- 2009 PAST POST NEWS SERVICES - (Dec 31 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Limbaugh rushed to Honolulu hospitalHONOLULU -- Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is resting comfortably in a Hawaii hospital after suffering chest pains while on vacation, his radio program says. "Rush appreciates your prayers and well wishes and will keep you updated via rushlimbaugh.com and on his radio program," the program said in a statement late Wednesday night. Limbaugh was rushed for medical treatment earlier in the day. The statement said "Rush was admitted to and is resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital today after suffering chest pains."
(Dec 30 2009) - China Post : Law to ban U.S. beefTAIPEI -- The government will strive to communicate with the United States (U.S.) in order to limit possible damage to two-way relations after lawmakers from ruling and opposition camps reached a consensus to revise regulations and ban imports of ground beef and bovine offal from the U.S. Upon learning about the legislative decision, Thomas Hodges, spokesman and public affairs section chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) expressed disappointment and said Washington would make an announcement later.
(Dec 29 2009) - Global Post : Magnet for refugees & Al Qaeda?YEMEN -- EDITOR'S NOTE: Yemen's notoriously porous border has allowed this country to become a new hub for Al Qaeda, according to U.S. and European counterterrorism officials. On Monday, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas bombing in which a Nigerian man tried to take down a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight with a chemical explosive. Civil war and lawlessness have turned the Arab world's poorest state into an attractive destination for African refugees and, U.S. spy agencies say, an alternative base for Al Qaeda.
(Dec 28 2009) - Frontier Post : US Defense Chief’s Afghan plansKABUL -- In a bit of unpoetic justice, Robert Gates helped create the mess in Afghanistan decades ago and now has to try to clean it up. At the CIA in the '80s, Gates conspired with Charlie Wilson and the Saudis to help the insurgents in Afghanistan turn back the occupation of a superpower. Now he's guiding the attempt of the occupying superpower to turn back the insurgents, some of whom are the same ones he armed to defeat the Soviet Union, New York Times has reported.
(Dec 27 2009) - New York Post : Bomber was on U.S. watch listAMSTERDAM -- US authorities have known for months that the al Qaeda-linked Nigerian who tried to blow up a passenger jet before it landed in Detroit had terrorist ties -- and his own father even alerted them to his extremist behavior, it was revealed yesterday. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who was charged in federal court with attempting to destroy Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, remained hospitalized with burns suffered in the failed attempt.
(Dec 26 2009) - Bangkok Post : Passengers stop bomber on US planeAMSTERDAM -- A Nigerian passenger attempted to ignite an incendiary device aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Friday as the plane began its approach for landing, in what federal officials said was an act of terrorism. The plane landed safely shortly before noon local time on Christmas Day (midnight Thailand time). The suspected would-be bomber suffered burns as the result of his attempt, and two of the other 277 passengers reported minor injuries, authorities said. FBI agents were investigating the incident, which a White House official said was believed to be terrorism.
(Dec 25 2009) - Christian Post : The IncarnationU.S.A. -- Last week, Patty and I attended a performance of a Living Christmas Tree at my church, the First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida. It was the best I’d ever seen. The performers did not simply offer music and a manger scene; they also brought out flags. One read: “The Great I AM”; another proclaimed “King of Kings.” Yet another said “Lord of Lords.” In other words, the program was not confined to warm thoughts about a chubby-cheeked Baby Jesus. It made the point that Christmas is about the Incarnation.
(Dec 24 2009) - Post & Email : British Law declares Obama a British citizenU.K. -- Barack Hussein Obama has written 2 biographies about himself and has publicly spoken of his origins in many public speeches. He claims as his biological and legal father, a man who went by the name Barrack Hussein Obama. That is the more common Kenyan spelling of the name. His claimed father also went by the names “Barak” and “Barack”, the former when he penned an article in an journal on economics, in Nairobi, in the 60’s, the latter when he registered at the University of Hawaii. The latter form appears on the electronic image of Obama’s alleged Certification of Live Birth.
(Dec 24 2009) - National Post : Yemen says Fort Hood-linked imam may be dead
SANAA -- The leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a Muslim preacher linked by U.S. intelligence to deaths at a U.S. army base are believed to have died in a Yemen air strike, a security official said on Thursday. Yemen said 30 militants were killed in the strike in the eastern province of Shabwa. Among those believed killed was Anwar al-Awlaki, whom U.S. officials linked to the gunman who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood army base in Texas on Nov. 5.
(Dec 23 2009) - Liberty Post : Obama caused Housing BubbleWASH D.C. -- This week we saw Obama on all the news shows blaming banks for the credit crisis saying that "you guys caused the problem" and calling them "fat cats." This is the height of hypocrisy. Let me remind everyone that banks only operate within the regulatory environment that politicians create for them. All throughout the 80's and 90's, leftist groups led by ACORN harassed banks with protests, boycotts and lawsuits, falsely claiming banks were "discriminating" against minorities in terms of their lending practices. The allegations were bogus. Banks do discriminate, however, against people with shaky finances regardless of race. And they should. Banks are not a welfare program. They're a business.
(Dec 22 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Carter apologizes to Jewish communityISREAL -- Jimmy Carter asked the Jewish community for forgiveness for any stigma he may have caused Israel. In a letter released exclusively to JTA, the former US president sent a seasonal message wishing for peace between Israel and its neighbors, and concluded: "We must recognize Israel's achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel.
(Dec 21 2009) - Seattle Post : Google vs. Microsoft ...SEATTLE -- Don Dodge, the former Microsoft start-up evangelist whom Google quickly snatched up after his layoff last month, seems to be falling in love with his new company. "Google's an amazing company, even more so from the inside," Dodge wrote on his personal blog Friday. "To the outside world Google is just search. But Google has made 3 big bets on the future of computing; Chrome OS (browser), Google Apps (cloud), and Android (mobile) that will change everything." 5 or 10 years from now, the smartphone will be everyone's primary computer, Dodge wrote.
(Dec 20 2009) - Washington Post : Democrats health-care debate woundsWASH D.C. -- Amid the spectacle that has become the health-care debate, Democrats have taken comfort in the belief that they will be rewarded politically if in the end they pass something -- almost anything. That proposition is being sorely tested in these final days of maneuvering. For all the talk of the damage President Obama has sustained during this long and difficult year, congressional Democrats have suffered at least as much -- and will have to face the voters far sooner than the president.
(Dec 19 2009) - Post Zambia : US continues imperial conquest – FidelCUBA -- FIDEL Castro has accused the US of continuing its brutal imperial conquest this time under the “nice smile” and Afro-American face of President Barack Obama. In a letter to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez which he demanded to be read before the ALBA heads of state summit at Havana's Palace of Conventions, Fidel stated that should the US gain control of petroleum and gas resources in Venezuela, then Central American and Caribbean countries receiving preferential oil supplies would be doomed.
(Dec 18 2009) - Patriot Post : Be Afraid, Very AfraidWASH D.C. -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is Time magazine's "Person of the Year." Twelve months ago, the "honor" went to then-President-elect Barack Obama. Notably, the 1932 recipient was President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who asserted in his March 4, 1933, inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Mr. Roosevelt went on to describe the economic anxieties of millions left jobless in a deepening depression as "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
(Dec 17 2009) - Christian Post : Majority of Americans Celebrate Christmas as Religious Holiday
AMERICA -- About two thirds of Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, a new survey reveals. Meanwhile, 20 percent celebrate the event as a secular holiday, according to Rasmussen Reports. Among those who celebrate Christmas, 72 percent say Jesus was born to a virgin and 81 percent believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to die for our sins.
Christians believe Christmas is one of the most important days of the year because it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and those who celebrate Christmas overwhelmingly agree with the central tenets of the Christian faith associated with the holiday, the survey says.
(Dec 17 2009) - Kyiv Post : Air France crash remains a mysteryPARIS -- Investigators are still unable to pinpoint why an Air France passenger jet crashed into the Atlantic on Jun. 1, killing all 228 people on board, France's official BEA aviation accident authority said on Dec. 17. The BEA said in its latest report into the disaster that speed probes on Air France flight AF 447, which was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, were one factor in a string of events that led to the crash but not the sole cause.
(Dec 16 2009) - Birmingham Post : Talks to stall British Airways strikeLONDON -- Fresh talks between British Airways and union leaders will be held today in a bid to avert a series of Christmas strikes by thousands of cabin crew. Unite’s joint leaders Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson will meet the airline’s bosses to try to find a breakthrough in a bitter row over jobs, pay and working conditions. BA said it had offered to meet the union at 3pm today, “without preconditions”, and Unite later confirmed that talks would be held.
(Dec 15 2009) - Post Chronicle : 22 ml Bush e-mails foundWASH D.C. -- According to two nonprofit groups, computer technicians have located 22 million White House e-mails from the President George W. Bush administration, reports the Associated Press. The missing email problem was first identified in 2005, when the Office of Administration conducted an internal analysis suggesting that millions of emails from the Executive Office of the President ("EOP"), created between March 2003 and October 2005, might be missing. The Monday announcement by the two groups highlight current developments in an ongoing controversy ...
(Dec 14 2009) - Yemen Post : Yemen Headquarters for Drug TraffickersYEMEN -- The onetime conservative country of Yemen is suddenly falling apart morally as poverty, greed, and power is forcing thousands of Yemeni youngsters to turn to drugs for a better future. Yemen is considered today the hub for drugs trafficked to the Gulf, as drug lords today feel it is easier to send drugs to others parts of the world through Yemen than any other country. Over 12 tons of drugs were seized by the government this year alone. Observers believe that the seized amount is only 10% of the total amount of drugs that passes through Yemen.
(Dec 13 2009) - Jakarta Post : Nearly 1,000 climate protesters releasedDENMARK -- Danish police on Sunday released hundreds of activists who were detained during a mass rally demanding strong action from delegates at the U.N. climate conference. Police said only 13 of the 968 people detained during and after the demonstration in Copenhagen remained in custody Sunday. Of those, three - two Danes and a Frenchman - were set to be arraigned in court on preliminary charges of fighting with police. The conference took a day off Sunday, though environment ministers were meeting for informal talks on greenhouse emissions cuts and financing for poor nations to deal with climate change.
(Dec 12 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Children walk from hostage situationFLORIDA -- An hours-long standoff between Sheriff's deputies and two armed men who had barricaded themselves in an apartment with young children has ended without injury. The two men, suspected also of armed robbery, are in custody, and the children who had been holed up with them walked out of the apartment unharmed just after 7 a.m., Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Eric Davis said. The situation began when deputies were called about 3 a.m regarding an armed robbery at a Chevron gas station at 6970 Okeechobee Boulevard.
(Dec 11 2009) - Copenhagen Post : G77 walks out of COP15 meetingCOPENHAGEN -- Tension between developing and developed countries builds as climate summit enters its fifth day. The chief negotiator for 134 developing nations left the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) yesterday in anger. Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping from Sudan, the G77 group’s top negotiator, is also accusing Denmark of driving the climate summit into the ground. 'Things are not going well,' he said after walking out from an hour-long negotiation. Commenting he said: 'Your prime minister has chosen to protect the rich countries, and that’s not ok,' referring to Denmark’s Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
(Dec 10 2009) - China Post : Climate doc,s spark clash between CountriesCOPENHAGEN -- Developing nations who face huge climate change burdens are demanding that wealthy nations shoulder more of the costs, as a leaked Danish document and fresh evidence of a hotter planet raised temperatures at the U.N. climate conference. Negotiators on Wed. were trying to bridge the difficult gaps among 192 nations and stem a growing chasm between rich and poor on the third day of the U.N. climate conference. A key speaker will be U.S. EPA head Lisa Jackson ...
(Dec 09 2009) - Denver Post : 100's gather to see PalinCOLORADO SPRINGS -- Taylor Schettler could not keep her voice from trailing up into a squeal as she talked about a brief meeting with her hero Sarah Palin during the former Republican vice presidential candidate's book-signing here Tuesday night. Schettler, the 2009 Miss Colorado Teen USA, brought her "Pageant Queens for Palin" sign. She had compiled a packet of inspirational quotes, jokes and a letter to Palin. And she bought a new outfit. "I have so much in common with her. She's a real person," said Schettler, 17. "I just met the next president of the United States. I couldn't even think, I was so excited!"
(Dec 08 2009) - Financial Post : OVER-POPULATION : The real inconvenient truth
CANADA -- The "inconvenient truth" overhanging the UN's Copenhagen conference is not that the climate is warming or cooling, but that humans are overpopulating the world. A planetary law, such as China's one-child policy, is the only way to reverse the disastrous global birthrate currently, which is one million births every four days. The world's other species, vegetation, resources, oceans, arable land, water supplies and atmosphere are being destroyed and pushed out of existence as a result of humanity's soaring reproduction rate.
(Dec 07 2009) - Global Post : Argentine president feuds with mediaBUENOS AIRES -- Every Sunday Fabian Lopez buys a copy of Clarin, Argentina's most widely read paper, at his neighborhood kiosk. Lopez says he likes Clarin best, but he can't trust everything he reads in it. Its owners, the Clarin Group, have been openly feuding with the government over a new media law that threatens their business. "Opinions can be bought," Lopez shrugged cynically, handing over his coins for the paper. " Still you need something to inform you!" Most Argentines like to stay informed. With a nearly universal literacy rate and high cable penetration, Argentina is one of Latin America's largest media markets.
(Dec 06 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Queen warns paparazzi over photosENGLAND -- The Queen has warned newspapers against publishing paparazzi photos of members of the Royal family, it has emerged. The hard line follows growing exasperation about intrusion into the private lives of the Royal family and their friends. The Queen's lawyers have contacted newspapers informing them of privacy obligations under their own code of practice. The move is thought to have the full support of high-profile members of the Royal family ...
(Dec 05 2009) - Bangkok Post : Thais begin a day of joyTHAILAND -- His Majesty the King left the hospital on Saturday to drive through the streets and grant an audience on his 82nd birthday. Tens of thousands of subjects lined the streets to see His Majesty and members of the royal family as they drove from Siriraj Hospital to Chitrlada Palace for the audience. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presided over the ceremonies at the palace. He thanked His Majesty for granting him the responsibility of attending to other parts of the birthday celebration.
(Dec 04 2009) - India Post : US seeks India role in AfghanistanNEW DELHI -- A day after President Barack Obama announced his new Af-Pak policy and a troop surge in Afghanistan, the US said it looks forward to working with India in rebuilding the war-torn country. US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer, who was in Washington during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's state visit to the US, said Obama also sought Singh's "important" views on Afghanistan. "After the PM's very successful visit to Washington and before his statement on the new Af-Pak policy, the President also called the PM and they had a very good talk," Roemer told reporters at the US pavilion at a food expo here.
(Dec 03 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Comcast buying NBC Universal ?PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast Corp. announced Thursday it plans to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for $13.75 billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the Peacock network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio. Although the deal could mean that movies could reach cable more quickly after showing in theaters, and that TV shows could appear faster on cell phones and other devices, it was already raising concerns that Comcast would wield too much power over entertainment. Indeed, if the deal clears regulatory and other hurdles, Comcast would rival the heft of The Walt Disney Co.
(Dec 02 2009) - Patriot Post : Obama Will Bankrupt AmericaWASH D.C. -- In March, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, led by former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, calculated the total value of the federal government's "unfunded liabilities" as they stood at the end of fiscal 2008. These liabilities include the publicly held portion of the national debt plus the amount the government must pay to cover all the entitlement benefits it has promised to living Americans through Social Security, Medicare and other welfare-state programs minus the tax revenue the government can expect to collect to pay for these entitlements under existing tax law.
(Dec 01 2009) - Seattle Post : Clemmons reportedly shot, killed by policeSEATTLE -- Seattle police shot and killed suspected cop killer Maurice Clemmons early Tuesday morning in the Rainier Valley neighborhood, a police spokesman said. Clemmons, the sole suspect in the murders of four Lakewood police officers as they sat in a coffee shop Sunday morning, was the subject of an intense manhunt since shortly after those killings. Investigators said they believed Clemmons -- who had a violent criminal history in Arkansas and Washington -- was being aided by a network of friends and family.
(Nov 30 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Virus forces PM to delay German tripJERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took ill Sunday evening, forcing him to announce the cancellation of a trip to Germany just nine hours before he and six other ministers were scheduled to fly to Berlin. Some three hours after he delivered a speech in Eilat to mark the 29th of November, Netanyahu's spokesman Nir Hefetz issued a statement saying that Netanyahu did not feel well and was diagnosed by his doctor as having a viral infection and a low fever.
(Nov 29 2009) - Frontier Post : India preparing for Nuke War ?PAKISTAN -- Reliable sources disclosed that Pakistani authorities have decided to move her forces from Western to Eastern border. The move of forces would start soon. The decision has been taken after receiving the threat from Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor to strike Pakistan. Indian Chief warned that a limited war under a nuclear overhang is still very much a reality at least in the Indian sub-continent. On November 23, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit asked the world community to take notice of remarks passed by the Indian Army Chief. He also said India had set the stage and trying to impose a limited war on Pakistan.
(Nov 28 2009) - Filipino Post : Ketsana victims head to CanadaPHILIPPINES -- All Felipe Macabenta could do was cry. His family home was swept away leaving his wife and children homeless. His friends and neighbors were killed by the ferocious storm Ketsana which devastated many parts of the Philippines last September. “My family lost their home and all I did was to cry here because I could not provide immediate help as I am thousands of miles away,” Macabenta, who is trying to make a new life as a civil engineer in Richmond, B.C. told Philboxing.com. But the storm that destroyed everything also brought with it some hope for Macabenta’s family.
(Nov 27 2009) - Kyiv Post : SOS ArianaUKRAINE -- Politicians silent, relatives extra tense amid conflicting reports about the fate of 24 Ukrainian crew members on board a cargo ship hijacked by pirates on May 2. The distress signal coming from the Ariana ship off the Somalian coast is loud, piercing and frightening – to those who want to hear it. Armed pirates have been holding 24 Ukrainian crew members hostage since May 2. After nearly seven months on board, conflicting reports have surfaced about their fate.
(Nov 26 2009) - Liberty Post : Liberal Democtats Turn on ObamaWASH D.C. -- After just 10 months in office, President Barack Obama is facing a rebellion on several fronts from his natural base of liberal Democrats. And while it’s too early to measure the political cost, what is striking is how rapidly disaffection is growing. The most recent example of this fallout is the war in Afghanistan, which has alienated liberals who believed that Obama would quickly pull out from Iraq and close the terrorist detention facilities in Guantanamo. Instead, they are now looking at their once cherished candidate poised to announce that he is sending some 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
(Nov 25 2009) - New York Post : Judge blasts bad bank, erases 525G debtNEW YORK -- A Long Island couple is home free after an outraged judge gave them an amazing Thanksgiving present -- canceling their debt to ruthless bankers trying to toss them out on the street. Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped out $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts. The bombshell decision leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, owing absolutely no money on their ranch house in East Patchogue.
(Nov 24 2009) - Post Chronicle : Drug-Resistant Bacteria On Rise In U.S.AMERICA -- Cases of a drug-resistant bacterial infection known as MRSA have risen by 90 percent since 1999, and they are increasingly being acquired outside hospitals, researchers reported on Tuesday. They found two new strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- MRSA for short -- were circulating in patients and they are different from the strains normally seen in hospitals. Ramanan Laxminarayan of Princeton University in New Jersey and colleagues studied data on lab tests from a national network of 300 microbiology laboratories in the United States for their study.
(Nov 23 2009) - Christian Post : Poll Supports Right to Criticize ReligionWORLDWIDE POLL -- A survey of 20 nations has found strong support for the right to criticize religion. According to the survey of more than 18,000 people, 57 percent agreed that “people should be allowed to publicly criticize religion because people should have freedom of speech.” Meanwhile, 34 percent of all respondents said they supported the right of governments "to fine or imprison people who publicly criticize a religion because such criticism could defame the religion.” The strongest support for the right to criticize religion came from the United States, with 89 percent ...
(Nov 22 2009) - Post Zambia : Drug trafficking is a global problemCUBA -- FIDEL Castro has accused the United States of using a vulgar excuse of fight against narcotics to finalise a cold war aimed at total domination of the world. Fidel on Wednesday noted that the cultivation, production and trafficking of drugs today constituted a global problem that extended from South America to Africa and that it reigned even in Afghanistan where the US had massive army presence. “For his military origin, precisely, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez knows that the fight against narcotic trafficking is a vulgar excuse of the US to justify a military agreement with Colombia ...
(Nov 21 2009) - Yemen Post : Yemen Seeks to Release Japanese EngineerYEMEN -- While Yemen is seeking to release a Japanese engineer who was kidnapped by tribesmen in Sana'a early last week, chief mediator on the release said on Saturday that Al-Qaeda took the engineer to Jawf in northeast Yemen, the News Yemen reported. Sheikh Abdul Jalil Sinan said Al-Qaeda affiliates kidnapped the Japanese from the Joub tribe where he was snatched on Sunday by tribesmen demanding the release of one of their relatives held by the authorities in connection with Qaeda links.
(Nov 20 2009) - Denver Post : U.S. attorney nominee Villafuerte denies any role in accessing restricted database
COLORADO -- President Barack Obama's nominee to be Colorado's next U.S. attorney has denied any involvement in the access of a restricted federal database to help Bill Ritter's 2006 campaign for governor. In a letter addressed to U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and forwarded to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Stephanie Villafuerte said the answer to whether she ever used information from the database for campaign purposes "is emphatically no." Villafuerte has consistently declined to answer questions from The Denver Post ...
(Nov 19 2009) - Post Newsline : Ambassador Assaults Embassy ProtestersWASH D.C. -- A protest at the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon turned violent this morning when the Cameroonian ambassador stormed from the building and assaulted two people outside, a well-placed source tells News4. Ambassador Joseph Bienvenu Charles Foe Atangana rushed into the crowd and assaulted the leader of the protest, and then pushed a woman to the ground, witnesses said. The woman, a passer-by not involved in the protest, had been taking pictures. Her camera was thrown to the ground. Both of the injured were transported from the scene by ambulance. Local police and the Secret Service responded to the scene. The matter's now been turned over to the State Department.
