, Queensland. It is the southernmost of a group of three islands, which with their associated sandy cays stretch in a NNE to SSW line for about 12 km. Willis Island itself is aligned NW to SE and is about 500 m long by 150 m wide, 7.7 ha in area, rising to just under 10 m above sea level. It is the only permanently inhabited island in Australia's Coral Sea Islands Territory.

Great Barrier Reef PhotoLeigh Henningham Climate changeis the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, according to a major new report. Warmer ocean currents are also likely to remain a threat to the Queenslandcoral ecosystem
photo: Public Domain / Kahnx

Kinder Morgan, Inc. Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder, left, and his wife Nancy

 
New York • The group of oil and gas pipeline and storage companies controlled by Kinder Morgan but traded separately will combine and become the 4th biggest U.S. energy company by market value. The companies announced Sunday that Kinder Morgan Inc.,
photo: AP / David J. Phillip

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2013 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, right, attend a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York. The five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany meet Iran in Geneva on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 to try to reduce concerns that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons while satisfying Iran’s demands to recognize its right to peaceful nuclear activities.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani offered his harshest criticism yet Monday of hard-liners opposed to making a deal over its contested nuclear program with world powers, saying they should go “to hell.” Iran reached a
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow, File

 U.S. soldiers assigned to the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team enter a clinic in Arghandab District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, during a civilian medical assistance mission, Sept. 15, 2004. The team is providing humanitarian aid and support

KABUL, AfghanistanThe U.S. failed to properly investigate civilian killings, including possible war crimes, which occurred during its military operations in Afghanistan, the international rights group Amnesty Internationalsaid Monday. NATO said it
photo: U.S. Army

File - The MV Mavi Marmara aid-carrying ship pulling out of dock en route for Gaza.

 
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish aid group said on Monday it would send ships again to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, four years afterIsraeli commandos stormed its flotilla bound for the Palestinian territory and killed 10 people. The
photo: Free Gaza movement

GSK GlaxoSmithKline office in Makati City, Philippines

MOSCOW (August 11) RIA Novosti – An Ebola vaccine co-developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and US scientists has shown promising results on animals and is to enter the first stage of testing on humans if approved by USFood and Drug
photo: WN / RTayco

Iraq’s highest court paves way for Maliki to serve third term

Full ArticleYahoo Daily News 

11 Aug 2014

 

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq‘s highest court ruled on Monday that Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki‘s… 

raq's highest court paves way for Maliki to serve third term

 

 

Central African Republic's interim President Catherine Samba-Panza sits in the parliament building before taking the oath of office in Bangui, Central African Republic, Thursday Jan. 23, 2014. Samba-Panza pledged to bring peace and unity to the anarchic country as looters in the streets pillaged Muslim neighborhoods in the latest sign of escalating sectarian tensions.

 
VOA News The Central African Republic has its first Muslim prime minister. Mahamat Kamoun, a former special adviser to interim PresidentCatherine Samba-Panza, will lead a transitional government that is seeking to implement a cease-fire
photo: AP / Jerome Delay

Arsenal, red tops, and Manchester City observe a minute's silence for the late Wales manager Gary Speed who died at the weekend, before the English League Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011.

Arsenal, who went nine years without a trophy before winning the FA Cup in May, collected their second piece of silverware in three months when they crushed champions Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shieldat Wembley. Arsenal thoroughly deserved
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

New French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron shake hands in Washington, Friday, May, 18. 2012

 
US jets attacked jihadists who have besieged civilians on an Iraqi mountain for a week, as France and Britain yesterday joined a desperate race to save the stranded people from starvation. Two days after Washington deployed its air force over Iraq to
photo: AP / Christophe Ena

Track map of Hurricane Bertha of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm.

 Articles Here’s BerthaStorm set to travel across UK 09 Aug 2014 Homes evacuated and motorists strand

ISREAL
 Palestinians inspect the burned out shell of a car destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza. WN/Ahmed Deeb

TEL AVIV, August 10 (RIA Novosti) – Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu refused to return the country’s delegation to Cairo for Gazatalks on Sunday unless the Palestinian militants stop the shelling of the country’s territory. “Israel will not
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

full moon at night - nature

A girl releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009

VOA News In Japan, tens of thousands of people turned out on Saturday to mark the 69th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. Thousands of aging survivors, government officials and others attended a ceremony in the city’s
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

MASSACRE IN IRAQ

Iraq Reports 500 Yazidis Killed, 300 Women Enslaved By Islamic State Militants..‘Women And Children Were Buried Alive’.. Thousands Of Iraqi Minorities Flee..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passenger plane crashes in Iran, almost 50 dead

Full ArticleThe Hindu 

10 Aug 2014

 

A civilian airliner crashed on take-off in a residential area near Tehran’s Mehrabadairport today, Iranian news agencies said, with reports that almost 50 people were killed. The plane… 

A crane lifts part of a destroyed passenger plane near the capital Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014.

Track map of Hurricane Bertha of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm.

Related Articles Here’s BerthaStorm set to travel across UK 09 Aug 2014 Homes evacuated and motorists stranded after flash flooding 09 Aug 2014 Hawaii is hit by wind and rain in first wave of rare double hurricane 08 Aug 2014 The yellow warning
photo: Public Domain

 Palestinians inspect the burned out shell of a car destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza. WN/Ahmed Deeb

TEL AVIV, August 10 (RIA Novosti) – Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu refused to return the country’s delegation to Cairo for Gazatalks on Sunday unless the Palestinian militants stop the shelling of the country’s territory. “Israel will not
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

full moon at night - nature

 
No doubt by now you’ve likely heard about the excitement concerning what supposedly will loom large in our sky on Sunday night. It’s the “Super Moon!” Well … maybe not quite. I really don’t want to be the wet blanket at your
photo: WN / Aruna Mirasdar

A girl releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009

VOA News In Japan, tens of thousands of people turned out on Saturday to mark the 69th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. Thousands of aging survivors, government officials and others attended a ceremony in the city’s
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

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

A typhoon is lashing Japan as the country heads into a holiday week, causing authorities to order the evacuation of half a million people living near swollen rivers and cancelling hundreds of flights. Typhoon Halong also disrupted land traffic
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

The body of Palestinian man, at the mortuary of a hospital in Rafah in preparation for a funeral service for victims of Israeli bombardment on July 18, 2014 in the southern Gaza Strip city.

 
Related Articles Violence continues in Gaza as White Housecondemns renewed rocket fire 08 Aug 2014 Gaza violence resumes as 10 year-old killed amid collapse of ceasefire talks 08 Aug 2014 Gaza 360: panorama shows devastated neighbourhood 08 Aug 2014
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s administrative court dissolved Saturday the political party of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets liquidated, the state news agency reported. The decision against the Freedom and Justice Party comes
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

Sinister Edge To Israel’s Divisions Over Gaza

Full ArticleSkynews 

09 Aug 2014

 

Five years ago I covered Operation Cast Lead, the precursor to Israel‘s recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza. This week I went back for the latest sequel and its aftermath. Some things were different, but depressingly despite the passage of the time, many things were the same. This time the Israelis allowed the world’s media into Gaza, rather… 

Palestinian relatives mourn during the funeral of fifteen members of the Abu zeid, Duheir and al-Hashash families, killed in an Israeli air strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on July 29, 2014.

 

 

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

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt‘s administrative court dissolved Saturday the political party of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and ordered its assets liquidated, the state news agency reported. The decision against the Freedom and Justice Party comes
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

President Barack Obama holds a National Security Council meeting in the Situation Room of the White House, April 5, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama said, “if necessary” he will continue airstrikes to combat “terrorists” affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or ISIL) in his weekly address, which was released on Saturday. However, Obama also
photo: White House / Pete Souza

The logo of Google, seen on the front door of the new Google Engineering center in Zurich, Switzerland, in this March 6, 2008 file phot

SAN FRANCISCO: A federal judge has decided a $324.5 million settlement isn’t enough to cover the damages done to more than 60,000 high-tech workers in a class-action lawsuit alleging Google and Apple conspired with other technology companies to block
photo: AP / Keystone, Walter Bier, file

Trader Albert Young works from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, April 27, 2010, in New York

New York A burst of buying Friday in U.S. stocks defied slumps in other markets and offered hope for investors shaken by geopolitical turmoil. Major U.S. stock indexes closed up around 1 percent, buoyed by signs that tensions in Ukraine might be
photo: AP / Richard Drew

US Navy 050114-N-6817C-092 The aftermath of the Dec. 26 tsunami which destroyed Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia

An Indonesian couple reunited with their daughter a decade after she was swept away by the 2004 tsunami said on Friday they were now hopeful of finding their son, who also went missing in the disaster. Raudhatul Jannah, then aged four, and her
photo: Public Domain / BotMultichillT

Gaza conflict: talks continue in Cairo as rockets fly in both directions

Five Palestinians have been killed since the 72-hour ceasefire ended on Friday morning Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City.Photograph: Majdi Fathi/ Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Corbis Talks are continuing inCairo in a desperate bid to
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Ivory Coast's captain Didier Drogba, left, and Gervinho celebrate after Drogba scored against Equatorial Guinea in their African Cup of Nations quarter-final match at Malabo Stadium in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.

Didier Drogba has announced his retirement from international football. The Chelsea striker scored 65 goals in 104 appearances forIvory Coast over a 12-year period. He played in three
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

Gaza rockets hit southern Israel as truce unravels

Full ArticleThe Hindu 

08 Aug 2014

 

Two rockets fired by Gaza militants slammed into southern Israel before dawn today, as a 72-hour truce appeared to be reaching an end. And two senior Hamas officials said the Palestinian militant movement would not extend a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza that expires at 0500 GMT today, accusing Israel of rejecting their demands for a truce. A leader of… 

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

 

 

 

 

Ebola Outbreak Is A Public Health Emergency

Full ArticleHuffington Post 

08 Aug 2014

 

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization on Friday declared the Ebolaoutbreak in West Africa to be an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary response to stop its spread. The WHO announced the Ebola outbreak — the largest and longest in history — is worrying enough to merit being declared an international health… 

A Liberian soldiers stops people at a security checkpoint setup to lamp down on people traveling due to the Ebola virus, on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.

 

Indian Passengers cross the ghatal  moira pukur more   in a flooded stretch of a highway, as a truck is struck on the edge of it, near Ghatal, some 95 kms south of Kolkata. Floods caused by a dam water release at a upper point and continuous heavy rains which have hit the region in the past three days, affected thousands of villagers in the eastern Indian State of West Bengal on Thursday 22 August 2013

BHUBANESWAR: The floods triggered by heavy rains in the past week have affected nearly 1.8 million people in Odisha with the death toll rising to 35, an official said on Thursday. Eight more deaths were reported from 24 of the state’s 30 districts,

A Palestinian militants members of the military Hamas wing Izz Al Dine Al Qassam Brigades, as they march during a rally marking the 13th anniversary of the so-called Al-Aqsa uprising or 'Second Intifada'

VOA News The Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip says it will not extend a 72-hour cease-fire with Israel, which is set to expire early Friday. Shortly before the truce formally ended at 8:00 a.m. local time, senior Hamas officials said
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

File - Residents at the camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the United Nations Mission for South Sudan (UNMISS) Malakal Base in the Upper Nile State wait in line at the base's health facility, 27 January 2014.

Civilians subject to ‘extraordinary acts of cruelty’, including gang rape and ethnically motivated murder, says Human Rights Watch Direconditions at a UN camp for internally displaced people in Malakal. The conflict has displaced about 1.5 million
photo: UN / Isaac Billy

The Google logo is seen at the Google headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday March 23, 2010.

Related media Travel deals SAN FRANCISCO – Google is wielding the power of its dominant Internet search to push more websites into protecting the people using their services. The move announced late Wednesday involves a change in Google’s closely
photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius speaks to reporters after a meeting on the Ukraine crisis with Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers, Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at the Quai d' Orsay in Paris.

PARIS (AP) — France says it has asked the U.N. Security Council for an emergency meeting over the advances of Islamic militants in Iraq. France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said
photo: AP / Kevin Lamarque

Chinese faithful worship at the northern cathedral of the National Patriotic Church in Beijing, China Saturday June 30, 2007. China's government-backed Catholic church had no immediate plans to read out or otherwise distribute a letter from the Pope to the country's faithful, an official said Saturday. Pope Benedict XVI's letter, addressed to bishops, priests and lay faithful in China, is to be released at noon Saturday (1000 GMT)

China says it may try to create a theology based onChristianity – that integrates the religion with Chinese culture and is compatible with the country’s socialist beliefs, it’s been reported. Wang Zuoan, a senior official for
photo: AP / Elizabeth Dalziel

Triceratops skeleton  at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

Scientists have identified a new species of dinosaur, with the help of its 200-million-year-old fossilised bones. The species has been named Laquintasaura Venezuela, after its remains were discovered dinosaur in the La Quinta Formation in Venezuela.
photo: Creative Commons / FunkMonk

Cambodia tribunal convicts Khmer Rouge leaders

07 Aug 2014

 

Click photo to enlarge Cambodian former Khmer Rouge servitors, Soum Rithy, left, and Chum Mey, right, embrace each other after the verdicts were announced, at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thurdday, Aug. 7, 2014. Three and a half decades after the genocidal rule of Cambodia‘s Khmer Rouge ended, the tribunal on… 

 Khieu Samphan, left, and Nuon Chea, right, attend the funeral for the former wife of Pol Pot, the la

 

 

 

Pistorius accused of lying in court

Full ArticleBelfast Telegraph 

07 Aug 2014

 

Oscar Pistorius was an “appalling witness” who repeatedly lied in his testimony in a crude attempt to defend himself against a murder charge over killing his girlfriend, the chief prosecutor at his trial has said. During closing arguments, Gerrie Nel also harshly criticised the legal team of the double-amputee, saying it floated more than one… 

Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
photo: AP

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Nuon Chea, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, sits in the court room of a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. Three and a half decades after the genocidal rule of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge ended, the tribunal on Thursday sentenced Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, two top leaders of the former regime, to life in prison for crimes against humanity during the country's 1970s terror period that left close to 2 million people dead.

August 2014 Last updated at 02:01 BST A verdict is due in the first trial of the last two surviving leaders of Cambodia‘s Khmer Rouge regime.Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, and Nuon Chea, leader Pol Pot‘s deputy, have been on trial for
photo: AP / Mark Peters

Air India plane at Pune Airport - India

 
An Air India flight has been grounded after rats were reportedly spotted scurrying about the aircraft. Crew members noticed the “scores” of rodents as flight
photo: WN / Geeta

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. Israeli aircraft bombed three Gaza tunnels, killing two Palestinians and wounding a third, Hamas security officials said Sunday.

