The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that it is offering a reward of up to $5 million for a Palestinian bomb-maker suspected of once targeting commercial airliners and of aiding the Iraq insurgency. Abu Ibrahim, whose real name is Husayn Muhammed al-Umari, stands accused of a spate of bombings in the 1980s. He was indicted [...]
Iran is holding five British sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf, the British government said Monday. The move could heighten tensions between Iran and major world powers, including Britain, that are demanding a halt to its nuclear program. The yacht, owned by Sail Bahrain, was stopped on its way from the [...]
A suspected Nazi death camp guard has appeared in a German court to face charges that he helped murder tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk arrived wheelchair-bound at the court in Munich on Monday, covered in a white blanket, amid calls from his family that he might not survive the [...]
In the process of creating an economic miracle there must be some casualties. In China, the casualities are home-owners and land-owners whose property is taken by the Chinese Government for redevelopment. Generally, this means the demolition of the existing structure and construction of a high-rise office building or apartment complex. In theory, home-owners and land-owners [...]
Indian police Monday arrested the former chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, Madhu Koda, for his alleged involvement in the country’s biggest ever political scandal, a multi-million dollar money laundering scam. “We have reached at a stage where his arrest was necessary. We obtained the arrest warrant from the competent court of jurisdiction,” [...]
The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was 800 miles off Somalia when it was hijacked on Sunday, said the EU Naval task force (Navfor). The ship is carrying over 2 million barrels of oil. The ship weighs some 300,000 tons and is believed to be one of the largest yet seized by Somali pirates. There are 28 [...]
Nakheel, Dubai’s property developer and part of the heavily-indebted Dubai World conglomerate, has asked Nasdaq to stop trading its bonds. The bonds have been taken off the Dubai Bourse, Nasdaq said on their website on Monday. Markets in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), fell on opening after the Eid al-Adah holidays. Some major [...]
The ruling party candidate in Honduras’s presidential election has conceded defeat after preliminary results showed him trailing with only 38 per cent of the vote. Porfirio Lobo, the opposition candidate, who preliminary figures showed had more than 56 per cent support, claimed victory soon afterward. About 300 of Lobo’s supporters danced in a victory celebration at a [...]
Luis Lacalle, a former president of Uruguay, has conceded defeat in the country’s presidential run-off after exit polls showed a former rebel securing the majority of the vote. Polls following Sunday’s election showed Lacalle’s rival, Jose Mujica, a blunt-talking former senator and one time leftist guerrilla fighter, leading with more than 51 per cent of [...]
A group of Cuban nationals who fled their country by boat landed in the cooling canal of a nuclear power plant along Florida’s coast on Thanksgiving Day, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission event report issued Friday. The plant’s operations were not disrupted by the incident, according to the report. The Turkey Point nuclear [...]
A Colombian court has sentenced a former general to 40 years in prison for his role in the killing of dozens of civilians by right-wing death squads. Jaime Humberto Uscategui’s sentence is the longest ever for an army officer in Colombia. The court was told the general had knowingly let far-right paramilitary death squads use [...]
Four local police officers were killed this morning at a Parkland-area coffee shop in Tacoma, Washington. Dozens of investigators backed by search dogs and a helicopter were hunting for their killer. Witnesses described the killer as a black man, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-9, in his 20′s or 30′s, with scruffy facial hair and wearing a black [...]
Swiss police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti-capitalist protesters who broke windows and set cars alight during a demonstration ahead of a major World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Geneva. The clashes on Saturday occurred during a march by at least 3000 demonstrators, protesting the meeting scheduled to start on Monday, in [...]
Waves batter a harbor wall in in Porthcawl, Wales. Gales and heavy rain swept across the United Kingdom, causing flooding that cut off villages and towns in England. Floodwaters engulfed northern England following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain. Raging floods engulfed northern England’s picturesque Lake District following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, [...]
An American wanted for ecoterrorism attacks in the western United States has been sentenced to three years in a Chinese prison for selling and making illegal drugs. Justin Franchi Solondz, 30, was given the sentence Friday, said an official at the intermediate court in Dali City, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Solondz was found guilty [...]
The number of dead in floods following Saudi Arabia’s heaviest rains for years has risen to around 100, officials say. Dozens are said to be missing and some reports suggest the death toll will rise further in the city of Jeddah. The authorities say they are providing food and temporary housing for those made homeless [...]
At Tuhama’s Lebanese deli in Dearborn, and at bakeries and barbershops throughout town, it’s no secret the CIA is looking for a few good spies. “There is a lot of talk, and nobody likes it,” said Hamze Chehade, a 48-year-old Lebanese-American, taking a bite of his chicken shawarma. In dire need of agents fluent in [...]
Australian authorities plan to round up about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and shoot them after they overran an outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies. The Northern Territory government announced its plan yesterday for Docker River, a town of 350 residents where thirsty camels have been arriving every [...]
Chinese rock star Zang Tianshuo has been sentenced to six years in prison for inciting a brawl in 2003 in which one man died, state officials have reported. Zang, 45, ordered the manager of a bar he owned to organize a gang to settle a business dispute he had with the bar’s co-owner. About 120 [...]
An amnesty on corruption cases protecting the Pakistani President and thousands of government bureaucrats and politicians is set to expire, threatening to cause a major political crisis in the country. The so-called National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) could be extended by the Parliament, but the government is seen as too weak to win an extension after Saturday’s deadline. Last [...]
Wal-Mart was accused Wednesday of violating its ethical standards and forcing employees of its supplier factories in China to work in sweatshop-like conditions, as the world’s largest retailer demands rock-bottom prices from suppliers.New York-based China Labor Watch (CLW) said in its annual investigative report that workers mostly based in the Pearl River Delta of the [...]
The Iraqi parliament is looking into the sale by a British company of “bomb detectors” costing millions of dollars amid claims that they do not work. In the past two years Iraq’s security forces have spent more than $85 Million on the detectors made by ATSC Ltd, based in Yeovil, Somerset. The devices, which consist [...]
A 16 year-old south Sudanese girl was lashed 50 times after a judge ruled her knee-length skirt was indecent, her lawyer and family said in the latest case to push Sudan’s Islamic law into the spotlight. The mother of teenager Silva Kashif said on Friday she was planning to sue the police who made the [...]
Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t campaign on the promise of “No New Taxes!” And evidently, he didn’t campaign on paying his old ones either. California’s Governor owes the IRS $79,064.00 in back taxes; $39,047 from 2004 and $40,016 from 2005, according to documents filed by the IRS in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The Governor’s office has [...]
The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis has landed in Florida ending their 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Atlantis touched down under sunny skies at the Kennedy Space Center at 9:44 EST. During the mission, astronauts equipped the ISS with nearly 30,000 lbs. of spare parts. Five more shuttle flights are planned [...]
Four carriages of a passenger Nevsky Express train derailed between Russia’s two main cities, enroute from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It is reported that 39 passengers have died and another 87 are injured. The carriages came off the track on Friday evening as the train was travelling 174 miles from St. Petersburg, Russian officials reported. [...]