(Nov 18 2009) - China Post : No breakthrough likely at EU-Russia summitSTOCKHOLM -- Leaders of the European Union and Russia were holding a summit Wednesday on energy security, climate change, trade and human rights — with both sides hoping the talks would help patch up battered relations. The summit in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, was expected to produce a number of agreements, including on border control, but no significant breakthroughs. EU leaders were also expected to press Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for more assurances on energy supplies and for a bigger commitment to climate change. "EU-Russia relations aren't the greatest right now ...
(Nov 17 2009) - Jakarta Post : Thailand should release Hmong refugeesTHAILAND -- The U.N. refugee agency says Thailand should release 158 ethnic Hmong refugees detained for 3 years and allow them to move to another country. UNHCR says the refugees held in a Thai detention center have committed no crimes. The Geneva-based agency called Tuesday on Thailand to allow these refugees to move to the U.S., Australia, Canada or the Netherlands which have offered to resettle them. The Hmong are an ethnic group from Laos' rugged mountains. Many fought on the side of a pro-U.S. Laotian government in the 1960s and 1970s before the communist takeover of their country in 1975.
(Nov 16 2009) - Bangkok Post : Grenade caused anti-Thaksin blastBANGKOK -- A grenade fired from an M-79 launcher caused the explosion that injured 12 people on Sunday at a Bangkok rally by opponents of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Metropolitan Police said on Monday. Organisers initially thought the explosion at the protest in central Bangkok late Sunday was caused by a large firecracker thrown by men on a motorcycle, but police said they now believed it was a more serious attack. The rally by around 20,000 yellow-shirts was held to condemn Thaksin's visit to neighbouring Cambodia last week and his appointment by Phnom Penh as an economic adviser to the government.
(Nov 15 2009) - Post Zambia : Fundanga 'Focus on Food Production'ZAMBIA -- BANK of Zambia (BoZ) Governor Dr Caleb Fundanga says the government must grow the economy at a fast rate if poverty is to be eradicated. And Dr Fundanga says that he strongly feels that women have a lot of qualities when they venture into business than men. Speaking at a Business Forum organised by Visit Livingstone Zambia at New Fairmount Hotel on Friday evening, Dr Fundanga said the government must focus on food production so that the nation can be able to feed itself. "If there is anything good...is for a nation to feed itself.
(Nov 14 2009) - Global Post : Obama 'DEEP BOWING' in Japan
TOKYO -- It was a speech that managed to lift the gloom on a wet, windswept morning. Speaking to a packed concert hall in Tokyo on Saturday, the U.S. president, Barack Obama, assured his hosts that the estrangement of the Bush era was over. Japan and the U.S., he declared, are “equal partners.” Calling himself “America’s first pacific president,” Obama ended the first leg of his nine-day visit to Asia with a foreign policy address that went some way towards calming fears in Japan that its importance is diminishing in the eyes of a White House administration eager to improve ties with China.
(Nov 13 2009) - Jerusalem Post : US moves to seize 4 mosquesNEW YORK -- In what could be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in US history, federal prosecutors sought to take over four US mosques and a New York City skyscraper owned by a Muslim organization suspected of being controlled by the Iranian government. Prosecutors on Thursday filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets. The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres (40 hectares) in Virginia; and a 36-story Manhattan office tower. Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which the US government has accused of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.
(Nov 12 2009) - Cedar Springs Post : God, are you there ?MINN -- Has anybody seen God lately? I don’t know about you, but from the look of things, God can’t be found in our society. Even sadder, God can’t be found in some of our churches. Even more shocking, there may be many children of God’s who haven’t found Him lately. Now before you conclude that I'm on a judgmental rampage, let me explain. I believe that we have found God in our lives for the salvation of our souls. We have no problem seeking God and finding Him when we stand in danger of facing an eternity in Hell, but our problem comes when we believe we're saved we have no need to seek after Him on a daily basis.
(Nov 11 2009) - Patriot Post : THE FOUNDATION OF VETERANS DAYAMERICA -- Today is Veterans Day. We encourage all Patriots to set aside time and reflect on the sacrifice of our Patriot veterans and those serving today, and honor them accordingly. More than a million Patriots stand ready, or are actively defending our nation today. These men and women were not drafted into service, but volunteered to serve. To all our veterans: Thank you for your dedicated service to the cause of liberty.
(Nov 10 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Warning: industrial espionage risingDENMARK -- Spies of old with code names and secret handshakes have been replaced with hackers and patent copiers. Companies are being warned by both an industry organisation and the national intelligence agency that industrial spies are ever present. Jakob Scharf, head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), recently warned that industrial espionage has been growing steadily in the last number of years and Danish companies are not impervious to it. ‘The fall of the wall did not lead to a fall in espionage activities – almost the opposite.
(Nov 09 2009) - New York Post : 9/11 link in Ft. Hood slay SpreeTEXAS -- Army massacre fiend Nidal Malik Hasan attended a Virginia mosque at the same time as two of the 9/11 hijackers -- and the FBI is now investigating whether there is a connection between the men, an official confirmed yesterday. Maj. Hasan -- the Army psychiatrist accused of fatally shooting 13 people and wounding 29 others at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday -- had held his mother's funeral at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., in May 2001. The mosque's imam at the time was the ultraradical Anwar Aulaqi, thought to have ties to Osama bin Laden.
(Nov 08 2009) - Christian Post : House Narrowly Passes Health Care BillWASH D.C. -- The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a bill Saturday that aims to expand health care coverage to tens of millions of Americans who lack it. Though the bill, passed on a 220-215 vote, did not include provisions for the funding of abortion, pro-life leaders received news of its passage with caution, noting that there is no guarantee that the final bill will include an amendment barring the federal funding of abortion. Furthermore, they point out that the 1,990-page, $1.2 trillion legislation still has many areas of concern.
(Nov 07 2009) - Kyiv Post : Russian communists flirt with MedvedevMOSCOW -- Russia's communist party denounced powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin while cautiously praising President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday as a man who had brought 'certain hopes' to the country. Putin, who has ruled as "first among equals" with his hand- picked successor, was the chief focus of anger in communist marches on the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. "Medvedev should not look back at Putin," said protester Yakub Saidullayev, who held a banner reading 'Putin is the main hurdle for the progress of Russia'.
(Nov 06 2009) - Liberty Post : Fort Hood soldier describes horrific sceneUTAH -- The news of the mass shooting at Fort Hood Thursday hit close to home for some Utahns. One man says his daughter heard the shooter exclaim "Allah Akbar" as he opened fire. We want to stress that no government or military officials are reporting that and there is no way for us to independently confirm that it is true. The family from northern Utah agreed to talk to us, on the condition we not identify them and blur out some photos they've supplied, because they're worried their daughter could get in trouble with her superiors for making public what she told her family she saw. The soldier's father says his daughter was at Fort Hood Thursday when the shooting happened, and she called him, frantic and upset, soon after.
(Nov 05 2009) - Post Chronicle : Iowa Cat Is First To Get H1N1 FluIOWA - A cat in Iowa has become the first feline known to be diagnosed with H1N1, The American Veterinary Medical Association said Wednesday. The 13-year-old cat tested positive for the H1N1 virus at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, the state health department said. The cat, which has recovered, is believed to have contracted it from people in the house where it lives. "Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill," Dr. Ann Garvey, the state's public health veterinarian, said. "This is not completely unexpected, as other strains of influenza have been found in cats in the past."
(Nov 04 2009) - Christian Post : Baby's Right-to-Life Case ...BRITAIN - Parents of a baby born with a severe birth defect faced off against one another in a British court Monday to determine their child’s fate. While the doctors and mother of the baby want to disconnect his respirator "to allow him a peaceful, calm and dignified death," the child’s father is asking the High Court in London to save the baby’s life. He says the one-year-old baby – who suffers from a rare genetic condition that makes him unable to breathe on his own – can play and recognize his parents.
(Nov 03 2009) - India Post : RBI buys 200 tonnes of IMF goldNEW DELHI - The Reserve Bank of India's gold stock has shot up by more than 55 per cent with the purchase of 200 tonnes of IMF gold at an estimated cost of USD 6.7 billion. RBI, which pledged gold during 1991 crisis with the Bank of England to raise resources to meet external obligations, said it has purchased 200 tonnes of gold from International Monetary Fund (IMF) for USD 6.7 billion. "The Reserve Bank has decided to buy some gold...about 200 tonnes. That's normally we do (from) time to time. IMF is selling gold so we wanted to buy it
(Nov 02 2009) - Post Zambia : Castro's understanding of public health impresses WHO chief
CUBA — WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) director general Dr Margaret Chan has said Fidel Castro’s understanding of public health is strikingly impressive than most presidents and prime ministers she has met. And Dr Chan has said Cuba has a right vision and direction in public health. Dr Chan warned medical doctors and journalists never to confront former Cuban president Fidel on medical issues unless they fully comprehended with matters they intended to talk about. “I have met presidents and prime ministers and I have to say Mr Fidel Castro’s understanding of public health is impressive,”
(Nov 01 2009) - China Post : China to map out Africa strategy ...BEIJING — China will set the future direction of its burgeoning ties with Africa at a multinational forum in Egypt this month, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was quoted as saying on Sunday. Premier Wen Jiabao plans to attend the Nov. 8-9 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Yang said in an interview with the official Xinhua News Agency. No details were given, but at the last forum in 2006, China pledged to double assistance to Africa by 2009, provide $5 billion in preferential loans and credits, cancel debts and establish a $5 billion fund to encourage Chinese investment.
(Oct 31 2009) - Denver Post : 'Focus on the Family' ends in FebCOLORADO — Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson will end his 32-year stint as the voice of the conservative Christian ministry at the end of February, the Colorado Springs-based nonprofit announced Friday. Focus on the Family's board and the 73-year-old Dobson, the folksy family therapist who evolved into a key frontman for the religious right, have agreed to a parting of the ways, ministry spokesman Gary Schneeberger said. Dobson's February exit from the airwaves probably doesn't spell his demise as an icon with political clout, experts say. And it isn't known whether his departure will help or hurt the ministry's efforts to attract new and younger families as listeners, readers and donors.
(Oct 30 2009) - Washington Post : Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiryWASH D.C. — House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. The report appears to have been inadvertently placed on a publicly accessible computer network, and it was provided to The Washington Post by a source not connected to the congressional investigations. The committee said Thursday night that the document was released by a low-level staffer. The ethics committee is one of the most secretive panels in Congress, and its members and staff members sign oaths not to disclose any activities related to its past or present investigations.
(Oct 29 2009) - Jakarta Post : Somali pirates hijack Thai fishing vesselSEYCHELLES — Somali pirates hijacked a Thai fishing vessel north of the Seychelles islands early on Thursday, the European Union naval force said. The Thai Union 3 reported it was under attack by pirates in two skiffs 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the Seychelles and 650 miles (1050 kilometers) off the Somali coast, according to a press release issued by the headquarters for the EU's Operation Atalanta. A naval aircraft sent to the scene saw pirates aboard the vessel and two skiffs tied up behind it. The EU force said the ship is now heading toward Somalia.
(Oct 28 2009) - Global Post : Vigilante justice spreads across MexicoMEXICO CITY — The five teenage boys slump against the wall of a dark house and eye the camcorder nervously. Suddenly, a fist enters the frame smacking one of the boys in the face. Then the barrel of an automatic rifle appears and the teenagers’ expressions turn to terror. “Why are you here?” shouts a voice. “For robbing,” one of the boys mumbles. “You see. You were little rats and now look at you,” replies the interrogator. The torture video of the five alleged house burglars was posted on the internet last week. It is the latest sign of brutal vigilante justice spreading across Mexico.
(Oct 27 2009) - Borneo Post : New bill makes govt seizure of US firms easierWASH D.C. - A bill to be introduced in Congress by a key ally of President Barack Obama would make it easier for the US government to seize control of troubled financial institutions that are considered too big to be allowed to fail, The New York Times reported late Sunday. Citing a senior administration official, the newspaper said the measure would be proposed this week by Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials. The legislation would make it easier for the government to throw out the financial company’s management, wipe out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by the institution, the report said.
(Oct 26 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Castro's sister worked with CIA ?FLORIDA — Juanita Castro, sister of Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro, cooperated with the CIA in the 1960s - a time when the U.S. agency was plotting to assassinate Fidel and overthrow his revolution - according to an exclusive Univisión-Noticias 23 report on her newly published book. The report also revealed that Juanita, who broke with her brothers' revolution in 1964, hid government opponents in her home; that Fidel refused to visit her because the house was "surrounded by worms;'' and that their mother often intervened with Raúl to help Castro critics, jailed or fugitive. Described as the Castro family's best-kept secret in the weeks that preceded the release of her book Monday, Juanita's revelation of her link with the CIA came as a short teaser at the end of a Univisión-Noticias 23 report on the book broadcast at 11 p.m. Sunday.
(Oct 25 2009) - Birmingham Post : Bishop tells Christians to wear crossesMIDLAND — A Senior church leader today laid down the gauntlet to the politically correct brigade – by calling on all Christians to wear crosses in the run-up to Christmas. The Anglican Bishop of Lichfield told followers to flaunt their faith by wearing crosses and fish badges, and not to be intimidated by complaining PC campaigners. The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill said Christians should wear the symbols of their faith with pride, and not fall victim to killjoy discrimination. “Christians should not be intimidated into putting away their neck crosses or lapel badges,” he said. “The Christian roots to our governance should not be nibbled away without discussion.
(Oct 24 2009) - Bangkok Post : Asian nations look to 'lead world'THAILAND — Asian leaders discussed plans at a major summit Saturday to "lead the world" by forming an EU-style community, while urging action from pariah states North Korea and Burma. The premiers of regional giants China and India also sought to foster unity on the sidelines of the regional summit in Thailand after months of trading barbs over long-standing territorial issues. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's proposal for an East Asian community that could take a leading role in global efforts to recover from the economic crisis took centre stage on Saturday. "It would be meaningful for us to have the aspiration that East Asia is going to lead the world and with the various countries with different regimes cooperating with each other towards that perspective," Hatoyama, who took office last month, told the Bangkok Post newspaper.
(Oct 23 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Global Agenda: Banking blues revisitedISRAEL — The banking sector continues to be the focus of greatest concern with regard to the American and European economies - and with good reason. The financial sector - which encompassed institutions formally recognized to be banks, as well as "nonbanks" such as GMAC, GE Capital and other companies that conducted financial activities such as loans on a huge scale but were not licensed as banks - was the epicenter of the crisis that began in 2007. If and when this crisis reemerges, it will again begin as a financial upheaval and spread outward to the rest of the economy. It is thus only to be expected that the financial sector, which had been the leader and prime beneficiary of the boom, has also been its leading victim.
(Oct 22 2009) - African Post : E.U. prepares sanctions against GuineaWEST AFRICA — The European Union is preparing to impose an arms embargo and visa ban to punish Guinea's military rulers for a massacre at a pro-democracy rally, an official said Thursday, in the latest effort to step up international pressure on the junta. The move comes days after West African leaders said they were placing an arms embargo on Guinea, where presidential guard troops opened fire on tens of thousands of demonstrators late last month. A Guinean human rights group says 157 people were killed, while the government said 57 died.
(Oct 21 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Health food zealots destroying childhood ?YORKSHIRE — SCHOOLS across Yorkshire have been accused of "destroying childhood" after it emerged many have banned birthday cake under healthy eating rules. A survey carried out by the Yorkshire Post has revealed that 24 out of 47 schools did not allow cake and would not permit pupils to hold charity cake sales. The measures were criticised by politicians, children's fitness groups and education commentators who described them as "ridiculous" and said the regulations would make no difference in solving obesity problems.
(Oct 20 2009) - Kyiv Post : Medvedev visits Serbia bearing $1 billion loanBELGRADE — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Serbia, bringing a $1-billion loan to the recession-hit country as Moscow seeks to expand its influence in the Balkans. The loan deal is to be signed during Medvedev's one-day visit, — the first-ever by a Russian president to Serbia. It adds to Russia's growing clout in Serbia, which relies on Moscow's diplomatic support in the U.N. Security Council to oppose the secession of Kosovo, Serbia's former province. Thousands of policemen were deployed on Belgrade streets and much of the Serbian capital was blocked to traffic amid tightened security for the visit.
(Oct 19 2009) - Liberty Post : ØbamaCare May be UnconstitutionalWASH D.C. - President Obama's healthcare proposals face serious legal problems and scholars expect at least some provisions will be ruled unconstitutional. The legal vulnerability of ObamaCare -- assuming some version of healthcare reform is passed -- stems from the unprecedented powers it grants the federal government. Constitutional challenges could arise on several fronts: the government's power to regulate interstate commerce; privacy concerns related to doctor-patient interactions that have their origins in Roe v. Wade; constitutional restrictions on the federal government's authority to levy taxes; and the plan’s numerous clauses promoting racial preferences.
(Oct 18 2009) - Christian Post : 1 Million Rally Against Abortion in SpainMADRID - An estimated one million people participated in a rally in Madrid Saturday to protest a proposed new law that would expand permission for abortion. The overwhelmingly Catholic country currently allows only abortion in the cases of rape, fetal abnormality, or when the mother’s physical or mental health is at risk. But the proposed law, introduced by socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, would allow abortion for any reason during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Furthermore, the bill is proposing to allow girls as young as 16 to have an abortion without parental consent. Under the theme “Every Life Counts,” protesters on Saturday called for the government to withdraw the bill from parliament.
(Oct 17 2009) - Post Chronicle : Billionaire Arrested In Record Insider Trading
NEW YORK - Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and five others were charged with engaging in the largest ever hedge fund insider-trading scheme, generating profits of more than $20 million over several years, U.S. prosecutors, the FBI and the SEC said Friday. Insider trading by hedge funds Galleon and New Castle and Intel's Intel Capital unit took place in shares of Hilton Hotels Corp, Google Inc, IBM, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and other stocks, according to two complaints filed in U.S. District Court in New York. All six accused have been arrested, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan said. The case could represent an important development in the government's enforcement of securities laws, she said.
(Oct 16 2009) - New York Post : Hiram convicted of assault, keeps seatNEW YORK - State Sen. Hiram Monserrate is not a felon -- but he's still a jerk, a judge ruled yesterday. The freshman Democrat from Queens was convicted of misdemeanor assault for manhandling his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, but was cleared on the top felony counts and one lesser charge of brutally slashing her face with a broken glass. Convictions on those charges would have landed him in jail and forced him out of office immediately. Monserrate, 42, a former cop who served in the City Council before heading to Albany this year, said he was relieved he wasn't convicted of a "terrible accident" involving a "person I love."
(Oct 15 2009) - Jakarta Post : Italy denies paying off Taliban ...ITALY - The Italian government on Thursday denied a newspaper report that its secret services paid the Taliban thousands of dollars to keep an area in Afghanistan controlled by the Italians safe and did not tell allies about the payments. Premier Silvio Berlusconi's office called the report in the Times of London "completely groundless." The defense minister denounced it as "rubbish" and said he wanted to sue the newspaper. The Times reported that Italy had paid "tens of thousands of dollars" to Taliban commanders and warlords in the Surobi district, east of the capital, Kabul. The newspaper cites Western military officials, including high-ranking officers at NATO, speaking on condition of anonymity.
(Oct 14 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Gold Soars to $1069.70NEW YORK - After piercing the sky-high, yet psychologically important $1,000-an-ounce barrier two weeks ago, the price of gold hit yet another record high yesterday. The surge in the spot price of gold to $1,069.70 an ounce yesterday comes at a time of international worry about the perceived weakness of the U.S. dollar, the vulnerability of the U.S. economy and the growing potential for runaway inflation. Gold closed yesterday at $1,064.20 an ounce. "Gold is ultimately the only currency you can't print more of," said Natalie Dempster, head of investments for the World Gold Council in New York.
(Oct 13 2009) - Copenhagen Post : UN slams Danish Justice MinistryDENMARK - UN representative describes the Justice Ministry’s decision to lower the age of criminal responsibility in Denmark from 16 to 14 as ‘misguided’, reports Politiken newspaper. While a 2007 UN report states that having the criminal age between 14 and 16 is ‘acceptable’, the ministry’s move goes directly against the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that member countries should be working to raise the criminal age. Committee member Maria Herczog said there was no evidence that lowering the criminal age of responsibility reduced youth crime.
(Oct 12 2009) - Frontier Post : Hostages freed as bloody siege endsISLAMABAD - The operation to eliminate terrorists holding 42 persons hostage, in MI office of the General Headquarters, was successfully completed early Sunday morning. Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas told media-persons that 39 hostages were freed safely in two-phased operation launched at dawn. Describing the operation as highly successful, the Major General said that the area has now been cleared of the militants. Nine terrorists were killed while their leader Aqeel alias Dr Usman was captured in injured condition. He, in his last ditch effort, tried to blow up the explosives that he carried injuring himself and some of the security personnel.
(Oct 11 2009) - Gwinnett Daily Post : Groups organize more tax protestsLAWRENCEVILLE - They listened once. Debbie Dooley hopes officials will listen again, as she organizes residents to speak out against a Gwinnett County property tax hike, the second proposal to come this year. It is back to work for members of FreedomWorks and Citizens for Responsible Government, who organized tea parties to protest a proposed 3 mill tax increase this spring, and believes residents have a responsibility to ask questions again. "Far too often when government is denied a tax increase, they will try to cause pain for the taxpayer but cutting essential services and other services that the taxpayer considers a priority (retaliatory cuts)," she wrote in a press release. "They do this in hope that the taxpayer will agree to the tax increase."
(Oct 10 2009) - China Post : AP, News Corp bosses say pay upOSLO — President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today in a stunning decision designed to encourage his nascent initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and replace unilateral American action with international diplomacy and cooperation. Nobel observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama woke up to the news a little before 6 a.m. EDT. The White House had no immediate comment on the announcement, which took the administration by surprise.
(Oct 09 2009) - Denver Post : Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize : SAY WHAT ?OSLO — President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today in a stunning decision designed to encourage his nascent initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and replace unilateral American action with international diplomacy and cooperation. Nobel observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama woke up to the news a little before 6 a.m. EDT. The White House had no immediate comment on the announcement, which took the administration by surprise.