The Israeli Prime Minister has defended the actions of Israel’s armed forces in the recent war in the Gaza Strip, blaming the heavy civilian casualties on Hamas. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s intense bombardment ofGaza was a necessary response to
photo: AP / Menahem Kahana, Pool

Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko

(ImageESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA) “Rosetta is the sexiest space mission that has ever been,” said European Space Agency mission scientist Matt Taylor. He was speaking as the Rosetta probe finally arrived
photo: Creative Commons / ESO

 A veiled schoolgirl hides her face from a photographer before entering the Montgrand high school in Marseille, southern France, Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 on their first school day. France´s new law banning Islamic head scarves in schools apparently pas

Some of the European women already in the ranks of theIslamic State are trying to lure their ‘sisters’ to the marriage beds of the caliphate’s holy warriors. BEIRUTLebanon — The self-proclaimed Islamic State, formerly known by the acronym ISIS, is
photo: AP Photo

Starbucks building, New York.

As city rents skyrocket and small businesses close to be replaced by chain cafes and glass condos, Jeremiah Moss’s blog, Vanishing New York, keeps a rueful eye on the ‘progress.’ When I tell Jeremiah Moss—whose name turns out to be a pseudonym—that I
photo: WN / Periasamy

David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland addresses the general debate of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the suspension of arms export licences to Israel, adding to the pressure David Cameron is facing over Gaza. It comes after Baroness Warsi resigned as a Foreign Office minister, arguingDowning Street‘s
photo: UN / Marco Castro

 

 

Three Years later, Japan Finally Tells The Truth: More Fuel Melted At Fukushima

After years of obfuscation and, simply put, lies; TEPCO has admitted in a new report that more nuclear fuel had melted at the Fukushima nuclear reactor than previously stated. While this is dreadful news, it gets worse, as the report further confirms that despite Abe’s promises and TEPCO’s state-funded efforts to build ice-walls, it may miss an important deadline binding it to clean radioactive water stored inside the Fukushima nuclear plant. Bloomberg reports officials commenting “we are doing everything we can do,” but it appears, that is not enough as tens of thousands of tons of toxic water are expected to remain at the site by the imposed deadline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poland’s ‘war on terror’ shame

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

06 Aug 2014

 

On July 24, European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Poland has to pay 230,000 euros ($307,366) compensation to two individuals whose human rights had been violated. Guantanamo detainees Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn (also known as Abu Zubaydah), and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri won a case against Poland, which, according to the… 

A villager talks with a journalist outside the only general store, left, in Stare Kiejkuty, the village near to the military base that hosts Poland's intelligence services' school, Friday, Dec. 16, 2005. The installation has become the focal point of allegations of secret CIA prisons in Poland.

 

David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland addresses the general debate of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the suspension of arms export licences to Israel, adding to the pressure David Cameron is facing over Gaza. It comes after Baroness Warsi resigned as a Foreign Office minister, arguingDowning Street‘s
photo: UN / Marco Castro

This is the hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, West Africa, where the Ebola virus samples are tested

Two American aid workers were gravely ill, fighting to survive infection with the deadly Ebola virus. A San Diego drug company had three doses of an experimental Ebola medicine that showed promise in monkeys but had never been tested in humans.
photo: Creative Commons / Leasmhar

As Israel and Hamas claim victory, Gaza residents ask what was gained

 
In the wake of any ugly conflict, the question of who won can seem beside the point. Still, as fighting in the Gaza Strip gave way to a truce on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas both were quick to claim victory. And it was left to those who took the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Members of the Coalition Joint Task Forces conduct a convoy from Kandahar Airfield to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, May 14, 2003. A military vehicle travels a rough portion of the road to Kabul. The purpose of the convoy is to gather information to h

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An American major general was shot to death Tuesday in one of the bloodiest insider attacks of the longAfghanistan war when a gunman dressed as an Afghan soldier turned on allied troops, wounding about 15 including a German
photo: DOD Collections Photo

Fara, Orkney

Orkney, North West – An aftershock hit the township of Khuma, near Orkney in the North West on Tuesday evening, which was the epicentre of an earlier 5.5 magnitude earthquake. People gathered outside one of the houses that was destroyed during the
photo: Creative Commons / MacRusgail

Palestinian Hamas militants patrol on the main road in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 17, 2011, as Palestinians prepare for the first stage of an unprecedented prisoner release and exchange deal under which Israel has agreed to free 1,027 Palestinian detainees in return for an Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured in 2006. Israelis and Palestinians were waiting with bated breath for the planned release on October 18 of a first tranche of 477 Palestinian prisoners in return for an end to the more than five year captivity of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Photo by Ahmed Deeb/wn

Related Articles Baroness Warsi resigns from Governmentover Gaza 05 Aug 2014 Gaza grandmother found dead in bombarded farming town 04 Aug 2014 Bomb Gaza: the ‘disgusting’ games on Google‘s app store 04 Aug 2014 Hamas video of Ghoul sniper with ‘2km
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Japan defence paper warns over China's 'dangerous acts' in sea

TOKYOJapan warned on Tuesday that China’s “dangerous acts” over territorial claims in the East China Sea could lead to “unintended consequences” in the region, as fears grow of a potential military clash. The annual defence white paper was adopted

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in $108m bid to end bribery trial

05 Aug 2014

 

BERNIE Ecclestone hopes to walk from court a free man tonight (AEST) after negotiating a $US100 million ($108m) payment to settle the criminal bribery case against him. The Formula One chief will hear tonight whether Bavarian judges have accepted the deal he negotiated with prosecutors for the biggest personal financial settlement in German legal… 

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, right, talks to his lawyer Sven Thomas after he arrived for his trial in the regional court in Munich, southern Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. Ecclestone is charged with bribery and incitement to breach of trust "in an especially grave case" over a US $44 million payment to a German banker, that prosecutors allege was meant to facilitate the sale of the Formula One Group to a buyer of Ecclestone's liking.

Israel pulls troops out of Gaza as 72-hour truce begins

Full ArticleSun Sentinel 

05 Aug 2014

 

GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM— Israel pulled its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and started a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step toward negotiations on a more enduring end to the month-old war. Minutesbefore the truce began, Hamas launched a salvo of rockets, calling them revenge for Israel’s “massacres.”

An Israeli soldier directs a tank, maneuvering near the border between Israel and Egypt, Monday, June 18, 2012.

Palestinian Hamas militants patrol on the main road in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 17, 2011, as Palestinians prepare for the first stage of an unprecedented prisoner release and exchange deal under which Israel has agreed to free 1,027 Palestinian detainees in return for an Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured in 2006. Israelis and Palestinians were waiting with bated breath for the planned release on October 18 of a first tranche of 477 Palestinian prisoners in return for an end to the more than five year captivity of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Photo by Ahmed Deeb/wn

Related Articles Baroness Warsi resigns from Governmentover Gaza 05 Aug 2014 Gaza grandmother found dead in bombarded farming town 04 Aug 2014 Bomb Gaza: the ‘disgusting’ games on Google‘s app store 04 Aug 2014 Hamas video of Ghoul sniper with ‘2km
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Japan defence paper warns over China's 'dangerous acts' in sea

TOKYOJapan warned on Tuesday that China’s “dangerous acts” over territorial claims in the East China Sea could lead to “unintended consequences” in the region, as fears grow of a potential military clash. The annual defence white paper was adopted
photo: Creative Commons

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, addresses the Secretary-General’s High-Level Forum on the Millennium Development Goals

The World Bank has announced that it is allocating $200m in emergency assistance to help West African countries contain the Ebola outbreak. The money will be distributed to the governments of LiberiaSierra Leone andGuinea as well as to the World
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Grand Canyon, Arizona. View from Moran Point at the south rim, looking north, with Juniperus osteosperma tree at left. USA

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) ? Authorities are looking into a viralInternet video that shows a man kicking a squirrel off what appears to be the edge of the Grand Canyon. But park officials say the chances of finding the man are slim. “Right now they are
photo: Creative Commons / Andreas F. Borchert

An apple seller walks past graffiti saying "cash," decorated with change and small-value Nigerian naira notes, in Lagos, Nigeria  Thursday, March 26, 2009.

 
Nigeria has confirmed the country’s second case of Ebola in a doctor who treated a Liberian man who died of the virus last month in Lagos. This comes as a South Korean university rescinded an invitation for three Nigerians to attend a conference and
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba
Specialist Michael Sollitto, right, directs trades at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, July 28, 2010

 
Berkshire Hathaway shares up after results * Michael Korsshares reverse premarket move, fall 5.5 pct * Diamond Offshore weighs on Loews earnings * Indexes: Dow flat, S&P up 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 0.3 pct (Updates prices, adds comment) By Rodrigo
photo: AP / Richard Drew

A woman leaves a center to scan residents, who have been within 20 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant damaged by Friday's earthquake, carrying a metal heat blanket in the rain Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Very heavy rain is expected to fall in western Japan, mainly on the island of Shikoku, until Tuesday noon, the Japan Meteorological Agencysaid. A man drowned in a raging river while more than half a million people were advised to evacuate over the
photo: AP / Gregory Bull

Israel Is Minting the Next Generation of Hate

The children of Gaza still have dreams for their future. Who do they admire? Anyone who might protect them: a doctor, a journalist, the fighters from Hamas.



center;”>

Israel Reportedly Spied On Kerry Talks

Israeli intelligence reportedly listened in on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s telephone calls during Middle East peace negotiations last year. Der Spiegel quotes “a reliable source” saying Israel eavesdropped on conversations made on telephones that were not encrypted. It reports that at least one other foreign intelligence service listened on Kerry’s talks, as well, but did not specify which. Neither the U.S. nor Israel has commented. At the same time, documents newly released by Edward Snowden show that the NSA works closely with its Israeli counterpart SIGINT National Unit and provides surveillance assistance to monitor and target Palestinians, as do British and Jordanian agencies.

 

 

 

 

 

Strong earthquake kills 367 in China

Full ArticleLongview News Journal 

04 Aug 2014

 

BEIJING (AP) — A strong earthquake in southern China’s Yunnan province toppled thousands of homes on Sunday, killing at least 367 people and injuring more than 1,800. About 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian, a densely populated county located around 366 kilometers (277 miles) northeast of Yunnan’s capital, Kunming, China’s official Xinhua News… 

File photo: In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a local resident clears the debris of his house following a strong earthquake in China.

A woman leaves a center to scan residents, who have been within 20 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant damaged by Friday's earthquake, carrying a metal heat blanket in the rain Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Very heavy rain is expected to fall in western Japan, mainly on the island of Shikoku, until Tuesday noon, the Japan Meteorological Agencysaid. A man drowned in a raging river while more than half a million people were advised to evacuate over the
photo: AP / Gregory Bull

Ukrainian border guards have a break in their training at a military camp in the village of Alekseyevka on the Ukrainian-Russian border, eastern Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2014.

MOSCOW (AP) â?? More than 400 Ukrainian soldiers have crossed the border into Russia and deserted the Kiev government, news agency Interfax quoted a border security official as saying Monday. Ukraine confirmed the crossing but said the soldiers were
photo: AP / Sergei Grits

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands amid a news conference in Jerusalem on December 5, 2013.

Documents published Monday by The Intercept revealed the “far-reaching” extent of the U.S. National Security Agency‘s collaboration withIsraeli intelligence services. The revelations came as the U.S. State Departmentcriticized Israel for its
photo: US DoS

Facebook privacy settings are shown in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009

OSCAR Aguilar was a man who loved to impress with his selfies, but when he decided to pose with a handgun it resulted in his death. Aguilar, 21, a veterinarian from Mexico City has a
photo: AP / Russel A. Daniels

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks in Las Vegas. Just as President Barack Obama is pushing new initiatives on gun control and immigration, the gloomy old problem of a sluggish economy is shoving its way back into prominence. That could imperil his focus on other issues, just as he is shaping a second-term agenda.

 
WASHINGTON — A senior White House adviser says President Barack Obama will make a decision by the end of the summer on how to use his authority to address immigrants living illegally in the
photo: AP / Isaac Brekken

Chinese paramilitary policemen carry an injured victim evacuated from an earthquake hit Zhaotong town, Yiliang County, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012.

 
A strong earthquake in southern China’s Yunnan provincetoppled thousands of homes on Sunday, killing at least 367 people and injuring more than 1,800. About 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian, a densely populated county located around 366 kilometers
photo: AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014 file picture, a gunman holds a rocket-propelled grenade during clashes with Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, Iraq. 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 against Shiite-dominated governments across Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

MOSCOW, August 3 (RIA Novosti) – The Islamic State militants have seized control of Iraq’s biggest dam, an oilfield and three more towns in the country’s north on Sunday, Reuters has reported, citing witnesses. Concerns grow that
photo: AP

 

A general view shows collapsed houses after an earthquake hit Ludian county.

At least 150 people have been killed and more than 1,400 injured by an earthquake in southwest China.

Some 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian, a densely populated county in Yunnan province, according to the Xinhua news agency. 

 

 

 

 This Stunning Map Holds The Key To Fighting Climate Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

Civilians die in latest Ukraine offensive

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

03 Aug 2014

 

Nine civilians have been killed in new fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists around the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk in east Ukraine, local officials say. Six people were killed in shelling and gunfire on the outskirts of Donetsk, Deputy Mayor Kostantyn Savinov said on Sunday, while city officials said three others were… 

Pro-Russian rebels shoot in the air as they celebrate Paratroopers' Day in the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014.

Chinese workers assemble vehicles on a production line at the Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd in Guangzhou, China's Guangdong province Wednesday, Nov. 1 2006.

The BBC has reported that the factory, which employs 450 workers, belongs to the Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Company, has contracts with large automobile manufacturers like General Motors. In a workshop where wheel hubs are polished, 264 workers

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

VOA News Libya‘s newly-elected parliament held its first meeting Saturday in the eastern city of Tobruk, as fighting between armed factions continued in Benghazi and the Libyan capital, Tripoli. More than 150 members of parliament gathered for

Nagorno-Karabakh soldiers return to their positions during military exercises outside Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, Wednesday, April 19, 2006.

BAKU, Azerbaijan — A sharp escalation in fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has left 15 soldiers dead and prompted Russia to issue an urgent call for calm. Azerbaijan’sDefense Ministry said
photo: AP / Karen Minasian

A worker for the Afghan election commission office unloads ballot boxes in Herat Province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 20, 2014.

A recount of votes in the Afghan election has been suspended again, despite being scheduled to restart on Saturday after the Muslim Eid holiday. The breakdown came despite late night phone talks between US Secretary of StateJohn Kerry and candidates
photo: AP / Hoshang Hashimi

Palestinian mourners gather around the bodies of fifteen members of the Abu zeid, Duheir and al-Hashash families, killed in an Israeli air strike, Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza Strip.

A day after they were to begin a cease-fire, Israel and Hamas are still firing at one another, in a conflict that has killed at least 1,650 Gazans, 63Israeli soldiers and 3 Israeli civilians, according to tallies from the respective sides. Those
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Izz al-Din al-Qassam militants mark a driving parade to mark the anniversary of a battle against Israel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 14, 2013. Many had weapons including sniper rifles and AK47s.Thousands of Hamas al-Qassam men stage a military parade in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in a massive show of force marking the anniversary of an eight-day battle against Israel last year.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Israel launched dozens of airstrikes early Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip as part of a large-scale search for a soldier Israel suspects was captured by Hamas fighters. At least 35 Palestinians were killed in the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni signs a new anti-gay bill that sets harsh penalties for homosexual sex, in Entebbe, Uganda Monday, Feb. 24, 2014.

