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Latest World News


 

Syria crisis: Brahimi warns horror is ‘unprecedented’

Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus. 29 Dec 2013
Some city districts, including Haresta in the capital Damascus, lie in ruins

The conflict in Syria has reached “unprecedented levels of horror”, peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has told the UN Security Council.

The UN-Arab League envoy said Syria was being destroyed “bit by bit” with grave consequences for the wider region.

 

Several Australian towns flooded, 4 people killed

Residents clear away the mud from their flooded home in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. Parts of Brisbane reopened as deadly floodwaters that had swamped entire neighborhoods recede, revealing streets and thousands of homes covered in a thick layer of putrid sludge.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Thousands of Australians huddled in shelters Tuesday as torrential rains flooded cities and towns in the northeast, killing four people and prompting around 1,000 helicopter evacuations. With floodwaters expected to peak in…
photo: AP / Tertius Pickard

International Monetary Fund grants Mali $18 million emergency loan

A protestor carries a Malian flag as he demonstrates in front of a police line, during a protest march in favor of an international military intervention to regain control of the Mali's Islamist-controlled north, in Bamako, Mali, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012.

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund agreed to provide a $18.4 million emergency loan to Mali, a move likely to lead to other donors releasing more funds after…
photo: AP / Harouna Traore

Former Guatemalan dictator to stand trial on genocide charges

A woman waits for a bus as a soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in Coban, Guatemala, Tuesday Dec. 21, 2010. The Guatemalan military declared a monthlong state of siege Sunday in Alta Verapaz in hopes of reclaiming cities that have been taken over by Mexico's brutal Zetas drug gang. Local leaders of the mountainous northern province, which has become a prime corridor for smuggling drugs from Honduras to Mexico, say they have been asking state and federal authorities to intervene for two years now.

MEXICO CITY – Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt will stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, a Guatemalan judge ruled Monday, in incidents that took place during the height of the Central American nation’s…
photo: AP / Rodrigo Abd

Iran Says It Sent a Monkey Into Space

In this picture released by President's office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, points as he talks to a technician during his visit of the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 8, 2008

LONDON — Iranian state television said on Monday that the country’s scientists had succeeded in sending a monkey into space “as a prelude to sending humans.” Press TV, the state-run satellite broadcaster, said the animal was launched in a space…
photo: AP

Somalia gravediggers grieve improved security

File - Women and their young children walk along the road between the towns of Balcad and Jawahar in the Middle Shabelle region of Somalia. On 9 December, 2012, Somali National Army (SNA) forces supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) captured the town of Jawahar from the militant extremist group, Al Shabaab.

– Ali Hassan spends his day sitting in a former mosque, now a ramshackle shelter for drug users, idly staring at his cell phone as he waits for it to ring. A gravedigger with more than 20 years of experience, Hassan is finding life in Mogadishu‘s…
photo: UN / Stuart Price

Brazil nightclub fire kills 233

A crowd stands outside the Kiss nightclub during a fire inside the club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.

Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil, killing more than 230 people, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. It appeared to be the world’s deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade….
photo: AP / Roger Shlossmacker

Hackers take over US sentencing commission website

The website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), warning on the dangers of Internet Fraud as seen on this November 19, 2009 photo.

WASHINGTON — The hacker-activist group Anonymous said it hijacked the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed…

 

 

 

 

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HORROR: 232 DEAD IN BRAZIL NIGHTCLUB BLAZE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mali: not another Afghanistan

In this Monday, May 10, 2010 file photo, Malian special forces drill to face off an ambush as an unidentified U.S. Special Forces soldier gives instructions from a Malian truck in Kita, Mali, during a joint training exercise. A new Tuareg rebel group, whose members include former pro-Gadhafi fighters, say Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, that they have launched a second day of attacks in northern Mali towns.

12 The headline on the front page of a Mali newspaper reads ‘Hollande the liberator’. photographs: eric gaillard/reuters and jerome delay/apOn guard: French soldiers at an observation post outside Sevare. photographs: eric gaillard/reuters and jerome…
photo: AP / Alfred de Montesquiou

Egypt marks second year of revolution

Protesters wave an Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011.

Huge demonstrations were expected in Egypt on Friday on the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought in an Islamist government, as political tensions…
photo: AP / Bernat Armangue

Metro service resumes in Athens as strike ends

A man reads a flyer announcing a strike by metro services at the shuttered entrance of the Monastiraki Metro station in Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013.

Underground trains in Athens have resumed service following a strike that disrupted transportation in the Greek capital for more than a week. The workers had walked off the job to protest against planned salary cuts. Metro train operators returned to…
photo: AP / Petros Giannakouris

20 detained at Moscow rally against anti-gay bill

Gay rights activists demonstrate in downtown Moscow on Sunday, May 27, 2007. Russian police detained gay rights activists, including at least two European lawmakers, as they tried to hold a demonstration in downtown Moscow on Sunday, while conservatives

Russian police detained 20 gay rights campaigners and militant Orthodox Christian activists Friday near the country’s parliament as it overwhelmingly backed a bill that would ban “homosexual propaganda.” Russia‘s State Duma, the lower house of…
photo: AP/Sergey Ponomarev

Anger over Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to Gaza

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak gestures as he delivers his opening speech at Malaysia's ruling party United Malays National Organization (UMNO) general assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010. Najib has moved to curb rifts between the Malay majority and ethnic minorities by warning that the country could end up destroyed by quarrels over whether all races were getting fair treatment.

MALAYSIA’S Prime Minister Najib Razak has become the first non-Arab head of government to visit Gaza as an official guest of Hamas, provoking storms of controversy in Kuala Lumpur, the Palestinian territories and Israel. Palestinian Authority…
photo: AP / Lai Seng Sin

UN chief urges Security Council to unite on Syria

UN chief urges Security Council to unite on Syria

UN leader Ban Ki-moon made a fresh appeal to members of the Security Council today to overcome their divisions and find a solution to the bloody civil war in Syria. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ban said it would be an…



 

 

Female smoking death risk ‘has soared’

Woman - Cigarette smoker - Smoking

Women smoking nowadays are far more likely to die as a result of their habit than they were in the 1960s, according to a new study. Changing habits such as starting earlier and smoking more cigarettes have been blamed on dramatically increased risks…
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

Mexican court orders release of French woman

View of the Mexican Supreme Court bldg located on Carranza and Pino Suárez streets at the southeast corner of the Zocalo in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican Supreme Court panel voted Wednesday to release Florence Cassez, a Frenchwoman who says she was unjustly sentenced to 60 years in prison for kidnapping. Cassez has become a cause celebre in France, and irregularities in…
photo: Creative Commons / Thelmadatter

Buddhism and Science scholars Discuss Consciousness

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Participates in the 26th Mind & Life Meeting

Article by Yeshe Choesang, WN Correspondent Dharamshala Karnataka, India: – The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama keenly participated in all the sessions while several scientists and scholars made their presentations at the…
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

 

Israeli election ends in dramatic deadlock

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman greet their supporters in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013

Associated Press= JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel‘s parliamentary election has ended in a stunning deadlock between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s hard-line bloc and center-left rivals, forcing the badly weakened Israeli leader to scramble to cobble…
photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Transaction tax could be levied from 2014-EU’s tax chief

Transaction tax could be levied from 2014-EU's tax chief

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany, France and nine other euro zone countries could levy a tax on financial transactions from January next year if governments quickly agree its design, the EU’s tax chief said on Tuesday. “If there is a political will among…
photo: EC / EC

5,300 soldiers to be made redundant

5,300 soldiers to be made redundant

Up to 5,300 soldiers are to be made redundant from the Army in the summer as part of the latest round of cuts to the armed forces, the Government has announced. Redundancy notices will be issued on June 18. Any personnel preparing for, serving on, or…
photo: US Navy / Josh Ives

Australian troops injured in militants attack in Afghanistan

Australian troops injured in militants attack in Afghanistan

At least three Australian soldiers have been wounded while on a Special Operations Task Group missing to disrupt insurgent networks in Afghanistan. The soldiers from…
photo: US Navy / Josh Ives

Report: Strong Quake Kills 1 in Indonesia

Bintan Agro Beach Resort,Sumatra, Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong, shallow earthquake has rocked parts of western Indonesia, reportedly killing a young girl. The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 hit Aceh province around dawn on Tuesday. Local media said it was felt…

China, India must heed call of the times

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, right, shakes hands with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the closing ceremony of the Festival of China in India and the 60th anniversary of the established diplomatic relations between the two countries, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010.

Doha has never been hospitable for contentious North-South dialogue. The negotiations on climate change that signed off in the Qatari capital in December 2012 have proved that again. And, of course, it is difficult to forget that the negotiations on…
photo: AP / Manish Swarup

Syria car bomb kills 30, separate blast rocks capital

Syrians inspect burned cars at the site of a blast in the Syrian capital Damascus Thursday June 28, 2012.

DAMASCUS: A suicide car bombing in central Syria killed at least 30 people on Monday, a watchdog said, also reporting a powerful blast in Damascus, as the Arab League said UN efforts to end the conflict had failed to bring even a “glimmer” of hope….
photo: AP / Muzaffar Salman

Prince Harry kills Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan

In this Friday, Sept. 7, 2012 photo made available on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, Britain's Prince Harry examines the cockpit of an Apache attack helicopter with an unidentified member of his squadron, at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, where he starts his tour of duty as a co-pilot gunner.