(Oct 08 2009) - Jakarta Post : 305 earthquake victims still missingSUMATERA — As of Thursday, the Search and Rescue Team have yet to discover 305 victims, more than a week after a powerful earthquake shook West Sumatera. Col. Mulyono, Commander of Korem 032 Wirabraja of West Sumatera, said that 211 victims were located in Padang Pariaman while 54 others were in Padang. “In Agam regency, local and religious figures have agreed to cease the evacuation process even though 40 people remain missing,” Mulyono told Antara state news agency. As of yesterday, the death toll due to the quake stood at 739 people.
(Oct 07 2009) - Global Post : Life, death and the TalibanBOSTON — It is the most fateful decision of Barack Obama’s presidency, and the most consequential foreign policy question America faces. The issue of whether Obama should escalate the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan is coming to a head this week on the eight-year anniversary of the start of the war there. The war is faltering, corruption is rampant, an election plagued by fraud has further undercut the legitimacy of President Hamid Karzai, and the Taliban is gaining ground every week.
(Oct 06 2009) - Bangkok Post : Terrorist attacks in Sungai KolokTHAILAND - Motorcycle gunmen wearing paramilitary ranger uniforms shot and killed a policeman at a food shop on a bypass road in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat on Tuesday, and threw a bomb at a shop opposite, Police said. Many other people were wounded. They opened fire on the Sridaeng northeastern food shop about 12.30pm, killing a Sungai Padee policeman and wounding several others, police said. The attackers then threw a bomb into the opposite food shop, Pa Tim, wounding about 12 people.
(Oct 05 2009) - Patriot Post : A War of Necessity; Not So NecessaryWASH D.C. - "This is not a war of choice," Barack Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Aug. 17. "This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9-11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al-Qaida would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people." But that was nearly seven weeks ago.
(Oct 04 2009) - Kyiv Post : Chavez-Russia ties spark arms raceMOSCOW - US-Russia diplomacy is dominated by issues such as Iran, missile defence, and the post-Soviet republics. But the Obama administration must not ignore Moscow's role in facilitating the dangerous Venezuelan arms build-up and the nuclear ambitions of Hugo Chavez. On September 13, Venezuelan President Chavez announced triumphantly that Russia had agreed to extend his government a $US2.2 billion ($2.54bn) credit line for the purchase of sophisticated military hardware, including tanks, missiles, and air-defence systems. Chavez insisted these arms purchases "are necessary for our national defence". But US officials think otherwise - and with good reason
(Oct 03 2009) - African Post : Rio wins hosting 2016 Olympics RIO DE JANEIRO - Like sweet, sultry samba music, Rio hit all the right notes. Chicago had Barack Obama. Tokyo had $4 billion in the bank. Madrid had powerful friends. But none of that mattered. Rio de Janeiro had the enchanting story — of about 400 million sports-mad people on a giant untapped and vibrant continent yearning, hoping, that the Olympics finally might come to them. And the International Olympic Committee was hooked. On a chilly Danish evening of high drama, the IOC on Friday sent the games of the 31st Olympiad to Brazil's bustling, fun-loving but crime-ridden city of beaches and mountains, romance and slums.
(Oct 02 2009) - Liberty Post : Montana AG launches probe of jail dealMONTANA - Attorney general launched an investigation Thursday into a California company that wants to take over an empty jail in the rural city of Hardin, following revelations that the company's lead figure is a convicted felon with a history of fraud. Michael Hilton, who formed Santa Ana, Calif.-based American Police Force in March, came to Hardin last month promising to fill the city's never-used jail and build a large military and law enforcement training center. Hilton has a decades-long track record of fraudulent activities and spent several years in a California prison on grand theft charges. A native of Montenegro, he uses at least 17 aliases. {More}
(Oct 01 2009) - Yemen Post : V.P.'s brother escapes assassinationYEMEN - Local sources from Abbyan told the Yemen Post that head of the Yemen's political security police in the south and brother of the vice president, Nasser Mansour Hadi, survived Wednesday night an assassination attempt when men alleged to be affiliates of Tareq Al-Fadhli- a tribal leader who switched allegiance to the southern mobility movement last year- opened fire on his car in Zinjibar of Abbyan governorate. According to the same sources, two security officers were wounded in the incident, one of whom is now hospitalized.
(Sept 30 2009) - National Post : Quake brings down houses in IndonesiaPADANG - A major earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck off the city of Padang on the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, damaging houses, bringing down bridges and starting fires, a witness said. It was unclear if there were any casualties. The quake was felt around the region, with some high-rise buildings in the city state of Singapore, 275 miles (440 km) to the northeast, evacuating their staff. A regional tsunami warning was issued, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. Japan said no tsunami was expected there.
(Sept 29 2009) - Christian Post : Rampaging Typhoon hits VietnamHANOI - Typhoon Ketsana roared into central Vietnam on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people as it brought flooding and winds of up to 90 mph, disaster officials reported. Ketsana, which left more than 200 dead across the northern Philippines as a weaker tropical storm, forced some 200,000 Vietnamese locals to evacuate from its path. “It's very windy and trees have already blown down," reported Le Van Duong, World Vision's Relief and Disaster Mitigation Coordinator, from the city of Danang, which is predicted to be the eye of the storm. "We have seen the evacuation of 3,000 families from our project areas to safer places, including schools and we have already distributed noodle packs to 700 families," he added.
(Sept 28 2009) - Post Chronicle : Audit The Feds - Bigger Than ACORNWASH D.C. — For the first time, a hearing is being held on Rep. Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (H.R. 1207) by the House Committee on Financial Services. Grass-roots pressure has been credited with forcing the hearing into what has happened to trillions of dollars supposedly spent by the Federal Reserve on the stabilization of the financial system. In prepared testimony, Thomas E. Woods, Jr. of the Ludwig von Mises Institute offers his strong support for the bill and declares, "...if our monetary system were really as strong, robust, and beyond criticism as its cheerleaders claim, why does it need to rely so heavily on public ignorance? How can it be a sound banking system that depends on keeping the public in the dark about the condition of its financial institutions?"
(Sept 27 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Germans vote amid terror threatsGERMANY — Germans decide Sunday whether to return the nation's first woman chancellor to a second term in office following a lackluster campaign centered largely on economic issues and a rash of last-minute threats by Islamic extremists. Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping enough of the nation's 62.2 million eligible voters will support her conservative Christian Democratic Party to give them a solid enough standing to form a center-right coalition with their top partners, the Free Democrats.
(Sept 26 2009) - Jakarta Post : New G20 framework benefits RIINDONESIA — Indonesia is upbeat the G20 Summit, which has produced a number of breakthroughs to maintain the recovery of the global economy and prevent further crisis, will strengthen its resilience in the face of the economic downturn. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a press briefing after the summit, which concluded here Friday, that Indonesia would benefit from the tighter international financial standards, which will reduce the negative impacts of the global financial system on the country’s domestic economy.
(Sept 25 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Manson follower Susan Atkins diesLOS ANGELES — Susan Atkins, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson whose remorseless witness stand confession to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate in 1969 shocked the world, has died. She was 61 and had been suffering from brain cancer. Atkins' death comes less than a month after a parole board turned down the terminally ill woman's last chance at freedom on Sept. 2. She was brought to the hearing on a gurney and slept through most of it. California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said that Atkins died late Thursday night. She had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008, had a leg amputated and was given only a few months to live.
(Sept 24 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Guidance on assisted suicide ...YORKSHIRE — Relatives who help a loved one to die will escape prosecution providing their actions are not malicious, after a landmark battle by a Yorkshire woman. But the new guidelines on assisted suicide announced by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday are no guarantee against prosecution and parents who help a child under 18 take their own life are more likely to face charges.
(Sept 23 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Experts: PM will postpone euro voteDENMARK — Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will in all likelihood not hold a referendum before a new national election on Denmark adopting the euro currency, despite saying in May he wished to do so. According to Danske Bank’s latest figures, support for the euro has dipped to 48.9 percent while 47.6 percent are against adopting it. In November, support for the currency had reached its highest point in three years, with 53.4 percent in favour of it replacing the krone.
(Sept 22 2009) - China Post : Zelaya's return reignites Honduras crisisHONDURAS — The daring return of deposed President Manuel Zelaya has thrust Honduras back onto the world stage and posed a sharp challenge to interim leaders determined to hold new elections without him after a June coup. Thousands of Zelaya supporters defied a curfew and spent the night surrounding Brazil's embassy, where the leader remained holed up Tuesday, a day after slipping back into the country.
(Sept 21 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Closings prevail for G-20 summitPITTSBURGH - As world leaders and protesters descend on the Golden Triangle during this week's G-20 summit, numerous government offices, bank branches, schools, cultural attractions and more will close. Trains and buses will be re-routed, and Downtown traffic will be severely restricted. Major closings and information about changes to public transportation and other services are listed below. Several government offices will close from Sept. 23-25, including the federal courthouse, the PennDOT drivers' license and photo center in the State Office Building,
(Sept 20 2009) - Global Post : Sticky U.S.-Japan issues loom ...TOKYO - Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, faces his first diplomatic test this week when he meets President Barack Obama in New York as the two allies grapple with disagreements that investors fear could damage ties. Hatoyama will also seek a high profile for Japan at a U.N. climate change conference by pledging ambitious targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and offering more environmental help to developing nations.
(Sept 19 2009) - Bangkok Post : Suthep: No need for martial lawTHAILAND -- The martial law will not be invoked to deal with the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters near the Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban insisted on Saturday. Mr Suthep, who is in charged of security affairs, said he had ordered deputy police chief Thanee Somboonsap to negotiate with the PAD leaders, as people in Si Sa Ket may retaliate against the yellow-shirted group after one of the villagers was injured from a gunshot. "Pol Gen Thanee is currently negotiating with the PAD leaders, asking them to return home before tonight as the angry villagers may hit back at the protesters," he said.
(Sept 18 2009) - Denver Post : Homegrown plot worries feds mostCOLORADO -- While the FBI quizzed a Colorado man on Thursday for a second time in a multistate anti-terrorism probe, security officials and civil-rights leaders began parsing a once-covert case that has raised major fears. FBI agents "do not know of a specific target or specific time" of any attack that might have been planned, said Frances Townsend, Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush from 2003 through 2007, who said she had conferred with "senior people in the FBI." The FBI stayed officially mum — and produced no warrants for searches of Afghanistan native Najibullah Zazi's home and that of his aunt and uncle in Aurora.
(Sept 17 2009) - Frontier Post : Al-Qaeda calls for foreign kidnappingsSYDNEY -- A senior al Qaeda official has called on the Taliban to kidnap foreign civilians in Afghanistan to force U.S.-led forces to negotiate prisoner exchanges, a former Australian police counter-terrorism analyst said. The directive has been issued by veteran al Qaeda adviser Mustafa Hamid, also known as Abu Walid al Masri, and stems from the U.S. detentions in Guantanamo Bay, Leah Farrall told Reuters on Wednesday. Farrall, who had worked for the Australian Federal Police, said she had found the al Qaeda internet document, written in late July, while completing a PhD on al Qaeda at Monash University in Australia.
(Sept 16 2009) - Puntland Post : Somali rebels call for reinforcementsMOGADISHU -- Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents called Wednesday for more foreign militants to join them in the failed Horn of Africa state after U.S. forces killed one of the region's most wanted al Qaeda suspects. The U.S. special forces operation that killed Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, 28, in remote southern Somalia Monday has triggered an angry response from Islamist rebels fighting the nation's U.N.-backed government. The raid likely gained Washington valuable counter-terrorism intelligence, but risked further inflaming anti-Western opinion in a country of growing concern, experts say.
(Sept 15 2009) - Liberty Post : Obama Lied, His Credibility DiedWASH D.C. -- Last week President Obama threw a universal healthcare Hail Mary. The call? Incomplete pass. His much anticipated address to a joint session of Congress promised to finally – for real, this time – provide details about his “healthcare reform plan” (the government takeover of about 20 percent of America’s once free market). Instead, the President regurgitated the same worn-out talking points, tired platitudes and baseless rhetoric he’s been spouting for months, generating more confusion than clarity.
(Sept 14 2009) - National Post : Doctors protect pay from swine fluCANADA -- As they prepare to treat a possible onslaught of pandemic flu cases this fall, doctors across the country are also taking steps to shield their incomes from the ravages of the new virus and its potential fallout. Several medical associations are in talks with provincial governments over special fees or subsidies to compensate physicians in the event of an H1N1-flu emergency that disrupts their practices -- and hobbles their ability to bill for services. Some are also eyeing new fees that would ensure doctors are reimbursed for a surge of extra patients.
(Sept 13 2009) - New York Post : Charlie in rental di$orderNEW YORK -- Rep. Charles Rangel reported no rental income for eight years on his rundown Harlem row house, even though public records show tenants were living there. The powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said he received nothing from 1993 to 2000 on the six-unit building, according to federal financial disclosure forms. But one current tenant told The Post she had lived at the building for 20 years -- and paid rent during that period, {and} ... His nephew, Christopher Rangel, still lives there.
(Sept 12 2009) - Washington Post : GOP Sees Protest As an OpportunityWASH D.C. -- With tens of thousands {More Like Two Million} of conservative protesters expected to gather in Washington on Saturday for a "Taxpayer March on D.C.," Republican officials are attempting to capitalize on a movement that lately has galvanized anti-Obama activists more effectively than the party's elected leaders in Washington. Searching for ways to compete with Democrats after two consecutive electoral drubbings, Republicans have moved past earlier uncertainty about the protesters, who organized nationwide rallies this summer that have threatened Democratic health-care plans and eroded President Obama's standing with the public.
(Sept 11 2009) - Christian Post : National Prayer Events Mark 9/11AMERICA -- In every state in America, Christians will gather at county courthouses on Friday – the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks – to pray for their community and for the spiritual condition of the nation. Participants of the Cry Out America prayer gatherings will meet at courthouses at noon to remember the terror attacks that killed 2,751 people and to pray for a spiritual revival to occur. “Our stated goal for Cry Out America is to claim this day of prayer to fully awaken America to return to the Lord and to mark this significant day in its history with powerful prayer for every state, every county, and every heart,” stated Billy Wilson, executive chairman for Awakening America, the group organizing the prayer gatherings.
(Sept 10 2009) - Jerusalem Post : US Jews push Obama to act on IranWASH D.C. -- Several hundred Jewish leaders and activists are planning to arrive here Thursday to urge top Obama administration officials and US congressmen to take action on Iran. They are pushing for Congress to quickly pass an Iran sanctions bill sponsored by US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and otherwise take serious economic and diplomatic steps to pressure Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear capabilities that threaten Israel.
(Sept 09 2009) - India Post : Chinese couples flock to get married on 9/9/9BEIJING -- Thousands of young Chinese are flocking to get married believing that the date 9/9/9 will guarantee a life on cloud nine for them. Though Wednesdays are not the popular days in China to enter wedlock, but an estimated 10,000 couples are rushing to get hitched as "nine, nine, nine" or "Jiu, Jiu" in Chinese also means for a long time. The couples believe that the date considered extremely lucky in Chinese society will bring longevity to their wedding and life, China Daily reported. Hundreds of people were quoted as saying, "Today has three nines symbolizing extreme good luck."
(Sept 08 2009) - Jakarta Post : Japan's account surplus down 19.4%JAPAN -- Japan's current account surplus in July fell 19.4 percent from a year earlier as exports tumbled amid a slowing recovery in the global economy, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The current account surplus, Japan's broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, was 1.27 trillion yen ($13.6 billion), the first year-on-year fall in two months, the ministry said. Exports in July dropped 37.6 percent to 4.55 trillion yen, marking the 10th consecutive year-on-year decline. "Unless the U.S. economy fully recovers, we will not see a turnaround in exports," he said.
(Sept 07 2009) - Patriot Post : Obama Cannot Escape Hard Choices ...WASH D.C. -- "Very active." That's what White House aides say Barack Obama is going to be this month. That's probably an understatement. Obama faces September deadlines on three issues, on each of which he could get himself in political trouble, not only with those on the right and center but also those on the political left. Only one of those issues is domestic: health care.
(Sept 06 2009) - Kyiv Post : Russia's Patriarch Becoming More PoliticalRUSSIA -- When Patriarch Kirill visited Russia's largest shipyard in late August, he was greeted with full military honors. As a brass band played at the Northern Shipyard in Severodvisnk, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church strolled past a row of sailors in dress uniform, boarded a nuclear submarine, and presented the crew with an icon of the Mother of God. He later said Russia's defense capabilities need to be bolstered by Orthodox Christian values. "You should not be ashamed of going to church and teaching the Orthodox faith to your children," the patriarch told the Severodvinsk workers. "Then we shall have something to defend with our missiles."
(Sept 05 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Leaders agree to stimulus packagesENGLAND -- Finance ministers from the world's leading economies have agreed to keep exceptional anti-recession measures in place for the time being. They are also backing new controls to curb bankers' pay and bonuses, sources close to G20 talks in London said. But European proposals for a cap on bonuses in the financial sector look set to be kicked into the long grass, after Britain and the US resisted the idea as unenforceable.
(Sept 04 2009) - Post Chronicle : Pfizer's Fine: $2.3 Bl + Criminal PleaWASH D.C. -- Pfizer Inc agreed on Wednesday to plead guilty to a U.S. criminal charge relating to promotion of its now-withdrawn Bextra pain medicine and will pay a record $2.3 billion to settle allegations it improperly marketed 13 medicines. The world's biggest drugmaker was slapped with the huge fines after being deemed a repeat offender in pitching drugs to patients and doctors for unapproved conditions.
(Sept 03 2009) - Yemen Post : Police capture ring smuggling diesel for rebels
SAADA -- The police have arrested a three-member ring that has been smuggling diesel for the Houthi rebels in Saada. According to the Interior Ministry's Media Center, the arrests took place in the Bani Al-Harith, Sana'a while trying to traffic diesel for the rebels who have been fighting the government forces in the northern parts for years. The people were aged 25-55. Among the arrested was a filling station owner whose filing station is located at the Hatarish district north of Sana'a.
(Sept 02 2009) - China Post : 7.0 Quake strikes Indonesian islandJAKARTA -- A powerful earthquake caused buildings to sway in Indonesia's capital Wednesday, damaging buildings and prompting a regional tsunami alert, witnesses and media said. The quake struck at 2:55 p.m. (0755GMT) on the southern coast of the main island of Java with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4. It had a depth of around 40 miles (60 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was powerful enough to cause a local tsunami, but there were no immediate reports of high waves.
(Sept 01 2009) - Global Post : Return of the dictators ?COLOMBIA -- Across Latin America, presidents are pulling strings and pressuring lawmakers to change their constitutions to allow for multiple presidential terms — a trend that began in the 1990s. Presidential re-election is a controversial issue in Latin America because many nations were ruled by abusive military dictators who refused to leave office peacefully. In addition, the courts, the media and other institutions that serve as checks on presidential power were often weak.
(Aug 31 2009) - Huffington Post : FDIC Offers Money to New Banks ?NEW YORK -- As the Wall Street Journal reports this morning, in what are called a "loss-share" agreements, buyers of failed banks are getting billions of dollars in government guarantees to snatch up the bank's bad assets. To entice buyers, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is offering to cover around 80 percent of the losses associated with buying a bank. The result, the WSJ points out, is a massive subsidy to the private equity industry, and a huge risk to the American taxpayer. As bank failures have mounted this year, much has been made of the FDIC's dwindling Deposit Insurance Fund.
(Aug 30 2009) - Denver Post : Seniors fret on health reformCOLORADO -- Politicians are finding out just how tricky it is to seek seniors' support for health reform when those on Medicare are precisely the Americans happiest with an insurance stalemate. Seniors in the past two weeks have become the prime battleground in the reform fight, as various forces vie for their endorsement amid fears about threats to Medicare and a pricey expansion of government.
(Aug 29 2009) - Bangkok Post : North Korea caught smuggling armsU.N. -- The United Arab Emirates has seized a ship carrying North Korean weapons bound for Iran in violation of UN sanctions, a diplomatic source said Friday. The diplomat, speaking to the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, confirmed that UAE government officials had informed the UN Security Council's sanctions committee, which is responsible for implementing sanctions on Pyongyang. "It is an issue that is being processed by the committee," said the source, who declined further comment on details on the weapons. The UAE mission to the United Nations also declined comment on the case.
(Aug 28 2009) - Liberty Post : Obama's Justice Dept smells RottenWASH D.C. -- Something is starting to stink in the Obama Justice Department. Just the other day I told you about the CIA investigations that have been ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder. Earlier in the year we had the same Attorney General dismiss a case involving the Black Panthers intimidating voters during the 2008 election. Now we get this. The Obama Justice Department has killed the investigation into New Mexico Gov.
(Aug 27 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Message of faith to be sentPITTSBURGH -- Nancy Lee Cochran, who lives and works Downtown, has rejected the pleas of relatives to flee during the G-20. Instead, she wrote a prayer guide for the economic summit and is sending it to 3,000 area churches. "Many of my neighbors are fearful and frustrated. I try to remind them that this summit has global implications, particularly for the poor and vulnerable," said Ms. Cochran, whose prayer guide can be ordered by calling 412-281-7400. "I will not be on the streets as a demonstrator, but I am an advocate. I will be praying passionately for daily bread and forgiveness and loving care for all."
(Aug 26 2009) - New York Post : Ted Kennedy has diedNEW YORK -- Ted Kennedy, the liberal lion of the US Senate -- and the youngest and last surviving brother of the legendary political dynasty heralded as a modern-day Camelot -- died at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., late last night after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77. With the assassination of his beloved older brothers, President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy in 1968, he was thrust to the forefront of an immensely powerful political family. But his political ascendancy beyond the Senate was always checked by his penchant for wild excess.
(Aug 25 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Wrongly incarcerated denied comp.SARASOTA -- A judge has ruled that a Florida man who was wrongly incarcerated for 20 years won't receive compensation from the state. Administrative Law Judge Linda M. Rigot said James Joseph Richardson had to prove he did not poison his seven children with pesticide, a crime he was convicted of in 1967. She said Richardson's attorney had to establish "actual innocence."
(Aug 24 2009) - National Post : Parliament recalled over bomber’s releaseEDINBURGH -- Scotland's justice minister faced an angry grilling from lawmakers Monday over his decision to free the convicted Lockerbie bomber -- and the ensuing furious backlash from the United States. Scotland's parliament has been recalled for an emergency debate on Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision last week to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who then flew home to a hero's welcome in his Libyan homeland. A little-known figure before the decision, Mr. MacAskill's now finds himself at the centre of a growing international storm which could damage Edinburgh's ties with Washington -- and could even topple the Scottish government.