U.S. Golfer Tiger Woods has been hurt in a car accident in Florida, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Initial reports said he had been seriously injured. A local mayor was later quoted as saying Woods had been released from Health Central Hospital after treatment for facial lacerations. The golfer’s car reportedly struck a fire hydrant [...]
The Chinese Government has executed two men for abducting and selling 15 children, many of whom have yet to be reunited with their families, state media reported today. Thousands of children go missing each year in China, although authorities have recently stepped up efforts to tackle the problem. The cultural preference for male heirs and birth [...]
Twenty years after Eastern Europe toppled statues of Lenin, the Polish Government is about to finish the job by making it all but impossible to wave the red flag, even in jest. Up to two years in jail await anyone glorifying communism according to an amendment to Article 256 of the Polish Criminal Code, the [...]
NASA scientists have produced the most compelling evidence yet that bacterial life exists on Mars. It showed that microscopic worm-like structures found in a Martian meteorite that hit the Earth 13,000 years ago are almost certainly fossilised bacteria. The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already [...]
The United States Secret Service has some explaining to do. They are investigating how an uninvited couple managed to get past multiple layers of security, and crash a State Dinner at the White House. The stunt was discovered on Wednesday after Tareq and Michaele Salahi posted pictures of themselves on Facebook, posing with Joe Biden, the Vice-President, and other [...]
Curtis Flowers, a 39-year-old African American is to stand trial for an unprecedented sixth time for murder of four people in Mississippi in 1996. So far, two of his trials have resulted in mistrials and three in convictions that were later overturned. Mr. Flowers has spent 13 years on remand in prison. James Bibbs, also [...]
British computer hacker Gary McKinnon will stand trial in the U.S. after requests to block his extradition were refused, the British Home Office has confirmed. Home Secretary Alan Johnson told Mr. McKinnon’s family he could not block the move on medical grounds. Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon, 43, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is accused of breaking into [...]
A Palestinian official has described Israel’s proposed 10-month suspension of settlement construction in the occupied West Bank as mere “propaganda”. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, said on Thursday that the move does not indicate any progress that would justify the resumption of peace talks. He said that the temporary settlement suspension offer by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s [...]
General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Germany’s highest-ranking officer, has resigned after accusations that the military withheld information about an air raid in Afghanistan in which civilians are thought to have died. Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Germany’s defence minister, said Schneiderhan had submitted his resignation. As inspector general, Schneiderhan holds the top military post in the [...]
A captured senior Yemeni anti-terrorist officer was confirmed to have been executed by an al-Qaida group, and a short video showing his killing was posted on the Internet, according to an official of Yemen’s Interior Ministry. Bassam Tarbush, 41, a major at the Combating Terrorism Unit in Marib province, northeast of the capital Sanaa, was [...]
An estimated three millions pilgrims have begun to gather on the plains of Arafat in Saudi Arabia for a key rite of Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage. Pilgrims began flocking to the plains before dawn on Thursday, in the aftermath of stormy weather and reports that, away from the pilgrimage, about 50 people were killed in [...]
President Barack Obama with daughter Sasha, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughter Malia, distribute food for Thanksgiving at Martha’s Table, a food pantry in Washington, D.C. November 25, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza. The following Thanksgiving Day letter, received from President Barack Obama and addressed to Michael Morrison, Editor of the Morning [...]
The lead suspect accused of masterminding the massacre of at least 57 people in the Philippines has turned himself in to police, officials have said. Andal Ampatuan Jr is a local mayor and member of a powerful political clan in Maguindanao province on the southern island of Mindanao. He has denied any responsibility for the killings. Ampatuan [...]
The government of the Gulf Emirate of Dubai says it will ask creditors of its cash-strapped Dubai World conglomerate to accept a moratorium on debt worth billions of dollars. The government announced the move on Wednesday as part of a plan to restructure the state-run company and its property developer subsidiary Nakheel. “Dubai World intends [...]
A man who says he was a witness to Monday’s massacre in the southern Philippines has told reporters how he was ordered to kill members of a rival political clan, including women and children, and to make sure no evidence was left behind. The witness, who identified himself only as ‘Boy’, said he was among [...]
A warning has been issued to ships in the southern Pacific Ocean after more than 100 iceberg were spotted drifting towards New Zealand. The icebergs, some of which are 650 feet in size, are believed to have broken from an Antarctic ice floe. Many scientists have said they believe these segments will break up long [...]
A Swiss court has accepted film-maker Roman Polanski’s plea to be freed on $4.5 Million bail from a Swiss jail where he is being held for a US child sex case. The court said Polanski could stay at his chalet in the Swiss Alps. He would be monitored by an electronic tag. Polanski, 76, has [...]
Israel’s prime minister has announced a 10-month halt to the construction of new settlement houses in the occupied West Bank. Binyamin Netanyahu told a news conference on Wednesday that he declared the limited freeze “out of broad national interests with the aim of encouraging negotiations with our Palestinian neighbors”. “When the period of freeze ends my government will [...]
A new report has accused the U.S. private security firm formerly known as Blackwater of operating a covert assassination and kidnapping program against suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda members in northwest Pakistan. In an article published on Monday,The Nation magazine alleged that the firm, now known as Xe, is also involved in running a U.S. military drone bombing [...]
The Tennessee State Department of Correction said two inmates escaped a minimum security prison in southwest middle Tennessee on November 7, 2009 to steal cigarettes. Adam Garland and Michael Queener are accused of escaping through a window in their cell at the Turney Center Annex and crawling under a fence. The men are accused of then [...]
King Abdullah of Jordan has dissolved Parliament and ordered a general election to be held two years ahead of schedule. The decision on Tuesday to send home the country’s 110 Parliamentarians followed reports in the media accusing politicians of incompetently handling legislation and, in some cases, corruption. The Royal Decree instructed the civil service to organize a snap election that will [...]
Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, is in the US on a state visit that includes talks on policy towards China and Pakistan as well as a nuclear co-operation agreement. Singh is the first world leader to be given an official state reception since Barack Obama began his presidency in January. The high-profile visit on Tuesday is seen as an effort to [...]
South Africa has deported an Israeli El Al airline official following allegations that Israel’s secret police, Shin Bet, have been operating in Johannesburg’s international airport. The official was employed by the Israeli embassy in South Africa and had a diplomatic passport, Israel’s Ynet news reported on its website. The deportation stemmed from an investigation by local [...]
A public inquiry into the UK’s role in the Iraq war has opened in London, with former civil servants first to appear in hearings that will climax with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, taking the stand. One-time senior officials from the foreign and defense ministries will outline Britain’s policy towards Baghdad in early 2000, [...]
A German bank manager who secretly transferred millions of dollars from rich clients to debt-ridden customers has been spared jail. The 62-year-old, dubbed the “Robin Hood banker”, was found guilty of moving a total of $11 Million between 2003 and 2005. She carried out 117 separate transfers to try and stop people’s accounts closing due [...]
British Police Officers are deliberately arresting people just to get their DNA according to a report by the Government’s own genetics advisers. The UK’s Human Genetics Commission (HGC) has been looking into the system of taking and recording DNA samples. Its investigation includes evidence from a retired police superintendent who claims the reasons for making an [...]