Reportedly, Prince Harry killed Taliban insurgents during a recent tour in Afghanistan. The British bad boy, who serves as an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot, talked about his role in the military fighting terrorism in the Middle East. According to…
photo: AP / John Stillwell

Leading candidates in Israel’s election

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

— Leading candidates in Israel‘s election: _Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to return to power in Tuesday’s elections after nearly four years as prime minister. Netanyahu insists he has mobilized the international community against Iran‘s…
photo: AP / //Ronen Zvulun

Australian Open diary 2013: Day 8

Serena Williams returns a shot to Czech Republic's Andrea Hlavackova in the fourth round of play at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, in New York.

The players are not happy with the thought of the US Open finishing on a Monday – but talk of a boycott is fanciful Roger Federer will more likely swear on camera before these highly paid athletes withdraw their labour. Photograph: David Crosling/EPA…
photo: AP / Kathy Willens

Strongest evidence yet of life on Mars found in huge McLaughlin Crater

Strongest evidence yet of life on Mars found in huge McLaughlin Crater

Tweet Washington, January 21 (ANI): A NASA spacecraft is providing new evidence that a Martian crater once may have held groundwater-fed lake. The new information comes from researchers analyzing spectrometer data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance…
photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech file

Armed struggle is Kashmir solution

Indian paramilitary troops stand guard infront of closed shops during a strike in Srinagar on 28, July 2012.The call for strike was given hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani Life was adversely affected in other major towns of the valley on Saturday following a shutdown called by the separatists to protest the killing of a 21-year-old youth Hilal Ahmad Dar. Dar was allegedly killed in an army firing in Bandipora district on late July 24, local media reported.

NEW DELHI: Fresh challenges are brewing for India in Jammu & Kashmir with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed‘s “threat” to step up terror in the border state being complimented by increased activity in LeT camps in eastern Afghanistan not far…

 

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Situation on LoC terrible: Musharraf

Bunkers and residential houses are seen by Churunda village on January 13, 2013, northwest of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Administered Kashshmir, India. The village with a population of a little over 12,000 people has been bearing the brunt of cross-fire between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan. Last week a Pakistan solider was killed across the Line of Control (LOC), a military line that divides Indian-administered Kashmir from the Pakistan-administered Kashmir at this village. People living along the LoC have continually been at risk due to hostility between the armies of the two rival nations. Last year, in November, three people, including a pregnant woman, had died after a shell fired from Pakistan landed on one of the houses in the village. Tension between Pakistan and India has escalated after a fresh skimirish along the border. Both countries have summoned each other's envoy to protest against unacceptable and unprovoked' attacks.

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday the situation on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir was “terrible” and the escalation of tension should be totally unacceptable to both the governments. “I don’t know about it…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Lance Armstrong Confession: Did Anyone Actually Believe Him?

This Monday, Jan. 14, 2013 photo provided by Harpo Studios Inc., shows talk-show host Oprah Winfrey interviewing cyclist Lance Armstrong during taping for the show "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive" in Austin, Texas.

Print this page Tweet After more than a week of hype, Lance Armstrong finally came clean Thursday night about not playing clean. The cycling legend confessed to Oprah Winfrey in the first of two OWN network interviews that he relied on a litany of…
photo: AP / George Burns

British Leader Sees Wider Threat in Algeria Attack

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

LONDON — With more than 60 hostages still missing and many feared dead, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament on Friday that the Qaeda-linked attack on a remote Algerian gas installation demonstrated the need for Britain and its western…
photo: AP / Matt Dunham

Egypt fans demand tough verdicts in football trial

Egyptian fans rush into the field following Al-Ahly club soccer match against Al-Masry club at the soccer stadium in Port Said, Egypt Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012.

CAIRO: Thousands of supporters of Al-Ahly club demonstrated in Cairo on Friday to demand severe punishments for 75 people on trial for dozens of deaths in Egypt‘s worst football disaster. More than 70 people were…

Algeria Ends Military Operation; ‘Several Hostages Killed’

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika speaks at the Supreme Court in Algiers, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008. Algeria's president, 72, who led his oil-rich and gas-rich North African nation out of a bloody Islamic insurgency, started clearing the way Wednesday to give himself a third term in office, announcing plans to abolish limits that would have prevented his re-election.

Algeria‘s state-run news agency says the military operation at the natural gas complex where Islamic militants seized 41 foreign hostages has ended. But verifiabe information on the fate of all the captives is hard to confirm. …
photo: AP

Hostages among dead as Algerians blast Islamists from ground and air

A man reads a newspaper headlining "Terrorist attack and kidnapping in In Amenas", at a news stand in Algiers, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013.

Algerian forces launched a brazen air attack on suspected Islamist militants holding scores of foreign employees of a natural gas complex Thursday, killing kidnappers and hostages alike in what appeared to be a forceful message from Algeria that it…
photo: AP / Ouahab Hebbat

Colorado movie theater where massacre occurred set to reopen

The Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado where the 2012 Aurora shooting took place, photographed the day after the shooting.

DENVER (Reuters) – The Aurora, Colorado, movie theater where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Batman film last July was set to reopen on Thursday evening with a private “night of remembrance” for survivors and others connected to the…
photo: GFDL / Algr

40 years after Roe v. Wade, abortion foes are winning — and losing

US Supreme Court, Washington DC

Four decades after Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, many opponents of the decision are in a celebratory mood while those backing abortion rights are glum, feeling that momentum is turning decisively against…
photo: Creative Commons / Bjoertvedt

Gaddafi’s Son Makes His First Court Appearance

In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 photo, Seif al-Islam is seen after his capture in the custody of revolutionary fighters in Zintan, Libya.

Tweet Colonel Gaddafi‘s son Saif al Islam has appeared in court in Libya for the first time since his capture more than a year ago. He is accused of meeting an International Criminal Court (ICC) lawyer Melinda Taylor and of being ‘involved’ with an…
photo: AP / Ammar El-Darwish

Ghana arrest Ble Goude wanted in Ivory Coast

Ivory Cost President Laurent Gbagbo, center, shows a peace sign, as he walk's next to Ivory Coast youth leader Ble Goude, far right, at a rally in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. Ivory Coast will have a second round off elections on Sunday.

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – A lawyer says authorities in Ghana have arrested Charles Ble Goude, the former head of a youth movement in Ivory Coast wanted in connection with violence linked to its disputed presidential election two years ago….
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

Taleban to step up attacks on Afghan forces

Taleban to step up attacks on Afghan forces

RUSSELS ‘ Committed to withdrawal in 2014, NATO’s Afghan strategy faces a serious test in coming months with the Taleban expected to step up attacks on local forces taking over security, a senior NATO officer said on Thursday. US-led NATO forces are…
photo: US Navy / Josh Ives

Slovakia’s Lajcak says no clear answer to independent Scotland’s EU future

Slovakia's Lajcak says no clear answer to independent Scotland's EU future

The deputy prime minister of the EU’s newest country says there is “no clear answer” to the issue of an independent Scotland‘s status in Europe. In a BBC interview, Slovakia‘s Miroslav Lajcak also warns Westminster about…
photo: EC / EC

The transatlantic trough

President Barack Obama listens as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Nov. 28, 2012.

Plagued by deep domestic problems, Barack Obama would love to outsource many international issues to the EU in his second term. The problem is no one knows whether Europe is up to the task, writes Ivan Krastev. Is the European Union willing and…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

More than 100 dead in regime assault near Homs

More than 100 dead in regime assault near Homs

The Syrian army left at least 106 civilians dead in a 24-hour assault outside the city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday. The group said some of the victims were burned in their homes while others were shot or stabbed. By…
photo: UN / Devra Berkowitz

Army seeks to bar mental health defense by Bales

Army seeks to bar mental health defense by Bales

SEATTLE – The U.S. Army seeks to bar Staff Sgt. Robert Bales from using any sort of mental health defense to charges that he slaughtered 16 Afghan villagers last year because he has refused to take part in an official review of his sanity, according…
photo: US Navy / Matthew Stroup

Kashmir crisis: Pakistan offers India talks

Kashmir crisis: Pakistan offers India talks

Pakistan‘s foreign minister has called for talks with her Indian counterpart to defuse military tensions in Kashmir. Hina Rabbani Khar‘s remarks came hours after the two armies agreed to “de-escalate” tensions after a meeting of…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

179 Republicans vote to kill Sandy relief; 192 Dems and 49 Republicans pass it

179 Republicans vote to kill Sandy relief; 192 Dems and 49 Republicans pass it

For hours Tuesday night House Republicans tried every trick in the book to either kill or severely cut the bill to funding for super storm Sandy victims. At the end of the night 192 Democrats were joined by just 49 Republicans to pass the $50 billion…
photo: US DoD / EJ Hersom

OWN Releases First Look at Oprah’s Interview with Lance Armstrong

Lest we forget America’s other major sports scandal, OWN has posted a 16 second clip of Oprah’s interview with Lance Armstrong on YouTube.