(Aug 23 2009) - Jerusalem Post : 'Swedish officials may be unwelcome'ISRAEL -- Officials were active on all fronts Sunday in denouncing an article in a Swedish newspaper that accused IDF soldiers of harvesting the organs of Palestinians, and the Swedish government's reluctance to condemn the claims. Ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting expressed outrage at the article and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz went so far as to say that those who refuse to condemn such libel "may not be welcome in the state of Israel."
(Aug 22 2009) - Gwinnett Daily Post : Effort seeks input on service problemLAWRENCEVILLE -- Citizen outcry to a proposed property tax increase ultimately led the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to cut a range of county-provided services. Those service cuts ended up leaving some of those same residents upset. To try to thwart something similar from happening next year, the county this week announced an effort - Engage Gwinnett - that will try to get the citizenry involved in determining how to provide an adequate amount of county government services while also trying to figure out how to pay for those services over the course of the next five years.
(Aug 21 2009) - African Post : Out of Africa and into China ...CHINA -- Sweating heavily and yelling at Chinese police officers, a group of Nigerians dragged the lifeless body of an injured compatriot up to a Guangzhou police station, blood dripping from a deep gash on his head. Around them, a crowd of over one hundred Africans chanted, some holding sticks as others smashed potted plants and blocked traffic, demanding justice from the Chinese police after officers chased the man out of a high-rise window in a tightening security crackdown on illegal overstayers in the city this year.
(Aug 20 2009) - Huffington Post : Common Sense for 2009U.S.A. -- The American government {which we once called our government} has been taken over by Wall Street, the mega-corporations and the super-rich. They are the ones who decide our fate. It is this group of powerful elites, the people President Franklin D. Roosevelt called "economic royalists," who choose our elected officials -- indeed, our very form of government. Both Democrats and Republicans dance to the tune of their corporate masters. In America, corporations do not control the government. In America, corporations are the government.
(Aug 19 2009) - Patriot Post : Whose Medical Decisions ? : Part IIU.S.A. -- When famed bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he said: "Because that's where the money is."For the same reason, it is as predictable as the sunrise that medical care for the elderly will be cut back under a government-controlled medical system. Because that's where the money is. So long as my insurance company and I are paying for it, it is nobody else's business what my medical expenses are. But once the government is involved, everything is their business.
(Aug 18 2009) - Post Chronicle : Cocaine Laced Money ?ILLINOIS -- Study leader Yuegang Zuo of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth tested banknotes from more than 30 cities in five countries and found the United States and Canada had the highest contamination rates, with an average of between 85 percent and 90 percent. China and Japan had the lowest, between 12 percent and 20 percent contamination, Zuo said. Zuo said a similar study two years ago found 67 percent of U.S. bills contained traces of cocaine. Paper money can become contaminated with cocaine during drug deals and snorting cocaine through rolled bills. Contamination spreads to other money while in currency-counting machines.
(Aug 17 2009) - Jakarta Post : Suicide truck bomb kills 20 in RussiaRUSSIA -- A suicide bomber exploded a truck at a police station in Russia's North Caucasus on Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding about 60 others, officials said. The bombing was the deadliest in months in the restive southern region, denting Kremlin claims that the area was stabilizing after 15 years of separatist fighting in Chechnya and violence in surrounding provinces. The attacker rammed the gates of the Nazran city police headquarters, in Ingushetia province, and detonated his explosives as police officers were lining up for a morning check, said Svetlana Gorbakova of the regional branch of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General's office.
(Aug 16 2009) - Frontier Post : Cairo reacts to Obama with perfumeCAIRO -- “This new perfume sir, its name Obama”, said the perfumer in old Cairo with a smile. His marketing gimmick was no surprise. Egypt is suffering from a strong case of Obamania. Intellectuals and ordinary people need little encouragement to talk about President Obama’s speech. While some are cynical and skeptical, optimism and hope is generally the order of the day. Since President Obama’s speech various intellectual forums in Cairo have held seminars and symposia to discuss and debate the content and the intent of his speech, which both admirers and critics acknowledge was path breaking in substance as well as in style.
(Aug 15 2009) - China Post : VILLAGE BURIED IN MUDSIAOLIN -- Yang Chiu-hsing, magistrate of Kaohsiung, said yesterday he is considering turning the mudslide-destroyed village of Siaolin into a memorial park. “I think we should keep Siaolin as a park in memory of those we believe were buried alive,” said the magistrate of the southern Taiwan county, who opposes the rebuilding of the village. One reason for Yang's consideration to create the memorial park is that most of the residents do not want more excavation of tens of thousands of tons of mud to locate the approximately 200 people buried and presumed dead.
(Aug 14 2009) - Christian Post : India on list for religious freedom violations
WASH D.C. -- A U.S. government agency's decision to place India on a list of potential religious freedom violators is "regrettable," said India's foreign ministry. On Wednesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had officially placed India on its “Watch List" - a list countries that the agency says require close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government. Specifically, USCIRF said India earned the Watch List designation due to the disturbing increase in communal violence against religious minorities– specifically Christians in Orissa in 2008 and Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 – and the "largely inadequate response from the Indian government to protect the rights of religious minorities."
(Aug 13 2009) - Denver Post : Three-strikes laws get a second glanceSEATTLE -- Stevan Dozier was 25 when he punched a woman in the face to snatch her purse, part of the cash-for-crack crime wave that plagued big cities during the 1980s. Over the next eight years, he would be arrested three more times for the same thing. But just before his last conviction, Washington in 1993 became the first state to pass a law requiring criminals with three serious felony convictions to spend the rest of their lives in prison. Half of the states now have similar laws. Dozier, who never caused a serious injury or used a weapon, disappeared behind bars without a chance for parole — along with more than 290 other Washington inmates convicted under three-strikes.
(Aug 12 2009) - Bangkok Post : Gen Prawit won’t step downTHAILAND -- Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon will not quit his post as he understands that the prime minister has the authority to assign police chief Pol Gen Phatcharawat Wongsuwon to perform duties in the far South, Gen Noppadon Inthapanya, secretary general of the defence minister reaffirmed on Wednesday. Gen Noppadon said Gen Prawit was satisfied with the premier’s solution to the current problem in the national police bureau and will continue working as the minister of defence.
(Aug 11 2009) - Copenhagen Post : New notes issued todayDENMARK -- The first of Denmark’s new currency series will be making its appearance in wallets everywhere today. If your money doesn’t look quite right today, don’t worry, the new 50 kroner note hits the streets today. The new fifty carries an image of Sallingsund Bridge on one side of the note and of Skarpsalling karret, a stone-age artefact, on the other side. The new 50 is the first of the new notes to be introduced. The central bank will gradually introduce the remaining denominations until 2011.
(Aug 10 2009) - Palm Beach Post : Air Force Tracking Twitter ?WASH D.C. -- As the Pentagon warns of the security risks posed by social networking sites, newly released government documents show the military also uses these Internet tools to monitor and react to coverage of high-profile events. The Air Force tracked the instant messaging service Twitter, video carrier YouTube and various blogs to assess the huge public backlash to the Air Force One flyover of the Statue of Liberty this spring, according to the documents. And while the attempts at damage control failed - "No positive spin is possible," one PowerPoint chart reads - the episode opens a window into the tactics for operating in a boundless digital news cycle. This new terrain has slippery slopes, though, for the military.
(Aug 09 2009) - Norway Post : NATO wants more troops for AfghanistanNORWAY -- NATO's new Secretary General, Danish Anders Fogh Rasmussen insists that more troops are needed in Afghanistan if the alliance is to succeed. Norwegian politician Erling Folkvord representing Red is critical to Norway's presence. Folkvord, standing for the small left wing party Red in the upcoming election, has just visited Afghanistan, and is strongly opposed to the Norwegian military presence in the country. He claims the Norwegian government is hoodwinking the Norwegian people, and that after the visit he is more convinced than ever that Norwegian troops must be pulled out of Afghanistan.
(Aug 08 2009) - National Post : Indonesia believes top militant dead ...KEDU -- Indonesian police shot dead a man suspected to be leading Islamic militant Noordin Mohammad Top after an 18-hour siege in Central Java and planned to confirm his identity using DNA tests, police said on Saturday. Police in a separate raid foiled a plot to attack Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's residence outside the capital, Jakarta, with a car bomb, officials said. Malaysian-born Top is a prime suspect in last month's near simultaneous suicide attacks on Jakarta's JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels which killed nine people and wounded 53.
(Aug 07 2009) - Liberty Post : Caltrans settles free-speech law ...SAN CLEMENTE -- State transportation officials will have to pay $157,500 in legal fees and damages after settling a federal lawsuit in which the San Diego Minutemen claimed their first amendment rights were violated, the anti-illegal immigration group announced today. Caltrans and the minutemen group reached a settlement Monday over the Adopt-a-Highway volunteer cleanup program on a stretch of I-5, south of San Clemente and near a Border Patrol checkpoint.
(Aug 06 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Lawmakers pay themselves firstHARRISBURG -- State workers will have to wait another week to be paid for days they have worked since July 1, but House Democratic lawmakers have checks in hand. They paid themselves first. Their paychecks were issued Tuesday as they voted on a $27.3 billion budget, which Gov. Ed Rendell yesterday chopped to $11 billion through line-items vetoes. He left intact funding for such items as public safety, state parks and employees' pay. Some 77,000 state workers will have to wait a week or more for their checks to be processed, while lawmakers have their money.
(Aug 05 2009) - Patriot Post : Tea Party-Bashers Gone WildNEW YORK -- The activist Left can't stand competition. Last week in Long Island, N.Y., opponents of the Democrats' government health care takeover legislation outnumbered Obama supporters 10 to one. The Tea Party activists toted American flags and signs that read "WE CAN'T AFFORD FREE HEALTH CARE" -- prompting one foe to stalk into the peaceful crowd, gesticulate wildly and shout unintelligible threats at the top of his lungs.
(Aug 04 2009) - Kentucky Post : Slick Willy's secret trip to No KoreaWASH D.C. -- The White House is adopting a tight-lipped stance on former President Clinton's visit to North Korea to press for the release of two jailed Americans arrested in March. A terse statement from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday morning said the Obama administration would have no public comment "while this solely private mission to secure the release of the two Americans is on the ground." The statement also said, "We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission."
(Aug 03 2009) - Financial Post : Greying Canada to turn job market upside-down
CANADA -- The global recession has done its share of damage to the Canadian job market, with nearly 370,000 employees shed from payrolls since last October. For workers lucky enough to keep their jobs, many have seen pay and benefits reduced. But the job market and compensation packages will recover, partly due to a better economy, but also because of an ageing population. Even those sectors hit hard in the recession know it.
(Aug 02 2009) - Post Chronicle : Hundreds Arrested In Malaysia ProtestMALAYSIA -- Riot police in Kuala Lumpur fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of demonstrators protesting Malaysian security law, authorities said. Police arrested nearly 600 of the estimated 10,000 protesters Saturday, the Malaysia Star reported Sunday. Chanting "down with the government," the throng of mostly ethnic Malays marched across the city to demand Malaysia rescind the Internal Security Act, The Times of London reported. In the name of national security, the ISA allows imprisonment without trial.
(Aug 01 2009) - Frontier Post : Problems rebuilding war-torn AfghanistanWASH D.C. -- US agencies handling reconstruction work in Afghanistan lack direction and communication, problems that risk wasting US tax dollars, says the special inspector general overseeing tens of billions of dollars worth of projects. Inspector General Arnold Fields says that coordination between the Americans and the Afghans is poor, leading to a disjointed effort and slowing progress on critically needed improvements to the country’s transportation, agriculture and energy production.
(Jul 31 2009) - China Post : No Korea quiet on seized So Korean fishermenSEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea was silent Friday about four South Korean fishermen seized off the east coast after their boat strayed into northern waters a day earlier at a time of tension on the divided peninsula. The 29-ton boat drifted into North Korean waters Thursday after its satellite navigation system apparently malfunctioned. North Korean soldiers towed the vessel to the eastern port of Jangjon, just north of the border, South Korean officials said Friday.
(Jul 30 2009) - Huffington Post : Obama's Military Spying on U.S. CitizensWASHINGTON -- Anti-war activists in Olympia, Wash., have exposed U.S. Army spying and infiltration of their groups, as well as intelligence gathering by the U.S. Air Force, the federal Capitol Police and the Coast Guard. The infiltration appears to be in direct violation of the Posse Comitatus Act preventing U.S. military deployment for domestic law enforcement, and may strengthen congressional demands for a full-scale investigation of U.S. intelligence activities, like the Church Committee hearings of the 1970s.
(Jul 29 2009) - Washington Post : H1N1 Vaccine contains 'Mercury'AUSTRAILIA -- Although CDC experts originally suggested making age 18 the ceiling of the healthy-young-people target group, the committee raised the age to 24 to include college students. Some of the vaccine will be stored in multi-dose vials containing thimerosal, an antibacterial additive that contains mercury. But there will also be single-dose syringes without thimerosal, a substance that some assert is harmful to children.
(Jul 28 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Terror cell planned attacks in IsraelNO CAROLINA -- A father, his two sons and four other men living in North Carolina are accused of military-style training at home and plotting "violent jihad" abroad, including against targets in Israel, federal authorities said Monday. Officials said the men were led by Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, who resided in a small lakeside home in a rural area south of Raleigh, where he and his family walked their dog and operated a drywall business. Court records, however, indicate Boyd was a veteran of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan who fought against the Soviet Union.
(Jul 27 2009) - Denver Post : U.S. troops destroy Afghan drugsKABUL -- U.S. Marines and Afghan forces have found and destroyed hundreds of tons of poppy seeds, opium and heroin in southern Afghanistan this month in raids that a top American official said show that the new U.S. counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan is working. U.S. and NATO troops are attacking drug warehouses in Afghanistan for the first time this year, a new strategy to counter the country's booming opium, poppy and heroin trade. NATO defense ministers approved the targeted drug raids late last year, saying the link between Taliban insurgents and drug barons was clear. U.N. officials say Taliban fighters reap 100's of millions of dollars from the drug trade each year.
(Jul 26 2009) - Christian Post : Evangelical Leaders Rebuke Jimmy CarterU.S.A. -- Evangelical leaders chastised former president Carter this week for comments he made regarding the alleged faith-based discrimination of women. “It is true that some have abused Scripture in pursuing oppressive agendas, like arguments for slavery, apartheid, and the denial of rights to women and minorities. But these abuses cannot be supported by an appeal to God’s word, especially when Scripture is interpreted according to the grand tradition of the Church,” said Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Last week, Carter submitted an op-ed to newspapers -- to draw greater attention to a new initiative launched by The Elders ...
(Jul 25 2009) - Kyiv Post : IMF welcomes bank resolution adopted by RadaUKRAINE -- The International Monetary Fund has welcomed the draft law No. 4630 that the parliament adopted on July 24, which regulates the procedures for improving the financial health of commercial banks. The IMF announced this in a statement, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained. According to the statement, the head of the IMF's mission to Ukraine, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, said that the adoption of the document would facilitate restoration of banks to solvency and financial stability.
(Jul 24 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Homosexuality sells at World OutgamesCOPENHAGEN -- Tourism marketing targeted at homosexuals reinforces stereotypes about a diverse group. As Copenhagen prepares for the arrival of participants in the World Outgames this week, the tourist industry is eagerly rubbing its hands in anticipation of the wealthy, well-educated and stylish influx of people the games will bring. Or such is the popular image that the tourism industry paints of homosexuals – the primary audience for the Outgames and its accompanying conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer human rights.
(Jul 23 2009) - New York Post : FBI arrests Mayors, Rabbis in New JerseyNEWARK -- FBI agents are sweeping across northern New Jersey Thursday, making arrests in what reportedly is described as a major corruption probe. WNBC-TV in New York reported and showed images of the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus being taken into FBI headquarters in Newark. The station also showed rabbis being taken into custody. Radio station New Jersey 101.5 FM reports the sweeps are taking place in Hudson, Bergen, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The stations say the probe centers on money-laundering and political bid rigging.
(Jul 22 2009) - Bangkok Post : Solar eclipse spreads darkness over AsiaTHAILAND -- Sky gazers in Bangkok and the South were disappointed when a cloudy sky prevented them from seeing the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century on Wednesday morning - but Chiang Rai had a clear view. Several telescopes with proper shielding were set up at the Dhepsirin School's playing field, where eclipse-watching activities were organised, but seasonal rains brought cloud cover throughout the capital. The partial eclipse occured from 7.06 to 9.08am in Bangkok. However, in northern Chiang Rai province, where more of the Sun was eclipsed, clear skies gave people the best view in Thailand.
(Jul 21 2009) - Liberty Post : Mexican gov sends 5,500 troops to MichoacanMEXICO -- Thousands of heavily armed soldiers have been deployed in Mexico in the government's latest efforts to crack down on the country's drug war. Troops set up roadblocks on major highways in the western state of Michoacan on Saturday in response to a series of drug gang attacks on police. Armed with automatic weapons, soldiers wearing ski masks to shield their identities searched vehicles for signs of drug smuggling after the government ordered 5,500 troops to deploy to the area by land, sea and air in the marijuana-growing region, also the President's home state.
(Jul 20 2009) - Norway Post : Norwegians spend less income on foodNORWAY -- Norwegians spend less and less of their income on food. We now work only 1 hour and 53 minutes to earn enough to buy food for a week, against 4.5 hours 25 years ago, Dagsavisen reports. Fifty years ago Norwegians spent 40 per cent of their income on food and alcohol-free drinks, against 11 per cent today. This concerns the environmental organisation "Future in our hands". Their spokesman Arild Hermstad says the meat consumption should be no more than 25-30 kg per person annually in order to protect the environment.
(Jul 19 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : House rejected Jesus Name prayerHARRISBURG -- Three weeks ago, a Christian clergyman from Adams County was surprised and upset when state House officials wouldn't let him open a session with a prayer that contained what they termed an "offensive word" -- the name of Jesus. He planned to end his prayer with "In Jesus' name, Amen." Now the Rev. Gerry Stoltzfoos of the Freedom Valley Worship Center in Gettysburg is hoping for a different result next week, when he opens a state Senate session with a prayer.
(Jul 18 2009) - Kentucky Post : CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite Dies At 92NEW YORK -- Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92. Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease. Adler said, "I have to go now" before breaking down into what sounded like a sob. She said she had no further comment.
(Jul 17 2009) - National Post : Two Canadians injured in Jakarta bombingsJAKARTA -- At least nine killed, more than 50 injured in near-simultaneous Jakarta hotel bombings. Edward Thiessen was getting ready to eat yogurt and eggs during a Friday breakfast meeting in the JW Marriott lounge in Jakarta when the room shuddered and an "orange flash" followed by a loud crack sent him sprawling to the floor before everything went black. The 50-year-old St. Catharines, Ont., native then felt water falling on his head from the sprinkler system which cleared the black soot that had filled the hotel lounge which had been sectioned off for his company's monthly breakfast meeting.
(Jul 16 2009) - Post Chronicle : (BoA) Operating Under Secret Regulations ?U.S.A. -- Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is operating under a secret U.S. regulatory sanction that requires it to overhaul its board and address perceived problems with risk and liquidity management, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Rarely disclosed publicly, the so-called memorandum of understanding (MOU) gives banks a chance to work out their problems without the glare of outside attention, the paper said.
(Jul 15 2009) - China Post : Nigerian oil militants call for cease-fireABUJA -- Nigeria's main militant group said Wednesday it is calling an immediate 60-day cease-fire in response to the government's release of an ailing rebel leader. Henry Okah was freed Monday just hours after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta set fire to an oil depot and loading tankers in the country's economic center, Lagos. Three naval officers and two oil workers were killed in the group's first attack outside the Delta region, officials said.
(Jul 14 2009) - Yorkshire Evening Post : Violence erupts on Belfast streetsBELFAST -- North Belfast is picking up the pieces after the worst night of violence for years. Nine officers were injured and a live round was fired at them after a confrontation with dissident republicans in Ardoyne. Petrol bombs, fireworks, stones and bottles were hurled at police and water cannons and baton rounds used to fend off attackers. Crowds gathered ahead of the return parade by Orangemen from their July 12 demonstrations. Two vans were hijacked and pushed at police lines.
(Jul 13 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Demjanjuk charged with WWII murdersGERMANY -- German prosecutors formally charged John Demjanjuk on Monday with 27,900 counts of being an accessory to murder at Nazi death camp Sobibor during World War II. The charges against the 89-year-old retired auto worker, who was deported from the US in May, were filed at a Munich state court, prosecutors in the city said in a brief statement. There was no immediate word on when a trial might start. Prosecutors accuse Demjanjuk of serving as a guard at the Nazi death camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II.
(Jul 12 2009) - Frontier Post : Gilani for effective population planISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday stressed an effective population management programme to ensure better utilization of resources and provision of better services to the masses. Addressing a function to mark the World Population Day {WikiPedia} here, the Prime Minister said low GDP growth along with high population growth rates had put Pakistan in a situation where it was hard to provide relief to the common man. He said country's diverse problems could not be addressed by economic measures alone and there was a need to supplement these through effective measures to check population growth.
(Jul 11 2009) - Seattle Post : Chips in official IDs raise privacy fearsCALIFORNIA -- Climbing into his Volvo, outfitted with a Matrics antenna and a Motorola reader he'd bought on eBay for $190, Chris Paget cruised the streets of San Francisco with this objective: To read the identity cards of strangers, wirelessly, without ever leaving his car. It took him 20 minutes to strike hacker's gold. Zipping past Fisherman's Wharf, his scanner detected, then downloaded to his laptop, the unique serial numbers of two pedestrians' electronic U.S. passport cards embedded with radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags. Within an hour, he'd "skimmed" the identifiers of four more of the new, microchipped PASS cards from a distance of 20 feet.