An engineering student thought to be in a coma for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it has emerged. Rom Houben was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative state after a car crash left him totally paralyzed. For the whole time, he was trapped in his own body with no way of letting [...]
The President of the Philippines has declared a state of emergency in two southern provinces after gunmen kidnapped and killed at least 35 people. A spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the emergency order would enable the military and police to restore order and prevent lawless violence. Officials have promised to make arrests in the [...]
A festival involving the sacrifice of more than 300,000 animals is to begin despite facing international protests. Animal rights groups and activists including French actress Brigitte Bardot have condemned the event, which takes place every five years in the Nepalese village of Bariyarpur. But Nepal’s government says it will continue with the “centuries-old tradition” and will [...]
A California man has spoken of his anguish after discovering his long-lost father is apparently the notorious serial killer Charles Manson. Matthew Roberts, 41, tracked down his biological mother after she put him up for adoption in 1968. But he sank into depression after the woman revealed his dad is none other than the jailed [...]
Two men have been executed for their part in China’s tainted milk scandal. Both men faced a firing squad for their part in producing and selling contaminated milk that left tens of thousands of babies sick and six babies dead. The milk was contaminated with Melamine, which can cause kidney failure and kidney stones. Melamine [...]
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and [...]
Twenty-one people who were among a group of 29 abducted in the southern Philippines have been killed by armed men. Major General Alfredo Cayton said in a radio interview on Monday that the bodies had been found, but could not confirm who carried out the killings. “Our army troopers have reached the area where the vehicles and those held were taken [...]
The story behind the gallantry medals of Captain Noel Chavasse is deeply moving: he was awarded the second of his VCs after dying from battlefield injuries in 1917. Since then at least 12 memorials have been erected worldwide in his honour – more than for any other recipient of the Commonwealth’s most prestigious bravery award. [...]
The Japanese Foreign Ministry has discovered documents proving the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact that allows U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to enter Japanese territory, local media reported Sunday, citing ministry sources.A team of about 15 people, led by Mitsuru Kitano, a secretariat councilor in the Ministry, found the documents during [...]
Israeli President Shimon Peres is to visit Cairo today for a working meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, President Hosni Mubarak, according to Israeli media. Israeli government sources reported that the meeting on Sunday would deal with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and other bilateral issues. Sources said that Shimon Peres’s visit had nothing to do with a breakthrough in a [...]
At least seven people have been killed and 50 injured in three bomb blasts in India’s north-eastern state of Assam, police say. The explosions happened within 40 minutes in Nalbari, 43 miles from the state capital, Guwahati. Police said the two devices were mounted on bicycles left near a Nalbari police station at 10 a.m. [...]
A businessman who pretended to be a secret agent has allegedly pocketed up to $800,000 from funds intended to pay investigators working on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Kevin Halligen, a British security consultant, was paid to find Madeleine but allegedly failed to pass the money on to the private detectives who did the work [...]
The U.S. Senate has voted to open debate on a landmark Healthcare Reform bill that would extend insurance to an estimated 36 million Americans. Democrats united on Saturday night to push the legislation past its first key test in the upper house of the U.S. Congress. The 60-39 vote along party lines clears the way [...]
The gleaming glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983 has been auctioned off for $350,000, plus tax and auction fees. As the glove’s price soared Saturday, fans roared and squealed with pleasure — echoing the kind of frenzy that accompanied the late pop star on his tours. The rhinestone-studded white [...]
(Reinaldo Escobar, the husband of dissident Cuban blogger Yoanis Sanchez, center, is taken away by unidentified men in Havana, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. Escobar was punched, slapped and shouted down by government supporters in downtown Havana.) The husband of an acclaimed dissident Cuban blogger was punched and shouted down by a pro-government mob Friday after [...]
At least seven Palestinians have been injured in a round of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian witnesses said. Witnesses said that the first strike hit a metal workshop in the al-Tufah district of Gaza city early on Sunday, while the second struck a workshop in al-Burij in central Gaza. The Israeli army [...]
(Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Roma Employees) An Italian bank based in Rome has decided to make jobs hereditary in a bid to cut costs when replacing older staff. Under a deal signed with unions, some 76 employees of Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Roma must take early retirement, accepting a payoff or passing their job to [...]
A New York stamp collector auctioned parts of his collection in New York on Thursday, including a Canadian-issued stamp that is one of the world’s rarest. The 1851 Canadian 12-pence black stamp showing a young Queen Victoria sold for $260,000 US. It was one of the first stamps released in Canada. It is one of [...]
At least 104 mine workers have been killed and 4 more are trapped following a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China, according to state media. The Chinese Government reported on Saturday that an unknown number of people had also been injured while the China Central Television confirmed the deaths of 104 miners, adding [...]
Residents are transported in a lifeboat to avoid floodwater in Cockermouth, northern England November 20, 2009. Parts of Britain are set to be battered by the worst storm of the year so far, forecasters warned earlier this month, with heavy rain and gale-force winds bringing a risk of flooding and damage from falling trees. Lifeboats [...]
About 200 European football games are under investigation in a match-fixing inquiry, German prosecutors have said. At least three of the games were in the Champions League and another 12 were in the UEFA Europa League, officials said. UEFA representative Peter Limacher called it the biggest match-fixing scandal ever to hit Europe. On Thursday police [...]
The leader of a group which plotted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. Narseal Batiste, 35, also planned to bomb FBI offices, along with four other men who have already been given prison sentences. Prosecutors said the men conspired to provide material support to al-Qaeda [...]
The UN children’s agency UNICEF says one billion children around the world are still deprived of food, shelter, clean water and healthcare 20 years after the adoption of a treaty guaranteeing children’s rights. Hundreds of millions more children are constantly threatened by violence, UNICEF said in a report released on Thursday assessing the situation two [...]
Pay for California’s top elected officials will be slashed by 18 percent next month, one year earlier than expected, to abide by an opinion issued Thursday from Attorney General Jerry Brown. Just in time for the holiday season, lawmakers will have their salaries cut by $20,917 annually while California’s 12 top state officials will see reductions of [...]
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps of Engineers’ failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in Hurricane Katrina, a decision that could make the federal government vulnerable to billions of dollars in claims. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval sided with six residents and one business who argued the [...]
Sometime into his long detention by China’s feared state security agents, American geologist Xue Feng had something to show U.S. consular officials on their monthly visit. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the burns where his interrogators pressed lit cigarettes into his arm. Xue also had something to say: He wanted his previously unpublicized detention [...]
Russian authorities have refused to release the body of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer campaigning against fraud and corruption who died in a Moscow jail this week, for an independent autopsy. According to friends, the authorities rejected several requests and are only releasing the body for burial. Mr. Magnitsky’s funeral will be held at noon today [...]
New terror cells are emerging and planning attacks in Indonesia after the death of Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top. New terror cells are emerging and planning attacks in Indonesia after the death of Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top. A senior ranking officer from Indonesia’s anti-terror task force said new terror cells continue to be set up despite [...]