NAIROBI, Kenya — A Ugandan court on Friday struck down a punitive anti-gay law that has strained Uganda’s relations with the West, but the court ruled on narrow technical grounds, preserving the possibility that the measure could be revived. In front..

 

 

Nasa’s new plan: To make O2 on Mars

02 Aug 2014

 

MUMBAI: With eye on human occupation of MarsNasa on Thursday unveiled a selection of seven instruments which will be on board the Mars 2020 rover to conduct unprecedented science and exploration technology investigations. One of the instrument includes the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an..
Artist’s concept of rover spelling out the word "Mars" with its wheel tracks.

 

 

 

 

Izz al-Din al-Qassam militants mark a driving parade to mark the anniversary of a battle against Israel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 14, 2013. Many had weapons including sniper rifles and AK47s.Thousands of Hamas al-Qassam men stage a military parade in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in a massive show of force marking the anniversary of an eight-day battle against Israel last year.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Israel launched dozens of airstrikes early Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip as part of a large-scale search for a soldier Israel suspects was captured by Hamas fighters. At least 35 Palestinians were killed in the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Woody Allen seen at the Magic In The Moonlight screening, on Saturday, July 19, 2014 in Chicago.

Woody Allen has been through a lot during his career. Now new accusations are out saying that he will not cast black actors in his movies. On Thursday, The Wrap shared about this news and how Woody Allen is responding to these new
photo: AP / Barry Brecheisen

Militants with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) take part in a military training session, May 19, 2011, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis.(Photo By ahmed Deeb/wn)

GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Palestinian officials say 17Palestinians, including 10 members of one family, were killed in
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Full Moon

It might look like a perfect sphere to you and I but scientists have now declared that the Moon is most definitely “lemon-shaped”. Researchers from the University of California published a new study in the journal Nature using advanced laser
photo: Creative Commons / ComputerHotline

Octopus vulgaris

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If someone were to create an award for “mother of the year” in the animal kingdom, a remarkably dedicated eight-limbed mom from the dark and frigid depths of the Pacific Oceanmight be a strong

Dr. David Mcray, left, listens to a question during a news conference with Dr. Jason Brewington, center, and Dr. Darrin D'Agostino about fellow doctor Kent Brantly Monday, July 28, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Medical personnel demonstrate protective equipment to educate team members on the Ebola virus in LiberiaPhoto: Reuters Washington:The US Peace Corps announced on Wednesday it
photo: AP / LM Otero

A Palestinian relatives carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli air strike, during his funeral, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

The Scottish Government is to provide £500,000 of aid funding to help the people of GazaExternal affairs minister Humza Yousaf said the money would go towards providing water, food, shelter and medical assistance, .

TRUCE BLOWN APART

 

 

 

 

Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone and Liberia announce state of emergency

Full ArticleThe Independent 

01 Aug 2014

 

The Ebola virus outbreak has led both Sierra Leone and Liberia to declare states of public emergency, meaning the army can now move in to enforce quarantine zones. It is a major escalation of both governments’ responses to the disease, which has killed more than 670 people across four West African countries since February. The measures in Sierra… 

File - A 43 year old Congolese patient, right, 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, not pictured, in Kampungu, Kasai Occidental province, Congo, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007.

Militants with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) take part in a military training session, May 19, 2011, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis.(Photo By ahmed Deeb/wn)

GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Palestinian officials say 17Palestinians, including 10 members of one family, were killed in
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Full Moon

It might look like a perfect sphere to you and I but scientists have now declared that the Moon is most definitely “lemon-shaped”. Researchers from the University of California published a new study in the journal Nature using advanced laser
photo: Creative Commons / ComputerHotline

Octopus vulgaris

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If someone were to create an award for “mother of the year” in the animal kingdom, a remarkably dedicated eight-limbed mom from the dark and frigid depths of the Pacific Oceanmight be a strong
photo: GFDL / Albert kok

Dr. David Mcray, left, listens to a question during a news conference with Dr. Jason Brewington, center, and Dr. Darrin D'Agostino about fellow doctor Kent Brantly Monday, July 28, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Medical personnel demonstrate protective equipment to educate team members on the Ebola virus in LiberiaPhoto: Reuters Washington:The US Peace Corps announced on Wednesday it
photo: AP / LM Otero

A Palestinian relatives carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli air strike, during his funeral, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

The Scottish Government is to provide £500,000 of aid funding to help the people of GazaExternal affairs minister Humza Yousaf said the money would go towards providing water, food, shelter and medical assistance, .
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, left, and her son and party leader Rahul Gandhi leave after a Congress Working Committee meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Sunday, May 17, 2009

NEW DELHIEstranged Gandhi family loyalist Natwar Singhclaimed it was Rahul Gandhi‘s ultimatum to “do anything” that prevented Soniafrom taking up the post of prime minister in 2004, contradicting the Congresschief’s 2004 claim that she was
photo: AP

Khieu Samphan, left, and Nuon Chea, right, attend the funeral for the former wife of Pol Pot, the late Khmer Rouge leader who died in 1998 in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin, northwestern Cambodia, in this July 3, 2003, file photo.

PHNOM PENHCambodia (AP) — A United Nations-assisted tribunal on Wednesday cleared the way to begin the genocide trial of two elderly former top leaders of Cambodia’s 1970s Khmer Rouge regime. Survivors of the communist regime’s reign of terror,
photo: AP / Andy Eames

 

People of Gaza ‘desperate’ as Israel pledges ‘to destroy’ tunnels

Full ArticleBBC News 

31 Jul 2014

 

31 July 2014 Last updated at 11:55 BST Israel will not stop its operation in Gaza until all the tunnels constructed by Hamas have been destroyed, PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said Israel was determined to destroy the tunnels – used to attack troops and towns – “with or without a ceasefire”. Meanwhile the… 

An Israeli army officer gives journalists a tour, Friday, July 25, 2014, of a tunnel allegedly used by Palestinian militants for cross-border attacks, at the Israel-Gaza Border.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. David Mcray, left, listens to a question during a news conference with Dr. Jason Brewington, center, and Dr. Darrin D'Agostino about fellow doctor Kent Brantly Monday, July 28, 2014, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Medical personnel demonstrate protective equipment to educate team members on the Ebola virus in LiberiaPhoto: Reuters Washington:The US Peace Corps announced on Wednesday it
photo: AP / LM Otero

A Palestinian relatives carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli air strike, during his funeral, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

The Scottish Government is to provide £500,000 of aid funding to help the people of GazaExternal affairs minister Humza Yousaf said the money would go towards providing water, food, shelter and medical assistance, .
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, left, and her son and party leader Rahul Gandhi leave after a Congress Working Committee meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Times of India

NEW DELHIEstranged Gandhi family loyalist Natwar Singhclaimed it was Rahul Gandhi‘s ultimatum to “do anything” that prevented Soniafrom taking up the post of prime minister in 2004, contradicting the Congresschief’s 2004 claim that she was

photo: AP

Khieu Samphan, left, and Nuon Chea, right, attend the funeral for the former wife of Pol Pot, the late Khmer Rouge leader who died in 1998 in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin, northwestern Cambodia, in this July 3, 2003, file photo.

PHNOM PENHCambodia (AP) — A United Nations-assisted tribunal on Wednesday cleared the way to begin the genocide trial of two elderly former top leaders of Cambodia’s 1970s Khmer Rouge regime. Survivors of the communist regime’s reign of terror,
photo: AP / Andy Eames

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.

BEIJING: A clash in Xinjianghome to China’s mostly MuslimUighur minority, left nearly 100 people dead or wounded, an exile group said on Wednesday after what authorities called a “terror attack” on a police station and township. Dozens of
photo: AP / Andy Wong

French President Francois Hollande, left, delivers a welcoming speech to former hostages Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, center, and his brother Cyril Moulin-Fournier, second from right,at their arrival from Yaounde, Cameroon, at Orly airport outside Paris, Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Al-Qaeda is increasingly funding terror operations thanks to at least $125 million in ransom paid since 2008, largely by European governments to free western hostages, the New York Times reported. The payments totalled $66 million in 2013 alone,
photo: AP / Thomas Samson

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Hamas militant.

Wednesday, 30 July 2014, 3:57 pm Press Release:Unconditional Gaza ceasefire needed now The Israeli response in Gaza is disproportionate and with the firing of tanks and mortars into civilian areas, increasingly indiscriminate, says Labour’s Foreign
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Ukrainian ‘seizes Avdiivka’ in rebel Donetsk stronghold

Full ArticleBBC News 

30 Jul 2014

 

Ukraine says it has seized a key town near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, as fighting intensifies in the east. Pro-Russia separatists were driven out of Avdiivka on Wednesday, the army says. The strategic town is near the airport and train station in Donetsk. Heavy fighting around Donetsk has prevented international experts from reaching the… 

Ukrainian soldiers patrol on a checkpoint outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Thursday, May 29, 2014. Rebels in eastern Ukraine shot down a government military helicopter Thursday amid heavy fighting around the eastern city of Slovyansk, killing 14 soldiers including a general, Ukraine's leader said.

 

 

 

 

Hamas rules out rapid Gaza truce as Israel steps up bombardment

30 Jul 2014

 

JERUSALEM: Hamas’ military chief ruled out a truce in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday until the Islamist group’s demands for an end to the economic embargo of the territory are met. Meanwhile, the Israeli army stepped up its bombardment. Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, can withstand the Israeli offensive, its leaderMohammed… 

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

 

 

 

 

 

150 Feared Trapped In Landslide In India Village

30 Jul 2014

 

Map locating Malin village in India‘s western Maharashtra state A major landslide on Wednesday struck a village in western India following heavy monsoon rains, leaving 150 people feared trapped, a rescue official said. The landslide submerged Malin village in Pune district of Maharashtra state, said Alok Avasthy, regional commandant at the National… 

150 Feared Trapped In Landslide In India Village

 

 

 

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Hamas militant.

Wednesday, 30 July 2014, 3:57 pm Press Release:Unconditional Gaza ceasefire needed now The Israeli response in Gaza is disproportionate and with the firing of tanks and mortars into civilian areas, increasingly indiscriminate, says Labour’s Foreign
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Israel knocks out Gaza’s only power station

Related articles Israel bombs home of Hamas political leaderNEWS ANALYSIS: Pressure to extend Gaza truce past Eid Gaza fighting flares, Netanyahu and UN chief spar on truce terms GAZA/JERUSALEM — Israel knocked out Gaza’s only power plant, flattened

President Barack Obama arrives at a rally for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Thursday, July 16, 2009, in Holmdel, N.J.

In an escalation of tensions, the administration of US President Barack Obama accused Russia of conducting tests in violation of a 1987nuclear missile treaty, calling the breach “a very serious matter” and going public with allegations that have
photo: AP / Haraz N. Ghanbari

US paratroopers in Afghanistan hope to give Taliban a few final blows

SHINKAI, Afghanistan — It was a homecoming of sorts for Lt. Col. Paul Larson, returning to this remote corner of southern Afghanistan at the twilight of America’s longest war. He was back to take stock of a slice of the battlefield that seemed
photo: USMC / Frances Johnson

Ma Nature lends a hand; rain helping crews hem in Utah wildfires

A series of rain showers, coupled with a fleet of water-bearing helicopters and 500 firefighters on the ground, had crews anticipating full containment of central Utah’s stubborn Levan Wildfire by week’s end. FireInformation Officer Dorothy Harvey
photo: US DoD / Jason van Mourik

File - In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013, fighters from a Christian militia movement known as the "anti-balaka" display their makeshift weaponry in the village of Boubou, halfway between the towns of Bossangoa and Bouca, in the Central African Republic.

NDASSIMA Central African Republic (Reuters) – Three young rebels, their AK47s propped against wooden stools in the afternoon heat, guard the entrance to the giant Ndassima goldmine carved deep into a forested hilltop in Central African Republic. Sat
photo: AP / Florence Richard

UN chief reinforces call for Gaza ceasefire

AP: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reinforced the Security Council‘s call for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire in theGaza war yesterday and demanded that Israel and Hamas end the violence “in the name of humanity”. The United
photo: UN / /Eskinder Debebe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russia Hopes Its Experts Will Take Part in MH-17 Crash Investigation – Russia’s UN Envoy

Full ArticleNovosti 

29 Jul 2014

 

UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia hopes that its experts’ participation in the MH-17 crash investigation in the east of Ukraine will ensure its integrity,Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on Monday.… 

Russia Hopes Its Experts Will Take Part in MH-17 Crash Investigation – Russia’s UN Envoy

 

 

UN chief reinforces call for Gaza ceasefire

AP: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reinforced the Security Council‘s call for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire in theGaza war yesterday and demanded that Israel and Hamas end the violence “in the name of humanity”. The United
photo: UN / /Eskinder Debebe

Ceasefire considered ‘a test Kerry could not possibly pass’

Business Day

Related articles Kerry presses for Gaza ceasefire as death toll passes 800 IT TOOK US Secretary of State John Kerry five days in the Middle East to negotiate a 12-hour pause in the bloody fighting between Hamas and Israel. Prospects for extending

Condemn airline attack

The shooting down of the Malaysia Airliner MH17 shows the world the devastating carnage when civilian airplanes used for commercial flights are targeted in the war games between governments.
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

	Deadly blasts in Israel and Gaza threaten fragile truce

The war in Gaza threatened to erupt again on Monday following a lull in fighting after several children and adults were killed when missiles struck a refugee camp and the compound of Gaza’s biggest public hospital, and four Israelis died in a mortar
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

Israel-Gaza conflict: nine children perish in park massacre

A strike on a Gaza park has killed 10 people, nearly all of them children, as the death toll from the fighting rose on both sides. RelatedArticles The Israeli military said nine soldiers died in separate attacks – four were killed in a mortar attack
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Britain cuts EU migrants' access to welfare

British Prime Minister David Cameron has set out new welfare rules to cut European migrants’ access to social security payments, marking the latest in a string of British measures aimed at addressing voters’ concerns over immigration. Writing in The
photo: European Community / EC

Human rights groups urge Abbas to seek redress at International Criminal Court

With more than 1,030 people now dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has been urged by human rights organisations to urgently seek access to the (ICC) – so that it can pursue allegations of war crimes and crimes against
photo: UN / Violaine Martin

Ukraine forces battle for MH17 crash site

Full ArticleAl Jazeera

28 Jul 2014

 

Ukrainian armed forces have mounted a major onslaught against pro-Russian separatist fighters in an attempt to gain control over the area where a Malaysia Airlines plane was downed earlier this month. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Sunday that a column of Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers, trucks and tanks had entered the… 

Soldiers of the Ukrainian Army sit atop combat vehicles as they are blocked by people on their way to the town of Kramatorsk on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

 

 

People buy ice cream at a McDonald's, American fast food restaurant, in Beijing Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. Foreign investment in China fell again in September and a government spokesman said Friday it was too early to forecast a recovery in trade. The decline in foreign direct investment added to mixed signals about the health of China's economy following Thursday's report that growth slowed to 7.4 percent in the latest quarter. Retail sales and factory output improved, prompting suggestions a recovery might be taking shape.