(Jul 10 2009) - New York Post : New York Times to take Toll on WebNEW YORK -- Faced with the prospect of going broke, The New York Times wants to charge $5 a month for access to its Web site -- more than the cost of a share of its weakened stock. The cash-crunched Times began polling subscribers toits print editions in search of backlash on a plan to collect monthly fees for the Web content, which is now free. While ordinary Web users would pay $5 a month, subscribers to print editions would get their fee cut in half to $2.50 a month to access all articles, blogs and multimedia.
(Jul 09 2009) - Christian Post : G-8 Leaders Urged to Keep Aid PromisesITALY -- G-8 leaders meeting at the three-day economic summit in L’Aquila, Italy, look set to pull off an “Italian Job,” according to one of the world’s leading aid agencies. "We had all hoped the new G-8 leaders would push the others to finally meet the key funding promises made in 2005 in Gleneagles," said Sue Mbaya, Africa Advocacy Director for World Vision. "But it's looking like we'll be watching a re-run of the same old movie in which the G-8 fills its communiqué with reheated aid pledges with no clear timelines ... suggesting that the leaders are taking and running away with the money they pledged to Africa."
(Jul 08 2009) - News Post : Positive self-statements do more harm ?U.S.A. -- While self-help books are considered to boost a person’s moral, a piece of research now suggests that positive self-statements in such books may actually leave people with low self-esteem and feeling worse about themselves. Psychologists Joanne V. Wood and John W. Lee from the University of Waterloo, and W.Q. Elaine Perunovic from the University of New Brunswick, found that individuals with low self-esteem actually felt worse about themselves after repeating positive self-statements.
(Jul 07 2009) - Asian Pacific Post : India's largest meth factory discoveredCANADA -- The arrest of a Canadian drug don has led police to India’s biggest meth factory, which was supplying party drugs to an international crime syndicate. The racket came to light following the arrest of Xie Jing Feng alias Richard, a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin, Indian police said. He was tracked and detained at a hotel in Vadodara, Gujarat last November 21 by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) detectives, led by Ahmedabad Zonal Director Ayush Mani Tiwari. Two Malaysians of Indian origin were also arrested at the same time and police seized 1.5 kilos of methamphetamine.
(Jul 06 2009) - Bangkok Post : China says 140 dead in Uighar riotsXINJIANJ -- China said at least 140 people were killed in rioting by Muslim Uighurs in its restive Xinjiang region in the deadliest ethnic unrest reported in the country for decades. The violence in the regional capital Urumqi on Sunday involved thousands of people, and the official Xinhua news agency said the death toll was likely to rise. More than 800 other people were injured in the rampage, it added. "Death toll in Xinjiang riot rises to 140, still climbing," Xinhua reported in its latest dispatch, after initially saying only three had died.
(Jul 05 2009) - Denver Post : Denver Mayor wants to track trends of kidsCOLORADO -- Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper wants to compile an enormous database to give teachers, social workers and mentors a fuller picture of what the city's children are going through — be it a divorce, a falling algebra grade or an arrest. Hickenlooper is in discussions with a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company to get a computer system donated that could, for example, link data files from Denver Public Schools, the city Department of Human Services and even nonprofits like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. It would be the first system of its kind in the nation.
(Jul 04 2009) - Liberty Post : Happy 4th of July !!!U.S.A. -- Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
(Jul 03 2009) - Jakarta Post : British Embassy staff to be tried in IranIRAN -- A top Iranian cleric said Friday that some of the detained Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial, and he accused Britain of a role in instigating widespread protests that erupted over the country's disputed presidential election. The announcement by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati came a day after the European Union demanded Iran release the staffers, who were detained on June 27. Britain is pressing EU countries to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran in protest.
(Jul 02 2009) - Norway Post : Norwegian Embassy in Pakistan closes ...NORWAY -- Norway's Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, has been closed for security reasons, TV2 reports. The embassy will be closed Thurs and Fri, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The reason is the general development and the evaluation of the situation as a whole, says the Department's deputy director Ragnhild Imerslund. Last week plans were revealed of planned terrorist aactions aginst several embassies in Islambad, among them Swedish and Norwegian embassy.
(Jul 01 2009) - Kyiv Post : Analysis: Hopes fading for Iran nuke talksVIENNA -- The fallout from Iran's disputed presidential vote is dimming what were already modest prospects for meaningful negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. President Barack Obama's offer of direct U.S.-Iranian talks on nuclear and other issues still stands - but Tehran seems uninterested. Negotiations were stalemated even before Iran's crackdown on citizens demonstrating against what they say was a skewed election in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
(Jun 30 2009) - National Post : Afghan police chief killed in shootoutKANDAHAR -- Two senior Kandahar police officials were killed yesterday when a number of gunmen, identified as U. S.-trained security forces, tried to remove a prisoner from police custody. Police Chief Matieulla Qatey and his head of criminal investigations, AbdulKhaliq Hamdard, were killed in the gunfire that erupted when the guards left the prosecutor's office with the prisoner, according to Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the Kandahar provincial council and the brother of the President. Canadian troops helped secure the area after the violence, but played no other role in the incident.
(Jun 29 2009) - China Post : N Korea criticizes U.S. missile defenseSEOUL -- North Korea criticized the U.S. on Monday for positioning missile defense systems around Hawaii, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawaii amid concerns the North may fire a long-range missile toward the islands, about 4,500 miles away.
(Jun 28 2009) - Washington Post : Soldiers arrest Honduran presidentTEGUCIGALPA -- More than a dozen soldiers arrested President Manuel Zelaya and disarmed his security guards after surrounding his residence before dawn Sunday, his private secretary said. Protesters called it a coup and flocked to the presidential palace as local news media reported that Zelaya was sent into exile. The chief executive was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum the president had insisted on holding even though the Supreme Court ruled it illegal and everyone from the military to Congress and members of his own party opposed it.
(Jun 28 2009) - Seattle Post : Iran detains staff at British EmbassyIRAN -- Iranian authorities have detained several local employees of the British Embassy in Iran, a move that Britain's foreign secretary Sunday called "harassment and intimidation" and reflected a hardening of the regime's stance toward the West. Iranian media said eight local embassy staff were detained for an alleged role in postelection protests, but gave no further details. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said "about nine" employees were detained Saturday and that some had been released. The detentions signaled a further toughening of Iran's dealings with the West ...
(Jun 27 2009) - Jakarta Post : Russia foreign ministers to open meetingNATO -- The foreign ministers of NATO and Russia are set to resume formal military ties when they meet Saturday for the first time since last year's war between Russia and Georgia. Relations between the alliance and the Russian military were frozen in the aftermath of that conflict. Although political ties have thawed considerably over the past five months, there have been no formal military contacts since the war. Saturday's meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts from NATO's 28 member nations comes as President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev prepare to hold a summit next month.
(Jun 26 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Secret Service to secure G-20 in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh's G-20 summit is now on par with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the Olympics and the Super Bowl. This week, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano named the September gathering of world leaders a "National Special Security Event," or NSSE, making the Secret Service the lead agency for security preparations. Federal officials have given the designation less than 35 times since 1998, when President Clinton created it as a tool for managing security for major events that require the coordination of potentially dozens of law enforcement agencies.
(Jun 25 2009) - Post Chronicle : Fed's Accused Of "Cover-Up" In BoA DealWASH D.C. -- The Federal Reserve sought to hide its involvement in Bank of America Corp's acquisition of Merrill Lynch as Merrill's financial condition worsened, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said on Wednesday. The Fed "engaged in a cover-up and deliberately hid concerns and pertinent details regarding the merger from other federal regulatory agencies," Representative Darrell Issa said in a statement released to Reuters.
(Jun 24 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Obama to reinstate US envoy to SyriaISRAEL -- US President Barack Obama has decided to reinstate a US ambassador to Syria after an absence of more than four years. The acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, informed Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, of Obama's intention, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had yet to be made public.
(Jun 23 2009) - Patriot Post : The Obama Effect ?WASH D.C. -- It's become almost a parlor game to watch Obamaphiles spin the president's response to events in Iran. Uninfatuated observers have noticed that the president displayed a tepid and unsatisfying neutrality to events in the streets of Iran following the sham election -- just as he had done last summer when the Russians staged an invasion of Georgia. His first instinct was to preserve his bona fides for negotiating with the mullahs -- bona fides that he has been at pains to demonstrate over the past several months.
(Jun 22 2009) - African Post : Uganda leader rejects opposition electionUGANDA -- President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's long-serving president, has dismissed an opposition call for electoral reform that would block him from standing for another term, a government-owned newspaper reported on Monday. Critics accuse the former rebel leader, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, of trying to be president-for-life after parliament scrapped term restrictions. The ruling party is rumoured in local political and media circles to be seeking an end to Uganda's presidential age limit of 75.
(Jun 21 2009) - Birmingham Post : UN Sec Gen due in Birmingham todayBIRMINGHAM -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will give a keynote speech at an event in Birmingham today. The UN leader will visit the National Exhibition Centre to address a Rotary International convention, where he is expected to thank the organisation for its role in attempting to eradicate polio. In 1988, Rotary and the UN Children's Fund pledged to work to end cases of the crippling disease across the world and, with the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, founded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
(Jun 20 2009) - Bangkok Post : WHO flu alerts 'lead to panic' ...BANGKOK -- Thailand plans to ask the World Health Organisation (WHO) to revise its system of alerting people to the spread of the H1N1 flu virus as it believes that its current method is misleading the public and causing panic. The WHO has raised the pandemic alert to the highest level on the scale of 6 because the disease has broken out in so many countries. The move from Phase 5 to Phase 6 on the scale signifies the situation has reached a global outbreak, but many people do not perceive this as a spread of the disease.
(Jun 19 2009) - Liberty Post : Smith & Wesson 4Q tops Wall St outlookSPRINGFIELD -- Pistol maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. on Thursday reported 4th-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations, sending shares up nearly 12 % in aftermarket trading. The company said its fiscal 2009 4th-quarter revenue rose 20 % to $99.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected revenue of $90.8 million, on average. "Demand for our handguns and tactical rifles remained strong throughout the 4th quarter, as evidenced by our revenue as well as by our backlog balance," the company said in a statement.
(Jun 18 2009) - Wash Post : Inventory Uncovers 9,200 more PathogensMARYLAND -- An inventory of potentially deadly pathogens at Fort Detrick's infectious disease laboratory found more than 9,000 vials that had not been accounted for, Army officials said yesterday, raising concerns that officials wouldn't know whether dangerous toxins were missing. After four months of searching about 335 freezers and refrigerators at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, investigators found 9,220 samples that hadn't been included in a database of about 66,000 items listed as of February, said Col. Mark Kortepeter, the institute's deputy commander.
(Jun 17 2009) - Denver Post : AG Holder seeks tougher hate-crimes lawWASH D.C. -- Citing recent killings in Arkansas, Kansas and the nation's capital, Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday said new hate-crimes laws were needed to stop what he called "violence masquerading as political activism." The call for Congress to act came as a civil-rights coalition said there has been a surge in white supremacist activity since the election of the first African-American president and the economic downturn.
(Jun 16 2009) - News Post : India reluctant to join de-dollarisationINDIA -- While China and Russia are likely to pitch for the induction of a new global currency to replace the dollar as the world’s main reserve (de-dollarisation) at the first BRIC summit beginning tomorrow in Yekaterinburg, it is most unlikely that India will join the chorus on this issue, according to government sources. Although India has found congruence in the agenda of other BRIC nations on key international issues like the longstanding demand for restructuring and democratization of international institutions like IMF and the World Bank ...
(Jun 15 2009) - Frontier Post : Obama wants checks on banksWASH D.C. -- President Obama is ready to roll out an overhaul of the intricate rules and systems that govern America's troubled financial institutions, proposing the most ambitious revision since the Great Depression. The goal is to prevent a recurrence of the economic crisis that erupted in the United States and exploded last fall with devastating consequences still reverberating around the world. Unlike the government's temporary ownership stake in automakers and major financial companies, the regulatory changes set to be announced Wednesday are designed to be permanent.
(Jun 14 2009) - Kyiv Post : Russia-Belarus rift widensMINSK -- Belarus on Sunday signalled a growing rift with ally Russia, saying President Alexander Lukashenko would not attend a security summit in Moscow in protest at a Russian ban on dairy imports from Belarus. Ties between former Soviet republics Russia and Belarus have been strained since 2007, with Minsk upset at steadily rising prices for Russian gas and Moscow angered by Lukashenko's growing overtures to the West.
(Jun 13 2009) - Tripoli Post : Al-Qathafi Makes Historical Visit to ItalyITALY -- Italy rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for Al-Qathafi, who said he has "turned the page on the past". The Leader of the Revolution Muammar Al-Qathafi praised Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi describing him as the "iron man" for his courage to undertake a historical, dangerous decision apologize in behalf of the Italian state for the colonization of Libya and the acceptance of the compensation principle. Forty years ago, Al-Qathafi vowed not to visit Italy until it recognized its past and apologized to the Libyan people whose half of them were perished as a result of Italian occupation that lasted from 1911 until 1943.
(Jun 12 2009) - China Post : After rowdy campaign, Iran choose a presidentTEHRAN -- Iranians voted Friday on whether to keep hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for four more years or replace him with a reformist more open to loosening the country's Islamic restrictions and improving ties with the United States. The rowdy election campaign, which lasted less than a month, electrified many voters here and reshaped how the world sees Iran's political process. The mass street demonstrations, polished campaign slogans and televised debates more closely resembled Western elections than the scripted campaigns in most other Middle Eastern countries.
(Jun 11 2009) - Palm Beach Post : WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begunGENEVA -- The World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic Thursday - the first global flu epidemic in 41 years - as infections in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere climbed to nearly 30,000 cases. The long-awaited pandemic announcement is scientific confirmation that a new flu virus has emerged and is quickly circling the globe. WHO will now ask drugmakers to speed up production of a swine flu vaccine. The declaration will also prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus.
(Jun 10 2009) - Post Chronicle : IT Firms Urge China To Reconsider FilterWASH D.C. -- A Washington-based group representing information technology companies called on China on Wednesday to reconsider its requirement that Internet filtering software be bundled with new computers. Chinese regulations mandate "Green Dam," a program developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co., be pre-installed on personal computers manufactured or shipped after July 1. China says the filter is designed to block pornography.
(Jun 09 2009) - Jerusalem Post : World opinion Israel's No. 1 problemISRAEL -- World public opinion is Israel's number one foreign policy problem, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday. Addressing the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Lieberman said that limited resources were hampering Israel's ability in the international arena. "World public opinion about us doesn't reflect the reality and we cannot continue to have foreign policy success without dramatically improving the approach concerning how we are perceived in the eyes of the world by Western countries, the Free World, where we have a fundamental problem of not being perceived well," said the foreign minister.
(Jun 08 2009) - National Post : North Korea jails U.S. journalistsSEOUL -- North Korea, facing UN sanctions for last month's nuclear test, on Monday raised the stakes in its growing confrontation with Washington by jailing two U.S. journalists to 12 years hard labour for "grave crime". The sentence follows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's warning on Sunday the United States was considering putting the reclusive North back on its list of states that sponsor terrorism, which would further isolate the impoverished country. The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV, were arrested in March working on a story near the border between North Korea and China.
(Jun 07 2009) - Pittsburgh Post : Rooms fit for 'kings' and G-20 leadersPITTSBURGH - If ever there's a time when the presidential suites of the city's best hotels will house actual presidents, it will be when the G-20 world economic summit comes to Pittsburgh Sept. 24 and 25. Organizers say it's too early to know who will stay where, but it stands to reason that heads of state for the group of major industrialized nations and the European Union will be snapping up those spacious luxury suites on the top floors with the best views and plushest amenities. Whether President Barack Obama will be in one of them remains to be seen.
(Jun 06 2009) - Jakarta Post : US military: Teens used in attacks in IraqBAGDAD -- Insurgents are increasingly using teenagers to stage attacks against American and Iraqi security forces, the US military said Saturday. At least five youths between the ages of 14 and 19 have been involved in grenade and suicide attacks in recent weeks in northern Iraq, according to a military statement. The military has frequently said it believes al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups are recruiting youths and women because of their ability to avoid scrutiny and evade heightened security measures.
(Jun 05 2009) - Christian Post : Millions Observe Cancer Prayer DayU.S.A. -- Today, millions of Christians around the world are uniting in prayer for cancer patients with the belief that "true healing comes from God." On the 10th Anniversary of Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day, ministers will be praying for healing for people who have cancer, prevention for people who do not have cancer, comfort for people who have lost someone to cancer and wisdom for cancer researchers, physicians and nurses, according to Daniel Kennedy, the organizer and co-founder of the annual prayer day. Churches and ministries in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines and South Korea are participating.
(Jun 04 2009) - Yemen Post : Yemeni Detainee at Guantanamo Bay DiesCUBA -- A Yemeni detainee at Guantanamo Bay died in his cell, U.S. military officials said Tuesday. However, investigations have been ongoing to determine how the so-called Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al-Hanashi died. During a routine visit inside the cells on Monday nights, the guardians at Guantanamo Bay have found Al-Hanashi unconscious, the sources said, adding that after intensive procedures have been taken, doctors announced the detainee's death. Al-Hanashi had been held on occasion in the detention center psychiatric ward, although detention center officials would say neither whether he was found dead in a cell there nor how he had died.
(Jun 03 2009) - Bangkok Post : PM calls meeting on rice mortgageTHAILAND -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has called a meeting of the National Rice Policy Committee on Thursday to consider extending the crop mortgage scheme in the face of farmers' demands for increased quotas. Growers in many provinces have demanded the mortgage period be extended, saying they still have off-season rice that will be harvested in June and July. The mortgage period for this year's off-season rice expires on July 31 and the mortgage target has already been increased to 4 million tonnes from 2.5 million tonnes.
(Jun 02 2009) - News Post : Religious terror attacks rare in USNEW YORK -- In a new study, researchers have estimated that in the United States, terror attacks on religious targets are relatively rare, but often deadly. The study was carried out by the University of Maryland-based National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism START. The researchers add that private businesses are the most frequent US target.
(Jun 01 2009) - Denver Post : Immigration checks riseDENVER -- Colorado employers are increasingly trying to weed out illegal workers. The latest data show the number voluntarily using the national electronic system for verifying immigration status has more than doubled in two years — from 2,065 in May 2007 to 4,690 today. Yet there are 155,000 employers in Colorado, and most get by simply by asking new hires for an ID, keeping a copy and signing a statement saying they checked.
(May 31 2009) - Kyiv Post : Old dissidents still a voice in Russia, but fadingMOSCOW -- They would meet in secret, terrified of a KGB knock on the door. They laboriously typed out banned publications. Many ended up in prison, labor camps and exile. They were the Soviet dissidents, the human faces of the Cold War, waging nonviolent resistance against a cruel and cynical system. Today, 20 years after Eastern Europe shook off its communist chains, the Berlin Wall fell and the death knell sounded for the Soviet Union, Sergei Kovalyov might have expected to be feted for his role in breaking the chains of communism.
(May 30 2009) - Wash Post : Fed's Bailout Authority Sat Unused Since 1991WASH D.C. - On the day before Thanksgiving in 1991, the U.S. Senate voted to vastly expand the emergency powers of the Federal Reserve. Almost no one noticed. The critical language was contained in a single, somewhat inscrutable sentence, and the only public explanation was offered during a final debate that began with a reminder that senators had airplanes to catch. Yet, in removing a long-standing prohibition on loans that supported financial speculation, the provision effectively allowed the Fed for the first time to lend money to Wall Street during a crisis.
(May 30 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Fluoride in water study set to raisehacklesYORKSHIRE - A study is to be carried out into adding fluoride to drinking water in Yorkshire after pleas from two health trusts concerned about the state of children's teeth. The region-wide feasibility study is being commissioned at the request of the West Yorkshire trusts who believe fluoridation may be the best way of improving dental health. Health Secretary Alan Johnson last year urged all parts of the country to consider fluoridation which the Government says is "safe and cost effective" and ensures children in deprived areas – who have more rotten teeth – are helped.
(May 29 2009) - Post Gazette : Pittsburgh hosting G-20 summit in SeptPITTSBURGH - A little more than two weeks ago, White House officials contacted Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and other officials with two questions: Would they be interested in hosting an international event and could they keep it a secret ? That set off a frenzy of meetings and telephone calls among government, business and hotel officials that culminated with yesterday's announcement that Pittsburgh will host the G-20 world economic summit Sept. 24-25 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
(May 28 2009) - China Post : North Korean threatens U.S.SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea threatened military strikes on U.S. and South Korean ships and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting — an escalation of tensions in the wake of Pyongyang's nuclear test. The threats Wednesday followed Seoul's decision to join more than 90 nations in stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, and raised the prospect of a naval clash off the Korean peninsula's west coast.
(May 27 2009) - Liberty Post : Iraq bomb kills US State Department officialBAGHDAD -- A roadside bomb struck a US convoy in western Iraq, killing three Americans, including a senior State Department official, US officials said Tuesday. The blast killed Terence Barnich, the deputy director of the State Department's Iraq Transition Assistance Office in Baghdad, as well as a US soldier and a civilian contractor as their convoy left a construction site near Fallujah on Monday, military and government officials said. Two others were wounded.
(May 26 2009) - Post Chronicle : North Korea Fires More Rockets ...NORTH KOREA -- North Korea, defiant in the face of international condemnation of its latest nuclear test, fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Tuesday and accused the United States of plotting against its government. In a move certain to compound tensions in the region, South Korea said it would join a U.S.-led initiative to intercept ships suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction, something Pyongyang has warned it would consider a declaration of war.
(May 25 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Ministers to vote on 'loyalty oath'ISRAEL -- Foreign Minister and head of the Israel Beiteinu Party Avigdor Lieberman's proposed "loyalty oath" for Israeli citizens will be brought up for a vote at a cabinet meeting early next week. The party said it planned to seek preliminary approval from a ministerial committee on Sunday. If passed, the law would oblige every Israeli citizen, including Arabs, to take the oath and sign a statement. "Receiving citizenship under law will be contingent on a loyalty oath," the proposed draft read. The draft also includes a clause on the wording of the loyalty oath, likely to cause disagreements ...
(May 24 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Royal driver suspended after exposeENGLAND -- Royal chauffeur Brian Sirjusingh has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations he allowed undercover reporters into Buckingham Palace in exchange for money, a palace spokeswoman has said. The pair, posing as wealthy Middle-Eastern businessmen, were allowed in the building without security checks. A palace spokeswoman said: "We can confirm an individual has been suspended pending an investigation." The News of the World reported Mr Sirjusingh was paid £1,000 by its reporters in exchange for access to the building.