The clip tells us pretty much nothing, except that it will feature the two of them, in the same room, alternately speaking and listening to each other, otherwise known as a conversation. The special will also air in two parts, which means two nights of Nielsen ratings for Oprah. What does this mean for you? It means the first night will be questions like “do you miss Sheryl Crowe?” and we won’t get to the good stuff until night two

NY State enacts toughest gun control bill

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Gov. announces that IBM and the Intel Corporation will place research and development operations at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany during a New York Open for Business Statewide Conference at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

NEW YORK – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed into law one of the nation’s toughest gun-control measures and the first to be enacted since the mass shooting last month at an elementary school in neighboring Connecticut. The bill passed…
photo: AP / Hans Pennink

Washington Dismisses Report on Chemical Attack in Syria

Barack Obama discusses 2009 NCAA Men's Div I Tournament bracket with Robert Gibbs & Tommy Vietor 3-17-09Barack Obama discusses 2009 NCAA Men's Div I Tournament bracket with Robert Gibbs & Tommy Vietor 3-17-09

WASHINGTON, January 15 (RIA Novosti) – The White House downplayed on Tuesday media speculations that chemical weapons had been used by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime against the Syrian rebels. According to a recent report in the Foreign Policy…
photo: Public Domain / Pete Souza

Pakistan Supreme Court Orders Arrest of Prime Minister

Supporters of Sunni Muslim cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri listen to his speech, unseen, at an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in a corruption case on Tuesday afternoon, in a drastic intensification of hostilities between the country’s embattled government and…
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed

Blasts at Syrian university kill more than 80

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian security forces walk on the wreckage of a damaged building at a security compound which was attacked by an explosion, in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, on Friday Feb. 10, 2012.

BEIRUT: Twin blasts inside a university campus in Syria‘s largest city on Tuesday set cars ablaze, blew the walls off dormitory rooms and left more than 80 people dead, anti-regime activists said. What caused the blasts remained unclear. Anti-regime…
photo: AP / SANA

France to the Rescue

Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, left, and France’s President Francois Hollande, are seen during a joint statement at the Elysee Palace, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012.

PARIS — On Jan. 11, French military forces entered Mali, taking and inflicting casualties in a war as sudden as it is important. Even at this early stage, broadly applicable lessons can be drawn from the conflict. Although the future course of…
photo: AP / Michel Euler

Facebook unveils social search feature

Facebook website - Social network

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) If you’ve ever wanted to know the most popular TV shows among your Facebook friends who are doctors, or wanted to see all the photos any of your friends have taken in Paris, the world’s biggest online social network has the…
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba

US to chase al Qaeda in any nook and corner: Panetta

US to chase al Qaeda in any nook and corner: Panetta

Washington: American troops are determined to go to any nook and corner of the earth to destroy al Qaeda, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said, asserting that Washington was considering providing logistic, surveillance and airlift assistance to…
photo: US DoD / A. Kirk-Cuomo

Mali insurgents counter French airstrikes

This picture released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French fighter pilot getting ready to take off with a Mirage 2000 D, at Kossei camp in N'Djamena, Chad, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.

PARIS — Despite intensive airstrikes by French warplanes, Islamist fighters Monday overran a strategic village and military post in central Mali, offering an indication that the war against extremists who have carved out a jihadist state in the…
photo: AP / R.Nicolas-Nelson, Ecpad

Russian UN Envoy Says No Claims to French Actions in Mali

H.E. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of Russia, reads a statement to the press following Security Consultations on the situation in the Middle East, with regard to Israel and Palestine.

UN, January 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has no claims to military activities of France in Mali after it joined military operation against the Islamist insurgency in the African country, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday. Last week…
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine

Texas: Ex-President George Bush Out of Hospital

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2003)--Lt. Craig Neubecker, HITRON-10 Aviation Mission commander, meet with President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Martha Bush. President Bush wanted to thank the Coast Guard crew for their help in the homeland defense of the country and their efforts to fight the war on drugs. U.S. COAST GUARD PHOTO (86117) ( PRESIDENT H.W. BUSH VISIT (FOR RELEASE) )

Former President George Bush, 88, went home from Methodist Hospital in Houston on Monday after spending nearly two months being treated for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues, a family spokesman said. His stay included a week in…
photo: US Coastguard

Karzai: US troop immunity up to Afghan elders

Karzai: US troop immunity up to Afghan elders

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan president said Monday that a meeting of the nation’s elders should convene to decide whether U.S. troops staying in the country after 2014 would be immune from prosecution under Afghan law. President Hamid Karzai‘s…
14 Jan 2013
Allahabad. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges on Monday at the start of the world’s biggest religious festival. The Kumbh Mela in the Indian town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters,…
Indian Hindu holy men, or Naga Sadhus, run naked into the water at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013.
photo: AP / Kevin Frayer

UN Security Council to meet on Mali, France to use Algeria’s airspace for operation

UN Security Council to meet on Mali, France to use Algeria's airspace for operation

UNITED NATIONS/PARIS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) — The UN Security Council will hold a meeting Monday at France‘s request to discuss the situation in Mali, while Paris got authorization to use Algeria‘s airspace for its operation in the western African…
photo: UN / Ryan Brown

Beijing choked by third day of hazardous smog

Chinese women cycle through smog and pollution over Beijing's Tiananmen Square Thursday, May 1, 2008.

BEIJING – Mask-wearing Beijing residents endured a third day of pollution at hazardous levels on Sunday, as authorities warned that a thick cloud of smog may not lift from the Chinese capital until midweek. As the dense smog shrouded large swathes of…
photo: AP / Oded Balilty

Jaguar Land Rover boost car making industry by creating 800 new jobs

A sign and emblem for Jaguar automobiles appears in front of a dealership, in Norwood, Mass., Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Ford Motor Co. is selling its storied Jaguar and Land Rover businesses to India's Tata Motors Ltd. in a deal that will net the U.S. automaker $1.7 billion, roughly a third of the price it paid for the two luxury brands

Jaguar Land Rover is set to give the British carmaking industry a much-needed boosted by creating 800 new jobs at its factory in Solihull. Just two days after Honda sent shockwaves through the UK car industry by announcing hundreds of job cuts in…
photo: AP / Steven Senne

2012’s Biggest Lie, 2013’s Biggest Risk

2012's Biggest Lie, 2013's Biggest Risk

EU Crisis Reminder: Why It Isn’t Getting Better, Implications for Stocks, Gold, the EURUSD and Other Currency Pairs and Asset Classes, and What To Do While doing research for our recent 4 part summary of 2013 market forecasts, I noticed that few…

Britain Sends Planes To Hep French Fight In Mali

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and French President Francois Hollande hold a news conference after their bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street in London Tuesday July 10, 2012.

Britain will provide transport planes to assist the French military operation in Mali, Downing Street has confirmed. David Cameron spoke with Francois Hollande on Saturday evening as France attempted to contain al-Qaeda linked rebels in the north of…
photo: AP / Andrew Winning

Former PM to square off with prince for Czech presidency

Presidential candidate Milos Zeman talks to media after casting his vote in presidential elections at a polling station in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Former leftist Prime Minister Milos Zeman narrowly won the first round of the Czech Republic‘s presidential election on Saturday but will face a strong challenge from the country’s aristocratic foreign minister in a run-off round….
photo: AP / Petr David Josek

Inauguration 2013: President Obama, three Bibles, two oaths

File - Former president George W. Bush is escorted by President Barack Obama on the U.S. Capitol east steps as he and Laura Bush prepare to take off in a Marine Corps helicopter following the 56th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2009.

Follow @catpoe WASHINGTON, January 12, 2013 — When President Obama takes the oath of office on January 21, he will actually be doing it for a second time, having done so just 24 hours before, January 20. That’s because the U.S.…
photo: USAF / Tech. Sgt. Suzanne M. Day

Robert F Kennedy Jr convinced second gunman involved in assassination of JFK (Photos)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, kneels with his children at the casket of Mary Richardson Kennedy, in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery in Centerville, Mass., Saturday, May 19, 2012.

On Friday night at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his sister Rory spoke to legendary newsman Charlie Rose about their family before a spellbound audience as a year of observances begins to mark the 50th anniversary of…
photo: AP / Michael Dwyer

Bolivia scores coca leaf victory at UN

Press Conference: by H.E. Mr. Pablo Solon, Permanent Representative of the Plurinational States of Bolivia, on the Bolivian proposal of amendments to article 49 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, with respect to coca leaf chewing.

Bolivia says that it has been re-admitted to the UN’s anti-narcotics convention after persuading member states to recognise the right of its indigenous people to chew raw coca leaf, which is used in the making of cocaine. Evo Morales, the Bolivian…
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe

More than 30,000 flee fighting in Sudan’s Darfur: U.N.

Two thousand displaced Sudanese have installed a camp of makeshift shelters near the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)’s team site in Khor Abeche, South Darfur.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – More than 30,000 people have fled during two weeks of fighting in Sudan‘s Darfur region, the United Nations said after some of the worst clashes between government troops, rebels and rival tribes reported there for months….
photo: UN / Albert Gonzalez Farran

At least 42 dead in China landslide

People stand on a road covered by mud and rocks after a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Xiaohe, Qiaojia county, in southwest China's Yunnan province, Tuesday, July 13, 2010.

Beijing – A landslide killed at least 42 people including seven from a single family when it smashed into a remote village in south-western China on Friday, state media said. Another two people were sent to hospital after being rescued from the…
photo: AP

Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan

SOMALIA, Kismayo: In a handout photograph taken 05 October and released by the African Union-United Nations Information Support Team 06 October, a soldier serving with the Kenyan Contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is seen standing infront of an armoured personnel carrier through a bullet hole in the gate the former compound housing the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) while a combat engineering team sweeps the area for unexploded ordinace and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo. The last bastion of the once feared Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist group Al Shabaab, Kismayo fell after troops of the Somali National Army (SNA) and the pro-government Ras Kimboni Brigade supported by Kenyan AMISOM forces entered the port city on 02 October following a two month operation across southern Somalia which saw the liberation of villages and centres along a distance of 120km from Afmadow to Kismayo. AU-UN IST PHOTO / STUART PRICE.

Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan 1 hour ago Egypt police attacked near gas pipeline in Sinai 2 hours ago Palestinian killed in Gaza border fence shooting…
photo: UN / STUART PRICE.

Obama: Afghan War Coming to an End

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dylan Ferguson, a brigade aviation element officer with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, launches a Puma unmanned aerial vehicle June 25, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. Ferguson uses the Puma for reconnaissance for troops on the ground. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod, Task Force 1-82 PAO)

President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai say in a statement that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan is expected to shift to a support role later this spring, a few months earlier than expected. (Jan. 11) You need the latest…
photo: US Army / Michael J. MacLeod

French Troops Intervene in Mali to Support Local Army

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

By GABRIELE PARUSSINI PARIS—France‘s President François Hollande said Friday that French troops were on the ground in Mali to help the local army push back rebel groups advancing toward the south of the vast West African country. French soldiers were…
photo: AP / Philippe Wojazer

Peace deal signed for CAR after Gabon talks

Central African Republic President Francois Bozize, right, shakes hands with Michel Djotodia, leader of the Seleka rebel alliance, as heads of state and other participants applaud, during peace talks in Libreville, Gabon, Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.

Central African Republic President Francois Bozize, the rebels who sought to overthrow him, and the political opposition have reached a deal to create a government of national unity. Friday’s agreement, which includes a ceasefire, also…
photo: AP / Joel Bouopda Tatou

Boeing news more

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner N7874

WASHINGTON — The head of Federal Aviation Administration says he’s confident the Boeing 787 is safe, but he remains concerned about recent incidents, including a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week. Michael Huerta, the FAA administrator,…

 

 

 

 

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Obama Announces Lew As Treasury Pick

United States President Barack Obama and others listen as Chief of Staff Jack Lew, centre, speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on 31 January 2012.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama stood side by side in the East Room of the White House on Thursday with his outgoing Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, and the man he was nominating to replace him, White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew. The men…
photo: Public Domain / Pete Souza

Student shot at California school, stable

Bullets for handgun

A 16-year-old student armed with a shotgun walked into class in a rural California high school and shot one student, fired at another but missed, and then was talked into surrendering by a teacher and another staff member, officials said. The teen…
photo: WN / RTayco

 

 

 

 

Rare snow shuts down Jerusalem

People play in the snow in front of the Dome of the Rock, inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, Jan. 10, 2013.

People play in the snow in front of the Dome of the Rock, inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem’s

 

 

 

 

10th Mountain soldiers head to Afghanistan

10th Mountain soldiers head to Afghanistan

Nearly 3,500 10th Mountain Division soldiers are leaving for Afghanistan this month. Members of the 1st and 2nd…
photo: US Army / Alexandra Campo

Lawyer alleges police brutality in Delhi gang-rape case

Students of Kashmir University hold plea cards while holding protest against the harassement to women across the country Students demanding action against the persons involved in recent Gang rape in New Delhi at Kashmir University in Srinagar on Tuesday 08, January 2013.

NEW DELHI: A defence lawyer accused Indian police Thursday of beating confessions out of five men charged with murdering and gang-raping a student in New Delhi, as they were due to appear in court again. Speaking before a hearing at which a…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Obama to nominate Jack Lew as new Treasury secretary

President Barack Obama walks with Chief of Staff Jack Lew during a break from debate preparations in Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 14, 2012.

Associated Press Associated Press In Print: Thursday, January 10, 2013 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Contact the editor Email Newsletters…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Al-Qaeda Advances From Mali Stronghold

Fighters from Islamist group Ansar Dine stand guard during the handover of a Swiss female hostage for transport by helicopter to neighboring Burkina Faso, at a designated rendezvous point in the desert outside Timbuktu, Mali Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

Saudi Arabia defies international protests with beheading of Sri Lankan maid Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor to sing at Obama second presidential inauguration US publicly voices concerns over Britain leaving EU…

 

Tymoshenko Spends Night in Bathroom

In this photo provided by Ukrainian Pravda taken Wednesday, April 25, 2012, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko shows bruises on her body to Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights in Kachanovskaya prison in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which she said she sustained when prison guards attacked her on Friday April 20 when trying to transport her to a local hospital against her will.

KIEV, January 9 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko spent the night in the bathroom at her hospital following her declaration of “civil disobedience” on January 8, Ukrainian news…
photo: AP / Ukrainian Pravda

U.S. experiences warmest and second most extreme weather year on record in 2012 (Video)

In this photo taken Sunday, March 27, 2011, a woman looks out to the destroyed neighborhoods from atop Weather Hill in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The hill was originally built to give fishermen a view of sea conditions but now offers an unforgettable look out over the vastness of the mass destruction left from tsunami caused by the March 11 earthquake. More than two weeks after the tsunami devastated communities along Japan's coast, the neighborhood around "Hiyori Yama" - Weather Hill - is beginning to show signs of life. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

In terms of weather, 2012 was a year for the record books across the contiguous U.S. Today, NOAA‘s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) officially classified 2012 as the warmest year on record across the Lower 48. 2012 wasn’t just a record year, but…
photo: AP / Wally Santana

AIG may join bailout lawsuit against U.S. government

People pass the AIG building, in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American International Group Inc, the insurer rescued by the U.S. government in 2008, said on Tuesday it is considering joining a lawsuit that claims the bailout terms were unfair, drawing angry condemnation from…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Military Judge Reduces Possible Sentence in WikiLeaks Case

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

A military judge has reduced the possible sentence for a U.S. Army analyst accused of leaking classified documents to the WikiLeaks website. Judge Denise Lind ruled Tuesday that the potential sentence for Army Private First Class Bradley Manning…
photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

In Clashes in Kashmir, Indians Claim 2 Soldiers Were Killed

Indian para-military soldier stand alert during a indefinite curfew in Srinagar on November 29, 2012. The curfew comes following clashes between groups of Shia and Sunni Muslims in the restive Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir.

ISLAMBAD, Pakistan — Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded gunfire in the disputed territory of Kashmir for the second time in three days on Tuesday, this time leading to Indian claims that the Pakistanis had killed two Indian soldiers. Connect…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Killer asteroid comes near Earth on January 8 2013

2005/04/20 Band of Rubble - This artist´s animation illustrates a massive asteroid belt in orbit around a star the same age and size as our Sun. Evidence for this possible belt was discovered by NASA´s Spitzer Space Telescope when it spotted

Asteroid 99942 Apophis will come with 9.2 million miles of the Earth at 7:09am MST. Normally this would not be an observation of note, but astronomers will be paying close attention. Apophis has the potential of hitting the Earth. On April 13, 2029…

 

 

 

What is Google’s Eric Schmidt doing in North Korea?

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, left, and Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, disembark from an airport transfer bus after arriving at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt arrives at Pyongyang International Airport. Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP…
photo: AP / David Guttenfelder

British Soldier Shot Dead In Afghanistan

British army Lance Cpl. Benjamin Woodhouse, of Antitank Platoon, 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment, participates in a civil affairs patrol with the 4th Operational Mentor Liaison Team (OMLT) in the Nawa district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2009.

A British soldier has been shot dead by a man wearing an Afghan army uniform, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The soldier from 28 Engineer Regiment, attached to 21 Engineer Regiment, was killed in the southern Helmand province on Monday…
photo: USMC / Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz

North Korea striker Jong Tae Se hopes playing in South Korea will improve ties

North Korea's Jong Tae Se reacts during the World Cup group G soccer match between North Korea and Ivory Coast at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, Friday, June 25, 2010.

INCHEON, South Korea — North Korea striker Jong Tae Se hopes his signing with a South Korean club will improve ties between the rival Koreas. The 27-year-old arrived Tuesday in South Korea to sign with the Suwon…
photo: AP / Kin Cheung

Nvidia launches world’s fastest mobile processor

Nvidia launches world's fastest mobile processor

LAS VEGAS: Chipmaker Nvidia showed off its newest Tegra mobile processor, its next step in its expansion into tablets and smartphones and also unveiled a new hand-held game device. The Tegra 4 chip, with four central processing cores, will be…
photo: European Community / Coolcaesar

Massive rally for Chavez planned in Caracas

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez cheer after polling stations closed and before any results were made available in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012.

Venezuela‘s leftist leadership has called for a massive show of support for ailing President Hugo Chavez in Caracas on Thursday – the day he is supposed to be sworn in to a new six year term in office. National Assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello…

 

 

 

 

Police among 13 suspects slain in Philippine clash

Philippine National Police ( PNP ) personnel checks the vehicle in a Police Checkpoint area in San Juan City , Philippines , April 1 , 2009.

At least three police personnel were among 13 suspected criminals who were gunned down in a shootout with Philippine security forces at a highway checkpoint, officials said Monday. Gunmen riding in three black SUVs opened fire on more than 50 army…
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo

Indian gang rape trial: Two accused to turn state witness

Students hold the poster to take part in a protest rally against Delhi Rape case at Kolkata on Saturday 22 December 2012

Two of the men allegedly involved in the rape and murder of an Indian medical student have said they are ready to turn state’s witnesses — apparently in an attempt to avoid the death penalty. Four of five men charged with the murder and gang rape of…
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick

Assad draws new peace plan for Syria

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, sounding defiant, confident, and, to critics, out of touch with the magnitude of his people?s grievances, proposed on Sunday what he called a peace plan to resolve the country?s 21-month uprising with a new…

 

 

 

Abe prods BOJ over proposed 2% inflation goal

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during his first press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012.