McDonald’s on the mainland has stopped using products from all Husi food plants since last Friday, the company said in a statement released this afternoon. “We have noted the public’s concerns regarding our use of Husi’s products … McDonald’s has
photo: AP / Andy Wong
28 July 2014, 5:12 UN Calls For ‘Unconditional‘ Gaza CeasefireTweet The United Nations Security Council is calling for “an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza during an emergency session. The council is set to release a
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Australia gives $4.7 million for Gaza relief

The Australian government is providing five millionAustralian dollars (4.7 million $) in urgent humanitarian assistance to GazaForeign Minister Julie Bishop
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

U.S. faces intelligence hurdles in Malaysia airlines flight crash

ASPENColo. (AP) — A series of unanswered questions about the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shows the limits of U.S. intelligence gathering even when it is intensely focused, as it has been in Ukraine since Russiaseized Crimea in March.
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

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

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Embassy in strife-torn Libya was evacuated early Saturday, under cover of American warplanes and spy aircraft, according to the State Department and the PentagonPersonnel from the embassy were evacuated as security
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

 

Gaza militants fire rockets after Israel extends truce

27 Jul 2014
 Palestinian children amid the destruction left in the wake of an Israeli raid on Gaza. WN/Ahmed Deeb

 

 

 

U.S. faces intelligence hurdles in Malaysia airlines flight crash

ASPENColo. (AP) — A series of unanswered questions about the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shows the limits of U.S. intelligence gathering even when it is intensely focused, as it has been in Ukraine since Russiaseized Crimea in March.
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

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

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Embassy in strife-torn Libya was evacuated early Saturday, under cover of American warplanes and spy aircraft, according to the State Department and the PentagonPersonnel from the embassy were evacuated as security
photo: AP / Evan Vucci

Palestinians gather around the bodies of five members of the Abu Daqqa family, who were killed following an Israeli air strike on their home, during their funeral in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The number of Palestinians on the Gaza Strip who are slain in the fighting between Hamas and Israel has risen to over 1,000 people. VimeoPhoto: A Palestinian man reacts as he lies on the remains of
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Ramzan Kadyrov recently named as acting president of the war-battered republic of Chechnya by President Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting in Grozny, Monday, Feb. 19. 2007, with Chechen, left, and Russian flags in the foreground. Widely feared Ramzan Kadyrov is the son of the late Akhmad Kadyrov, who became Chechen president in 2003 in a Kremlin-conducted election aimed at undermining the separatist rebel movement and who was assassinated seven months later.

• Chechen president cites US and EU ‘state terrorism’ • Three EU leaders also barred from entry The Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov, meets the actor Gérard Depardieu in Grozny last year but Barack Obama is not welcome.Photograph: Stringer/Reuters
photo: AP / Musa Sadulayev

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, center, arrives for a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday March 26, 2010

The European Union has extended sanctions against seniorRussian officials in the wake of the shooting down of the Air Malaysia flight last week. Two hundred and ninety-eight people died when the plane came down inUkraine on July 17th, 10 of whom
photo: AP / Virginia Mayo

EU to toughen Russia sanctions over Ukraine

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

26 Jul 2014

 

The European Union is set to adopt much tougher economic sanctions againstRussia for its role in the Ukraine crisis, officials said. After discussions on broadening the sanctions from the current mix of asset freezes and travel bans, the legal instruments required to give effect to the new punitive measures will be taken up on Tuesday, they said.… 

A police officer stands guard as a woman walks past pieces of the crashed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in the village of Petropavlivka, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine Friday, July 25, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Air Algerie crash wipes out entire families

26 Jul 2014

 

BAMAKO: All passengers and crew on board an Air Algerie jetliner that crashed inMali died in the tragedy, which completely wiped out several families, Franceannounced. As the first images emerged of the crash site, showing a charred landscape and debris scattered over a wide area, French President Francois Hollande said in a sombre televised… 

This photo provided Friday July 25, 2014 by the French army shows a helicopter at the site of the plane crash in Mali.

 

 

 

 

Secretary of State John Kerry, second left, is seated with Israel's Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni, second right, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, right, and Yitzhak Molcho, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, left, at an Iftar dinner, which celebrates Ramadan, at the State Department in Washington, marking the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Monday, July 29, 2013.

Israel is preparing to “broaden” its ground assault on Gazaafter reportedly rejecting an international plan for a temporary truce. US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was “confident progress can be made” on a seven-day truce that
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, smoke leaps the air from purported forces shelling in Homs, Syria.

Beirut – A Syrian Air Force strike on the border with Lebanonkilled around 20 Syrian rebel fighters on Friday, security sources said, in the latest spillover of violence into the area. The
photo: AP / Shaam News Network, SNN

File - House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio bangs the gavel after being re-elected as House Speaker of the 113th Congress, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has issued a ten-day ban against an anonymous editor of its website located on the premises of the U.S. Congress, after the latter engaged in “disruptive editing,” on a wide range of subjects, from
photo: AP / Susan Walsh

Relatives mourn during the funeral of nine members of the Siam family, who were killed in an Israeli air strike that destroyed their house, on July 21, 2014 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 25 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed regional proxies to nail down a Gaza ceasefire on Friday as the civilian death toll soared, threatening to spread Israeli-Palestinian
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Arseniy Yatsenyuk, center, announces a break in the parliamentary session as deputies of Prime Minister Tymoshenko's party block the rostrum in protest in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko set a Dec. 7 date for new parliamentary elections Thursday after dissolving the legislature following failed efforts to replace his shattered pro-Western coal

KIEVUkraine — Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a pro-Western technocrat who has guided the Ukrainian government through the tumultuous months since the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, resigned abruptly yesterday after the governing
photo: AP / Sergei Chuzavkov

Mcdonald's in Xizhi. Xizhi (Chinese: ???; pinyin: Xìzh? Q?) is an inner city district in New Taipei City in northern Republic of China (Taiwan).

Reuters Shanghai China’s food regulator has visited close to 600 restaurants, businesses and food distributors as it investigates a fast-spreading food safety scare that has dragged in a number of global brands and hit food outlets as far away
photo: Creative Commons / Solomon203

Newly elected President Fouad Massoum listens during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Kurdish politician Massoum was named Iraq’s new president on Thursday, Massoum, 76, one of the founders of President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, known as PUK, accepted the position after winning two-thirds of the votes, noting the “huge security, political and economic tasks" facing the government.

The UN chief met current Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and stressed the need for a broad-based government to be formed as soon as possible to save the country from collapse. Kurdish politician Fouad Massoum becameIraq’s new president on
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.: RUSSIA IS FIRING ON UKRAINE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Evidence Russia Targeting Ukrainian Military Positions, Planning To Deliver ‘More Powerful Multiple Rocket Launchers’ To Rebels.. Kiev: Preliminary Info Russia Shot Down Fighter Jets.. Russia Denies, Says Jet Allegation A ‘Fantasy’

 

 

 

 

Palestinians killed in West Bank Gaza solidarity march

Full ArticleBBC News 

25 Jul 2014

 

At least two Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during protests againstIsrael‘s military campaign in Gaza, officials say. At least 10,000 protesters marched from Ramallah towards East Jerusalem, where they were met by Israeli forces.Around 200 protestors were wounded. Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza’s fighting has… 

A Palestinians carry the body of Hamas militant, who medics said was killed by an Israeli air strike which took place before a five-hour humanitarian truce, during his funeral in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip July 17, 2014.
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukrainian prime minister announces resignation

Full ArticleLexington Herald-Leader 

25 Jul 2014 
KIEVUkraine — Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation Thursday, opening the way for new elections that would reflect the country’s starkly changed political scene after the ouster of pro-Russian PresidentViktor Yanukovych in February. Yatsenyuk, a supporter of closer ties with Europeand a key participant… 
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk speaks in the parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, July 24, 2014.

 

 

Newly elected President Fouad Massoum listens during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 24, 2014. Kurdish politician Massoum was named Iraq’s new president on Thursday, Massoum, 76, one of the founders of President Jalal Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, known as PUK, accepted the position after winning two-thirds of the votes, noting the “huge security, political and economic tasks" facing the government.

The UN chief met current Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and stressed the need for a broad-based government to be formed as soon as possible to save the country from collapse. Kurdish politician Fouad Massoum becameIraq’s new president on
photo: AP / Hadi Mizban

Traces left by the Dakar Rally, 2005, in the Sahara Desert, Mauritania

The wreckage of a passenger jet which vanished from radar in West Africa has been spotted in northern Mali‘s desert, the country’s president has said. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said: “I have just been informed that the wreckage has been
photo: GFDL /

Tourists disembark from a cruise ship which docked at Mombasa port, Kenya

A female tourist was killed in the Kenyan port city ofMombasa today in the same area where a Russian visitor was murdered earlier in July by a criminal gang, a police official said. The
photo: AP / AP

Parliament speaker Reuven Rivlin, right, seen as Israel's Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of his new government, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Travel deals JERUSALEM – (AP) — Israel’s parliament has sworn in Reuven Rivlin as the country’s new president, replacing Nobel Peacelaureate Shimon Peres whose term ends as Israel is fighting a war against Hamas inGaza. Rivlin’s swear-in ceremony
photo: AP / Debbie Hill, Pool)

Israeli fire hits UN facility in Gaza, killing 15

GAZA CITYGaza Strip — Israeli tank shells hit a compound housing a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens who were seeking shelter from fierce clashes on the streets outside, Palestinian officials
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

The gurney used to restrain condemned prisoners during the lethal injection process is shown in the Texas death house Tuesday, May 27, 2008 in Huntsville, Texas. For decades, the Supreme Court declined to address execution methods and whether such punishment should apply to child rapists. In its latest term, the court addressed both, but neither ruling solves capital punishment arguments. Instead, there will be even more litigation claiming lethal injection causes extreme suffering, say death penalty oppo

PHOENIX — A condemned murderer took nearly two hours to die and gasped for about 90 minutes during an execution in Arizona that quickly rekindled the national debate on capital punishment in the U.S. The execution of 55-year-old Joseph Rudolph Wood
photo: AP / Pat Sullivan

Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, dressed in white and holding up a flower stem, is taken into custody by Bolivarian National Guards, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014. Lopez re-emerged from days of hiding to address an anti-government demonstration and then he turned himself in to authorities Tuesday. Speaking to some 5,000 supporters with a megaphone, Lopez said that he doesn't fear going to jail to defend his beliefs and constitutional right to peacefully protest against President Nicolas Maduro.

Caracas – Jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez went on trial in Venezuela on Wednesday, accused of masterminding anti-government protests that turned violent and left 43 people dead. Days after the demonstrations began in mid-February, Lopez
photo: AP / Alejandro Cegarra

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things In The Middle East Are About To Get Much Worse

There are major clashes occurring currently in The West Bank tonight as claims of 10s of thousands and Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers. Sadly, as the photos below reveal taken moments ago show, things appear set to get very much worse.

UN: Gaza humanitarian situation ‘dire’

24 Jul 2014

 

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has expressed extreme concern at the situation in Gaza, describing a ceasefire as “vital”. She said the conflict meant 44% of Gaza was a no-go area for Palestinians, and residents were running out of food. More than 710 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 16 days of fighting,… 

A Palestinians children play past tents that house those who lost their homes

 

 

 

	Gaza fighting rages amid cease-fire efforts

IBRAHIM BARZAK and PETER ENAV Associated PressComments An Israeli tank moves through the morning mist near the Israel andGaza border July 24, 2014. Israeli tanks and warplanes bombarded the Gaza Stripon Thursday, as Hamas militants stuck to their
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

U.N. says Israel may be committing war crimes by having killed 518 civilians, including 170 children

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human RightsNavi Pillay, has suggested that the Israeli military might have committed war crimes by shelling and launching
photo: UN / Violaine Martin

Australia readies 50 police to send to Ukraine

Related media Travel deals CANBERRA, Australia – (AP) — Australia has sent 50 police to London in anticipation of deploying them to Ukraineto secure the Malaysian plane crash site as part of a potential U.N. team that’s under consideration, the
photo: UN / Shareef UN

Auschwitz  Poland

Philadelphia – A former Nazi concentration camp guard died hours before a judge on Wednesday ordered his extradition to Germany, where he faced charges of aiding and abetting the deaths of 216 000 Jews. Johann Breyer, 89, who served during World War
photo: Creative Commons / Morneomorneo

Fire season in West so far is below expectations

GRANTS PASSOre. Widespread drought across the West had forecasters expecting an above-average wildfire season this summer, which so far has not lived up to expectations. U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said Wednesday that the hot windy
photo: US DoD / Jason Kriess

Copies of the Wall Street Journal are checked at a printing press in London

Hacked again. That’s the story at the Wall Street Journal this week as the newspaper reports computer systems housing some of its news graphics were breached. The systems have been taken offline in an effort to isolate any attacks, according to
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

Rescue workers survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, late Wednesday, July 23, 2014. A transport minister said dozens of people were trapped and feared dead.

A plane landing in stormy weather has crashed outside an airport on a small Taiwanese island, with 47 people feared dead. Transport ministerYeh Kuang-shih was quoted by the government’s Central News Agency as saying another 11 people were injured
photo: AP / Wong Yao wen

 

 

 

 

 

Nigerian president vows to free missing girls

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

23 Jul 2014

 

President Goodluck Jonathan has met for the first time some of the parents of 219 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls and dozens of classmates who managed to escape from their Boko Haram captors. Jonathan assured them on Tuesday of his determination that those still in captivity “are brought out alive,” presidential spokesman Reuben Abati told reporters… 

Nigeria President, Goodluck Jonathan, left, greets some of the parents of the kidnapped girls from the Chibok government secondary school, in Abuja, Nigeria. Tuesday, July 22, 2014.

 

 

 

 

An unidentified teenage girl smokes a cigarette in New York's Central Park

NEW YORK (AP) — Experimentation with human growth hormones by America‘s teens more than doubled in the past year, as more young people looked to drugs to boost their athletic performance and improve their looks, according to a new, large-scale
photo: AP / Adam Nadel

A Palestinians inspect is the aftermath of an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 15, 2014. Israeli war jets on Saturday night carried out a series of intensive and successive airstrikes on various military targets in southern, central and northern Gaza Strip. Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

KARIN LAUB Associated Press= GAZA CITYGaza Strip (AP) â??Ibrahim Zain was driven from his home by Israeli tank fire this week, but says he’d rather endure more Israel-Hamas fighting than accept an unconditional cease-fire he fears will leave in
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

A kit with naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, N.J. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014.

23 July 2014 Last updated at 00:02 BST “To call heroin an epidemic is an understatement,” says Camden, New JerseyPolice Chief Scott Thomson. “Our cops were out on the street and they didn’t have any tools to help the people there.” But in recent
photo: AP / Mel Evans

Traders and Specialists observe the monitors on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, April 9, 2010, in New York

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as some positive earnings and economic data pointed to a market that still had room to rise despite the S&P 500 hitting an intraday record. Investors continued to pay close attention
photo: AP / David Karp

A circus performer dressed in native American garb leaps on and off a running horse, during a free public show to protest Mexico City's ban on circus animals in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, Tuesday, July 22, 2014.