Air Canada is testing whether travelers want to pay to surf the Web, send email or work via the Internet while flying, as the airline looks at new measures to boost revenue. The country’s biggest airline, working on a C$500 million cost-cutting and revenue growth plan, also began charging extra fees last week to book [...]
Four people have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of killing some 60 people to sell their fat and other human tissue to Italian co-conspirators for cosmetic use in Europe, authorities said Thursday. The suspects were arrested in central Peru this month and a search is underway for seven others – including two Italian citizens [...]
A 10.2-per-cent U.S. unemployment rate sounds terrible. The reality may be even bleaker. The real unemployment rate, which officially hit a 26-year high last month, is nearly double that if discouraged and underemployed workers are counted, a level that will hamper any recovery, former U.S. labour secretary Robert Reich said yesterday. He pegs the unofficial rate [...]
Lawyers for two B.C. bureaucrats caught up in a political corruption trial should not attend a secret meeting where the identity of a police informant is likely to be exposed unless special measures are taken to shield his identity, the Supreme Court of Canada said today. The appeal had delayed a long-running political corruption trial [...]
President Barack Obama has answered questions submitted by a celebrated Cuban blogger, saying he isn’t interested in “talking for the sake of talking” with Raul Castro and indicating he won’t visit the island until the communist government changes its ways. In an unusual written response to Yoani Sanchez, who has gained international acclaim for daring to [...]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that Israel is currently conducting secret negotiations with Hamas, Channel 10 reported. Quoting an interview conducted in Arabic, Channel 10 reported that the talks between Israel and Hamas revolved around a Palestinian state with temporary borders, According to Abbas. The Palestinian president reiterated his criticism against Israel, saying that [...]
MATTHEW RANDAL 605 Corwin Ave Apt 4 Glendale, CA 91206-1611 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the United States will help Afghanistan prepare its military and police to take over the security of the war-ravaged country. Responding to a pledge by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the country will take over responsiblity [...]
University of California students will get a much larger tuition bill next year. The Board of Regents on Thursday approved a 32 percent increase in undergraduate student fees, despite protests by hundreds of demonstrators outside the regents’ meeting at UCLA. By next fall, undergraduate fees will be boosted by $2,500, sending the average annual education [...]
Here are some facts about Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy who was today elected the European Union’s first President. Van Rompuy, 62, emerged as the strongest center-right candidate. Although he has been prime minister for less than a year, after coming to power following a banking crisis, he has proved a steady hand running [...]
The United States Congress is debating a proposal to lift the travel ban to Cuba, almost half a century after the US isolated itself from the communist country. Richard Lugar, a Republican senator, and Howard Berman, a Democratic senator, said in a statement on Thursday: “It’s time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban, imposed during one of the [...]
A problem with the system that collects airlines’ flight plans is causing widespread cancellations and delays across the US. The US Federal Aviation Administration could not say how many flights were affected or when the problem would be resolved. An AirTran Airways spokesman said there was no danger to flights in the air and planes [...]
California will face a nearly $21 Billion budget gap over the next year and a half, extending a fiscal crisis that already has led to steep cuts to public schools, social services and health programs. In a report Wednesday, the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget analyst pins the blame on the deep recession and poor decisions by [...]
US President, Barack Obama, has wrapped up his Asian tour in Seoul by calling on North Korea to take “serious steps” to end its nuclear program. President Obama also announced on Thursday that he was sending a special envoy to Pyongyang, North Korea, next month for direct talks. Together with his South Korean counterpart, Lee [...]
At least 16 people have been killed in a suicide bomb blast outside the main gate of a court building in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, the seventh deadly explosion there in less than two weeks. Officials said about 30 people were hurt in Thursday’s attack, which occurred during rush hour when the area is normally crowded with lawyers, administrative personnel and [...]
Hamid Karzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s President for a second five-year term, pledging to tackle the “dangerous issue” of corruption. Karzai took the oath of office at the presidential palace in central Kabul on Thursday, in front of 800 guests, including 300 foreign dignitaries. Guests at the inauguration included Hillary Clinton, the US [...]
The death in prison of a Russian lawyer has sparked bitter accusations of maltreatment of inmates. Sergei Magnitsky, 37, who was being held on suspicion of conspiracy, died this week from what investigators say was acute heart failure. It has since emerged he had repeatedly complained about prison authorities’ refusal to allow him medical care. [...]
A British think tank says that prison policies are failing to stop Muslim inmates being radicalized, and urged the government to set up a special center to ‘deprogram’ extremists. The Quilliam Foundation said extremists including imprisoned radical preachers Abu Hamza al-Masri and Abu Qatada, once described as Osama bin Laden’s ambassador in Europe, are seeking [...]
Gold turned in the brightest performance on an otherwise dismal day for global markets, hitting a record high after weak U.S. economic data and worrisome outlooks from some software companies undermined the economic recovery outlook. Investors made further bets that U.S. interest rates would stay low for the foreseeable future, after a surprise decline in [...]
President Barack Obama admits that his administration will miss the January 2010 deadline set for closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. President Obama said on Wednesday that a new deadline would not be set for the facility, which still holds more than 200 detainees, but does expect it to be shut down at some point in the [...]
Britain’s MI5, MI6 and the police will be able to withhold evidence from defendants and their lawyers in civil cases for the first time, the high court ruled today. In a move that has widespread implications for open justice, Mr. Justice Silber agreed with the security and intelligence agencies that “secret government information” could remain hidden [...]
The United Nations has urged Thailand to end the three-year detention of nearly 160 ethnic Hmong, originally from Laos. The Geneva based UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also asked the Thai government to allow the Hmong to be moved to several western countries. The UN agency said the Hmong detainees have been recognized as refugees [...]
Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that a report into a new uranium enrichment facility proves the country’s nuclear program is peaceful. Ali Asghar Soltanieh remarks on Tuesday came after the agency said that last month’s inspection of the facility near the city of Qom had raised issues that needed “further clarification”. “The [...]
A northern New Jersey man has been indicted on charges he stole a valuable Internet address and sold it on the eBay auction site to a former NBA player for $111,000. A state grand jury on Monday indicted 25-year-old Union resident Daniel Goncalves, who works for an online research firm, on charges of theft by [...]
The Israeli interior ministry has approved planning applications for 900 new housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967 and annexed to the Jerusalem municipality. The project still faces review and the public will be able [...]
Staff at UK mobile phone company T-Mobile passed on millions of records from thousands of customers, a spokesman for the firm has confirmed. The suspected illegal trade emerged after the firm alerted Christopher Graham, of the information watchdog. He said brokers bought the data and sold it to other phone firms, who then cold-called the [...]
A senior Chinese diplomat said at the United Nations on Monday that China insists on its right to seek the return of cultural relics that have been illegally taken abroad and opposes auctions of these cultural relics, including treasures from the famous Yuan Ming Yuan Summer Palace. Liu Zhenmin, deputy permanent representative of the Chinese [...]
Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing Tuesday that his talks with U.S. President Barack Obama were candid, constructive and fruitful. At a joint press conference with President Obama after the talks, President Hu said he had “very good talks” with the U.S. President, and that they made a deep exchange of views on the [...]