(May 23 2009) - Palm Beach Post : NASA scraps landing for shuttle, againCAPE CANAVERAL -- Thunderstorms prevented space shuttle Atlantis from returning to its home base Saturday for the second day in a row, and kept the astronauts circling Earth after a successful repair job at the Hubble Space Telescope. The offshore storms prompted NASA to skip both morning landing attempts at Kennedy Space Center. Despite an equally dismal forecast for Sunday, Mission Control opted to wait out the bad weather rather than take a detour to California. A cooling-system problem cropped up aboard Atlantis shortly after Mission Control informed the astronauts of the latest landing plans.
(May 22 2009) - National Post : Millions sought for Pakistanis displaced ...ISLAMABAD -- The United Nations launched an appeal on Friday for US$543-million for more than 2 million people displaced by fighting in northwest Pakistan, where officials said villagers were turning against the Taliban. The military launched an offensive this month in the picturesque Swat Valley and neighbouring districts to stop the spread of a Taliban insurgency that had raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future. The United Nations has warned of a long-term humanitarian crisis ...
(May 21 2009) - Post Gazette : Franklin Park candidate says councilman hit her
PITTSBURGH -- A Franklin Park primary candidate has accused a sitting council member of punching her in the arm during a verbal altercation Tuesday outside the polls. During a public meeting last night, Rose Randolph, who appears to have lost the Republican bid for the borough's second ward council seat, accused Councilman Dick Hartman of hitting her while they were outside of the Franklin Park Volunteer Fire Department on Rochester Road. Ms. Randolph alleges Mr. Hartman and her primary challenger Councilwoman Jane Hopey approached her outside the polls in an overbearing manner.
(May 20 2009) - Bangkok Post : Asian leaders approve summit datesTHAILAND -- Sixteen Asian countries have agreed that Thailand should to host the resumed 14th and the scheduled 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summits and related summits in October, Asean Affairs Department director-general Vitavas Srivihok said on Wednesday. The Asean Senior Officials Meeting, which concluded in Phuket on Tuesday, resolved that the summits should be held in October. The meeting was attended by delegates from the six Asian dialogue countries, he said. The government will decide on the meeting venue later, Mr Vitavas said.
(May 19 2009) - New York Post : Banks worry about next rounds of defaultsNEW YORK -- THE hope in Washington is this: Banks that failed their so-called stress test will raise capital on their own -- as many have already done -- and then go about the business of giving loans to deserving businesses and homeowners. But there are several obstacles, including the fact that the next big wave of loan defaults might be about to occur. And the problem won't be, according to a source, in credit cards. Phillip F. Blumberg, chairman of Blumberg Capital Partners, thinks banks are really worried about the commercial real estate loans they issued during the orgasmic 2000s.
(May 18 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Church sanctuary for Iraqi asylum seekers
DENMARK -- Iraqi asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected and are facing a forcible return to their home country have sought refuge in local city church. Dozens of failed Iraqi asylum seekers have sought refuge in Brorsons Church in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen after the Danish government agreed with their Iraqi counterparts for the forced repatriation of the refugees. Almost 300 asylum seekers are affected by the agreement and an initial group of 10 had first sought refuge in the Vor Frue Church on Friday evening to highlight their plight.
(May 17 2009) - Christian Post : Megachurches Unite Against AbortionCALIFORNIA -- Evangelical megachurches across San Diego are joining Catholics on Sunday to make a public outcry against abortion in their first ever joint pro-life rally. The demonstration, which will take place after the multiple worship services that typically take place at megachurches, is being held on the same day President Obama will take the stage at the University of Notre Dame to deliver the commencement speech.
(May 16 2009) - Denver Post : Gov. Ritter vetoes gun billCOLORADO -- Gov. Bill Ritter on Friday vetoed a bill that would have allowed Coloradans with concealed-weapons permits to avoid background checks when they buy guns at shops or shows. In a veto letter, the Gov. called House Bill 1180 "troubling" and said it "significantly weakens the safeguards against the illegal purchase of firearms." The bill passed with the support of 19 of Ritter's fellow Dem's in the House and Senate ...
(May 15 2009) - Kyiv Post : Russia to clinch deals to hasten Europe gas linkSOCHI -- Russia aims to speed up the new South Stream gas link to Europe by signing deals on Friday with transit states and rebuked the United States and former Soviet satellite states for backing a rival project. Russia expects to sign deals with Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia to outpace the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline, which is designed to bring gas from Central Asia and the Caspian to Europe and ease the continent's heavy dependence on Russian gas.
(May 14 2009) - Yemen Post : European military intelligence Report Reveals Pirates' Information Sources
YEMEN -- A report by a European military intelligence, which was cited by Spanish Radio, revealed that the pirates off the coast of Aden are provided with information by telephone contacts from Londen. The pirates have built up a network of informants in London with access to sensitive data from shipping companies about vessels, routes and cargoes, according to a European military intelligence report that Cadena Ser radio said it had seen. The intelligence report also said that the pirates seem to avoid attacking ships of some nationalities, including British ships.
(May 13 2009) - India Post : Nepal ends monopoly of Indian priests ...KATHMANDU -- Ending the centuries-old monopoly of South Indian Brahmins, Nepal's government has issued a regulation enabling Nepalese citizens and others to become the priests and chief priest of the famed Pashupatinath temple here, one of the eight holiest Hindu shrines. As per the new regulation framed by Ministry of Culture and State Restructure, any person, who is qualified, can become the priest without any nationality bar, according to sources at the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).
(May 12 2009) - China Post : Hospitalized ex-president returns to detention center
TAIPEI -- Former president Chen Shui-bian returned to a detention center in Taipei County Tuesday after being hospitalized for the past three days. Chen left Taipei County Hospital's Banciao branch at 8:27 a.m. in an ambulance under the escort of police and national security personnel. As he left, his supporters gathered outside the hospital shouted "A-bian Go!" and other words of encouragement. Chen's departure was arranged at the early hour to avoid disrupting patients arriving at the hospital for outpatient visits, which began at 9 a.m.
(May 11 2009) - Liberty Post : Obama and Congress to create US emergency centers or prison camps?
WASH D.C. -- In an effort to avoid another Hurricane Katrina fiasco or to prepare for a national emergency, President Barack Obama is looking at the possibility of using military troops during a catastrophic and preparing emergency camps for Americans escaping a man-made or natural disaster.
Disgraced former Florida judge - now a Democrat Party member of the House of Representatives - Rep. Alcee Hastings introduced what some claim is a disturbing piece of legislation. The new bill calls for the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to build at least six facilities that can be designated as "emergency centers." Hastings rationale for such facilities is to gather and "house" civilians on what are basically detention centers guarded by armed soldiers or paramilitary troops.
(May 10 2009) - Jerusalem Post : 'Honk your horn to protest pope'JERUSALEM -- Israeli drivers on Sunday were urged to honk their horns in protest of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Yad Vashem. The Generation to Generation-Bearers of the Holocaust and Heroism Legacy organization issued the call for Israelis to carry out the protest on Monday at 6 p.m., when the pope is due to begin delivering his speech at the Holocaust museum. "With a short honk, Israeli citizens across the country will express their disgust for the visit of the pope who encourages Holocaust deniers and displays of anti-Semitism," read a statement from the group on Sunday.
(May 09 2009) - Patriot Post : What does the future hold for GOP ?WASH D.C. -- Compare and contrast two men: former congressmen Jack Kemp, one of the architects of the Reagan Revolution, who passed away last weekend at the age of 73; and Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania senator who switched parties to stay alive politically for another term. Specter is famous for believing whatever he needs to "believe" to get elected. Dour, Dickensian and mercenary, he is regarded by observers across the aisle as a relentless partisan for the Party of Specter. Kemp, meanwhile, was a man of ideas and relentless, unflagging optimism, beloved on both sides of the aisle. For Kemp, the bigger the pile of manure, the more likely there was a Christmas pony somewhere. With Specter, spreading manure is always its own reward.
(May 08 2009) - Post Star : Astronauts to make final visit to Hubble ...CAPE CANAVERAL -- The Hubble Space Telescope is about to get one last house call. And never before have the risks been higher. On Monday, astronauts will rocket away to the most famous telescope of modern times. They'll be taking up new scientific instruments, replacement parts for broken cameras and fresh batteries that should keep Hubble running for five to 10 years. This cosmic-scale grand finale -- stalled seven months by a telescope breakdown -- will be NASA's most daring overhaul yet of the 19-year-old orbiting observatory, a captivating, twinkling jewel in the sky representing $10 billion of investment.
(May 07 2009) - Financial Post : GM burns through US$10.2-billionDETROIT -- General Motors Corp said it burned through $10.2 billion in the first quarter, operating under a federal bailout, as auto sales fell across the globe and it scrambled to cut costs. The automaker on Thursday posted a quarterly net loss of $6-billion, compared with a loss of $3.3 billion a year earlier. Revenue dropped by almost half to $22.4 billion as sales plunged in North America and fell in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Excluding $73 million of one-time net charges, GM posted a loss of $9.66 per share.
(May 06 2009) - Post Chronicle : Bank of America Needs $34 Bl In CapitalNEW YORK -- Bank of America Corp has been deemed to need as much as $34 billion in additional capital, according to the results of a government stress test, a source familiar with the results told Reuters late on Tuesday. Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri declined comment. A possible $34 billion capital shortfall is certain to increase pressure on CEO Kenneth Lewis, who was last week ousted by shareholders as chairman of the biggest U.S. bank. That ouster could lay the groundwork for Lewis's eventual departure from the company he worked at for 40 years, including the last eight as chief executive.
(May 05 2009) - India Post : Obama unveils anti-outsourcing policy ...WASH D.C. -- In a move that will hit some 10 lakh Indian IT professionals and a sizable chunk of the country's BPO industry, President Barack Obama has unveiled new proposals to end tax breaks for American companies that shipped jobs overseas to countries like India. Meeting one of his major election promises, Obama said he will end the tax incentives to those US companies which created jobs overseas in places like Bangalore. Instead, the incentives would now go to those creating jobs inside the US. "For years, we've talked about ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and giving tax breaks to companies that create jobs here in America.
(May 04 2009) - Washington Post : Calif.'s Harman rails against wiretappingWASH D.C. -- Rep. Jane Harman vowed yesterday to clear her name after the revelation of a wiretapped conversation in which she reportedly agreed to intervene in the federal investigation of two pro-Israel lobbyists in exchange for help in getting a coveted congressional post. The California Democrat noted that she had called on the Justice Department to release all the information it had about secretly monitored conversations that involved her. "I want it all out there. I want it in public. I want everyone to understand, including me, what has happened," Harman said before a packed auditorium at the opening of the annual policy convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby group.
(May 03 2009) - Bangkok Post : Army to secure Asean summitTHAILAND -- The military has been given full authority to provide tough security at the rescheduled Asean summit which is to be held in Phuket in June. The move coincides with a condition set by attending governments that there must be a 5km security zone around the venue. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the Defence Ministry will take charge of providing security at the summit. Mr Suthep met top security agents and military leaders in Phuket yesterday to make early preparations for the rescheduled summit.
(May 02 2009) - Kyiv Post : Russian steel workers resort to growing potatoes
MOSCOW, YEKATERINBURG -- Steel workers in Russia's industrial heartland are returning to the land to dig themselves out of an economic crisis that has pushed national unemployment rates to an 8-year high. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is offering 1,000 plots of land around Russia's biggest steel plant on which its employees can grow potatoes free of charge. Transport to the farms and 24-hour security will be included.
(May 01 2009) - Denver Post : Water war ends in dealCOLORADO -- A peace treaty in a decade-long water war between between Grand County and the Front Range has been struck. The agreement among Grand County, Denver Water and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District aims to balance Front Range demands with more flow for the Upper Colorado River basin. The deal also is expected to smooth the progress of plans for two new water projects to bring 16 billion gallons of water from Grand County to the Front Range. "We are at a historic place," said Grand County Commissioner James Newberry.
(Apr 30 2009) - Norway Post : Record defence contract to KongsbergNORWAY -- The Kongsberg Group has acquired a record defence contract worth NOK 3 billion from the Finnish Ministry of Defence, for the delivery of the Kongsberg NASAMS Air Defence System. The contract will fulfill Finland’s future Medium Range Air Defense Missile System (MRADMS) requirements. NASAMS was developed in close cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Air Force during the 1990s and has since then been contracted by the Netherlands, Spain, and the US. The Norwegian Air Defence has used this system since 2007.
(Apr 29 2009) - Birmingham Post : Swine flu in Birmingham confirmedU.K. -- An adult from Birmingham is among the first confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK. Gordon Brown revealed the information during Prime Minister Questions (PMQs) at the House of Commons. He also revealed that a 12-year-old girl from Torbay and another adult from London have also been diagnosed with the deadly disease. Last night one Walsall family were facing an anxious wait for test results after a daughter showed possible symptoms. The family of four, who did not want to be identified, were tested at Walsall Manor Hospital after returning from a two-week trip to Mexico.
(Apr 28 2009) - Jakarta Post : More Palembang jihadists jailed for murderJAKARTA -- The South Jakarta District Court has sentenced two Palembang jihadists, Ali Mashudi and Wahyudi, to serve 10 and 12 years in jail respectively for the killing of a clergyman and another terror attack. At Tuesday's court trial, presiding judge Aswardi said both defendants had violated article 15 of the Law No. 12/2003 on antiterorrism attack. “Both Ali and Wahyudi were involved in the murder of clergyman Dago Simamora and plotted an attack to explode a cafe in Bukittinggi, South Sumatera in June 2007,” Aswardi said. He said the defendants had conducted surveys to decide when and where they would kill the clergyman and explode the cafe,”he said.
(Apr 27 2009) - China Post : Asian stock markets retreat amid swine flu fearsHONG KONG -- Asian stock markets retreated Monday as investors worried the outbreak of swine flu in North America could grow into a worldwide pandemic that deepens the global recession. Fears over a virus that has already sickened hundreds, and possibly killed more than 100 in Mexico, led investors to buy drug makers and dump airlines like Qantas Airways and Cathay Pacific. Oil prices and the dollar both fell. In Asia, investors are painfully aware of the toll an epidemic can exact on companies and industries after SARS battered regional economies from Hong Kong to Singapore in 2003.
(Apr 26 2009) - New York Post : Pig Flu Panic at Queens High SchoolNEW YORK -- A group of Queens high school students likely brought Mexico's deadly swine flu epidemic to the city after they went on a wild spring-break party to Cancun earlier this month. Some seniors from St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows took the trip over Easter hiatus two weeks ago. Days later, an outbreak of flu-like symptoms erupted at the school, leaving about 200 kids complaining of being ill. Yesterday, city health officials confirmed that eight students "have probable human swine influenza" after testing positive for Influenza A, which officials say causes the swine strain of disease.
(Apr 25 2009) - Jerusalem Post : US flight to Israel diverted to BostonNEW YORK -- An airliner carrying 206 people from New York to Tel Aviv was diverted from its destination and landed in Boston after a rowdy passenger attempted to force his way into the cockpit, Reuters reported overnight Friday. The Delta plane landed in the city's Logan International Airport after other passengers managed to subdue him, Boston media cited by the report said. Airport staff said the incident was not terrorism related. Two weeks ago IAF jets were scrambled to a Delta aircraft making its way to Israel after it lost contact with the control tower at Ben Gurion Airport.
(Apr 24 2009) - Liberty Post : Calls for Homeland Security Chief to ResignOKLAHOMA -- A non-profit organization devoted to national security is demanding the resignation of the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, or that President Obama fire her immediately. Here's why: Congresswoman Mary Fallin (R-OK) said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is “out of touch with mainstream America” if she believes that returning war veterans and people who believe in the Second Amendment pose a terrorism threat to the nation. “Like most Oklahomans I was amazed at her statements and actions this week,” Fallin said.
(Apr 23 2009) - Patriot Post : Lost in Political SpaceWASH D.C. -- Sen. John McCain's daughter and his presidential campaign manager think they've figured out why McCain lost the 2008 election and what Republicans must do to win in the future. They need to be more like Democrats. Steve Schmidt and Meghan McCain delivered their analyses in separate speeches to the Log Cabin Republicans, whose stated mission "is to work within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians." Schmidt said he believes that a political party should not take or argue a position on same-sex marriage based on religious grounds.
(Apr 22 2009) - National Post : Don’t pay ransoms to piratesADDIS ABABA -- Somalia's prime minister said on Wednesday that foreign navies patrolling off Somalia's coast have failed to discourage piracy "an inch" and condemned firms paying ransoms to sea gangs hijacking ships. Somali buccaneers have made millions of dollars seizing vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, and have driven up insurance rates for merchant ships passing through the waterways linking Europe to Asia. "The only reason people [become pirates] is because the companies are deciding to pay ransoms," Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
(Apr 21 2009) - Yemen Post : Egypt Deports 9 Yemeni Children after Human Trafficking Ring Broken up
CAIRO -- The Egyptian authorities have deported nine Yemeni children to their homeland after the police in association with the Yemeni community broke up an international human trafficking ring accused of trading in human organs. The authorities found ten Yemeni children early last month in Cairo who the ring could bring to the country where they were expected to undergo surgeries to remove their organs to trade in them. First the children were handed over to the Yemeni community. The children were in good health. 9 out of them have been sent home while the other one was handed over to his family in Egypt.
(Apr 20 2009) - Christian Post : DHS Sec defends report targeting pro-lifersWASH D.C. -- The head of the Department of Homeland Security on Sunday defended the inclusion of pro-life supporters in the agency's report that identifies possible terrorist threats, saying there have been extremist groups within the abortion debate that "have committed violent acts." DHS secretary Janet Napolitano made the comments in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, the anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing – considered the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States prior to 9/11.
(Apr 19 2009) - Post Tribune : Prison may not be kind to former copINDIANA -- Former Gary Police Chief Thomas Houston spent more than four decades putting some of Gary's most violent criminals behind bars. This summer, Houston will head to federal prison himself to serve a 41-month sentence for abusing the civil rights of a burglary suspect. It will be hard time for Houston, a 66-year-old man recently diagnosed with cancer, who choked up at his sentencing hearing Thursday when describing his shame at joining the ranks of convicted felons. And jail time, generally, is not any easier for police officers than it is for other offenders, said Larry Sullivan, a criminology professor at St. John's University in New York.
(Apr 18 2009) - Bangkok Post : PAD demands better security for its leadersTHAILAND -- The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) yesterday called on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to offer better protection to its leaders just hours after top PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul narrowly survived an assassination attempt. The alliance, however, assured that it would not call a mass rally in response to the attack. PAD member Somkiat Pongpaiboon said the pre-dawn ambush which involved heavy weapons raised questions about the efficiency of those providing security. The assault took place despite the capital being under a state of emergency.
(Apr 14 2009) - News Post : US to host global finance ministers’ meetWASH D.C. -- US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will host a meeting of finance ministers from the world’s 20 top economies including India next week to discuss plans to increase oversight of the global financial system. The meeting of ministers of Group of 20 advanced economies will follow a smaller gathering of officials from the Group of 7 rich countries in Washington on April 24, the Treasury Department said Monday. After a summit in London earlier this month, G-20 member nations had agreed to increase oversight of the global financial system and pledged more than $1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help economies in need.
(Apr 13 2009) - China Post : Fiji threatens to expel foreign journalistsSUVA, Fiji -- Fiji's military government threatened foreign journalists with expulsion Monday as local media protested new censorship by canceling evening news broadcasts and leaving large parts of newspapers blank. The government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama asked an Australian reporter and a New Zealand television reporter and cameraman to leave Monday, in a sign that international coverage of the latest military power grab is being closely scrutinized. Australian Broadcasting Corp. correspondent Sean Dorney said he was initially told he would be deported.
(Apr 12 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Christians celebrate Easter in JerusalemISRAEL -- Christians prayed at an ancient church and sang in a garden outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City as they marked Easter Sunday in the city where they believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected. The city buzzed with religious activity. Orthodox Christians, who observe a different calendar, marked Palm Sunday, and thousands of Jewish worshippers celebrating Pessah thronged a plaza opposite the Western Wall for a traditional blessing. Roman Catholics held Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to mark the site where Jesus was crucified, buried and then resurrected on Easter Sunday.
(Apr 11 2009) - Gwinnett Post : Men dealt 6 life termsLAWRENCEVILLE -- A judge imposed six life sentences plus more than 200 years on the last two captured members of a posse who robbed, sexually assaulted and generally terrorized Gwinnett immigrant communities five years ago. The ruling caps the prosecution of eight men who'll face some of the longest sentences imposed in the history of Gwinnett County. Suffice it to say Superior Court Judge Debra Turner - known for doling harsh penalties - doesn't shine kindly on home invaders.
(Apr 10 2009) - Denver Post : Man shoulders wooden cross around the globe
DENVER -- Arthur Blessitt has walked across every nation, territory and island group on the planet — 38,102 miles, enough to hold the Guinness Book's world record. And he does hold it, although the record keeper doesn't really have a category for what Blessitt did. He walked all those miles between 1969 and 2009, with a heavy wooden cross resting on his shoulder. A small wheel attached to the bottom of the cross helped Blessitt roll it across seven continents, through Middle Eastern war zones, over Antarctic ice and through South American jungle.
(Apr 09 2009) - African Post : Rights group documents mass rapes, killingsCONGO -- At least 90 women have been raped and 180 villagers killed over the past two months by rebels as well as government forces in volatile eastern Congo, a top human rights group said in a report Thursday. New York-based Human Rights Watch said it documented the rapes, killings and burning of dozens of villages by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR. That force is made up primarily of Rwandan nationals who fled across the border into Congo after orchestrating Rwanda's 1994 genocide of a half-a-million people.
(Apr 08 2009) - Liberty Post : MSNBC poll of 1.8 million: Obama earns 'F'
AMERICA -- In less than three months in office, president gets failing grade. With more than 1.8 million responses to a MSNBC poll, President Obama has earned a grade of "F" for his performance in office. He received a failing mark in an MSNBC unscientific online survey after having spent less than three months in the White House. In its "Give President Obama a Grade" survey, MSNBC asked nearly 2 million respondents, "If you were grading Barack Obama on his performance as president, what would he get?" The largest number of respondents – or 43 percent – gave Obama an "F."