ISE, Mie Pref. — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has renewed his pressure on the Bank of Japan to play a more assertive role in the economy’s recovery, raising the adoption of his proposed 2 percent inflation target by the central bank yet again. “As…
photo: AP / Shizuo Kambayashi

Tsunami warning after 7.5 quake strikes off Alaska

Crew members aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) observe the Russian-flagged tanker Renda as it follows Healy?s trail through the ice in the Bering Sea Jan. 8, 2012. The 420-foot, Seattle-based cutter was escorting and assisting Renda on its mission to deliver more than 1.3 million gallons of fuel to Nome, Alaska. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Benjamin Nocerini/Released)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – A tsunami warning was issued for coastal areas of southeast Alaska and British Columbia after an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday. The quake occurred…
photo: US CDC / Seaman Benjamin Nocerini

Atom smasher’s hiatus sets stage for more discovery

In this March 30, 2010 file picture the globe of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, is illuminated outside Geneva, Switzerland. The world's largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a 2-year hibernation in March 2013.

GENEVA: The world’s largest and most powerful atom smasher goes into a two-year hibernation in March, as engineers carry out a revamp to help it reach maximum energy levels that could lead to more stunning discoveries following the detection of…
photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

After Years in Solitary, an Austere Life as Uruguay’s President

Jose "Pepe" Mujica, 74, presidential candidate of Uruguay's Frente Amplio ruling party, looks up during a rally with supporters after the country's general elections in Montevideo, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Some world leaders live in palaces. Some enjoy perks like having a discreet butler, a fleet of yachts or a wine cellar with vintage Champagnes. Then there is José Mujica, the former guerrilla who is Uruguay’s…
photo: AP / Matilde Campodonico

Trillion Dollar Coin To Wipe Out U.S. Debt

Reverse of a 1990 one dollar coin commemorating the sesquicentenary of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The employment situation was relatively unchanged (155K jobs vs. 155K expected and prior 148K), while the unemployment rate inched higher (7.8% vs. 7.8% expected and prior 7.7%) The underemployment data showed conditions still at 63.6% or 14.4%, that…
photo: Creative Commons

Three New York police officers shot in two separate incidents

New York Police NYPD 3 wheels car, New York, USA, March 2008

NEW YORK — Three New York police officers are recovering Friday from gunshot wounds suffered in two separate incidents, including one on a subway train that began when officers stopped a man who illegally walked between subway cars. The gunman in…
photo: WN / Guillaume Poulet-Mathis

Wall Street Takes Job Report in Stride

In this Wednesday, Dec. 12 2012 photo, Taneshia Wright, of Manhattan, fills out a job application during a job fair in New York.

Wall Street opened quietly on Friday after a report showed the pace of hiring by American employers continued in December. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up 0.2 percent in morning trading. The Dow Jones industrial average gained…

 

 

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100,000 MORE DEATHS
UN Envoy Makes Startling Prediction In Syria’s Civil War

 

 

 

 

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World’s 100 richest people got $241 billion richer in 2012

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

The richest people on the planet got even richer in 2012, adding $241 billion to their collective net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 100 wealthiest individuals. The aggregate net worth of the…
photo: AP / Eduardo Verdugo

Russia Grants Depardieu Citizenship

Der franzoesische Schauspieler Gerard Depardieu posiert in Berlin - Charlottenburg auf dem Roten Teppich zur Weltpremiere des Kinofilms "Small World" (Foto vom 01.12.10).

MOSCOW — At the time, it seemed like a joke. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, at his annual news conference before more than 1,000 journalists last month, declared with a mixture of braggadocio and magnanimity that if one of the…
photo: AP / Clemens Bilan

Fred Barnes: The President Who Wants It All

File - Former President George W. Bush is escorted by President Barack Obama on the U.S. Capitol east steps as he and Laura Bush prepare to take off in a Marine Corps helicopter following the 56th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2009.

By FRED BARNES President George W. Bush made bipartisan deals with Democrats on education, energy and, shortly before leaving office, the bank bailout known as TARP. President Reagan got together with Democrats on tax reform and Social Security….
photo: USAF / Tech. Sgt. Suzanne Day

Kovai receives least rains in 20 yrs

Coimbatore (Tamil: ?????????????, pronounced [k??jmba???r?]), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ????, pronounced [k??a??j] ( listen)), is the second largest city [9][10][11] in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the 15th largest urban agglomeration in India with a metropolitan population of over 2 million

COIMBATORE: In 2012, Coimbatore district received the least rain in the last 2 decades. V Geethalakshmi, from the department of agro-climate, TNAU, told reporters on Wednesday that the rains the region received in 2012 was extremely disappointing,…
photo: Creative Commons / ChristianBier

Sen. Joe Lieberman made history but will retire without a party

U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., waves as he tours the podium at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. Lieberman is scheduled to speak Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON — He was the first Jewish American named to a major-party presidential ticket, and he came within a single Supreme Court vote in 2000 of becoming the vice president. Years later, he was seriously considered for the same spot on…
photo: AP / Charles Dharapak

Chile: Victor Jara Widow Asks for US Extradition

VICTOR JARA

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The widow of Chilean folk singer Victor Jara is calling on the United States to extradite a retired military official charged with his murder during Chile’s 1973 coup. Pedro Barrientos Nunez now lives in Florida and has…
photo: Creative Commons / Antonio Larrea

U.N. says more than 60,000 have died in Syrian civil war

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

BEIRUT, Lebanon –The United Nations said Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have died in Syria’s bloody internal war, surpassing the Syrian opposition’s estimates by one-third. The head of the United Nations Human Rights office,…
photo: AP / Manu Brabo

S Korea brushes off North’s ‘bland’ New Year message

A South Korean army soldier reads messages on ribbons hanging on the wire fence wishing for reunification of the two Koreas at the Imjingak in Paju near the border village of the Panmunjom, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan 1, 2013.

South Korea yesterday dismissed a rare New Year’s message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as “bland,” despite his apparent overture to Seoul about reducing tensions. “The message was bland and there were no groundbreaking proposals,” South…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Puerto Rico Charts New Course With New Governor

Puerto Rico's newly sworn-in Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla delivers his inaugural speech during an outdoor ceremony at the Capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A new governor is taking office in Puerto Rico in an ideological shift for the island. Alejandro Garcia Padilla is being sworn in on a stage overlooking the Atlantic Ocean outside the capitol building in San Juan….
photo: AP / Ricardo Arduengo

 

 

 

 

 

  Obama Fiscal Cliff Plans: $20 Trillion In Debt By 2017

Congressmen walk down the steps of the House of Representatives at the Capitol as rank and file members adjourned for several days, in Washington,Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012.

Posted: December 29, 2012 COMMENTARY | President Obama’s Fiscal Cliff plans would land the United States in $20 trillion in debt by 2017. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, a new Gallup poll reveals that Americans support Obama in the…
photo: AP / J. Scott Applewhite

U.S. Senate leaders work to avoid New Year’s ‘fiscal cliff’

House of Representatives pediment detail, United States Capitol, Washington D. C.

* Reid, McConnell and aides in last-ditch effort * Some aides pessimistic deal can be reached in time By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Congressional negotiators burrowed into their Capitol offices on Saturday to…
photo: Creative Commons / Andreas Praefcke

  U.S. Population In 2013 To Hit 315.1 Million

Friends and family members of 9/11 victims visit a September 11 Memorial waterfall during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011 in New York.

Posted: December 29, 2012 The U.S. population will hit 315.1 million people on January 1, 2013. The Census Bureau announced this week that the U.S. population increased by 2.3 million people, or .73 percent during 2012. At the start of 2012 there…
photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

Macedonian opposition rallies to demand early elections

Gjorge Ivanov, presidential candidate talks to the media after casting his ballot in the runoff of the presidential elections, in front of a polling station in Macedonia's capital Skopje, Sunday, April 5, 2009. First-round winner Gjorgje Ivanov, a government-backed conservative, is running against Social Democrat challenger Ljubomir Frckosk

SKOPJE (Reuters) – Several thousand people rallied in front of the headquarters of Macedonia‘s rightist ruling party on Saturday demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and early elections. The rally was the culmination…
photo: AP / Boris Grdanoski

Japan’s New PM Tours Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

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

TOKYO — As Japan‘s newly installed prime minister toured the crippled Fukushima power plant Saturday, he made it clear he is set to review the previous government’s plan to phase out nuclear power. Japanese officials say Prime Minister…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Moscow Reiterates Invitation to Syria Opposition Leader

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow, Friday, March 26, 2010

MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian diplomats are ready to meet with the leader of the Syrian opposition in a neutral country for peace talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday. “We had contacts through our embassy in…

 

 

George H.W. Bush Is Sick, Not Dying

George H. W. Bush

George H.W. Bush is an 88-year-old man with Parkinson’s disease who has been battling bronchitis-related complications in an intensive care unit since Sunday, so it is natural to wonder whether he will…
photo: US Government

2012 Religion Stories: The Top 10

An Indian Sikh devotee offers prayers at the Golden Temple, Sikh's holiest shrine in Amritsar, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the shooting attack that killed six people at a Sikh house of worship in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.

…
photo: AP / Sanjeev Syal

Benazir Bhutto’s son launches political career in Pakistan

The new leader of the Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, center, the son of Benazir Bhutto, speaks during a news conference at an hotel in London, flanked by his mother's sister Sanam Bhutto, left, Tuesday Jan. 8, 2008. Zardari on Tuesday called for a U.N. sponsored investigation of his mother's murder, saying that he does not trust officials in Pakistan. The 19-year-old Oxford University student was chosen to succeed his mother as leader of the party, though day-to-day leadership is in the hands of his father, Asif Ali Zardari.