Thousands of people have marched in Bangkok, the Thai capital, to protest against Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s former prime minister, and the Cambodian government for appointing him as economic adviser. Monday’s rally in Bangkok, led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the so-called Yellow Shirts, was to express outrage at Cambodia’s refusal to extradite [...]
A Kuwaiti logistics company inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for contracts to feed American troops based in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan, federal prosecutors said Monday. Public Warehousing Co. has been charged with making false statements, submitting false claims and committing wire fraud, said acting U.S. Attorney Gentry Shelnutt. The company, also known as Agility, [...]
The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.8 Billion loss in the 2009 fiscal year, and plans to propose to Congress in 2010 that it drop Saturday delivery. That move alone would shave $3.5 Billion in costs. The agency already reduced expenses by $6 Billion during the year ended Sept. 30. Those measures included eliminating 40,000 [...]
Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six astronauts are headed for space, ready to begin their 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The climb to orbit takes about 8 1/2 minutes. Following a smooth countdown, with no technical issues and weather that steadily improved throughout the afternoon, the shuttle lifted off on time [...]
LUSAKA Chief Resident Magistrate Charles Kafunda has acquitted Post news editor Chansa Kabwela of the case in which she was charged with circulating obscene materials or things contrary to the law. And Post editor-in-chief Fred M’membe has challenged President Rupiah Banda to appeal Magistrate Kafunda’s acquittal of Kabwela all the way up to the Supreme [...]
Italian police have captured Domenico Raccuglia, one of Sicily’s senior mafia fugitives, who had been on the run for 15 years, officials said. Uberto Di Maggio, the Sicily regional president of the anti-Mafia organisation Libera, said on Monday Raccuglia’s arrest marked a “great day” for the battle against organised crime. “He was one of the big [...]
Attacks that have continued across Pakistani towns and cities are being blamed on Tehreek e-Taliban, Pakistan’s Taliban. However, the group has issued its first video statement denying involvement in targeting civilians and has blamed external forces for at least two recent blasts. Azam Tariq, a spokesman of the Tehreek e-Taliban, posted the video statement on Monday. [...]
(President Obama addressing students from Fudan University in Shanghai on November 15, 2009) President Barack Obama held an American-style Town Hall meeting at Fudan University in Shanghai with an audience of university students and internet users. Chinese media offered netizens the opportunity to pose questions directly to President Obama. In a display of transparency, none [...]
French Budget Minister Eric Woerth said on Sunday he was horrified by a publicity stunt that attracted huge crowds hoping for a cash handout and led to serious violence when it was canceled for safety reasons.Marketing Web site Mailorama.fr was forced to call off its plan to throw envelopes of cash to passers-by from the [...]
An Afghan soldier stands guard in front a C-27A transport aircraft which was given by the U.S. military, in Kabul November 15, 2009. The U.S. military will give Afghanistan 20 refurbished transport planes over the next two years, U.S. and Afghan officials said on Sunday, doubling the size of its depleted air force. The United [...]
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in China’s economic hub Shanghai on Sunday night, starting a state visit to China. Air Force One touched down at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in heavy rain at about 23:10. This is President Obama’s first state visit to China since he assumed the presidency in January 2009. He is also the [...]
From the top of Singapore’s Equinox bar you can see the city skyline and ship after ship after ship. Singapore claims to be the busiest port in the world, with some 130,000 ship arrivals each year. But these days, the problem is many of those vessels are not putting back out to sea. The usual [...]
Barbara Cherish’s father was an SS officer who ran the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Adopted after the second world war by an American family, she kept her birth father’s identity secret for decades. At the age of 47, Barbara Cherish was at a crossroads. Her children were grown up, but her marriage was over. Her [...]
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has apologized to the hundreds of thousands of people, some British migrants, who were abused or neglected in state care as children. Mr. Rudd said he was “deeply sorry” for the pain caused to the children and their extended families. He said he hoped the national apology would help to [...]
A total of 10 people, including eight Japanese tourists, were killed, and six others were injured Saturday afternoon in a fire at an indoor shooting range in Busan, a southern port city of South Korea, local police said. The fire broke out at about 02:26 p.m. local time at the second-floor indoor shooting range which [...]
A 7-year-old boy, three women and a university professor were among 15 people who were killed in a single day in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, authorities said. State prosecutor’s spokesman Arturo Sandoval said the child was traveling with his father in a pickup when gunmen opened fire Friday, killing [...]
Saudi Arabia is continuing to attack a Shia rebel stronghold in northern Yemen by air, while Saudi troops and Houthi rebels have been engaged in bloody clashes for more than a week. At least two Saudi soldiers have been killed in the latest fighting, and the conflict is further raising tensions in the region, with Iran warning Saudi Arabia [...]
Liu Mingjie expected that President Barack Obama’s first visit to China would bring more business to his little boutique shop in Beijing’s popular Houhai area, a lakeside district filled with trendy restaurants and bars, souvenir shops and lots of tourists. Until last weekend, Liu had been interviewed by both Chinese and foreign media about what he [...]
Journalists have been permitted to inspect newly refurbished facilities at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, the largest U.S. military hub in the region and home to a controversial prison. The new prison wing cost $60 Million to build and is meant to be part of a new era of openness and transparency at the facility. Reporters were not shown the [...]
Leaders at the annual Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit have vowed in a final statement to reject trade protectionism and pursue a new strategy for growth after economic downturns. The statement on the last day of talks in Singapore on Sunday said that APEC, the acronym by which the grouping is commonly known, rejects “all forms [...]
Manny Pacquiao enhanced his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a commanding win over holder Miguel Cotto to claim the WBO welterweight title. The Filipino southpaw stopped his opponent 55 seconds into the 12th and final round to win a seventh world title in an unprecedented seventh weight class. Pacquiao twice [...]
Egypt has beaten Algeria, setting up a World Cup play-off with their bitter rivals after a tense encounter just days after a violent attack on the visiting team’s bus. Emad Moteab scored five minutes into stoppage time to earn Egypt a 2-0 victory on Saturday that led to wild celebrations at the final whistle that [...]
Chechen security forces have killed up to 20 anti-government fighters in a helicopter gunship attack, according to the region’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The raid took place in a mountain area outside the village of Shalazh, 19 miles southwest of the captial Grozny, the Chechen government statement said on Saturday. Kadyrov, whose region has suffered a [...]
Saturday’s government auction of items seized from Bernard and Ruth Madoff’s New York residences, expected to bring in $500,000, brought in more than $1 million. The trove of roughly 200 items, which ranged from jewelry and watches to sports memorabilia and artwork, nearly sold out in four hours of brisk bidding. Almost all the items [...]
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews have demonstrated at Intel Corp’s new electronic chip plant in Israel in protest against work taking place at the site on the Jewish sabbath. The protesters said on Saturday it was a desecration of the Sabbath, which runs from Friday night to Saturday night. They were dispersed by police and a company [...]
President Barack Obama has arrived in Singapore to join the APEC summit of Asia-Pacific leaders. President Obama’s Air Force One arrived at Singapore’s Paya Lebar military airbase late on Saturday after the president visited Japan, part of his nine-day Asian tour that will also take him to China and South Korea. Obama was expected to catch [...]