(Apr 07 2009) - News Post : Syrian man arrested for planning to assassinate Obama
ANKAKA -- A Syrian national who allegedly planned to stab US President Barack Obama was arrested in Istanbul Friday, Turkish media reported Tuesday. The man had attempted to gain press credentials for Obama’s visit claiming he worked for the Al Jazeera. The Ankara correspondent for Al Jazeera said that they had never heard of the man. Reports said he had confessed to police after his arrest.
(Apr 06 2009) - National Post : Italy quake 'virtually destroyed' some towns, more than 90 dead
L'AQUILA, Italy -- The earthquake that struck central Italy on Monday "virtually destroyed" entire towns and left some 15,000 buildings off-limits, the speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament Gianfranco Fini said. A powerful {6.3} earthquake struck a huge swath of central Italy as residents slept on Monday morning. The death toll has risen to more than 90, rescue workers were quoted saying by Italy's ANSA news agency. Most of the dead were in L'Aquila, a 13th-century mountain city about 100 km (60 miles) east of Rome, and surrounding towns and villages in the Abruzzo region.
(Apr 05 2009) - Seattle Post : North Korea launches rocket, defying world pressure
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea defied international warnings and sent a rocket hurtling over the Pacific on Sunday, a launch President Barack Obama called an illicit test of the regime's long-range missile technology that threatened the security of nations "near and far." Obama and European Union leaders meeting in Prague condemned the move and said North Korea's dangerous defiance demanded an international response. Diplomats at the United Nations scheduled an emergency Security Council session for later Sunday to discuss what Obama called a clear violation of U.N. resolutions.
(Apr 04 2009) - New York Post : IMMIGRANTS SLAUGHTERED IN BIRMINGHAMNEW YORK -- A lunatic armed to the teeth burst into a citizenship class for immigrants yesterday in Binghamton and turned their search for the American dream into a bloody nightmare, slaughtering 13 people before turning his weapon on himself, officials and sources said. In the worst US gun massacre since the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, a shooter identified by sources as Jiverly Voong, 42, blazed away inside the one-story office of the American Civic Association at 10:30 a.m. Besides the dead, four people were critically wounded, officials said.
(Apr 03 2009) - Bangkok Post : Blogger jailed for insulting the KingTHAILAND -- The Criminal Court sentenced a blogger to 10 years in jail on Friday after he pleaded guilty to insulting His Majesty the King in a landmark conviction under the computer crimes law. It was the first sentencing under the new Computer Crimes Act enacted in 2007. Suwicha Thakhor, 34, admitted to doctoring photos of His Majesty and posting them on the Internet, according to a court statement. He was initially sentenced to 20 years, but the court reduced the term to 10 years in prison because of his guilty plea. If he had been charged with lese majeste under the Criminal Code, he would have faced a maximum sentence of 15 years.
(Apr 02 2009) - Christian Post : Evangelical German Family Seeks U.S. Asylum to Homeschool Kids
TENN -- The case of a homeschooling family seeking for political asylum in the United States after fleeing Germany is expected to go before an immigration judge in Memphis, Tenn., Thursday. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, formerly of Bissingen, Germany, along with their five children, made it to the U.S. last August and say they were persecuted for their evangelical Christian beliefs and for homeschooling their children in a country where school attendance is mandatory. “The persecution of homeschoolers in Germany has dramatically intensified,” said Michael P. Donnelly, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association representing the family.
(Apr 01 2009) - Post Bulletin : After Red River flood battle comes recovery debate
ST. PAUL -- Once the Red River retreats into its banks for good, soggy flood-fighters along its route face a different kind of challenge: Navigating state and federal bureaucracies for help in the recovery. Preliminary estimates suggest tens of millions of dollars in public damages -- not counting losses by homeowners and businesses. It should be enough to put Minnesota and North Dakota in line for federal disaster aid. Some repair costs will fall to state and local governments, and Minnesota officials think a new state law will enable them to get money out faster than usual. The financial toll will climb higher if melting from this week's heavy snowfall causes a second crest at or above record levels seen last weekend.
(Mar 31 2009) - Kyiv Post : Germany bans far-right youth groupBERLIN -- German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble banned right-wing organisation "Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend" on Tuesday, saying the group was spreading Nazi propaganda to young people. The organisation, Patriotic German Youth in English, has several hundred members, the ministry said. It called it a cornerstone of the far-right movement with ties to the National Democratic Party (NPD). "With today's ban we're putting an end to the nauseating activities of the HDJ," Schaeuble said in a statement. "We're going to do everything possible to protect our children and our youths from these rat catchers."
(Mar 30 2009) - Post Chronicle : U.S. Deploys Anti-Missile Ships ...U.S.A. -- The United States deployed two missile-interceptor ships from South Korea on Monday, a military spokesman said, days ahead of a North Korean rocket launch widely seen as a long-range missile test that violates U.N. sanctions. The launch presents the first significant challenge by the prickly state to U.S. President Barack Obama, who will discuss Pyongyang's intentions with global leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao this week at the G20 summit in London. The United States, however, has no intention to shoot down the rocket in a test seen by Washington as part of Pyongyang's goal to eventually develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.
(Mar 29 2009) - Post Tribune : U.S. Steel confronts benzene leak into lakeINDIANA -- For several years, benzene-laden groundwater has been seeping into Lake Michigan from an old tank farm at U.S. Steel Gary Works. The company plans to install a $1.4 million system that would treat the benzene starting in August or September. Officials will present the plan to the public at a meeting on Tuesday in Gary. U.S. Steel discovered the problem last summer when it tested soil and groundwater near an on-site landfill for contamination as part of a federal order.
(Mar 28 2009) - China Post : Japan deploys ships, will shoot down any debris
TOKYO -- Japan's military mobilized Friday to protect the country from any threat if North Korea's looming rocket launch fails, ordering two missile-equipped destroyers to the Sea of Japan and sending batteries of Patriot missile interceptors to protect the northern coastline. Pyongyang plans to launch its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite April 4-8, a moved that has stoked already heightened tensions in the region. The U.S., Japan and South Korea suspect the North will use the launch to test the delivery technology for a long-range missile capable of striking Alaska.
(Mar 27 2009) - India Post : Obama rethinking on outsourcingWASH D.C. -- US President Barack Obama has hinted that he is not going to insist on bringing back the low-wage, low-skilled jobs outsourced to countries like India and China but would work on creating high-skilled, high-paying jobs, which cannot be off-shored. The suggestion might come as a big relief to thousands of youths in countries like India, China and Philippines, where American companies have outsourced their work.
(Mar 26 2009) - Jerusalem Post : US planes carried out strike on convoySUDAN -- The bombing of a convoy of trucks that was reportedly carrying weapons bound for the Gaza Strip through Sudan during Operation Cast Lead was carried out by American aircraft, according to Sudanese State Minister for Highways Mabrouk Mubarak Saleem. Saleem, who spoke to Al Jazeera on Thursday was quoted by Israel Radio as having said that the death toll in the bombing was much higher than initial reports, and stood at 800 people. He also claimed that the trucks were filled with people, and did not contain weapons.
(Mar 25 2009) - Denver Post : U.S. takes on drug cartels at borderWASH D.C. -- The U.S. is sending more money, technology and manpower to help Mexico fight drug cartels and keep violence from spilling across the southwestern border, Obama administration officials said Tuesday. Violent turf battles among the cartels have wreaked havoc in Mexico in recent years and led to a spate of kidnappings and home invasions in some U.S. cities. The Obama administration's multi-agency plan includes nearly 500 agents and support personnel. However, officials did not say where the additional agents would come from or how long they would stay at the border.
(Mar 24 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Inflation rise prompts letter from BoEENGLAND -- THE UK's annual rate of inflation showed a shock rise in February after retailers pushed higher import costs caused by the weak pound on to shoppers. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose unexpectedly from 3 per cent in January to 3.2 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today. The rise confounded predictions of a sharp drop and resulted in another letter from Bank of England Governor Mervyn King to Chancellor Alistair Darling explaining why inflation is still more than 1 per cent above the Government's 2 per cent target.
(Mar 23 2009) - Frontier Post : Deepening conspiracyBALOCHISTAN -- For quite a time, the Iranians have been complaining that the Americans are using our Balochistan province as springboard for destabilising Iran and employing their proxy Jundullah there to infiltrate Balochs into their Sistan-Balochistan region to incite insurgency. And now we are hearing the Chinese, too, are miffed that a terrorist outfit is operating from our tribal region to spread terrorism in their Xingjian province, and they want Islamabad to act against it. But who is propping, arming and bankrolling this outfit?
(Mar 22 2009) - National Post : Aryan Guard, anti-racism protesters clashCALGARY -- Downtown police called in reinforcements from nearby districts Saturday when a white pride march through Calgary's core deteriorated into a violent melee as counter-protesters lobbed rocks and tin cans at the group. The neo-Nazi demonstration drew swift condemnation from a downtown alderman who called the Aryan Guard rally a "completely unacceptable" move by a divisive fringe organization. "It's a provocative move by the Aryan Guard to try to engage in a completely unacceptable form of demonstration given the fact that Calgary does not share the values of hate and racism that they're espousing," Ald. John Mar said.
(Mar 21 2009) - News Post : Senior Sea Tiger leader killed in heavy fightingCOLOMBO -- A senior leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels’ naval wing was killed along with a few others when the troops advancing from various directions towards the fast shrinking rebel strongholds fought pitched battles with the rebels in Sri Lanka’s north, the defence ministry said here Saturday. It said that the troops of the 55 Division have recovered bodies of four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres including the body of Sindu, a senior leader of the Sea Tigers after fierce clashes south of Patikkarai in the north-eastern Mullaitivu district Friday.
(Mar 20 2009) - Birmingham Post : Beware of this Government Ponzi scheme
BIRMINGHAM -- If it was not so serious, the daily breaking news from the financial world would make a top-rated soap series, which would have us all glued to our television sets. You could not write a better script or make up a more imaginative story than some of the things that are being discovered as investigators dig into the financial affairs of some of the world’s biggest financial institutions. It was truly breathtaking to read the story surrounding the supposed fraudulent activities of Bernard Madoff.
(Mar 19 2009) - Christian Post : Teen Birth Rate Up Again; Fuels Sex Ed Debate
AMERICA -- The U.S. teen birth rate increased for the second consecutive year, and while many have been quick to blame abstinence-only education for the rise, some are questioning the comprehensive sex education that is being taught in many schools. "When over two-thirds of public schools (68 percent) teach comprehensive sex education and those programs receive more than four times the amount of federal funding than the amount designated for abstinence programs, it's time to ask Dr. Phil's question, 'How's that working for you?'" posed Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, director and senior fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute.
(Mar 18 2009) - Bangkok Post : LUXEMBOURGH LEGALIZES EUTHANASIALUXEMBOURG -- Luxembourg became on Tuesday the third European country to legalise euthanasia after the Netherlands and Belgium, as a new law went into force. A law published in the official register said that doctors who carry out euthanasia and assisted suicides would not face "penal sanctions" or civil suits for damages and interest. The law was the source of great controversy in the tiny country where the head of state, deeply catholic Grand Duke Henri, refused to sign off on the bill, triggering a constitutional crisis.
(Mar 17 2009) - Liberty Post : The fix is in for private owners of the FEDWASH D.C. -- As the US Treasury Department continues to brag that the US has not yet been forced to make good on its guarantees of toxic debt held by the major insider banks (Citigroup, JP Morgan, Bank of America, etc) we find they have been using a back door to funnel money to their friends-AIG the world insurance giant holding the largest share of derivative contracts that guarantee those toxic debts against default. In point of fact, those debts are defaulting in ever increasing number, and AIG is having to pay out billions. But, those billions are being replenished by additional bailout funds from the Treasury-while the rest of the nation suffers from lack of credit.
(Mar 16 2009) - Seattle Post : Suspicion of vaccines spurs debate, worrySEATTLE WA. -- Parents rarely worry about measles and rubella these days, but the growing ranks of those who skip vaccinations for their children have health officials concerned that the sometimes deadly diseases could stage a comeback. There are parents who skip at least one shot over fears about vaccine safety and unproven links between vaccinations and autism, worries about overwhelming their baby's immune system and because it's relatively easy to opt out in the state, experts say. Now, the decisions of these parents threaten to create a public health risk. If enough parents forgo vaccinations, measles and other long-contained diseases could return, officials warn.
(Mar 15 2009) - Post Chronicle : OPEC Considers Full Compliance Or Fresh Cuts
VIENNA -- OPEC ministers began talks on Sunday to decide whether to set new output targets or stick to existing curbs against a backdrop of swelling oil inventories and a shattered world economy.
Ministers from the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the first item on the agenda was tighter enforcement of agreements since September to lower supply targets by 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd). But they have yet to rule out also agreeing deeper cuts to stave off further price weakness and pre-empt more rises in inventories as demand sinks.
(Mar 14 2009) - Jakarta Post : Obama asks Indonesia to ‘join hands’INDONISIA -- US President Barack Obama called his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday to express Washington’s willingness to involve Jakarta in tackling global issues, including the environment and the financial crisis. Obama also told Yudhoyono in the 10-minute phone conversation that he wanted to build “a comprehensive partnership” between the two countries, said Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal. The US president also thanked Indonesia for the “warm” and “friendly” welcome it had extended to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited the country last month, Dino said.
(Mar 13 2009) - China Post : Pakistan blocks anti-government demonstrators
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's opposition leader predicted President Asif Ali Zardari won't serve his full five-year term as police Friday turned away another convoy of protesters trying to reach the capital for a major anti-government demonstration. Authorities have detained hundreds of political activists and lawyers in recent days, seeking to thwart a protest movement that is challenging the government's shaky year-old rule. The turmoil could dampen Western hopes that Pakistan will stay focused on the fight against al-Qaida and Taliban extremists along its border with Afghanistan.
(Mar 12 2009) - Minneapolis Post : Formaldehyde present in many kids' bath products, tests find
U.S.A. -- Formaldehyde, popularly associated with embalming and taxidermy and used in a variety of building products, is showing up in children's bath products to an alarming degree, according to a report to be issued today by a local advocacy group that has gained prominence in its calls for tighter controls and bans on a range of chemicals. Healthy Legacy, an upstart associated with the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says that formaldehyde and the lesser known 1,4 dioxane are present in more than half of the children's products tested ...
(Mar 11 2009) - Jerusalem Post : N. Korea accuses Obama's government of interference
NORTH KOREA -- North Korea accused President Barack Obama's government of meddling in its internal affairs Wednesday and vowed to take "every necessary measure" to defend itself against what it calls US threats. The statement by North Korea's Foreign Ministry, however, was far less harsh than rhetoric issued by the country's military during the run-up to joint US-South Korean war games that started across the South on Monday. The North's military has threatened South Korean passenger planes and put its troops on standby. Still, the Foreign Ministry's statement was significant in that it was the agency's first on the US since Obama's inauguration, an analyst said.
(Mar 10 2009) - Courier Post : Ex-lawmaker in child porn case out on bailTRENTON -- A former New Jersey lawmaker has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges. Prosecutors say Neil Cohen has admitted viewing child porn, but rejected a plea bargain. A judge says Cohen can remain free without bail. His freedom comes with conditions. Cohen is not allowed to be around schools or playgrounds, use the Internet other than for business or have unsupervised contact with children under 16. The former assemblyman from Roselle faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of official misconduct and child pornography charges.
(Mar 09 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Danes soft on drug useCOPENHAGEN -- Opinion polls point to a nationwide public tolerance of drugs that is not shared by politicians. Recent surveys show that 81 percent of Danes support the establishment of ‘fix rooms’ for heroin addicts, while 59 percent believe hash smoking should be legalised. A survey conducted by Vilstrup Analyses for substance-abuse help organisation Gadejuristen indicated broad support for the establishment of public fix rooms, an issue that has been on the political agenda for some time. Opposition parties in parliament have long supported the proposal.
(Mar 08 2009) - Weekend Post : Streets of fear and terrorHELENVALE, AFRICA -- AS the family of Aniclito Jenniker mourns and plans his funeral, Helenvale residents go about their lives refusing to co-operate with police combating gangsterism in the area. Aniclito, 13, the latest victim of gang violence, was hit in the head by a stray bullet in Ibek Street, Helenvale, on Wednesday (March 04) night. His death came on the same day The Herald featured an article highlighting gang violence in the Helenvale area. Gelvandale police officers invited The Herald to accompany them yesterday as they visited each house in the notorious street where shooting and gang fighting is the order of the day.
(Mar 07 2009) - Yorkshire Post : 1,000 B&B jobs could be rescued by 'bad bank' plan
YORKSHIRE -- Nationalised Bradford & Bingley could become a "bad bank" for the country's toxic assets – saving nearly 1,000 jobs in Yorkshire. Senior public sector figures are understood to support the move which could secure the long-term future of the state-owned bank. As reported in yesterday's Yorkshire Post, a confidential draft report, prepared by Deloitte for the regional financial services task force, recommends the setting up of a financial institution in Yorkshire as one intervention to prevent massive job losses in the region. The "bad bank" plan is said to be gathering support. B&B is considered an ideal base as it already has the infrastructure, workforce and skills in place.
(Mar 06 2009) - Denver Post : Half of state's drill rigs idledRIFLE -- The number of rigs drilling for natural gas and oil in Colorado has plunged 46 percent in the past year — one of the steepest declines in the country. But the permits to drill new wells are up, indicating energy companies might be willing to at least bet on a comeback. "What happens depends on how commodity prices go for the rest of the year," David Grisso, an EnCana field operations leader, said to a packed room of anxious-looking energy industry and community officials Thursday in Rifle. Some people at the Northwest Colorado Oil and Gas Forum blamed Colorado's big downturn on the state's plan to institute some of the strictest drilling regulations in the country.
(Mar 05 2009) - Bangkok Post : Asia to take lead in arms spendingSINGAPORE -- Asia is expected to outstrip the rest of the world in defence spending within seven years as China and India upgrade their armed forces, a research consultancy said here on Thursday. Asia's overall defence budget will account for 32 per cent of global military spending by 2016, or US$480 billion, up from 24 per cent in 2007, Frost and Sullivan's regional director for defence practice Ratan Shrivastava said. North America, the biggest defence spender in 2007 with 39 per cent of the world arms market, will see its share fall to 29 per cent or $435 billion, he said at a conference organised by the company. In India, about $100 billion will be spent on defence procurement over the next five years, said Shrivastava.
(Mar 04 2009) - Norway Post : New oil find off AngolaANGOLA -- StatoilHydro and its partners have announced a new oil discovery in block 31 off Angola. This is the 17th discovery made in block 31, which is operated by BP. The Norwegian company has a 13 per cent interest in the new find. The discovery is located in the central northern portion of block 31, some 415 kilometres north-west of Luanda, and about 12 kilometres to the south-west of the Marte field. The Leda discovery was drilled in a water depth of 2070 metres and reached a total well depth of 5907 metres below sea level. The exploration well was drilled through salt to access the oil bearing sandstone reservoir below. The well was tested at a rate of 5040 barrels of oil a day through a 36/64thns inch choke.
(Mar 03 2009) - Patriot Post : A Nation Of Sheep
WASH D.C. -- Up in the air (where it generally stays anyway) went the New York Times' snooty nose. Those conservatives, clucked the Times -- railing the way they do against the Obama administration's lurch toward "socialism"! And calling the president "Comrade Obama"! What -- so went the strongly implied question -- do we do with such folk? How about, for starters, listen to them? They might be less wacko than the Times often considers people who disagree with the Times. "Socialism," tightly defined, is outright government ownership.
It is not, strictly speaking, socialistic to propose that government take over health care policy, redistribute income, prod the automobile industry to make particular kinds of products, and impose a carbon cap-and-trade regime to combat a problem, global warming, that few voters seem to worry about.
(Mar 02 2009) - Post Chronicle : AIG Enters Records With $61.7 Billion LossNEW YORK -- American International Group Inc posted a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss ... the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history -- after reaching a revised rescue deal with the U.S. government that wards off for now the prospect of crippling credit rating downgrades. The massive quarterly loss, equal to $22.95 a share, was AIG's fifth in a row, bringing the total loss over that period to more than $100 billion. The Treasury and Federal Reserve said AIG had posed a systemic risk requiring government action to prevent its problems from damaging the entire financial system. AIG, the recipient of $150 billion in taxpayer aid last year, will get access to an additional $30 billion under the government's revised plan announced on Monday.
(Mar 01 2009) - Christian Post : Malaysia to Restore 'Allah' Ban for Christians
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The Malaysian government will issue a new decree restoring a ban on Christian publications using the word "Allah" to refer to God, officials said Sunday. Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said a previous Feb. 16 decree that allowed Christian publications to use the word as long as they specified the material was not for Muslims was a mistake, the national Bernama news agency reported. The about-turn came after Islamic groups slammed the government and warned that even conditional use of the word by Christians would anger Muslims, who make up the country's majority.
(Feb 28 2009) - Liberty Post : Chinese Spies Infiltrating US BusinessesU.S.A. -- The almost legendary MI5 British counterintelligence service is said to be deeply concerned over an increase in spying by Chinese operatives in the United Kingdom. Although intelligence experts aren't certain how widespread the problem is, they believe the espionage is rampant and a serious consequence of the global economy. MI5 suspects upwards of 15 foreign intelligence services are working within the UK and are a threat to the United Kingdom's interests, and the primary focus of their counterespionage efforts are the Chinese and Russians.
(Feb 27 2009) - National Post : Russian jet chased by Canada before Obama visit
OTTAWA -- On the eve of Barack Obama's visit to Ottawa, a Russian jet approached Canada's Arctic air space and had to be turned away by Canadian warplanes, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Friday at a news conference on Parliament Hill. With Obama poised to leave American soil for the first time as U.S. president on Feb. 19, the joint Canada-U.S. aerospace command, Norad, detected the Russian plane. Two of Canada's CF-18 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept one Russian aircraft, MacKay confirmed.