Travel Deals $1325 & up — RomeFlorence & Venice 7-Nts. from Philly   See all travel deals &#187The Associated Press Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 4:30 PM MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico‘s “circus wars” are heating up, as a growing movement to
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

New York City Police officers stand at the base of a white flag flying atop the west tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, Tuesday, July 22, 2014.

Authorities in New York are investigating who raised two large white flags on the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge early on Tuesday. The flags briefly flew atop two towers at either end of the storied landmark in the place of two American flags
photo: AP / Richard Drew

2005 Silver Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

DETROIT (AP) â?? Chrysler is recalling up to 792,300 older JeepSUVs worldwide because the ignition switches could cause engine stalling. Tuesday’s recall covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees and
photo: Public Domain / Jetman7060

 

 

 

 

 

China’s President Xi Jinping signs Venezuela oil deal

Full ArticleBBC News 

22 Jul 2014

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has signed a series of oil and mineral deals withVenezuela. They include a $4bn (£2.34bn) credit line in return for Venezuelan crude and other products. The agreements came on the latest stop of a four-country visit to Latin… 

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, right, sits next to China's President Xi Jinping during the signing of several cooperation agreements between the two nations, at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 21, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Israel hits dozens of targets in Gaza Strip

Full ArticleAl Jazeera 

22 Jul 2014

 

Israeli aircraft and tanks have hit more than 70 targets in the Gaza strip, including five mosques, a football stadium and the home of the late leader of Hamas’ military wing, according to Palestinian police. At least seven Palestinians were reported killed in the new round of air strikes early on Tuesday, bringing the death toll ofIsrael‘s… 

Palestinian relatives and friends carry bodies during the funeral of nine members of the Siam family, who were killed in an Israeli air strike that destroyed their house, on July 21, 2014 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

 

 

More than 20 members of one family killed in Gaza strike

A hospital was shelled, killing and injuring staff and patients, and up to 28 members of one family died in an air strike as Gaza endured another day of relentless bloodshed on Monday . As heavy shelling and fighting on the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

With a tarpaulin poster of himself and running mate Mar Roxas, right, leading Presidential candidate Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III issues his statement a day after the first ever automated Presidential elections Tuesday May 11, 2010 at Hacienda Lusita, Tarlac province in northern Philippines.

Manila — Twenty-eight people, including activists and a retired Catholic bishop, filed an impeachment complaint Monday against Philippine President Benigno Aquino III for his implementation of a major economic stimulus program that the Supreme Court
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Neil Armstrong works at the LM in the only photo taken of him on the moon from the surface. NASA photo as11-40-5886.

NASA honored one of its most famous astronauts Monday by renaming a historic building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It now bears the name of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon when the Apollo 11mission landed
photo: NASA

Hillary Clinton Urges The U.S., Europe To Get Tough On Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S.and Europe should work together to develop tougher sanctions on Russia and says she backs President Barack Obama‘s calls for a thorough investigation into the passenger jet that was shot down
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

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.

CAIRO — With high hopes but low expectations, the U.S.stepped up calls Monday for an international push to end fighting in the Gaza Stripas President Barack Obama sent his top envoy to the Mideast to help broker a new cease-fire between
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

File - Israeli soldiers of the Golani brigade adjust their weapons during training near the border with Syria in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014.

Israeli soldiers walk near the border with the central Gaza Strip July 14, 2014. See Also So far, 25 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the first four days of ground operations in Gaza. This equals over one-fifth as many as the 121 Israeli
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Palestinian relatives and friends mourn above the bodies of nine members of the Siam family, who were killed in an Israeli air strike that destroyed their house, during their funeral on July 21, 2014 at a mosque in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

GAZA CITYGaza Strip (AP) — A high-level attempt by the U.N.chief and the U.S. secretary of state to end deadly Israel-Hamas fighting was off to a rough start Monday: Gaza‘s Hamas rulers signaled they won’t agree to an unconditional cease-fire,
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

 

 

Hamas says kidnapped Israeli soldier in Gaza

21 Jul 2014

 

> • Qassam Brigades announced they had kidnapped an Israeli soldier and hold him captive in Gaza. • Qassam Brigades has identified the Israeli soldier as ShaulAron and his military number as 6092065. • Israel has not confirmed on the abduction. GAZA, July 20 (Xinhua) — The Islamic Hamas movement’s armed wing announced on Sunday that they had… 

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

 

 

 

 

Palestinian mourners gather around the bodys, of Israeli bombardment during their funeral on July 18, 2014 in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Gaza endured the bloodiest day of the two-week conflict between Hamas and Israelon Sunday, with an Israeli assault in a residential area causing carnage described by the Palestinian leadership as a “heinous massacre” and a “war crime” by the
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Emergency workers carry the body of a victim at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, July 19, 2014.

July 20, 2014 — Updated 1538 GMT (2338 HKT) The passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came from around the world and held a wide range of hopes and dreams. While the identities of the 298 people aboard have not been release by the
photo: AP / Vadim Ghirda

FILE - In this Friday, April 21, 2006 file picture, actor James Garner speaks while being interviewed during an appearance in Norman, Okla., Garner's hometown. Several movie stars have suffered strokes, including Garner, a reminder that money and fame can't insulate you from a health risk that much can be done to prevent, researchers reported at an international stroke conference in Feb. 2011.

James Garner, star of the long-running TV shows “The Rockford Files” and “Maverick” has died at 86, according to media reports. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that an ambulance was dispatched to the actor’shome in Los
photo: AP

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Kasandra Hopper, from Cumberland Gap, Tenn., verifies the name on the blood specimen taken for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing.

New York — The rate of HIV infections annually diagnosed in the United States fell by one-third over the past decade, a government study finds. Experts call it hopeful news that the AIDS epidemic may be slowing in the U.S. “It’sencouraging,” said
photo: US Navy / Photographer’s Mate Airman Konstandinos Goumenidis

Wolverine

How one bureaucrat’s climate denial overruled wildlife scientists and put the Northern Rockies species on the road to extinction. A witless remark by a single bureaucrat may be dooming America’s remaining wolverines to extinction. The specious crack
photo: GFDL / MatthiasKabel

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

By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) – Nineteen people died trying to reach Italy on a boat packed with hundreds of migrants, probably poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from its engines, said the Italian Navy on Saturday, which has rescued more than 4,000
photo: AP / Nino Randazzo, Health Care Service

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.

Anita Powell MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — The InternationalAIDS Society has confirmed that at least six high-level researchers and AIDS experts were among those killed on the Malaysia Airlines flight downed Thursday over volatile eastern Ukraine. The
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

 

 

 

THOUSANDS FLEE GAZA

MAHMUD HAMS via Getty Images

Major Tank Offensive In Crowded Gaza City.. IDF Troops Battle With Hamas.. 

 

 

 

 

 

Israelis destroy Hamas tunnels in Gaza offensive, death toll touches 342 

19 Jul 2014

 

GAZA CITYGaza StripIsraeli bulldozers demolished more than a dozen tunnels on Saturday in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian authorities reported intensified air strikes and shelling as the death toll from Israel‘s ground offensive rose to at least 342 Palestinians. Diplomats struggled to revive a cease-fire. Israeli soldiers uncovered 34
Palestinians inspect the building of the "Association of the Charity charity" demolished by the Israeli Air Force in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 15, 2014.
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

 

 

 

 

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Kasandra Hopper, from Cumberland Gap, Tenn., verifies the name on the blood specimen taken for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing.

New York — The rate of HIV infections annually diagnosed in the United States fell by one-third over the past decade, a government study finds. Experts call it hopeful news that the AIDS epidemic may be slowing in the U.S. “It’sencouraging,” said
photo: US Navy / Photographer’s Mate Airman Konstandinos Goumenidis

Wolverine

How one bureaucrat’s climate denial overruled wildlife scientists and put the Northern Rockies species on the road to extinction. A witless remark by a single bureaucrat may be dooming America’s remaining wolverines to extinction. The specious crack
photo: GFDL / MatthiasKabel

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

By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) – Nineteen people died trying to reach Italy on a boat packed with hundreds of migrants, probably poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from its engines, said the Italian Navy on Saturday, which has rescued more than 4,000
photo: AP / Nino Randazzo, Health Care Service

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.

Anita Powell MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — The InternationalAIDS Society has confirmed that at least six high-level researchers and AIDS experts were among those killed on the Malaysia Airlines flight downed Thursday over volatile eastern Ukraine. The
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

Israeli soldiers ride near the border with Gaza, Saturday, July 19, 2014. Israel pounded Hamas rocket launchers, uncovered more than a dozen cross-border tunnels and engaged in gunbattles with Palestinian militants Saturday, as fighting intensified on the second day of its open-ended ground operation in Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll continued to rise.

GAZA CITYGaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops uncovered more than a dozen cross-border tunnels and battled Gaza militants on the second day of an open-ended ground operation Saturday as the Palestinian death toll climbed to 325 and diplomats scrambled
photo: AP / Tsafrir Abayov

Obama Malaysia Airlines

Henry Ridgwell LONDON — The Malaysia Airlines crash in eastern Ukraine is drawing reaction from leaders around the world. With suspicions growing that a surface-to-air missile shot down the aircraft, there are increasing tensions in the
photo: Creative Commons / White House / Pete Souza

Typhoon Rammasun 2014

Typhoon thought to be strongest to hit southern China in 41 years moves north after claiming at least 77 lives in Philippines Link to video:Typhoon Rammasun makes landfall in China A typhoon believed to be the strongest storm to hit southern China
photo: Creative Commons / Keith Edkins

 

Israeli soldiers ride near the border with Gaza, Saturday, July 19, 2014. Israel pounded Hamas rocket launchers, uncovered more than a dozen cross-border tunnels and engaged in gunbattles with Palestinian militants Saturday, as fighting intensified on the second day of its open-ended ground operation in Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll continued to rise.

GAZA CITYGaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops uncovered more than a dozen cross-border tunnels and battled Gaza militants on the second day of an open-ended ground operation Saturday as the Palestinian death toll climbed to 325 and diplomats scrambled
photo: AP / Tsafrir Abayov

Typhoon Rammasun 2014

Typhoon thought to be strongest to hit southern China in 41 years moves north after claiming at least 77 lives in Philippines Link to video:Typhoon Rammasun makes landfall in China A typhoon believed to be the strongest storm to hit southern China
photo: Creative Commons / Keith Edkins

UN chief Ban heading to Mideast in Gaza peace bid

Added At: 2014-07-19 10:54 AM Last Updated At: 2014-07-19 10:54 AM The Himalayan Times – Saved Articles(s) The headlines has been added to your saved article(s) To View your saved article(s)please Click Here
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

UN chief to travel to Middle East in bid to end fighting

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to the Middle East on Saturday in a bid to end the fighting between Israel and Palestinians, alarmed at a serious escalation that includes a ground offensive by Israel, said a senior UN official. Israel
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

EU-U.S. 6th round of trade talks end in Brussels

BRUSSELS, July 18 (Xinhua) — The sixth round ofTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between theEuropean Union (EU) and the United States concluded in Brussels Friday, paving the way for
photo: EC / (C)2014-EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Iran, six powers haggle over extending nuclear talks: diplomats

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran and six world powers haggled on Friday over the terms of extending negotiations on a nuclear deal for four more months after failing to bridge wide gaps on limits for Tehran‘s atomic program, diplomats said. It has been clear
photo: EC / EC

Two protestors hit by bullets in Kashmir clash

Srinagar, July 18: Two people sustained bullet injuries during clashes with the security forces in in Jammu and Kashmir‘s Kulgam district Friday after a protest against Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza turned violent, police said. “Two
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

 

 

 

 

 

COVER-UP?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ukraine Accuses Rebels Of Destroying Evidence In Airliner Crash.. U.S. Building Case Against Separatists.. Victims Identified.. Black Box Mystery.. Obama: Wake-Up Call For Europe.. Fighting Flares In Region..

 

 

 

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: What happened before the plane was shot down

18 Jul 2014

 

AVIATION experts and weapons analysts have shed more light on what happened on-board Flight MH17 before it was shot down. The flight, on a Boeing 777-200, was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala LumpurPassengers left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (local time) in the afternoon, and were due to touch down in Kuala Lumpur the next day at 6.10am local time.… 

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: What happened before the plane was shot down

 

 

 

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

An appeals court in Italy has overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges that he paid for sex with an underage prostitute and then abused his power to cover-up the crime. The Milan
photo: AP / Riccardo De Luca

Rape, hunger and nameless kids at squalid children's home in Mexico

ZAMORA Mexico (Reuters) – Children in a squalid home for abandoned and troubled kids run by a controversial mother figure in western Mexico said hunger and regular beatings drove them to offer sex for food and get high by sniffing paint. Mexican
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

Two names in the odds for the EU Commission’s foreign policy head

In Brussels, no answer on who will be the EU Commission’s foreign policy head. Two names are drifting in the odds: Italy’s Foreign MinisterFederica Mogherini — too soft on Russia — and Poland’s FM Radek Sikorski — too hard. If only David Cameron had
photo: European Community / EC

US cautions Israel on civilian casualties as ground invasion continues

White House calls on Israel to restrict itself to ‘precise operation’ in Gaza while stressing its right to defend itself John Kerry emphasised the need to ‘avoid further escalation and to restore the 2012 ceasefire as soon as possible’. Photograph:
photo: EC / EC

UN Security Council Tells Libyan Parties To Stop Fighting, Make Democratic Transition

UNITED NATIONS, July 18 (RIA Novosti) – After the UN pulled its international staff out of Libya, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning “the recent violence in Libya, including the fighting around TripoliInternational
photo: UN / Mark Garten

UN Security Council sets urgent meeting on Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Friday morning on Ukraine. Britain’s U.N. Mission said Thursday it requested the meeting and later tweeted that it is set for 10 a.m. Friday. The request follows
photo: UN / Mark Garten

Boeing 737-200 of MAS at Brunei International Airport in 1987.Malaysian Airline System took all domestic routes within Malaysia and international routes out of that country, as well as the remaining fleet of Fokker F27's. It began flights on 1 October 1972.

18 July 2014, 5:47 Plane Disaster Could Be A Game ChangerTweet If Russia in any way had a hand in flight MH17’s fate, calls for Westerngovernments to intensify their response to the crisis will be loud. The terrible tragedy could be a game changer.
photo: Creative Commons / Rolf Wallner

Russian jet shoots down Ukrainian warplane over Ukraine: Kiev military

17 Jul 2014

 

KIEV (Reuters) – A Russian jet shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations over the east of Ukraine, where government forces are fighting to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Thursday. It was the strongest Ukrainian allegation to date of direct Russian military… 

Su-25UB and MiG-29 (9-13) of Ukrainian Air Force.