ISLAMABAD — The son of Pakistan’s former premier, Benazir Bhutto, formally launched his political career Thursday with severe criticism of the judiciary for the slow trial of his mother’s alleged killers. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 24, delivered…
photo: AP Photo / Matt Dunham

The Other Bradley Manning: Jeremy Hammond Faces Life Term for WikiLeaks and Hacked Stratfor Emails

In this photo illustration, a "WikiLeaks" graphic is displayed on a laptop in a cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010, New York. Police ratcheted up the pressure on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday, asking European officers to arrest him on rape charges as his organization continued to embarrass the Obama adminstration with a stream of leaked diplomatic cables.

A federal judge has refused to recuse herself from the closely watched trial of jailed computer hacker Jeremy Hammond, an alleged member of the group “Anonymous” charged with hacking into the computers of the private intelligence firm…
photo: AP / Bebeto Matthews

Pakistani Taliban capture at least 22 soldiers

Indian paramilitary troops stand guard on a cold and foggy morning in Srinagar December 26, 2008. the summer capital of indian administrated kashmir. heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban have seized at least 22 men from a paramilitary force and killed several in attacks on two checkpoints in northern Pakistan. Pakistan has lost more than 3,000 soldiers in the fight against home-grown insurgents Photo:…
photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Deposed Egyptian dictator hospitalized

This video image taken from Egyptian State Television shows 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011 as his historic trial began on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him.

Egyptian authorities Thursday said ousted president Hosni Mubarak would be transferred from a prison, where he is serving a life sentence, to a military hospital for medical treatment….
photo: AP / Egyptian State TV

France: Protecting interests, not regime in CAR

French President Francois Hollande, center, alongside French Chief of Staff Admiral Edouard Guillaud review the troops during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue, Paris, Saturday, July 14, 2012.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that France wants to protect its interests in Central African Republic and not a regime, casting doubt that the former colonial power will come to the aid of the government facing a rapid rebel…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Steve Jobs’ Mega-Yacht Free To Sail After Temporary Reprieve

Aviva is a 68 metres (223 ft) length motor yacht, currently the 80th longest motor yacht in the world.

Steve Jobs was controversial in life, and now his high-tech mega-yacht is associated with a controversy long after his death. The former Apple CEO‘s ship was impounded in Amsterdam in the middle of a financial battle over a disputed bill. Phillippe…
photo: Creative Commons / Axou

Turkey lifts objection to NATO cooperation with Israel

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen are seen during a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010. Rasmussen is in Turkey for talk with Turkish leaders.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has given approval for Israel to participate in non-military NATO activities in 2013, withdrawing an earlier objection driven by an ongoing dispute between the former regional allies, a Turkish official said on Monday….
photo: AP / Umit Bektas, Pool

Syria: UN-Arab League Envoy Holds Talks on Crisis

Syrian citizens pass by a poster of Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the southern city of Daraa, Syria, on Monday March 21, 2011.

Tuesday, 25 December 2012, 7:31 am Press Release: United Nations Syria: UN-Arab League Envoy Holds Talks on Crisis with President Bashar Al-Assad New York, Dec 24 2012 11:00AM The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of…
photo: AP / Hussein Malla

Protests Over Rape Turn Violent in India more

An Indian protester is chased by a police officer during a protest in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

Angry protests escalated into violence in India‘s capital on Sunday, after thousands of people gathered to demand justice for the victim of a recent gang rape in New Delhi and improved safety for women. Protesters flocked to the India Gate monument…
photo: AP / Altaf Qadri

Unwavering NRA opposes any new gun restrictions

A Sailor assigned to Weapons Department gets ready to shoot a M-14 rifle with an MK-87 line-throwing adapter.

An unwavering National Rifle Association said Sunday that new gun regulations would not make children safer and that a White House task force on gun violence may try to undermine the Second Amendment. The organization blasted “a media machine” that…
photo: US Navy / Photographer’s Mate Airman Ricardo J. Reyes

Mitt ‘never wanted to be president’

President Barack Obama, foreground, and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney participate in the second presidential debate at Hofstra University, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Hempstead, N.Y.

(DAILYMAIL) — Mitt Romney’s son says that his defeated dad never actually wanted the top job and he was reluctantly…
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

 

 

US, China economies ‘inseparable’: China official

An investor looks at the stock price monitor at a private securities company Thursday Sept. 27, 2012 in Shanghai, China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economies of China and the U.S. have become “interdependent and inseparable,” a top Chinese official said Wednesday after high-level trade talks which were being watched for signs of how the two powers will cooperate after their…
photo: AP

Egypt’s vice president quits

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi swears in newly-appointed vice president, a former senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012.

CAIRO – Egypt‘s state TV says Vice President Mahmoud Mekki has resigned. Mekki’s Saturday resignation was announced with more than five hours to go of voting in the second and final phase of a referendum on a disputed, Islamist-backed constitution….
photo: AP / Egyptian Presidency

Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ Makes YouTube History With 1 Billion Views

Red Bull driver Mark Webber, left, of Australia and his teammate Sebastian Vettel, right, of Germany perform with South Korean rapper PSY, centre, and his " Gangnam Style" dance before the Korean Formula One Grand Prix at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.

Los Angeles. South Korean rapper Psy’s infectious viral hit song, “Gangnam Style,” made history on Friday as the first ever video on YouTube to reach 1 billion views, adding yet another record to the song’s juggernaut journey into mainstream…
photo: AP / Dita Alangkara

EU, Russia remain at odds over energy policy

The Russia-EU Summit meeting.

The latest talks between Russia and the European Union have failed to produce progress towards resolving a number of bones of contention. However, there was little disappointment, as no progress had been expected. The European Union and Russia,…
photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

 

 

 

Britain’s Cameron visits troops in Afghanistan

British Prime Minister David Cameron with troops during a visit to Forward Operating Base Price in Helmand Province, Afghanistan Thursday Dec. 20, 2012.

LONDON:Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday paid a pre-Christmas visit to British troops serving in Afghanistan, insisting that the “high price” paid by servicemen had been worthwhile, his office said….
photo: AP / Stefan Wermuth

World ending? Celebrate in style…

A Peruvian shaman perform a ritual against the alleged 2012 apocalyptic Mayan prediction in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

This could be one of the last things you ever read if the ancient Mayan prediction that the world will come to an abrupt end turns out to be true. But rather than getting down in the dumps about Doomsday, revellers are being offered the chance to…
photo: AP / Martin Mejia

Mayan prophecies: Life after the (non) end of the world

Ismail Haniya, the head of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, addresses the public during an open air morning prayer to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City on August 19, 2012. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim calendar's ninth and holiest month during which followers are required to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

Despite all the predictions of Mayan apocalypse, the world will probably not end by Saturday morning. How will the believers cope when life carries on? The clock strikes midnight, the hallowed date arrives and, once again, the apocalypse fails to…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Belgian MPs deny claims France’s richest man is denied nationality

French luxury goods group LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, right, and LVMH managing director Antonio Belloni talk during the presentation of the group's 2009 earns, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 in Paris.

Belgian politicians have denied reports Bernard Arnault, France‘s richest man, has had his attempt to obtain Belgian nationality derailed on the grounds he has not lived there for three years. Bernard Arnault – France’s richest man Photo: Getty…
photo: AP / Jacques Brinon

Rival to Buy New York Stock Exchange in $8 Billion Deal

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, left, and NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer prepare for an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

WASHINGTON, December 20 (RIA Novosti) – The symbol of American capitalism for more than two centuries, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is being sold to the rival IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) for $8.2 billion, ICE announced Thursday. “Our…
photo: AP / Richard Drew

Olivia Culpo, Miss USA, takes title of Miss Universe 2012

Miss USA, Olivia Culpo, left, adjusts her tiara after being crowned the new Miss Universe as Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes, of Angola, right, looks on, during the Miss Universe competition, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Las Vegas.

So excited was Olivia Culpo, Miss USA, to be crowned Miss Universe 2012 on Wednesday night, she almost took off on her victory walk without that beautiful crown on her head. Fortunately, a reassuring touch from Miss Universe 2011, Leila Lopes, was…

 


 

 

 

UN chief concerned over militarisation of Syrian conflict

In his end-of-year press conference, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reflects on a “tumultuous” 2012, which saw tensions from Syria to the Sahel and from Eastern Congo to the Korean peninsula.

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced deep concern at the “increased militarisation of the conflict and the potential for sectarian atrocities” in Syria, Xinhua reported. “Syria began the year in conflict, and ends the year in…
photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Venezuela VP hopes Chavez can be sworn in Jan. 10

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez gestures during a ceremony to register his candidacy for the presidency at the headquarters of National Elections Council in Caracas, Venezuela

Venezuela’s vice president said on Wednesday that the government is still aiming for President Hugo Chavez to be sworn in for a new term as scheduled next month, saying his condition has been improving after his cancer surgery in Cuba. Vice President…
photo: AP / Fernando Llano

NY mayor becomes national anti-gun champion

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivers his State of the City address

NEW YORK: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has long been a persistent advocate for tighter gun laws, but in the wake of the Newtown school massacre, his voice has become one of the most recognizable in the United States. …
photo: AP / Mary Altaffer

Netanyahu defends push to create new settlements

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, talk before a dinner at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday pressed forward with the construction of thousands of new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, part of a series of new settlement plans that have drawn worldwide rebuke, including from its closest ally, the…

 


 

 

Why does America have so many guns?