Ethnic Ogaden fighters in Ethiopia have launched an offensive in the southeastern Somali region and claim to have recaptured seven towns from government forces. In a statement released early on Saturday, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said its attacks were launched across a broad front and had begun on November 10. “The operation involved thousands of [...]
At least 11 people have been killed and 26 others are feared injured after a car bomb exploded in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. The explosion on Saturday comes days after similar attacks rocked the country’s northwest. Sahibzada Anis, Peshawar’s district administration chief, said that; “At least 11 people have been killed and 26 others wounded.” Anis said among the dead [...]
A medical helicopter crashed at 2 a.m. Saturday north of Reno near Doyle at the Nevada-California state line. The crash killed all three crew members aboard, officials said. The Aerospatiale AS350 helicopter had just dropped off a patient at a hospital in Reno, NV, Renown Medical Center. The chopper was returning to its base in Susanville, [...]
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is asking millions of people to give small amounts of cash to beat hunger, as donor governments are hit by the financial crisis. Josette Sheeran, head of the WFP, said an Internet Appeal launched on Saturday invites one billion people living in the developed world to give just $1.50 a week [...]
The world’s largest cruise ship has arrived in South Florida. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s 16-deck “Oasis of the Seas” docked Friday at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. It set sail from Finland to Florida in late October. The massive $1.5 billion vessel is nearly 40 percent larger than the industry’s next-biggest ship and five times [...]
Evangelist Tony Alamo was sentenced Friday to 175 years in prison for taking little girls as young as 9 across state lines to have sex with them. The decision punishes him for the rest of his life for molesting children he took as “brides” in his ministry. Alamo, 75, had denied the charges, claiming they [...]
This season Jacques Matombehad to burn $14,300 worth of pumpkin that he spent months growing on his farm in Seychelles. There was no other way to stop the disease spreading to his crop. “It was out of control,” he said, standing in a field of crispy pumpkin plants. “You have to burn it.” Disease and pests have [...]
In China, heavy snowfall has led to the deaths of 38 people in road accidents and collapsed buildings, state-run media have reported. The deaths included four pupils in schools that collapsed, Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying. Nineteen people were killed in traffic accidents that also stranded thousands of motorists, the officials said. The [...]
The Italian authorities say 17 Algerian nationals have been arrested in Italy and elsewhere in Europe on suspicion of committing thefts to finance terrorism. Six of the arrests were in Italy, while the other suspects were picked up in Algeria, Austria, France, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The gang allegedly stole the identities of Algerian [...]
NASA’s experiment last month to find water on the Moon was a major success, U.S. scientists announced. The space agency crashed a rocket and a probe into a large crater at the lunar south pole, hoping to kick up ice. Scientists who have studied the data now say instruments trained on the impact plume saw [...]
President Barack Obama has arrived in Japan, starting off his first visit to Asia as U.S. President as he seeks to sooth relations with Tokyo strained by a dispute over a U.S. military base. Friday’s visit is President Obama’s first stop on a nine-day, four-nation Asian tour, that will take him on to a regional economic summit in [...]
U.S. prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks when he is transferred for trial in New York, the U.S. Attorney General has said. U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, announced on Friday that Mohammed and four co-defendants currently held in the Guantanamo Bay [...]
Thirty-five people initially thought to be missing after a series of blasts tore through an arms depot outside the Russian city of Ulyanovsk, have been found and all are safe. More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the area following the blasts, which took place while munitions were being detonated in a controlled operation at [...]
A 5-month old baby died in hospital while the doctor was playing a game online, an investigation has found.The boy was taken to the Nanjing Children’s Hospital last Tuesday with a serious eye infection that can lead to swelling inside the skull. Though staff said the boy was doing fine in the afternoon, his condition [...]
Hong Kong is a new target of U.S. prosecutors who are pursuing a global campaign against evaders of federal taxes, spurred by data acquired in their crackdown on Swiss banks. Prosecutors are trying to determine what role financial professionals in Hong Kong play in tax evasion. They are examining how much taxable money was moved [...]
A bomb has hit Pakistan’s intelligence agency in the north-western city of Peshawar, killing at least seven people and injuring 35, officials said. The blast destroyed much of the three-story building belonging to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and many cars on the street outside. The area has been frequently targeted by militants in recent [...]
Andy Warhol artwork 200 U.S. One Dollar Bills sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $43.8 Million, the second highest auction price for a work by the pop artist. The 1962 silk screen print, which shows 200 life-sized images of U.S. dollar bills, had a pre-sale estimate of $8 Million to $12 Million at Sotheby’s. [...]
U.S. federal prosecutors said Thursday they were moving to seize four mosques and a 36-story New York skyscraper from a non-profit Muslim group suspected of having ties to the Iranian government. The Alavi Foundation has been providing “numerous services” and illegally funneling funds to the Iranian government through money laundering, according to the office of [...]
The official version of last week’s Fort Hood massacre may have to be revised after it emerged that the shots which brought down the alleged gunman were probably fired not by a petite policewoman but by her male partner. Sergeant Kimberly Munley was hailed a heroine around the world after officials credited her with bringing [...]
Michael Jackson’s private family funeral was fit for a king and had a price tag to match: roughly $1 million, according to court documents released on Tuesday. Although Jackson died in June and had a large public tribute at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in July, the private family funeral held on Sept 3 [...]
Federal agents investigating a prominent Florida lawyer suspected of running an elaborate Ponzi scheme said on Thursday the amount involved could exceed $1 billion, and they asked bilked investors to come forward. At a news conference, investigators from the FBI and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made a public appeal for information from individuals [...]
A Jewish settler has been charged in Israel with murdering two Palestinians and attacking left-wing Israeli, gay and messianic Jewish targets. Yaakov Teitel, an American immigrant who lives in the West Bank, faces 14 charges, including two counts of murder and three of attempted murder. “God is proud of what I have done,” Mr. Teitel [...]
The humble potato has become the symbol of a new revolution sweeping Cuba. The vegetable has been eliminated from the thick brown ration books that Cuban nationals relied on for nearly 50 years to purchase government-subsidized groceries, part of the socialist country’s attempt to ensure equal access to such staples as rice, beans and cooking oil. [...]
China is running a number of unlawful detention centers in which its citizens can be kept for months, according to Human Rights Watch. It says these center – known as “black jails” – are often in state-run hotels, nursing homes or psychiatric hospitals. Among those detained are ordinary people who have travelled to Beijing to [...]
An Irish priest has been released a month after he was kidnapped outside a church on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, military officials have said. Michael Sinnott, 79, was handed over to police and government officials in Zamboanga city just before dawn on Thursday. He was later given a medical check-up at an army [...]
There’s not much in John Hattenberger’s corner office on the 25th floor of the Bank of America tower to indicate that he’s Gazprom’s man in America’s oil and gas capital. The computer terminals outside his glass walls – where Mr. Hattenberger’s team began trading natural gas contracts last month – are staffed by the same type of [...]