 

 

Afghan military official says gunmen attack Kabul Airport

Published July 16, 2014Associated Press Facebook0 Twitter0 KABUL, Afghanistan – Gunmen used rockets to attack the Kabul International Airport in the Afghan capital Thursday, a senior military official said. The gunmen occupied two
photo: US DoD / U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph Scanlan

Donors pledge 1.8 billion euros for flood-stricken Balkan states

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A conference of international donors pledged more than 1.8 billion euros ($2.43 billion) on Wednesday to help Bosnia andSerbia recover from devastating floods in May. The European Commission, the EU executive, said the
photo: European Community / EC

Internet users browse their Facebook website by the free wifi internet service in an underground station in Hong Kong Sunday, June 16, 2013.

July 16, 2014 — Updated 1130 GMT (1930 HKT) (CNN) — UK police have arrested 660 suspected pedophiles — including doctors, teachers and scout leaders — in a six-month operation spanning the country, the National Crime Agency said Wednesday. The
photo: AP / Kin Cheung

Bank of America Building

Bank of America returned to profitability in the second quarter, although earnings were down 43 percent from a year ago. The bank on Wednesday also announced a $650 million settlement that resolves all outstanding mortgage-related litigation with
photo: Creative Commons / Gillian and Jim

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the First Working Session of the Sixth BRICS Summit, at the Ceara Events Centre, in Fortaleza, Brazil on July 15, 2014.

Fortaleza (Brazil)/New Delhi, July 15: Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi Tuesday called for “urgent reform” of institutions such as theUnited Nations Security Council and International Monetary Fund and said that there should be zero tolerance
photo: PIB of India /

A patron passes a painting inside the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, N.M., Tuesday, June 10, 1997. The small town is bracing for its biggest invasion yet, the 50th anniverary of an alleged UFO

CHARAMA (Chhattisgarh): Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture plans to seek help from Nasa and Isro for research on 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in Charama region inKanker district in tribal Bastar
photo: AP / Eric Draper

In this frame grab from video provided by the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations, rescue teams work inside the tunnel in Moscow where a rush-hour subway train derailed Tuesday, July 15, 2014, killing at least 20 people and sending 150 others to the hospital, many with serious injuries, Russian officials said. Officials vigorously dismissed terrorism as a possible cause.

At least 20 people have died after a subway train derailed inMoscow, twisting and mangling crowded rail cars at the height of the morning rush-hour. [TICON-A VIDEO] About 150 more people were taken to hospital after the incident, with many of them

 

 

 

 

 

 

New HIV/Aids cases dropping, says UN

Full ArticleStuff 

16 Jul 2014

 

The United Nations has said new HIV infections and deaths from Aids were decreasing, making it possible to control the epidemic by 2030 and eventually end it ‘‘in every region, in every country’’. ‘‘More than ever before, there is hope that ending Aids is possible. However, a business-as-usual approach or simply… 

Children from Hownslow Manor school take part in an assembly based on the upcoming World Aids Day, in London Tuesday Nov. 29, 2005. World Aids Day takes place on Dec. 1, with recent World Health Organisation figures showing that some 40 million people are now infected with the HIV virus. Teaching awareness in schools could be one of the many ways of trying to reduce the number of future infections, which in Britain rose again in 2004. The number of Children under the age of 15 in Britain who are affected is 1650

 

 

Internet users browse their Facebook website by the free wifi internet service in an underground station in Hong Kong Sunday, June 16, 2013.

July 16, 2014 — Updated 1130 GMT (1930 HKT) (CNN) — UK police have arrested 660 suspected pedophiles — including doctors, teachers and scout leaders — in a six-month operation spanning the country, the National Crime Agency said Wednesday. The
photo: AP / Kin Cheung

Bank of America Building

Bank of America returned to profitability in the second quarter, although earnings were down 43 percent from a year ago. The bank on Wednesday also announced a $650 million settlement that resolves all outstanding mortgage-related litigation with
photo: Creative Commons / Gillian and Jim

A patron passes a painting inside the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, N.M., Tuesday, June 10, 1997. The small town is bracing for its biggest invasion yet, the 50th anniverary of an alleged UFO

CHARAMA (Chhattisgarh): Chhattisgarh state department of archaeology and culture plans to seek help from Nasa and Isro for research on 10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs in Charama region inKanker district in tribal Bastar
photo: AP / Eric Draper
At least 20 people have died after a subway train derailed inMoscow, twisting and mangling crowded rail cars at the height of the morning rush-hour. [TICON-A VIDEO] About 150 more people were taken to hospital after the incident, with many of them
photo: AP / Russian Emergency Situation Ministry

German players are surrounded by photographers during a victory lap after the World Cup final

After beating Argentina 1-0 in the final World Cup match on Sunday, Germany returned home with the coveted gold trophy in hand. See also:German Newspapers Had a Field Day With the World Cup Win And from the second the team’s plane touched down, it
photo: AP / Matthias Schrader

Iranian nuclear talks has 'real gaps' on key issues: Kerry

VIENNA – Participating sides will continue work to bridge the remaining “real gaps” on some key issues in Iranian nuclear talks as the July 20 deadline approaches, while tangible progress has been made on other key issues,US Secretary of State John
photo: EC / EC

An Afghan Army soldier salutes an Afghan flag hoisted on a building in a market in Marjah, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber blew up his car packed with explosives near a busy market and a mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 89 people and wounding more than 40, officials said. The attack in the town of Urgun in
photo: AP / Altaf Qadri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fighting fear, denial and death on Ebola frontline

Full ArticleNew Scientist 

15 Jul 2014

 

Medical staff can beat Ebola with more drugs and better health education I AMworking with medical staff in the West African country of Sierra Leone, where the people have never experienced an outbreak of Ebola on this scale before. There area lot of cases – we are really stretched – and my worry is that those we are seeing are the tip of the… 

In this file photo taken on Monday, March 31, 2014, UNICEF health workers teach people about the Ebola virus and how to prevent infection, in Conakry, Guinea.

 

 

 

Hands belonging to Mirko Fernandez, forensic anthropologist of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Lester (UNMIT), examining the human bones and skull found on a beach.

Archaeologists in Norway have found what could potentially be an 8,000-year-old human skull – which contains traces of brain matter. The finding at a site in Stokke, Vestfold, could shed light on life in the Stone

BRICS' heads of state, from left, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, China's President Hu Jintao and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma pose for photos at the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Monday, June 18, 2012.

Reuters FORTALEZA, BRAZIL — A summit of the BRICS group of emerging market countries will abstain from criticizing Russia‘s recent actions inUkraine, Brazilian officials said, a diplomatic victory for President Vladimir Putin. The summit

William Hague

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s high-profile foreign minister,William Hague, is leaving his job, the government said Monday — a surprise announcement that precedes a major shakeup of the Conservative-led administration. Prime Minister David Cameron‘s office
photo: Creative Commons / Chatham House

tinians inspect a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014.

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling Followingglobal trends and international pressures, Israeli political and military leaders have been forced to reconfigure their strategic and tactical responses to their brutal containment and policing
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

CAIRO — Egypt presented a cease-fire plan Monday to end a week of heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that has left at least 185 people dead. The proposal marked the most serious attempt yet by international mediators
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

VIENNA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he had a good meeting with his Iranian counterpart and a seniorEuropean Union official over Tehran‘s nuclear programme ahead of a July 20 deadline for an agreement. “We are
photo: AP / Alex Brandon

The Tie Dye", national flag of The State of Bir Tawil.

An Abingdon, Virginia man claimed a kingdom so his daughter could be a princess. Jeremiah Heaton, who has three children, recently trekked across the Egyptian desert to a small, mountainous region between Egyptand Sudan called Bir Tawil. MORE NEWS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philippines braces for floods from tropical storm

14 Jul 2014

 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was bracing for possible floods and landslides as a tropical storm continued to strengthen Monday as it moved closer to the country’s eastern seaboard. Tropical Storm Rammasun was expected to intensify into a typhoon before making landfall Tuesday morning… 

Philippines braces for floods from tropical storm
photo: AP / Pat Roque

 

 

Germany's Philipp Lahm (16) raises the trophy after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina

Germany‘s players pose with the World Cup trophy after the final match between Germany and Argentina of 2014 FIFA World Cup at the Estadiodo Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 13, 2014. Germany won 1-0 over Argentina after 120
photo: AP / Martin Meissner

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

VOA News One security officer and seven others were killed in two successive explosions around security areas in Egypt‘s Sinai region, near the border with Israel, the Interior Ministry and security officials said. Egypt
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

File - Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks at the launch of “Free & Equal”, a global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, 26 July, 2013.

Desmond Tutu has said he would support assisted dying for the terminally ill. Writing in The Observer he said he reveres “the sanctity of life but not at any cost”. He also suggested that prolonging the life of Nelson Mandela had been an
photo: UN / Casey Crafford

Palestinians inspect a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Israeli aircraft carried out a massacre of the family of Khan Younis Kaware resulted in the deaths of seven people and wounding 25 others seriously injured, including women and children. Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

London, July 12: Even as Israel, Hamas continue to remain defiant and the death toll increased to 151, western countries will hold a meeting inVienna on Sunday to on how to ceasefire in Gaza. Britain, US, France and Germanywill meet in Vienna where
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol during restrictions in  Srinagar on July 4, 2014. India's Narendra Modi faces a hostile welcome as he makes his first visit as prime minister to Kashmir, where he has angered some with his apparent desire to curb the region's autonomy. The trip by Modi, 63, has provoked a sharp reaction from influential separatist groups which have called for a general strike to protest Indian rule over the restive Himalayan area.

JAMMU: Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire agreement along the International Border in Jammu & Kashmir
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Netherlands' Robin van Persie gives supporters the thumbs-up after their 3-0 victory over Brazil

BRASILIA, BRAZIL — Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the Netherlands a 3-0 win over host Brazil in the third-place match at the World Cup on Saturday. With the result, the Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten
photo: AP / Natacha Pisarenko

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrific World Cup ends with marquee final

Full ArticleThe Miami Herald 

13 Jul 2014

 

RIO DE JANEIRO — The World Cup ends Sunday with a marquee match-up,Argentina against Germany, and host Brazil rushing to be ready for an even bigger logistical challenge: the 2016 Olympics. As the winning captain, either Argentina forward Lionel Messi or Germany defender Philipp Lahm will hold aloft the most recognized trophy in sports in front… 

German players stretch during a training session of Germany in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Germany faces Argentina for the 2014 soccer World Cup Final on Sunday.

 

 

Palestinians inspect a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Israeli aircraft carried out a massacre of the family of Khan Younis Kaware resulted in the deaths of seven people and wounding 25 others seriously injured, including women and children. Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

London, July 12: Even as Israel, Hamas continue to remain defiant and the death toll increased to 151, western countries will hold a meeting inVienna on Sunday to on how to ceasefire in Gaza. Britain, US, France and Germanywill meet in Vienna where
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol during restrictions in  Srinagar on July 4, 2014. India's Narendra Modi faces a hostile welcome as he makes his first visit as prime minister to Kashmir, where he has angered some with his apparent desire to curb the region's autonomy. The trip by Modi, 63, has provoked a sharp reaction from influential separatist groups which have called for a general strike to protest Indian rule over the restive Himalayan area.

JAMMU: Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire agreement along the International Border in Jammu & Kashmir
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Netherlands' Robin van Persie gives supporters the thumbs-up after their 3-0 victory over Brazil

BRASILIA, BRAZIL — Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the Netherlands a 3-0 win over host Brazil in the third-place match at the World Cup on Saturday. With the result, the Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten
photo: AP / Natacha Pisarenko

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

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Afghanistan?s two rival candidates reached a breakthrough agreement Saturday to a complete audit of their contested presidential election and, whoever the victor, a national unity government. The deal, brokered by U.S.
photo: Creative Commons / Employee of the U.S. State Department

Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai walk down a flight of stairs at the end of their bilateral meeting before a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Monday, March 25, 2013.

Kerry spent much of the past two days meeting with Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and his opponent, former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, to discuss a way forward after controversy greeted last Monday’s announcement that Ghani had
photo: AP / Jason Reed

A Palestinian woman grieves after her home was destroyed by Israeli warplanes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Israeli aircraft carries out a reported massacre of a family in Khan Younis Kaware after shells hit a home with seven people. The attack wounds 30 others seriously injured, including women and children. Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

Eight Palestinians have died in fresh Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip and two explosions have been heard in the Jerusalem area, according to reports. Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra told AFP the eight were killed in Gaza City, central
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

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

Travel deals GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy – (AP) — Italian authorities say work to float the shipwrecked Costa Concordia so it can be towed away for scrapping can start Monday, weather-permitting. The cruise liner struck a reef when it came too close to
photo: AP / Gregorio Borgia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anxiety grips Lebanon following blasts, arrests

Full ArticleSan Francisco Chronicle 

12 Jul 2014

 

BEIRUT (AP) — The roadblocks and sandbags are back, cafes and hotels are nearly empty and many of the tourists are gone. Anxiety is gripping Lebanon following a spate of suicide bombings, and an ongoing security sweep targeting militants — some of them who had been staying in four-star Beirut hotels — has triggered a wave of cancellations of hotel… 

In this Wednesday, June 25, 2014, file photo, Lebanese army soldiers take their positions outside the Duroy hotel where a suicide bomber blew himself up in his room, in Beirut, as Lebanese security forces raided the premises.

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

ANKARA (Turkey): Turkey’s president on Friday called onIsrael to halt its offensive on the Gaza Strip and not to carry out a ground incursion, while the prime minister said there can be no normalizing of Turkish-Israeli ties as long as Israel’s
photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, second left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, third right, attend talks on Iran's nuclear program in Geneva on Friday Nov. 22, 2013.

Business Politics Print this story Jul 11, 2014 – 17:44 By FredrikDahl VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has taken preparatory action to start up a uranium conversion plant it needs to fulfil an interim nuclear agreement
photo: AP / Fabrice Coffrini

Palestinians inspect a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip on July 8, 2014. Israeli aircraft carried out a massacre of the family of Khan Younis Kaware resulted in the deaths of seven people and wounding 25 others seriously injured, including women and children. Photo by Ahmad Deeb / WN

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian death toll from Israel‘s massive air campaign in Gaza topped 100 people Friday as rockets fired by militants reached deeper into Israel — and for the first time in the fighting, struck from neighboring Lebanon. Gaza
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 5, 2014, a local resident holds Russian flag during a rally at a central square in Simferopol, Ukraine.

NEW Amnesty International report has highlighted the “hundreds” of abductions and incidents of torture by pro-Russian separatists inUkraine, and also criticised the excessive force used by government forces. Amnesty identifies the
photo: AP / Sergei Grits

File - Rescuers carry the body of one of the victims of a boat that sank off Java island after it was found washed ashore on a beach, in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013.

– With one boat carrying Sri Lankan asylum seekers sent back and a second stuck in legal limbo on the high seas, Australia finds itself in uncharted waters on the divisive issue of refugees. Conservative Prime MinisterTony Abbott swept the fractured
photo: AP

Thai soldiers stand guard in front of Marble Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 23, 2014 after Thai military staged a coup. Thailand's new military junta has announced that it has suspended the country's constitution.