A Sailor aboard the coastal patrol ship USS Monsoon (PC 4) fires an M4 assault rifle as part of a demonstration for a group of Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Midshipmen.

Compare the rate of murder by gun in the United States to the rate in any other advanced industrial nation, and you’re forced to draw one of two conclusions: Either there are far more homicidal people in this country than just about anyplace…
photo: US Navy / Photographers Mate 1st Class Daniel N. Woods

French president wants new era with Algeria

French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during a press conference in Algiers, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012.

ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press= ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — French President Francois Hollande announced a new era with Algeria on Wednesday — a strategic partnership among equals — during a state visit to this North African nation that was once a prized…
photo: AP / Photo

Ban on Americans adopting Russians advances in Moscow

General view of Russian lower parliament chamber session in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. Russia's lower house of parliament will not be able to give its full approval to a U.S.-Russian nuclear arms treaty until at least next month, a senior lawmaker said Friday. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, said that the legislators would pass the ratification bill only in the first of three required readings during this year's closing session Friday. He said the full ratification could only happen next month "at the earliest."

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A bill to ban Americans from adopting Russian children won preliminary parliamentary approval on Wednesday in a retaliatory gesture for a U.S. law punishing alleged Russian human rights violators. Despite criticism of the measure…
photo: AP / Misha Japaridze

Personal motives behind many Afghan insider attacks: Report

Personal motives behind many Afghan insider attacks: Report

According to detailed US military data disclosed recently suggest that the largest percentage of the insider attacks by Afghan security forces on their international counterparts are probably stemmed from personal motives rather than enemy…
photo: DOD / Public Domain

First Female President Elected in South Korea

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

South Korea has made history by electing a female president for the first time. In a hard-fought race, conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye won with 51.6 percent of the vote over left-leaning opposition candidate Moon Jae-In. who scored…
photo: AP / Ahn Young-joon

Iraq: Ailing president to be treated in Germany

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani speaks during a Nowruz (New Year) summit called The World Nowruz Festivities in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 27, 2010.

By Adam Schreck Associated Press Comments Baghdad — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will be flown to Germany for further treatment after suffering a stroke earlier this week, two Kurdish officials close to him said Wednesday. Medical experts…
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

3,800 British troops to leave Afghanistan by 2013

3,800 British troops to leave Afghanistan by 2013

LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron announced Wednesday that about 3,800 British troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. Around 5,000 will remain into 2014, Cameron told lawmakers. The announcement comes after a lengthy…

Obama, lawmakers endorse assault weapons ban

Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Vincent Soldani, from Albany, N.Y., aims an M-16A2 assault rifle at a target during a live-fire exercise

WASHINGTON _ The Connecticut congressional delegation joined President Obama on Tuesday in endorsing a new federal ban on assault weapons in the wake of the Newtown school massacre where a 20-year-old man used an assault rifle to murder 20 children…
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander Tidd

Chad sends troops to back CAR army against rebels

File:Rebel in northern Central African Republic 04.jpg

BANGUI/N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad sent troops into neighbouring Central African Republic on Tuesday to help the government there stop a rapid advance by rebels that risks sparking a new spiral of violence in the mineral-rich nation. The rebels killed…
photo: Creative Commons / hdptcar

NASA caught asteroid Toutatis on video, Chinese flew spacecraft past it

1996/11/27 Computer Generated View of Earth as seen from the Asteroid Toutatis - This computer generated image depicts a view of Earth as seen from the surface of the asteroid Toutatis on Nov 29th 1996. A 2.5 degree field-of-view synthetic computer camera

It was no minor achievement, capturing the Near-Earth Object Toutatis, a massive asteroid hurtling through space just over 4 million miles from Earth, on video. But imagine the deflation of the scientists that put together the video (actually a…
photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech file

NASA names moon crash site in honour of Sally Ride

NASA names moon crash site in honour of Sally Ride

A pair of NASA spacecraft crashed into a mountain near the moon’s north pole on Monday, bringing a deliberate end to a mission that peered into the lunar interior. Engineers commanded the twin spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, to fire their engines and…
photo: Creative Commons / Unknown

In Sign of Normalization, Pentagon to Reimburse Pakistan $688 Million

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead hosts the Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy Adm. Noman Bashir during a visit to the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalize support for the Pakistani…
photo: US Navy / U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst

 

  Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye Dead At 88

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii inspects the troops before addressing an audience on the Pentagon parade field. Inouye was the guest speaker at the annual POW/MIA observance Sept. 14.

Posted: December 17, 2012 Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye died on Monday at the age of 88 in Washington D.C. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Inouye, the most senior member of the Senate, has been fighting a respiratory illness for some…
photo: U.S. Army/Sgt. Lorie Jewell

Israel approves East Jerusalem settlement plans

A visitor walks next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Heading into his first direct talks with an Israeli leader in two years, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday he wants the U.S. to play an active role and believes a deal can be reached within a year, as envisioned by the U.S. However, Abbas also said it would be difficult to continue negotiating if Israel fails to extend its 10-month curb on West Bank settlement construction that ends in late September.

The Israeli authorities have approved plans to build 1,500 more homes at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. An interior ministry spokesman said its district planning commission had given preliminary approval for the construction in Ramat Shlomo….
photo: AP / Bernat Armangue

Dozens killed in wave of attacks in Iraq

People inspect the aftermath of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Iraq, Monday, July 23, 2012.

A WAVE of attacks targeting both Iraqi security forces and civilians have killed 48 people, in a second day of deadly violence ahead of the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US forces. Monday was the deadliest day in Iraq since November 29, when…

 

UN chief alarmed by escalating violence in Syria

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon addresses the media at Pristina airport, Kosovo

UNITED NATIONS Dec 16 (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm on Sunday at the worsening violence in Syria, including the reported mass killing of Alawites and alleged firing of long-range missiles on Syrian territory, Ban’s…
photo: AP / Visar Kryeziu

Bradley Wiggins wins Sports Personality of the Year 2012

Gold medalist Bradley Wiggins, of Britain, celebrates on the podium after the men's individual time trial cycling event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London.

Bradley Wiggins has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012. The cyclist received the prestigious award after winning tonight’s public phone vote, beating Jessica Ennis and Andy Murray into second and third place respectively. The prize…

 


 

Man fires some 50 shots at Calif. mall parking lot

Sunrise Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in the southern portion of the city of Citrus Heights, California and it provides Citrus Heights with a hearty economy based on sales. Opened in 1972, it is located on the southeast corner of Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard. It is also the centerpiece of the Sunrise Marketplace shopping district, which is centered on the same intersection and expands outward.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – A man was arrested Saturday after firing about 50 shots in the parking lot of a Southern California shopping mall, prompting a lockdown of stores crowded with holiday shoppers. Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove was taken…
photo: Creative Commons / J.smith

Russian expert warns America about Chinese nukes

A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine sails during an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Liberation Army Navy Thursday, April 23, 2009 off Qingdao, China's Shandong Province. China on Thursday displayed for the first time its nuclear-powered submarines, a sign of the navy's growing confidence and its aspirations to become a major sea pow

Retired Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin yesterday wrapped up a visit to the United States during which he met with officials at the Pentagon, State Department as well as members of Congress warning about underestimating China’s tactical nuclear weapons…

 

 

Japanese vote in general election

A boy places his grandmother's vote into a ballot box at a polling station in Tokyo, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. Voters cast their ballots Sunday in parliamentary elections which are likely to hand power back to a conservative party that ruled Japan for most of the post-war era.

People in Japan are voting in a general election in Japan, where former leader Shinzo Abe is challenging the current Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda. Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to oust Mr Noda’s Democratic Party…
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye

Pols: Time ‘to come together’ on gun control after Sandy Hook

Curtis Irwin holds a .50 caliber rifle to show at a gun shop in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008.

A day after called for “meaningful action” to prevent mass shootings like the one that left 20 children and six adults dead at a elementary school, leaders across and Connecticut called for stricter gun control legislation. “We should be able to come…
photo: AP / LM Otero

 

 

 

 


 

 

 27 People Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

Parents leave a staging area after being reunited with their children following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012.

More than two dozen people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school this morning, federal and state sources tell ABC News….

Cyclone Strikes Samoa; 3 Reported Dead

Tropical cyclone Floyd over the Timor Sea, 2006. The International Hydro graphic Organization (IHO) defines the Timor Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago.

SYDNEY (AP) — A powerful cyclone has ripped through the South Pacific island nation of Samoa, flattening homes, uprooting trees and flooding streets. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said on Friday that there were reports three…
photo: NASA / NASA

Susan Rice: Why I withdrew

UN Ambassador Susan Rice listens at right as President Barack Obama speaks before a meeting with his cabinet, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington.

Susan Rice is U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. On Thursday I asked that President Obama no longer consider me for the job of secretary of state. I made because it is the right step for this country I love. I have never shied away from a fight…
photo: AP / Jacquelyn Martin

New Ukraine parliament gets punchy

New Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mykola Azarov speaks to lawmakers in parliament, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 11, 2010.

THE Ukrainian parliament has voted to reinstate its prime minister after dozens of opposition and pro-government lawmakers brawled for a second day in the chamber notorious for its fisticuffs. Newly elected world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko…
photo: AP / Sergei Chuzavkov

Violence-marred match hurts Brazil football image

Police officers stand guard the entrance to Argentina's Tigre's dressing room after a fight among teams' members at the end of the first half of the Copa Sudamericana final soccer match against Brazil's Sao Paulo FC in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012.