President Barack Obama paid tribute to the U.S. military at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Veterans Day. President Obama on Wednesday said the United States owed a debt of gratitude to military veterans and those who had fallen during military campaigns around the world, and also thanked those who are fighting in [...]
Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke had been suffering from depression, his widow said, one day after the Hannover captain threw himself in front of a train. Speaking at a news conference called by his club, Teresa Enke said her 32-year-old husband was afraid their adopted daughter would be taken away from the family if his illness [...]
Services of commemoration are being held around the world to mark Armistice Day, the end of World War I in 1918. At a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, President Barack Obama said no tribute could match the service and sacrifice of the armed forces. Earlier, Angela Merkel became the first German Chancellor to mark the [...]
A man who stabbed a pregnant Egyptian woman to death in a German courtroom in front of her husband and three-year-old son has been sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in jail. Alex Wiens, 28, stabbed Marwa al-Sherbini, who was wearing a hijab, at least 16 times on July 1, in the same courthouse in [...]
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this fall, for the first time in U.S. history, women have surpassed men and now make up more than 50 percent of the nation’s workforce. In 1967, by comparison, they accounted for just one-third of all workers. Signs of the changing landscape in gender relations are just about [...]
With China’s growth trend and Beijing’s efforts to internationalize its currency, the Chinese yuan can develop into the alternative to the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency in 15 years, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday. In an investment summit held on the sidelines of the 17th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week [...]
Whalers beware – the Ady Gil is hardly your typical environmental activist vessel. It stretches 24 metres in length, with a space age, carbon fibre tri-hull design and two foreboding fins shooting up from the deck. It’s lightning-quick, holding the world powerboat record for circumnavigating the globe, as well as versatile, boasting an ability to sail [...]
Asmaa Alghoul has had run-ins with Hamas before. While swimming at the beach here this past summer, she was accosted by a modesty patrol that said she was having “too much fun.” “Hamas is eliminating the color from our lives,” said the 27-year-old short story writer. Which is why she was very glad to see [...]
Taliban fighters are expanding their control of Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, an area they claim to have recaptured from U.S. troops. Their leaders say they have appointed some local officials and reopened schools. Sections of the footage also show Taliban fighters brandishing what appeared to be US weapons. The fighters said they had seized the arms cache [...]
Twaneh School in Hebron has seen some improvements since former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair paid it a visit as UN Middle East envoy last year. The track leading from the school to the new main road joining Jerusalem to Israeli settlements on the south eastern slopes of Palestine is now paved. There are two new school [...]
A United Airlines pilot was arrested aboard a flight to Chicago on suspicion of being drunk, or Flying Under the Influence (FUI), police and an airline official said Tuesday. Scotland Yard said the 51-year-old was arrested aboard United Airlines Flight 949, due to fly from London’s Heathrow Airport to Chicago, shortly after noon on Monday. [...]
The D.C. Sniper, John Allen Muhammad, met with relatives in the hours before his execution and one of his attorneys described the convicted killer as fearless. Attorney J. Wyndal Gordon said Muhammad had no regrets and would die with dignity Tuesday night in Virginia. Gordon also insisted that Muhammad was innocent. Gordon says Muhammad met [...]
Brazil’s two largest cities – Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo – are suffering major blackouts due to a problem at the Itaipu Dam on the border with Paraguay. Several other cities have also been affected by the power failures. The country has lost 17,000 megawatts of power after the massive dam was hit by [...]
U.S. President Barack Obama has said “no faith justifies” last week’s killings of 13 people at an army base in Texas. President Obama’s comments came in an address to a memorial service for the victims of the Fort Hood shootings, after he met relatives of those who died. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who is accused [...]
Britain has offered to hand over half of its sovereign land in Cyprus in an effort to broker a peace deal between Greek and Turkish cypriots, the UN has said. The offer “would be conditional on a comprehensive agreement being agreed by the leaders of the two communities and then accepted by a majority of [...]
Nine Colombian army soldiers have been killed in an attack by fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the southwest of the country, officials have said. The government troops died after about 200 FARC guerrillas attacked their post late on Monday in the town of Corinto, which lies in the province of [...]
When Sonny Rollins plays the world’s biggest concert halls, the posters outside often hail him as “the greatest living improviser”. He’s a whole lot more than that. The 79-year-old US saxophonist’s repertoire may be an unpromising mix of dance tunes, calypso, blues and occasionally cheesy Broadway ballads – but from the moment his burly figure slouches [...]
Federal authorities have busted what they call “one of the most sophisticated computer hacking rings in the world” winning indictments against eight people from Russia, Estonia and Moldova. The ring allegedly stole more than $9 million in less than 12 hours after hacking into payroll debit card information last November from the Royal Bank of [...]
Prosecutors at a UN-backed court in The Hague are to begin cross-examining Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, over his denials of weapons trading in exchange for “blood diamonds”. Taylor, 61, has denied all 11 charges of instigating murder, rape, mutilation, sexual slavery and conscripting child soldiers during the intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra [...]
Maoist activists in Nepal have blocked major roads leading to the capital, Kathmandu, in the latest stage of a two-week protest against the government. The supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal rallied on Tuesday at the main entry points of the capital, waving Maoist flags. There were no reports of violence, but Binod Singh, the traffic police [...]
There are people who cannot succeed without adversity. They need pressure. They require potential disaster to force them beyond even their own expectations. The poker world is just getting to know Joe Cada, but it’s clear the new World Series of Poker champion thrives on the edge. In a heads-up battle versus Maryland logger Darvin [...]
Through the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program, Canada will invest as much as $15 million a year in projects across the Americas that combat the illicit drug trade, corruption, human trafficking and other regional problems. Slightly more than $430,000 will go to Mexico to help it fight its drug war, which claimed more than 6,000 people [...]
Envelopes containing white powder were delivered Monday to three missions to the United Nations in midtown Manhattan, touching off the security scare in the central New York City, officials said in New York on Monday night. There was no immediate report of injuries from the unknown substances, but about 30 people were ordered to decontaminate [...]
Increasingly expensive United States housing is leaving many more people homeless at a time when the financial crisis is hitting hard, an independent United Nations expert said. “Millions of people in the U.S. are spending high percentages of their income to make their monthly rent and mortgage payment, face foreclosure or eviction, and live in overcrowded [...]
Honduran police seized at least 1,500 Lbs. of cocaine on the border with Nicaragua on Monday and detained one person, a police spokesman said. Police intercepted the drugs, which were being transported on a wagon, at Las Manos, 78 miles east of Tegucigalpa, the spokesman said, adding that police were still searching for more drugs [...]
Hamas authorities on Monday banned the Conference for the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Gaza, organizers said. The workshop was aimed to discuss the journalism ethics and establish standards for the media in the Palestinian territories. The two-day discussions started in the West Bank but the journalists in Gaza were unable to link with their [...]
Photo shows Tibetan Buddhists praying in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, to pay pilgrimage, on Nov.9, 2009. The day marks the Dissension Festival in Tibet. Nov.9, 2009 marks the Dissension Festival, or Descending Festival, in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It’s the day of Sakyamuni descending to the world or it [...]