Thailand’s military junta has hinted at the possibility of continuing martial law for the duration of the interim charter, which is expected to last about a year, media reports said today. General Paiboon Kumchaya, assistant army chief and head
photo: AP / Sakchai Lalit

ON A COURSE OF CONTINUING ESCALATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

Germany tells top U.S. spy official to leave the country

11 Jul 2014

 

July 11, 2014 — Updated 0732 GMT (1532 HKT) (CNN) — Germany‘s government has asked America‘s top spy chief stationed in the country to leave. It’s a punitive gesture usually reserved for adversarial nations in times of crisis and only very rarely for an ally, particularly a very close one. But allegations of American spying have seriously injured… 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to answer questions after her speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, Tuesday, July 8, 2014.

 

 

 

TO GO WITH STORY SLUGGED DOMINICAN AIDS VACCINE.- A doctor manipulates blood samples used for research in a Merck & Co. experimental vaccine against HIV in Santo Domingo, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006. Seventy-five Dominican prostitutes are among 3,000 people in eight countries testing the vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The women, who travel hours from the Dominican country side to be injected, do not know if they are receiving the experimental serum or a placebo. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Mississippi – A toddler thought to have been cured of HIV now has detectable levels of the virus in her blood, the child’s doctors and US health officials said on Thursday. The Mississippi child’s stunning story, first disclosed at a medical meeting
photo: AP / Ramon Espinosa

Canterbury Cathedral - England

Related Articles Church of England General Synod: women bishops campaigners praying for a breakthrough 11 Jul 2014 Church of England finally casts out Wonga 10 Jul 2014 Here is a selection of views from members of the General Synod on the eve of the
photo: GFDL / Hans Musil

Overhead signs which cut the speed limit on Britain's busiest motorway, the M25, to 60mph (96 kph) or 50mph (80 kph) when traffic builds up, in action after they were switched on Wednesday August 30, 1995 in west London. Induction loops buried beneath the road will measure the speed, flow and volume of traffic and from that a computer calculates the best speed for traffic on the heavily congested west side of the M25 - London's orbital motorway.

The air quality in some of the UK’s biggest cities is unlikely to meet EU standards before 2030, according to the government. Member states were supposed to meet targets on pollutants from diesel cars and trucks by 2010. The nitrogen dioxide
photo: AP / Tim Ockenden

Black smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on the Gaza International Airport in Rafah, southern Gaza, on July 7, 2014. Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed eight Palestinian militants, after tunnels collapsed in Rafah.

JERUSALEM — Israel dramatically escalated its aerial assault in Gaza Thursday, hitting hundreds of Hamas targets. Palestinians reported that 16 people were killed in strikes that hit a home and a beachside cafe, and Israel’s missile defense system
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

File - Two Israeli soldiers stand next to Iron Dome missile defense system deployed in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Sunday, April 10, 2011.

Reuters JERUSALEM — Israel‘s Iron Dome interceptor has shot down some 90 percent of Palestinian rockets it engaged during this week’s surge of Gaza fighting, up from the 85 percent rate in the previous mini-war of2012Israeli and U.S.
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

British actor Daniel Radcliffe arrives on the red carpet for the screening of Kill Your Darlings, as part of the 57th BFI London Film Festival, at a central London cinema, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013.

Daniel Radcliffe is reportedly walking away from smoking as he plans to enter a treatment centre in order to ditch the filthy habit. The Harry Potter star previously overcame his problems with alcohol and now he’s taking the next steps to put
photo: AP / Jon Furniss

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

– At least six people have been killed in a US drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal area, where a Pakistani military operation against Taliban fighters is ongoing, intelligence sources told Al Jazeera. Two missiles were fired on a compound and
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini, Pool

 

 

 

 

 

Will NASA’s Pluto Flyby in 2015 Reignite Planet Debate?

Full ArticleYahoo Daily News 

10 Jul 2014

 

The world will get its first good look at Pluto a little more than a year from now, possibly reigniting the debate over the object’s planetary status. In July 2015NASA‘sNew Horizons probe will fly by frigid and faraway Pluto, which was demoted to “dwarf planet” in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. (Despite the..
 
Viewed from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft destined for Pluto roars off the launch pad aboard an Atlas V rocket spewing flames and smoke, 19 January, 2006.

 

 

 

 

Messi on the road to greatness

10 Jul 2014

 

Sao Paulo – Lionel Messi can secure his place among the game’s greats with aWorld Cup triumph after Argentina defeated the Netherlands on penalties on Wednesday to reach the final. On Sunday at the Maracana stadium in Rio, Messi will come up against a Germany team that has ended his two previous attempts to bring his country a third World Cup… 

 
Argentina's Lionel Messi pumps his fists after Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 tie after extra time to advance to the finals after the World Cup semifinal soccer match between the Netherlands and Argentina at the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo Brazil, Wednesday, July 9, 2014.

Google Glass Camera ‘Controlled Using Mind’

10 Jul 2014

 

10 July 2014, 10:00 Google Glass Camera ‘Controlled Using Mind‘ Tweet A Google Glass app that claims to let people take photographs using their mind has been launched. The free open-source MindRDR software has been developed by Londonfirm This Place and lets users control the device using… 

Google Glass team members wear Google Glasses at a booth at Google I/O 2013 in San Francisco, Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

 

 

 

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

– At least six people have been killed in a US drone strike in the North Waziristan tribal area, where a Pakistani military operation against Taliban fighters is ongoing, intelligence sources told Al Jazeera. Two missiles were fired on a compound and
photo: AP / Massoud Hossaini, Pool

oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Orlando, Florida – Oil that matches the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been found in the bodies of sickened fish, according to a team of Florida scientists who studied the oil’s chemical composition. “We matched up the
photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

Jordanian Foreign Minister and President of the United Nations Security Council Nasser Judeh , right, listens to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for restraint and an end to the new wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence in a blitz of phone calls Wednesday to their leaders and key players in the region, warning that the situation
photo: AP / Craig Ruttle

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada.

A class of pesticides linked to the catastrophic collapse of bee colonies has now been linked to declines in bird populations, according to a Dutchstudy. The researchers found a strong correlation between pesticide concentrations measured in surface
photo: Creative Commons / Cephas

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem Sunday, June 22, 2014. Israel's military says troops have shot dead one Palestinian, and a Palestinian medical official says another was killed, as the army searches for three missing teens and looks to dismantle the Islamic militant group Hamas. Meanwhile the military says a civilian vehicle has exploded near the Syrian frontier in the Golan Heights, and that there are several casualties.

photo: AP / Baz Ratner

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Cambridge, Md. Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. The president said top priorities for Congress should be increasing the minimum wage and reforming immigration. Obama told a House Democratic retreat Friday that the party needs to stand up for the American dream of getting ahead.

July 09: President Barack Obama today said the US is committed to the goal of developing a “new model” of relations with China defined by increased practical cooperation and “constructive management” of differences. “The United States welcomes the
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

Palestinians search the wreckage of vehicle following an Israeli air strike on it at the main road in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking nearly 100 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a heavy barrage of rocket attacks against Israel.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing at least 8 people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against
photo: AP / Adel Hana

 

 

 

Google’s Smartphone Technology Will Help NASA Robots Navigate The International Space Station

09 Jul 2014

 

See Also Google smartphones will take NASA astronaut robots from 2006 tech to the future of space travel, according to Reuters. Robots with the phones, armed with technology from Google’s augmented reality experiment Project Tango, are set to launch on July 11. The Android augmented androids are called SPHERES — short for Synchronized… 
NASA’s Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) equipped with a smartphone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brazil in shock after World Cup humiliation

Full ArticleBBC News 

09 Jul 2014

 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has urged the country to bounce back after its catastrophic 7-1 World Cup defeat against Germany. “Like all Brazilians, I am very, very sad after the defeat. But we will not let ourselves be broken,” she tweeted. The coach of the… 

Brazil soccer fans cry as they watch their team lose 7-1 to Germany at a World Cup semifinal match on a live telecast inside the FIFA Fan Fest area on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, July 8, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Cambridge, Md. Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. The president said top priorities for Congress should be increasing the minimum wage and reforming immigration. Obama told a House Democratic retreat Friday that the party needs to stand up for the American dream of getting ahead.

July 09: President Barack Obama today said the US is committed to the goal of developing a “new model” of relations with China defined by increased practical cooperation and “constructive management” of differences. “The United States welcomes the
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

Palestinians search the wreckage of vehicle following an Israeli air strike on it at the main road in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking nearly 100 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a heavy barrage of rocket attacks against Israel.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing at least 8 people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against
photo: AP / Adel Hana

 spider - animal - arachnid (rt1)

Related Articles First Britons’ footprints found on Norfolkbeach 07 Feb 2014 Biggest dinosaur could walk but not run or tackle hills 31 Oct 2013Jurassic Park ruled out – dinosaur DNA could not survive in amber 12 Sep 2013 Most dinosaurs were
photo: WN

George Clooney-2 The Men Who Stare at Goats TIFF09

US actor George Clooney has accused the Daily Mail of “irresponsibility” after it claimed his fiancée’s mother opposes their marriage on religious grounds. The British tabloid, he said, had been “negligent” in
photo: Creative Commons / Michael Vlasaty

Indonesian presidential candidate Joko Widodo, popularly known as "Jokowi", left, accompanied by his wife Iriana, casts his ballot during the presidential election in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. As the world's third-largest democracy began voting Wednesday to elect a new president, Indonesians are divided between two very different choices: a one-time furniture maker, Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, and a wealthy ex-army general with close links to former dictator Suharto, Prabowo Subianto.

JAKARTA, July 9 (Xinhua) — Indonesians on Wednesday went to polls to pick up their new president for the country. The voting started first in the eastern part of Indonesia at 08: 00 a.m. local time which is two hours earlier than the rest parts of
photo: AP / Dita Alangkara

Brazil's David Luiz prays after the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Germany

Germany ended Brazil‘s FIFA World Cup dream with a sensational 7-1 semi-final victory as the hosts capitulated in Belo Horizonte. Shorn of injured playmaker Neymar, who suffered a fractured vertebra in the quarter-final against Colombia, and
photo: AP / Frank Augstein

View of the Rio Grande from Overlook Park, White Rock, New Mexico. The United States and Mexico share the water of the river under a series of agreements administered by the International Boundary and Water Commission,US-Mexico

The White House says it’s asking Congress for $3.7 billion to address the humanitarian crisis along the border with MexicoThe statement said the funds would cover domestic enforcement, repatriation and reintegration of migrants, transportation
photo: Creative Commons / Andreas F. Borchert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel launches further air strikes on Gaza and warns of ground attack

08 Jul 2014

 

Israel has launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruledGaza Strip, the military said, striking at least 50 sites in Gaza by air and sea and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion in order to quell rocket attacks on Israel. The army said its offensive, dubbed “Operation Protective Edge,” is aimed at striking Hamas… 

A Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 6, 2014.

 

 

 Madonna attends a news conference to promote her newest album, "Confessions On A Dance Floor." in Tokyo on Dec. 7, 2005. Television host Oprah Winfrey was scheduled to tape an interview with Madonna on Tuesday. Oct. 24. 2006, about the pop sing

Madonna has appeared for jury service in New York but was relieved to avoid “creating a distraction” for the court. The pop star spent two hours waiting in a separate room from other prospective jurors, but was not
photo: AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi

Conservative Party leader David Cameron addresses the Ulster Unionist Party conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.

According to Reuters, there has been no evidence to substantiate the claims of a child sex abuse conspiracy within the political sphere yet. The key piece of evidence is a large file that contained major allegations. That file, according to IBT, was
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

A poor girl and child begging for food -Beggars-Poverty-India

Added At: 2014-07-08 9:34 AM Last Updated At: 2014-07-08 9:34 AM The Himalayan Times – Saved Articles(s) The headlines has been added to your saved article(s) To View your saved article(s)please Click Here »
photo: WN / Sayali Santosh Kadam

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, answer questions during a news conference in Dresden, Germany, Friday, June 5, 2009.

Berlin stepped up pressure on Monday on Washington over allegations that a German intelligence service employee spied for the United States, with Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the case threatened to undermine trust between the two allies. “If
photo: AP / Gero Breloer

Japan braces for Typhoon Neoguri

A powerful typhoon forced Japanese authorities to cancel flights and urge more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes on Tuesday as the storm threatened to bring torrential rain and high winds to Japan’s southern islands. Typhoon Neoguri
photo: WN / RTayco

A man watches a movie on a Samsung Electronics's product at a showroom of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012.

SAO PAULO — Thieves raided a Samsung electronics factory in Brazil during the night shift early Monday, subdued workers and guards, and made off with about $36 million worth of cellphones and computers. Heavily armed men captured eight plant
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man

Barcelona Airport most of the traffic at Barcelona Airport is domestic and European, in which Spanair and Vueling have an operational base

If you’re flying anywhere later todaysorry. Two planes had a near-miss moment today at Barcelona‘s El Prat Airport, when one jet’s crew aborted their landing in order to avoid crashing into a passenger jet that appeared to be in its path on the
photo: Creative Commons / Halfalah

 

 

 

Scientists threaten to boycott €1.2bn Human Brain Project

07 Jul 2014

 

Researchers involved in European commission-funded initiative to simulate human brain complain of ‘substantial failures’ Many researchers refused to join on the grounds that it was too premature to attempt a simulation of the entire human brain. PhotographSebastian Kaulitzki /Alamy The world‘s largest project to unravel the mysteries of the human… 

File - In this July 29, 2013 photo, a researcher holds a human brain in a laboratory at Northwestern University's cognitive neurology and Alzheimer's disease center in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

Mohammed Abu Khdeir murder: Mother speaks out after six Israeli men arrested for ‘nationalistic’ killing

06 Jul 2014

 

Israeli police arrested six men on Sunday on suspicion of the murder of aPalestinian teenager who was abducted as he walked to a mosque for dawn prayers. The men are Jewish and were arrested in their homes in Beit Shemesh,Jerusalem and the settlement of Adam, a short drive from the site of the abduction.Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted last… 

Palestinians carry the body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in Jerusalem on Friday, July 4, 2014.

 

 

Women attend a demonstration calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls of the Chibok secondary school, in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, May 13, 2014.

Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, from a video posted by the group. Photo: AP Maiduguri: More than 60 women and girls abducted last month by suspected Boko Haram militants in north-east Nigeria have escaped their captors, sources say.
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

General Counsel Jeh Johnson delivers the keynote address for the Pentagon Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender Pride Month event at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., June 26, 2012. (DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley)

VOA News U.S. officials say travelers heading to the United States from some overseas airports will be required to power on cell phones, laptop computers and other
photo: US Navy / Chad J. McNeeley

Roger Federer of Switzerland, right, shakes hands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after losing a semifinal match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011.

LONDON — Roger Federer already had saved one matchpoint in the Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, and had won four games in a row in the fourth set. As both players sat on the sideline during the changeover before Federer was going to
photo: AP / Matt Slocum

ski station at the mall of the emirates in Dubai, UAE, November 2007

The Fashion Dome at Mall of the EmiratesDubai is launching a project to build an entertainment and hotel district that will include the world’s largest shopping mall, the Emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, said. Plans for the
photo: WN / Guillaume Poulet-Mathis

Humpback Whale

Experts have found that when it comes to the ecosystems in the oceans, the main engineers are the whales. According to the Press Trust of India, a study believes that when it comes to the earth’s oceans, how the globe’s carbon is stored
photo: public domain /

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.

MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military said on Saturday that it had killed 53 fighters from the Islamist Boko Haram group when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa. A statement from defence
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Netherlands' goalkeeper Tim Krul saves the last penalty kick during the World Cup quarterfinal

Costa Rica was supposed to have gone home a long time ago. Before Brazil, it had qualified for only three World Cups, making it out of the group stage only once. It was no better then the third-best qualifier from its own region. But on Saturday it
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

 

 

 

Kvitova conquers Wimbledon again

Full ArticleSTL Today 

06 Jul 2014

 

LONDON • Petra Kvitova plays so much better at the All England Club than anywhere else, and now she owns two championships to prove it. In one of the most dominant performances in a women’s final at Wimbledon, the sixth-seeded Kvitovaof the Czech Republic overpowered and overwhelmed 13th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 6-3, 6-0 in only 55… 

 
Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic holds the trophy as she poses for photographs after winning the women's singles final defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Saturday, July 5, 2014.

Humpback Whale

Experts have found that when it comes to the ecosystems in the oceans, the main engineers are the whales. According to the Press Trust of India, a study believes that when it comes to the earth’s oceans, how the globe’s carbon is stored
photo: public domain /

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.

MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military said on Saturday that it had killed 53 fighters from the Islamist Boko Haram group when it repelled an attack on a military base in the northeast Nigerian town of Damboa. A statement from defence
photo: AP / Sunday Alamba

Netherlands' goalkeeper Tim Krul saves the last penalty kick during the World Cup quarterfinal

Costa Rica was supposed to have gone home a long time ago. Before Brazil, it had qualified for only three World Cups, making it out of the group stage only once. It was no better then the third-best qualifier from its own region. But on Saturday it
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Sloviansk, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine, during the Sloviansk standoff. The author of this photo, Aleksandr Sirota, visited his parents in the city on Easter holidays.

KIEV – Ukrainian troops have regained control over the eastern city of Sloviansk, a stronghold kept by militants for months, the Ukrainian presidential press service said Saturday. Militants who had come under an overnight mortar fire of
photo: Creative Commons / Aleksandr Sirota

Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

BBC News

Environmentalists have accused Commonwealth Gamesorganisers of reneging on promises to create low emission zones around venues.Glasgow 2014 has been recognised for efforts to reduce carbon emissions, waste and promote healthy living. But Friends of

photo: Public Domain

File - Ahmad Chalabi, Member of the Iraqi Governing Council (left, front), and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim (right, front), Member of the Iraqi Governing Council, at today's three-way talks, 19 January, 2004.

Ahmad Chalabi visiting a refugee camp in Mosul: ‘He is a consummate puppet master.’ PhotographBoris Niehaus/Demotix/Corbis He was a presidential patron, then a pariah; an alleged fraud, then an economic saviour. And, perhaps more remarkably, he was
photo: UN / Stephenie Hollyman

 

 

 

 

 

Neymar injury: Brazil’s World Cup dream suffers setback

05 Jul 2014

 

Fortaleza‘s Avenida Beira Mar was alive with the sounds of Brazil‘s celebrations after they took another step towards the 2014 Fifa World Cup final – but there was no mistaking the Neymar effect. The road that sweeps around the front of this picturesque north-eastern coastal location was populated with fans torn between the joy of… 

Brazil's Neymar screams out after being fouled during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Brazil and Colombia at the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza, Brazil, Friday, July 4, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ukraine claims rebels flushed from main stronghold

05 Jul 2014

 

Relentless shelling and sniper fire have since killed more than 470 people and leftWestern leaders frustrated by repeated mediation failures. A pro-Russian fighter stands guard at a checkpoint . AP Ukraine’s interior minister said on Saturday that most pro-Russian rebels and their top commander had fled their main eastern stronghold in what… 

A woman cries near her burning house after shelling in the city of Slovyansk, Donetsk Region, eastern Ukraine, Monday, June 30, 2014. Residential areas came under shelling on Monday morning from government forces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles to the media as she arrives at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland, Monday, June, 23, 2014. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Northern Ireland for the beginning of a three day visit.

Queen Elizabeth has smashed a bottle of whisky against Britain’s biggest warship as she gave her name to the new aircraft carrier at a ceremony in Scotland. The 65,000-tonne HMS Queen Elizabeth is one of two carriers being built at a cost of
photo: AP / Peter Morrison

Overpass Collapses in World Cup City; at Least Two Dead

Full ArticleChosunilbo 

04 Jul 2014

 

An unfinished overpass collapsed in the Brazilian World Cup host city of Belo Horizonte on Thursday, killing at least two people, emergency officials said.Television images showed the front of a passenger bus crushed by the
A woker walks up a ladder on a bridge that collapsed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Thursday, July 3, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamas ‘to announce Gaza ceasefire’

04 Jul 2014

 

A ceasefire is due to be announced between Hamas and Israel following exchanges of fire along the border with the Gaza Strip, the BBC understands. A source with the militant Palestinian group said a truce had been brokered by Egyptian intelligenceofficials. Scores of rockets from Gaza have hit southern Israel in recent days and Israel has
A Palestinians inspect a chicken coop damaged in an Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 25, 2014. The Israeli air force carried out 12 raids on the Gaza Strip overnight after militants fired more rockets at southern Israel, Palestinian security sources said.

 

 

Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor and the former spin doctor of British Prime Minister David Cameron, leaves the Central Criminal Court in London, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Coulson was convicted of phone hacking Tuesday.

David Cameron‘s former spin doctor, who faces up to two years in jail, among four ex-News of the World staff awaiting sentence Andy Coulson is expected to get a discount of several months off his sentence for previous good character. Photograph: Neil
photo: AP / Lefteris Pitarakis

Insecure attachments and emotional eating: Childhood obesity and unhealthy foods

There’s an association between the parents’ insecure attachment and their child’s consumption of unhealthy foods. Could your relationship with your mom increase your child’s chances of obesity? Perhaps the quality of your attachment to both or either
photo: WN / Emico Silalahi

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.

Red Cross workers carry the body of a woman who died of the Ebola virus during a 1995 outbreak in the CongoThe United Nations health agency said on Thursday it expected the worst Ebola outbreak in history to continue its deadly rampage through west
photo: AP / Stephen Wandera

Ghanaian soccer fans celebrating in the streets of Accra, Ghana, after their World Cup 2-1 win against the US, that was played in Germany on Thursday, June 22, 2006. The Black Stars advanced to the second round in its first World Cup appearance, beating the Czech Republic and the United States after an opening loss to Italy in Group E. Ghana, one of four African teams making its debut at the World Cup, is the only one still alive.

Despite earlier reports that trickled in that an Ebola case has been recorded in Ghana, the World Health Organization(WHO) has established that currently,
photo: AP / Olivier Asselin

A Palestinian youth throws stones at Israeli riot police, not seen, during a protest against Jewish settlements in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Monday, Dec. 27, 2010. Tensions regularly run high in Silwan, where a small group of Israeli settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves among thousands of Palestinian residents.

A protester throws a burning tire See Also Arab-Jewish tension in parts of Jerusalem was at fever pitch Thursday afternoon, three days after the funerals for three slain Israeli teens and a day after the alleged revenge killing of
photo: AP / Adel Hana

A woman harvests magic mushrooms in a grow room at the Procare farm in Hazerswoude, central Netherlands, Friday Aug. 3, 2007.

LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists studying the effects of the psychedelic chemical in magic mushrooms have found the human brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding drug trip. Psychedelic drugs such as
photo: AP / Peter Dejong

Santos' soccer player Neymar, of Brazil, speaks during an event honoring him as best player in last season's Copa Libertadores soccer tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday Nov. 24, 2011.

NEYMAR insisted that he is happy for Brazil to win ugly as long as it gets them past Colombia in Saturday morning’s (AESTWorld Cupquarter-final in Fortaleza. The occasional moment of genius from Neymar aside, Brazil have rarely sparkled at
photo: AP / Nelson Antoine

 

 

 

 

Fear and cash shortages hinder fight against Ebola outbreak

Full ArticleYahoo Daily News 

03 Jul 2014

 

By Kwasi Kpodo ACCRA (Reuters) – West African states lack the resources to battle the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola and deep cultural suspicions about the disease remain a big obstacle to halting its spread, ministers said on Wednesday. The outbreak has killed 467 people in GuineaLiberia and Sierra Leone since February, making it the… 

Empty hospital beds are seen at Redemption hospital after nurses and patients fled the hospital due to Ebola deaths in Monrovia, Liberia, Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

Iggy Pop gets Amnesty International apology

03 Jul 2014

 

Iggy Pop didn’t have a problem with Amnesty International‘s goals. He just didn’t like them using his image without permission. The organization’s Belgium office published a recent campaign using famous people making statements that were, supposedly, obtained through the use of torture. In the case of Iggy Pop, a picture of the singer, beaten and… 

Iggy Pop from Iggy and The Stooges performs at the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London's Hyde Park, Friday, July 13, 2012.

 

 

 

Santos' soccer player Neymar, of Brazil, speaks during an event honoring him as best player in last season's Copa Libertadores soccer tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday Nov. 24, 2011.

NEYMAR insisted that he is happy for Brazil to win ugly as long as it gets them past Colombia in Saturday morning’s (AESTWorld Cupquarter-final in Fortaleza. The occasional moment of genius from Neymar aside, Brazil have rarely sparkled at
photo: AP / Nelson Antoine

Giraffes - Animal - Environment / Wam2

Scientists have worked out the anatomical secret to giraffes’ long and spindly – but strong – legs. Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College(RVC) of London found that a supportive ligament is protected by a groove in the animals’
photo: Creative Commons / Luca Galuzzi

FILE - In this April 5, 2013 file photo, Spain's Princess Cristina walks towards her office in Barcelona, Spain. A Spanish court has subpoenaed Princess Cristina, the daughter of Spain's King Juan Carlos, as a suspect of tax fraud and money laundering, the latest blow to the royal family's reputation. Palma de Mallorca court judge Jose Castro on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014 ordered the 48-year-old princess to appear March 8 for questioning concerning investments and finances relating to her partnership with her husband Inaki Urdangarin in a firm called Aizoon.

BBC News

The sister of Spain‘s King Felipe, Princess Cristina, is appealing against charges in a tax fraud and money laundering case, court officials say. Lawyers for the princess say they are seeking to overturn the charges, which were formalised by a

photo: AP / Manu Fernandez

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks during the 32nd anniversary of the foundation of the Badr Organization in Baghdad, Iraq

VOA News BAGHDAD — Iraq‘s Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikisaid on Wednesday that he hoped to overcome the challenges blocking the formation of a new government, a day after the new parliament’s first session ended without agreement on top
photo: AP / Karim Kadim, File

Susie Wolff-Scottish racing driver

2 July 2014 Last updated at 10:01 BST Scottish driver SusieWolff will become the first woman to take part in a Formula 1 race weekend session in 22 years when she takes to the track at Silverstone in free practice on Friday. She spoke to BBC
photo: Creative Commons / AngMoKio

Photo of an unidentified animal the Bigfoot Research Organization claims is a "juvenile Sasquatch"[46]

Alleged Bigfoot hair samples had believers of the mythical yeti monster clamoring to see whether science might prove Bigfoot does indeed exist. However, DNA testing this week has unfortunately made a discovery that is decidedly less interesting;
photo: Creative Commons / ChubsterII (talk | contribs)

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., smiles during a news conference in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009.

Reuters — JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon has told the bank’s employees and shareholders he has been diagnosed with curable throat cancer, Dow Jones reported today. Dimon said the cancer was caught quickly and is confined and that he will
photo: AP / Paul Sakuma

 

 

 

Europe’s Top Human Rights Court Upholds French Ban on Muslim Veil

02 Jul 2014

 

VOA News The European Court of Human Rights has upheld France‘s ban on the Muslim burqa and other full-face… 
In this Friday, April 23, 2010 file photo, a 31-year-old French veiled woman, no name released, addresses the media in Nantes, western France.

 

 

 

Susie Wolff-Scottish racing driver

2 July 2014 Last updated at 10:01 BST Scottish driver SusieWolff will become the first woman to take part in a Formula 1 race weekend session in 22 years when she takes to the track at Silverstone in free practice on Friday. She spoke to BBC
photo: Creative Commons / AngMoKio

Photo of an unidentified animal the Bigfoot Research Organization claims is a "juvenile Sasquatch"[46]

Alleged Bigfoot hair samples had believers of the mythical yeti monster clamoring to see whether science might prove Bigfoot does indeed exist. However, DNA testing this week has unfortunately made a discovery that is decidedly less interesting;
photo: Creative Commons / ChubsterII (talk | contribs)

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., smiles during a news conference in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009.

Reuters — JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon has told the bank’s employees and shareholders he has been diagnosed with curable throat cancer, Dow Jones reported today. Dimon said the cancer was caught quickly and is confined and that he will
photo: AP / Paul Sakuma

The Mistral French amphibious assault ship/helicopter carrier/hospital ship docks on the Neva River in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, with one of the city landmarks, St. Isaac's Cathedral, in the background

Reuters MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin accused theUnited States on Tuesday of using fines against French banks to “blackmail” Parisinto calling off its sale of Mistral warships to Russia as punishment for
photo: AP / Dmitry Lovetsky

The General Motors headquarters is seen in Detroit, Thursday, July 9, 2009.

Vehicles Affected: Approximately 6.8 million model-year 1997-2014 vehicles, including 1997-05 Chevrolet Malibu and 2000-05 Impala and Monte Carlo sedans; 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue and 1999-2004 Alero sedans; 1999-2005
photo: AP / Carlos Osorio

New Zealand's batsman Lou Vincent, right, survives a run out as Pakistan's bowler Mohammad Asif, left, and umpire Daryl Harper of Australia, center, looks on during their Semi Finals of the Twenty20 World Championship cricket match against Pakistan at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007.

Wellington – The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a life ban on disgraced former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent on Tuesday, just hours after the player admitted he was a “cheat” and had shamed his country and the sport
photo: AP / Themba Hadebe

Oprah Winfrey arrives at the Oprah Winfrey Network Television Critics Association 2011 Winter Press Tour Cocktail Reception in Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday, Jan 6, 2011.

Beyonce proves to be an unstoppable force, with the diva incredibly bumping off talk show legend Oprah Winfrey from the number one spot to be crowned the world’s most powerful celebrity. On the Celebrity 100 list compiled by Forbes magazine, Beyonce
photo: AP / Matt Sayles

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AFTER UKRAINE CEASEFIRE ENDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indian media: ‘Space diplomacy’ in South Asia

01 Jul 2014

 

Media in India welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s pitch for a regional satellite to benefit South Asian nations. During a speech on the launch of a commercial rocket, Mr Modi urged Indian scientists to develop a satellite that provides services to countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) region. “Today… 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks after the successful launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C23) in Sriharikota, India, Monday, June 30, 2014.
Translate »