Brazilian authorities on Thursday began investigations into allegations that security personnel beat members of a visiting Argentine football club at the halftime of the Copa Sudamericana. South American football officials described it as the most…
photo: AP / Andre Penner

Putin slams US rights bill, calls it a political act

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.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin criticized US legislation designed to punish Russian violators of human rights on Thursday but said Moscow’s reaction should not be excessive. The US Senate last week approved a bill that would require…
photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service

 

 

 

John McAfee Arrives in U.S. After Release in Guatemala: Authorities

In this image released by Guatemala's National Police on Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012, software company founder John McAfee sits after being arrested for entering the country illegally Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012 in Guatemala City.

Internet entrepreneur John McAfee – wanted for questioning by Belizean officials in the slaying of an American expatriate – told reporters in Miami Wednesday night that he will speak with police in Belize if they come to the U.S.…
photo: AP / Guatemala’s National Police

Jimmy Savile a suspect in 199 crimes, 31 rapes

Sir Jimmy Savile Leading the pipe band through Fort William to the Lochaber Highland Games in his capacity as Honorary Chieftain of the games.

LATE BBC presenter Jimmy Savile is a suspect in 199 crimes, including 31 allegations of rape, police say, adding that the scale of his alleged crimes is “unprecedented” in Britain. Ten weeks after Scotland Yard began investigating claims…
photo: Creative Commons / Jmb

World tourist numbers hit 1 billion this week: U.N.

Little kid entering to the water near the shore on the feast of the goddess of the sea Iemanjá held on the Ramírez beach in Montevideo, Uruguay on 02th Fabruary 2009

MADRID (Reuters) – The number of annual tourists crossing international borders will reach 1 billion this week, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation said on Wednesday, with Chinese travelers the biggest growth driver. Tourism grew between…

 

Gunman Opens Fire in Oregon Shopping Mall

Gateway Mall (Springfield, Oregon)

A gunman opened fire inside an Oregon shopping mall on Tuesday in the middle of the busy Christmas shopping season, killing at least one person before the shooter was “neutralized,” police said. The shooting at the crowded mall in the…
photo: Creative Commons / Aboutmovies

Morsi approves army’s unity talks as rival protests grow

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi waves to photographers as he leaves the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will attend Wednesday’s national unity talks proposed by the military, officials confirmed on Tuesday, as rival protests for and against the government’s new constitution continued to grow. By FRANCE 24 (text) …
photo: AP / Amr Nabil

US doctors defeat leukemia with modified HIV

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.

After fighting her disease with chemotherapy for almost two years and suffering two relapses, the young girl “faced grim prospects,” doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said. So in February this year they agreed to take her on in an…
photo: AP / Schalk van Zuydam

Thousands stage rival rallies in Cairo

Pro-government demonstrators, below, and anti-government demonstrators, above, clash in Tahrir Square, the center of anti-government demonstrations, in Cairo, Egypt Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.

By Hamza Hendawi and Maggie Michael Associated Press Comments Cairo — Thousands of opponents and supporters of Egypt‘s Islamist president staged rival rallies in the nation’s capital Tuesday, four days ahead a nationwide referendum on a…
photo: AP / Ben Curtis

Army forces Mali PM to quit

Dioncounda Traore, second left, Mali's parliamentary head who was forced into exile after last month's coup, is greeted by junta representatives including spokesman Lt. Amadou Konare, second right, as Traore arrives at the airport to take up his constitutionally-mandated post as interim president, in Bamako, Mali Saturday, April 7, 2012.

Bamako – Mali‘s prime minister was forced to resign on Tuesday by the soldiers who staged a coup in March, complicating international efforts to help push Islamists from the north of the country. Once a beacon of democracy in West Africa, Mali has…

Hamas chief wraps up 4-day visit to Gaza

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshaal waves goodbye, alongside Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, upon his departure from the Gaza Strip in Rafah, on the border with Egypt on December 10, 2012. Meshaal tours the Gaza Strip, ending 45 years of exile from Palestinian land with a visit that underscored the Islamist group's growing confidence following a recent conflict with Israel.Photo by Ahmed Deeb / WN

GAZA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — The politburo chief of Islamic Hamas movement Khaled Meshaal on Monday concluded a four-day visit to the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave which Hamas has been controlling since 2007. Meshaal, along with two members of Hamas’…
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

A spook’s eye view of the future to 2030

Pedestrians walk past the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in New York, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012.

New technologies, dwindling resources and explosive population growth in the next 18 years will alter the global balance of power and trigger radical economic and political changes at a speed unprecedented in modern history, says a new report by the…

 

 

 

 

 Latest World News

Typhoon death toll climbs to 647 in Philippines

Residents affected by typhoon Bopha crowd as relief goods are distributed at New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines Sunday Dec. 9, 2012.

MANILA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) — The Philippine government on Monday reported that the death toll from typhoon Bopha (local name Pablo) has climbed to 647. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ( NDRRMC) also reported that 1,482…
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Mexican American singer, Jenni Rivera pronounced dead in plane crash

Jenni Rivera attends a press conference on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Woodland Hills, California.

Mexican American singer Jenni Rivera, 43, has been pronounced dead after a plane carrying her and seven other people crashed early Sunday in Northern Mexico. According to Mexico’s Ministry of Transportation, the plane was found in mountain terrain in…
photo: AP / Todd Williamson

Atheists Around World Suffer Persecution, Discrimination

Smelling out a Rat;—or—The Atheistical-Revolutionist disturbed in his Midnight "Calculations" (1790) by Gillray, depicting a caricature of Burke with a long nose and spectacles, holding a crown and a cross.

Geneva. Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued on Monday. The study, from the…
photo: Creative Commons / James Gillray

  President Obama, Boehner Meet To Discuss Fiscal Cliff

President Barack Obama talks with advisors before the meet with Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Oval Office to discuss ongoing negotiations on a funding bill, April 7, 2011.

Posted: December 9, 2012 President Obama and House Speaker Boehner met at the White House to discuss the fiscal cliff on Sunday, according to White House spokesman Joshua Earnest. Earnest added that Obama and Boehner met in the effort “to…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Ailing Hugo Chavez prepares handover

In this photo provided by Miraflores Presidential Press Office, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks during a cabinet meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012.

HUGO Chavez has anointed a burly former bus driver as his successor – appearing to accept for the first time that his tumultuous, 14-year rule of Venezuela may be coming to an end. The leftist President, suffering a recurrence of his cancer,…
photo: AP / Miraflores Presidential Press Office

Ghana’s president declared election winner

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama, center right, speaks with election observers and ruling party members following a press conference at the presidential residence in Accra, Ghana, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — President John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner Sunday of Ghana’s recent presidential election, according to provisional results, despite widespread technical glitches with the machines used to identify voters, and over the…
photo: AP / Christian Thompson

China’s Economic Recovery Hopes Get a Huge Boost

In this Sept. 21, 2012 file photo, an elderly Chinese couple look at a model of a property on sale during the China Property and Investment Show in Beijing.

A pick up in China’s factory output and retail sales growth to eight-month highs suggested a revival in the world’s second-biggest economy is deepening and boosted the chances for stronger-than-expected exports figures on Monday.

Chavez to have another cancer operation

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez waves a Venezuelan flag as he greets supporters at the Miraflores presidential palace balcony in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012.

CARACAS, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Saturday he will have to undergo another cancer operation in the coming days in Cuba. “It is necessary for me to have a new intervention in the coming days,” Chavez said in a televised…
photo: AP / Fernando Llano

Romania parliamentary elections due to begin

Traian Basescu, President of Romania, delivers his statement at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday Jan. 27, 2011.

Voting is due to get under way in parliamentary elections in Romania. Opinion polls suggest a win for the governing centre-left coalition led by Prime Minister Victor Ponta. But the result could trigger renewed political instability as Romania…
photo: AP / Christian Lutz

Morsi backs down in Egypt

Protesters wave an Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has backed down in a dire political crisis marked by weeks of street protests, after the powerful army gave an ultimatum to him and the opposition to sit down for talks. But it was not immediately clear whether his…
photo: AP / Bernat Armangue

U.S.-Russia ties once again strained

File - President Barack Obama talks on the phone with President-elect Vladimir Putin of Russia while aboard Air Force One en route to Richmond, Va., March 9, 2012.

MOSCOW — U.S.-Russia ties have again plunged into acrimony amid disputes ranging from disagreement on to Russian President ‘s clampdown on dissent. A U.S. bill intended to lift Cold War-era trade restrictions but also containing sanctions against…
photo: White House / Pete Souza

Syria Rebels Tied to Al Qaeda Play Key Role in War

In this Sunday, March 11, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters discuss military strategies during a day of heavy fighting with Syrian Army forces in Idlib, north Syria.

BAGHDAD — The lone Syrian rebel group with an explicit stamp of approval from Al Qaeda has become one of the uprising’s most effective fighting forces, posing a stark challenge to the United States and other countries that want to support…
photo: AP / Rodrigo Abd

Italy’s Prime Minister to Quit After Losing Party Support

Italian premier Mario Monti, center, presides the first cabinet meeting of the new government at Chigi palace premier office after the swearing-in ceremony, in Rome Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011.

ROME — Prime Minister Mario Monti said he intended to resign after losing the backing of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s party, according to a statement issued late Saturday by the president’s office. Connect With Us on…
photo: AP / Andrew Medichini

Mandela admitted to hospital for tests

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

JOHANNESBURG: Nelson Mandela was admitted to a hospital in Pretoria Saturday to undergo tests and was said to be doing well, the South Africa government said. The 94-year-old former president and anti-apartheid icon was admitted for tests “consistent…

 

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