Navy ships from North and South Korea have exchanged fire along their disputed western sea border, stoking fresh tensions between the rival Koreas. The exchange on Tuesday morning occurred after a North Korean ship crossed the disputed border line in the Yellow Sea, South Korean military officials said. “A North Korean patrol ship crossed the [...]
Palestinians and foreign activists have torn down segments of Israel’s separation wall in a demonstration marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the town of Qalandiya in the occupied West Bank, a group of masked activists using a lorry pulled down a two-metre cement block before Israeli security forces confronted them with tear gas grenades. [...]
Three American hikers who crossed the border from Iraq into Iran in July were today accused of spying by Tehran. The move could set up the Americans – who relatives say were hiking and strayed across the border – as potential bargaining chips in Iran’s standoff with the west. The announcement came as Washington and [...]
Rupert Murdoch says he will remove stories from Google’s search index as a way to encourage people to pay for content online. In an interview with Sky News Australia, the mogul said that newspapers in his media empire – including the Sun, the Times and the Wall Street Journal – would consider blocking Google entirely once they had [...]
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Maclaren, today announced a voluntary recall of Maclaren Baby Strollers following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. The Maclaren Stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller. Maclaren has [...]
China has executed nine men, including eight from the Muslim Uighur minority, for crimes committed during the July 2009 riots that killed 200 people in far western Xinjiang region. The men are the first to be put to death for the country’s worst ethnic violence in decades. The nine had been convicted of murder and other [...]
World leaders, dignitaries and thousands of visitors are in Berlin to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a time to remember the past and celebrate the November day in 1989 that changed the future. Despite the rain, crowds gathered at the Bornholm Bridge, the first checkpoint in the [...]
At least 12 people have been killed and 35 others wounded following an explosion on the outskirts of Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar. The attack occurred on Sunday in the village of Matni, with reports saying a suicide bomber blew himself up in a busy market. It is reported that Abdul Malik, the Mayor of [...]
Britain’s David Haye put on a magnificent performance to claim the WBA heavyweight crown from Russian Nikolay Valuev in Nuremberg. Haye, 29, won by majority decision, winning the fight on two judges’ scorecards, with the other judge scoring it even. The Londoner, giving away 98 Lbs. to his 7 foot tall opponent, fought the perfect [...]
In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous. The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue [...]
The Mexico City Attorney General’s office said police have detained three doctors, a nurse and a receptionist who are being accused of stealing newborn babies at a private hospital and selling them. Also detained is a couple and a single woman who bought two babies and registered them as their own children. The buyers said [...]
The Mexican army said Saturday it has seized a shipment of almost a quarter-ton of opium in the country’s northern mountains, one of the largest such seizures made in Mexico. The 448 pounds of opium paste was found Thursday hidden in nine plastic containers in the township of Guadalupe y Calvo, in the border state [...]
Opposition leader Ayman Nour has attacked the ruling regime after he was barred from traveling to the United States, where he was invited to speak about Egypt’s political climate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Nour and a number of Egyptian politicians, including Gamal Mubarak — a top official in the ruling [...]
Zenyatta, the unbeaten 5-year-old mare, put together a performance for the ages Saturday before 58,845 at Santa Anita, California. She rallied from last place in a field of 12, went to the inside around the final turn, went to the outside in the stretch and mowed down her male rivals to win the $5 Million [...]
Bangladesh Anthrax Spreads, Public Panics
Top Police Official In Siberia Accused Of Taking $450,000 In Bribes
Russian Banker Shot Dead In Moscow
Russian Performers Drop Fish-Eating Circus Act
Taliban Chief Says Victory Imminent
North Korea Marks 62nd Founding Day
Fear Of Fresh Violence In Nigeria
Rachel Corrie Trial: During War There Are No Civilians
Egypt’s Leprosy Colony Lives On, VIDEO
US Soldiers ‘Kept Afghan Body Parts’
China’s Blind Activist Lawyer Released From Prison
9th Circuit Throws Out CIA Torture Lawsuit For National Security Reasons
Mexican Mayor Gunned Down Inside Own Office
Giant Rats Put Noses To Work On Africa’s Land Mine Epidemic
Fidel: ‘Cuban Model Doesn’t Even Work For Us Anymore’
Vitamin B Halts Memory Loss In Breakthrough British Trial
Bremner: ‘I Represent Seattle Police, You Can’t Arrest Me’
Russian Rokot Carrier With Three Satellites Blasts Off From Plesetsk Space Center
Police In Kamchatka Seize Poached Caviar Worth $1 Million
Europe Raids File-Sharing Groups Including Sweden
Kabul Bank Freezes Assets of Directors And Major Borrowers
Meeting The Taliban In Baghlan, VIDEO
United Nations ‘Failed’ Congo Rape Victims
California Regulators Seek Up To $9.9 Billion In Fines From PacifiCare
18 Murdered In Shoe Factory Shooting In Honduras
The Amazing World Of The Praying Mantis
9/11 Koran Burning Would Put US Troops’ In Danger, Petraeus Warns
Dozens Of Homes Burn Across Detroit, VIDEO
John Lennon’s Killer Denied Parole For The 6th Time
Belize Mob Torches Americans’ Animal Sanctuary
Pastor Wonders If It’s Wise To Burn Qurans Amid U.S. Warnings, VIDEO
Italian Crime Fighting Mayor Is Killed In Mafia-Style Execution
With A Little Help From My Friends
In Russia, No Kasha Creates Political Tension
Thieves Steal 3 Ancient Icons From Moscow Region Church
George Soros Donates $100 Million To Human Rights Watch
Congolese Poachers Destroy Protected Birds
French Unions Stage Nationwide Strike
Oracle Hires Former HP’s Mark Hurd
LAPD Kills Unarmed Migrant, Community Protests
El Salvador: 3rd Migrant Survived Mexico Massacre
Mexican Soldiers Open Fire On Family’s Car At Checkpoint, Killing 15-Year-Old And Father
U.S. Considers Boosting Funds For Mexico Drug War
California’s Union Jobs Take Hit From Recession
Israeli Minister: Speed Up Building, A Promise Is A Promise
Miners Seeking Gold Destroy Suriname Ecosystem
Little Rock Nine Member, Jefferson Thomas
Putin Compares Himself To Roosevelt As He Hints At Third Term
Condoleezza Rice ‘Ordered Bush To Stay Out Of Washington’ After 9/11
Stone Mason Sparks Cathedral Row With ‘Muslim’ Gargoyle
John Travolta Drops Charges In Extortion Case
150 Arrested In Mozambique Following Deadly Protests
U.S. Investors Sue For Payback For Pre-World War II German Bonds
Saad al-Hariri Retracts Charge That Syria Killed His Father
North Korea Plans Succession Meeting
The Arrest And Trial Of Human Rights Activist Shiva Nazar-Ahari
Arsenic Scare Hits Argentina, VIDEO
President Obama Unveils $50 Billion Infrastructure Plan
Cockroach Immune To Deadly Super-Bacteria
Gulf Residents Test Positive For Oil In Blood