(Feb 26 2009) - Prague Post : Anti-Roma activity on the risePRAGUE -- Gov't moves to ban DS party amid surge of far-right movement. A political party best known for targeting the Roma community with frequent violent rhetoric and occasional physical violence faces possible abolition at the hands of the government, but vows to march on regardless. The Czech Supreme Administrative Court is expected to rule on a potential ban for the right-wing Workers' Party (DS) March 4, but the party leadership says the ruling is virtually irrelevant. "The verdict will hopefully confirm that we have the same rights as everyone else in this democracy," said party Chairman Tomáš Vandas.
(Feb 25 2009) - Washington Post : Satellite Crashes After Its LaunchU.S.A. -- NASA and climate researchers are weighing their options after yesterday's crash of a new satellite designed to monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide with unprecedented accuracy. A malfunction during the rocket ride toward space sent the Orbiting Carbon Observatory plummeting into the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. "To say that it's extremely disappointing would be an understatement. This was a really important science mission," said a dismayed Edward J. Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for science.
(Feb 24 2009) - China Post : Thai anti-government group stages protestBANGKOK -- Thousands of protesters surrounded the prime minister's office Tuesday demanding Thailand's Parliament be dissolved and new elections held. The rally by demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came three days before Thailand is to host the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. About 7,000 people attended, police said. One of the protest leaders, Jakrapob Penkair, said the demonstration was being staged to show Thailand's Southeast Asian neighbors that the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had no right to rule.
(Feb 23 2009) - Kyiv Post : Latvia seeks new government amid economic woes
RIGA -- Latvia's president began a search on Monday for a new prime minister who will have to deal with a deepening economic crisis and further painful budget cuts. The government of the small Baltic state collapsed on Friday, following Iceland as a victim of the global economic crisis. Its woes have added to the clouds in the investment climate over eastern Europe. Latvia, with a population of 2.3 million, last year had to take a 7.5 billion euro ($9.69 billion) rescue loan led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU. In January, it was also hit by rioting.
(Feb 22 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Israel must change "counterproductive" Gaza policies
ISRAEL -- Banning lentils and pasta from Gaza does not help the cause of peace, two visiting congressmen told The Jerusalem Post on Friday morning, after making a rare visit to Gaza the previous day. "When have lentil bombs been going off lately? Is someone going to kill you with a piece of macaroni?" asked Rep. Brian Baird (D-Washington). He and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) called on Israel to end the economic isolation of Gaza and to open the crossings into the area, which have been closed since Hamas's coup there in June 2007.
(Feb 21 2009) - News Post : Taliban accepts Pakistan’’s offer of ceasefireMINGORA, PAKISTAN -- Taliban and Pakistani officials have agreed to a permanent ceasefire in the Swat Valley, a senior government official said on Saturday. They have made commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we”ll do the same, said Syed Mohammad Javed, the Commissioner of Malakand. Swat Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah was expected to announce the ceasefire on the illegal FM radio owned by Taliabn. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Reuters that Fazlullah would make an announcement on the radio shortly. I can”t say what he would say but there would be good news for people of Swat, Khan said.
(Feb 20 2009) - Frontier Post : End to poppy growing must for economic upliftBOSTON -- The Obama administration is committing 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. Yet as the United States works to stabilize that country, the most important decisions don't just involve troop and funding levels. Also vital is ending the prohibition on growing opium poppies - for the policy is a key factor in Afghanistan's economic and security crisis. Since the U.S. invasion in 2001, the American and Afghan governments have made the poppy-growing areas of Afghanistan, which produce 90 percent of the world's opium, a major front in the war on drugs.
(Feb 19 2009) - Bangkok Post : UDD to hold big rally on Feb 24THAILAND -- United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) core leaders held a press conference on Thursday, calling on their red-shirt supporters to join the anti-government rally on Tuesday. UDD key member and opposition Puea Thai party MP Jatuporn Prompan said the demonstration next Tuesday will again remind the coalition government led by the Democrat party to follow their four ultimatums, including dismissing Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, prosecuting People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders for closing Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports late last year, reinstating the 1997 Constitution, and dissolving the lower house.
(Feb 18 2009) - Denver Post : Mexicans demand army leaveCIUDAD JUAREZ -- Hundreds of people blocked bridges to the United States in three border cities Tuesday, demanding that the army leave in another challenge for the Mexican government as it struggles to quell escalating drug violence. The protests in Juarez blocked traffic for about two hours across three bridges connecting the city to El Paso, Texas. Similar protests broke out on bridges in the border cities of Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa. Demonstrators blocked city hall and a main avenue in the northern industrial city of Monterrey and roads in the gulf state of Veracruz.
(Feb 17 2009) - African Post : Outcry at Lloyds £120m bonuses for staffSUDAN -- Sudan's government and a leading Darfur rebel faction agreed Tuesday to meet for peace talks, signing a deal with concessions from both sides, and the Qatari mediator urged all other rebels and Chad to come to the table. Tuesday's agreement included measures to aid and protect refugees in Darfur and a commitment by the two sides to continue negotiations in Doha. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) also wants a prisoner swap. JEM said it would release some of its Sudanese government detainees as a show of goodwill. The prisoner issue is a thorny one that has come close to frustrating Qatari efforts.
(Feb 16 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Outcry at Lloyds £120m bonuses for staffSCOTLAND -- A storm of outrage has engulfed the Lloyds Banking Group amid suggestions it would splash out £120m on staff bonuses at a time when thousands of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) jobs are at risk in Yorkshire. Prime Minister Gordon Brown came under growing pressure to intervene after senior Ministers and opposition politicians demanded a freeze on all cash payouts to bosses whose actions helped to trigger the banking crisis. The dispute followed reports that Lloyds, which is 43 per cent state-owned, was preparing to make bonus payments worth £120m for 2008 – a year in which its HBOS subsidiary made estimated losses of £10bn.
(Feb 15 2009) - Post Chronicle : Australia Mourns Bushfire VictimsVICTORIA -- Australia mourned the victims of deadly bushfires at church services across the country on Sunday while the government vowed to create an early warning system to try to avoid a repetition of the disaster. The fires in the state of Victoria, the worst natural disaster to hit the country in more than a century, have left at least 181 people dead, a death toll that is expected to rise. The bushfires destroyed more than 1,800 homes and left 7,000 people homeless. In the town of Wandong, where several people died, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid tribute to the community for its efforts during a memorial service. "You, as this community, full of courage, reliance and compassion, I salute each and every one of you," he said.
(Feb 14 2009) - Liberty Post : U.S. missile strike kills 25 militants in PakistanWANA, Pakistan -- A U.S. missile strike killed at least 25 al Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan's South Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Saturday, a senior Taliban official said. The strike by pilotless drones was the third such attack since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last month and could ignite fresh popular anger in Pakistan over the cross-border raids from Afghanistan. The Taliban official said those killed were mostly Uzbek fighters. "Our people have informed us that at least 25 people were killed. It could be more," the official told Reuters. Missiles hit a sprawling house used by the militants as a training camp in the Zangari area in the South Waziristan region.
(Feb 13 2009) - Jakarta Post : N. Sulawesi 7.4 quake injures dozensSULAWASI -- Hundreds of people fled to the hills and at least 64 were injured when a major quake hit off the North Sulawesi coast early Thursday, officials say. Hundreds of homes and buildings were also damaged in the 7.4-magnitude undersea quake that struck at 1:34 a.m. local time in the waters between North Sulawesi and the southern Philippines. The geophysics agency issued a tsunami alert, which was later revoked. “Initially, there was a possibility of a tsunami,” said Mudjianto of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. “But based on the early warning system installed around the Sangihe area, there was no movement of water mass indicating a tsunami; so we announced the earthquake had no tsunami potential as it occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers under the sea.”
(Feb 13 2009) - Christian Post : Encyclopedia Recalled for Being 'Too Christian'
ONLY IN AMERICA -- Wiley-Blackwell, a major academic publisher, is recalling copies of Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization and scrapping the print run after critics said the entries were "too Christian" and "too anti-Muslim." The publisher was set to release the four-volume encyclopedia this month after it was completed last September. But a small group of critics that included contributors and some members of the editorial board objected to the final version. "They determined that the Introduction and many of the entries were 'too Christian, too orthodox, too anti-secular and too anti-Muslim and not politically correct enough for being used in universities," said the encyclopedia’s editor, George Thomas Kurian, sounding angry in an e-mail sent last week to nearly 400 contributors.
(Feb 12 2009) - China Post : Situation is 'very tense' in Tibet: Dalai LamaBADEN BADEN, Germany -- The Dalai Lama warned Wednesday of a fresh uprising in Tibet in the “very tense” run-up to the 50th anniversary of the failed rebellion against Chinese rule that prompted his flight into exile. “Today there is too much anger... The situation is very tense,” said the 73-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader during a visit to the German spa town of Baden Baden. “At any moment there can be an outburst of violence,” he told a group of journalists. “This is my worry because with more uprising, there will be more crackdown. Things are very sad.”
(Feb 11 2009) - Asia Pacific Post : India boasts of building a $10 laptopINDIA -- The hype surrounding the Indian Education Ministry’s breathless announcement last week that it would be unveiling a $10 laptop aimed at the poor fizzled out like a wet firecracker when officials finally debuted the device. A photo displayed at the press conference in the southern city of Tirupati near Bangalore showed it to be nothing more than an external storage brick, the sort of thing you’d plug into a real laptop to hold your MP3 files. "There are a lot of things you can do for $10," PCMag.com Editor-in-Chief Lance Ulanoff told Fox News. "Buy 10 cups of coffee. Get a cheap T-shirt or two. What you can’t do, however, is build a PC."
(Feb 10 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Peres urges all citizens to go out and voteISRAEL -- With a low predicted voter turnout and a forecast of inclement weather, polling stations across the country prepared to open their doors at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. President Shimon Peres urged all Israelis to turn out to vote. "Going to the polls tomorrow is doubly important; the significance lies not only in the right to choose the people who will stand at the head of our country and who will be responsible for its future, but also in the duty of every citizen to vote on behalf of the state, which is the only true democracy in the Middle East," said Peres.
(Feb 09 2009) - National Post : Afghan vote may lengthen Canadian battle toursAFGHANISTAN -- Security option would see 4,000 troops in country. The general responsible for all Canadian forces deployed overseas said yesterday he had given "written direction" to the incoming commander of Task Force Afghanistan to come up with contingency plans to provide additional security during national elections that are slated to take place on Aug. 20. Among the possibilities was to put more Canadian boots on the ground during this crucial period. "There certainly is no plan to surge in more Canadian forces or extend the tours, but it is Afghanistan. Things can change," Lieutenant-General Michel Gauthier said in an interview.
(Feb 08 2009) - Post Star : Co-worker couples feeling pinchGLEN FALLS N.Y. -- It is a well-known risk to lack diversity in an investment portfolio. Now, couples employed by the same company are learning a similar lesson, the hard way. As layoffs mount across the country and in all sectors, couples who are co-workers are increasingly vulnerable to losing their families' twin sources of income at once. The lack of variety in job skills can also make it difficult to bounce back, especially in a struggling industry.
(Feb 07 2009) - News Post : Violence breaks out in SiliguriSILIGURI -- Violence broke out in Siliguri during a 24-hour strike called by an outfit demanding autonomy on Saturday. The indigenous Gorkha people have been demanding a separate state within West Bengal. Police officials said the situation turned violent in Siliguri when the locals chased armed protesters under the banner of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The shutdown was called to protest the recent violence on tribal people in the State. Police officials said 12 people were arrested for inciting violence.
(Feb 06 2009) - Bangkok Post : BAY taking over AIG bank unitTHAILAND -- Bank of Ayudhya, Thailand's fifth-largest bank, announced yesterday that it would buy AIG Retail Bank in a deal valued at 2.055 billion baht. Under the transaction announced yesterday, BAY will take 99.5% of AIG Retail Bank and 100% of AIG Card for 2.055 billion. The acquisition will boost BAY's assets by 32 billion baht to 777 billion, including a 14% increase in its retail loan portfolio and 222,000 new credit card accounts. The deal, subject to approval to the Bank of Thailand and BAY shareholders, is expected to be completed in April.
(Feb 05 2009) - Prague Post : Prague is a stop for heroin entering EuropePRAGUE -- Heroin produced in Afghanistan is now more easily distributed within Europe once smuggled into the open-border Schengen zone. Customs officers suspected something odd about the 20-year-old Bulgarian the moment they spotted him at Prague Ruzyne Airport. The man, who had just arrived on a direct commercial flight from Istanbul, acted edgy and uncertain, and his awkward behavior suggested that he had never really traveled before. Even through the airport's security camera monitor, customs officers could sense that his trendy clothes and carry-on bag belied his provincial demeanor.
(Feb 04 2009) - African Post : Kadhafi Celebrates Obama ElectionAFRICA -- Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Wednesday lavished uncharacteristic praise on a US leader, describing Barack Obama's accession to the White House as a victory against racism and urging the first black American president to lead his country boldly. "The black people's struggle has vanquished racism. It was God who created colour. Today Obama, a son of Kenya, a son of Africa, has made it in the United States of America," he said. Kadhafi, who has ruled over Libya for four decades, was speaking at the closing ceremony of an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa which saw him take the reins of the 53-nation continental organisation.
(Feb 03 2009) - Copenhagen Post : SAS to fire 3,000SWEDIN -- Nearly 9,000 employees will be adversely affected by the Scandinavian carrier's restructuring plan. Scandinavian Airlines reported on Tuesday that it was preparing to fire 3000 of its employees in light of its 4.9 billion Swedish kroner deficit for 2008. Through a press release the airline presented its new 'Core SAS' plan - a restructuring that will result in the lay-off of 3,000 workers. Another 5,600 SAS employees are expected to be forced out of the company due to previous business transactions ...
(Feb 02 2009) - Post Chronicle : HGS Inc Starts Shipping New Anthrax DrugU.S.A. -- Human Genome Sciences Inc. said on Monday it was beginning delivery of 20,000 doses of ABthrax, which fights anthrax infection, to the U.S. government. It is the first sale for the biotechnology company, which has struggled to get a product onto the market. The drug takes a new approach to fighting bacterial infection by targeting the toxin made by the anthrax bacillus instead of the microbe itself. ABthrax, known generically as raxibacumab, is a human monoclonal antibody -- a lab-engineered immune system protein.
(Feb 01 2009) - Jakarta Post : Iranian police kill 10 drug smugglersAFGANISTAN -- Iran's state television says police have killed 10 drug smugglers in a shootout near the Afghan border. The report says the clash happened when the bandits tried to sneak through the frontier some 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of the capital Tehran. After Sunday's shootout, police confiscated more than 2,500 pounds (1,150 kilograms) of drugs, mostly opium. Last week, Iran said bandits killed 12 border guards in an ambush near the frontier with Pakistan.
(Jan 31 2009) - Yorkshire Post : Fury over six-figure pensions for bank bossesBRITAIN -- Bankers who led some of Britain's biggest high street names to the brink of disaster are facing calls to be stripped of their six-figure pensions. Four men at the helm of banks the Government was forced to step in and save are still in line to retire with pension pots worth a combined £15m. The pensions – worth up to £579,000 a year – come on top of nearly £16m the bankers pocketed in bonuses, figures show.
(Jan 30 2009) - Liberty Post : Exxon Mobil shatters US record for annual profitHOUSTON -- Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago. The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007. The extraordinary full-year profit wasn't a surprise given crude's triple-digit price for much of 2008, peaking near an unheard of $150 a barrel in July. Since then, however, prices have fallen roughly 70 percent amid a deepening global economic crisis.
(Jan 29 2009) - Kyiv Post : Ships held by Somali piratesSOMALI -- Somali pirates on Thursday hijacked a German-owned tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas in the Gulf of Aden, the third ship to be taken this year, a maritime group said. Pirates freed at the weekend the MT Biscaglia which had 30 crew on board: 25 Indians, three Britons and two Bangladeshis. It was hijacked on Nov. 28. A Danish general cargo ship was also released earlier this month. The CEC Future was hijacked off Somalia on Nov. 7. Below are some of the ships believed to be still held:
(Jan 28 2009) - Christian Post : Russian Orthodox Church Elects New LeaderMOSCOW -- The interim leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, seen as a modernizer who could seek a historic reconciliation with the Vatican and more autonomy from the state, was overwhelmingly elected patriarch Tuesday. Metropolitan Kirill received 508 of the 700 votes cast during an all-day church congress in Moscow's ornate Christ the Savior Cathedral, the head of the commission responsible for the election, Metropolitan Isidor, said hours after the secret ballot was over. Kirill defeated a conservative rival, Metropolitan Kliment, who received 169 votes, Isidor said.
(Jan 27 2009) - New York Post : PATERSON LYIN' KING OF STATEALBANY -- Gov. Paterson yesterday insisted he had no idea who did the slime job on Caroline Kennedy - although the source of the information is about as close to him during the day as his wife is at night. He's a liar. The person responsible for the smear was an individual whose identity is well known to the press, whose full-time job is to do the governor's bidding, and who is intelligent enough not to call reporters to damage Kennedy's reputation without approval from the top - and that means Paterson.
(Jan 26 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Lauder: Sanctions won't stop IranNEW YORK -- The President of the New York-based World Jewish Congress said Monday that economic sanctions against Iran would not stop the Islamic Republic from seeking to attain nuclear weapons. "My concern is that they [the sanctions] will not stop Iran from their quest for a bomb," Ronald S. Lauder told The Jerusalem Post during a gathering of the organization in Jerusalem. "Economic sanctions always help [but] the question is how strong they are and what effect they have. They cannot affect a country in the short-term."
(Jan 25 2009) - Frontier Post : No one should be above the lawPESHAWAR -- From 1945 to 1949, a series of trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany, before the International Military Tribunal. In the dock were 24 major political and military leaders of Nazi Germany, indicted for aggressive war, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges included the wanton killing and total disregard for the lives of Poles, Russians, Jews and others. Now that there is a lull in the Holocaust in Gaza, several international organizations including appointees by the United Nations have taken it a step further to charge Israeli leaders ...
(Jan 24 2009) - Denver Post : Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policyWASH D.C. -- President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information—an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century. Obama's move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes. The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.
(Jan 23 2009) - China Post : China shuts 1,250 Web sites; arrests moreBEIJING -- China has closed down 1,250 Web sites in its latest crackdown on online pornography but still faces an uphill task in regulating the unwieldy Internet for vulgar content, an official said Friday. Liu Zhengrong, deputy director of the Cabinet's Internet Affairs Bureau, said authorities have also arrested 41 people in the monthlong campaign that began Jan. 5. "We have made apparent achievements but it's only for this phase," Liu told reporters. "We still have a lot of work to do."
(Jan 22 2009) - Bangkok Post : PM vows crackdown on illegal immigrantsTHAILAND -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Thursday announced a crackdown on illegal immigration as he defended Thailand against allegations the military left a group of boat people to die on the open seas. Survivors and a human rights group have accused the army and navy of detaining and beating up to 1,000 members of the Rohingya minority from Burma late last year, before towing them out to sea with little food and water. "We have to solve the illegal immigrant problem otherwise it will affect our security, economy and the opportunities of Thai labourers," Mr Abhisit told reporters. "We will push them out of the country," he added.
(Jan 21 2009) - News Post : US negotiates new supply routes to AfghanistanISLAMABAD-- The United States has negotiated new supply lines for allied troops in Afghanistan through Central Asia after the Pakistan Taliban attacked and torched supplies passing through the Khyber Pass. US CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus said: Pakistan is the sole route through which NATO and American supplies pass at present. This has caused resentment in sections of Pakistani society and supply trucks passing through the northwest have been attacked and raided on several occasions.
(Jan 20 2009) - African Post : Obama takes office, saying choose 'hope ...WASH D.C. -- Stepping into history, Barack Hussein Obama grasped the reins of power as America's first black president on Tuesday, declaring the nation must choose "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord" to overcome the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. In frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of more than a million packed the National Mall and parade route to celebrate Obama's inauguration in a high-noon ceremony. Waving and cheering in jubilation, they stretched from the inaugural platform at the U.S. Capitol toward the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.
(Jan 19 2009) - India Post : US study predicts more Mumbai-type attacks :NEW YORK -- India can expect more terror attacks like the Mumbai carnage from Pakistan-based terrorist groups with high body counts and symbolic targets in an escalating terror campaign in South Asia, a study by a leading US think tank has warned. "India will continue to face a serious jihadist threat from Pakistan-based terrorist groups, and neither Indian nor US Policy is likely to reduce that threat in the near future," said Angel Rabasa, lead author of the study and a senior political scientist with RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. "Other extremist groups in Pakistan likely will find inspiration in the Mumbai attacks, and we can expect more attacks with high body counts and symbolic targets.
(Jan 18 2009) - Sunday Business Post : Catholic Church may be indemnified against abuse legal action :
IRELAND -- The state may agree to indemnify the Catholic Church against legal actions taken by clerics accused of child abuse, The Sunday Business Post has learned. Barry Andrews, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, is understood to be considering indemnifying non-state agencies to allow the sharing of information on alleged child abusers between his office, the Church, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and gardaí.
(Jan 17 2009) - Washington Post : Bailed-Out Firms Have Tax Havens, :NEW YORK -- Most of America's largest publicly
traded corporations, including several that are receiving billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers to finance their recovery -- have set up offshore operations that could help them avoid paying U.S. taxes on their profits, a government study {PDF} released yesterday found. American International Group, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are among the companies that are getting bailed out by U.S. taxpayers while having subsidiaries in locations where they can avoid paying U.S. taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office. Of the 100 largest public companies, 83 do business in tax-haven hotspots like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, where they can move their income into tax-free accounts.
(Jan 16 2009) - Post Chronicle : All Survive Plane Crash In New York River :NEW YORK -- A US Airways jet with 155 people on board ditched in the frigid Hudson River off Manhattan after apparently hitting a flock of geese on Thursday and officials said everyone was rescued. "We've had a miracle on the Hudson," New York Gov. David Paterson told a news conference, calling the pilot a hero for landing the Airbus A320 plane in the fast-moving river. "The pilot somehow, without any engines, was able to land this plane ... without any serious injuries," Paterson said.
(Jan 15 2009) - New York Post : Frightened Bernie Madoff now Bullet Proof :
NEW YORK -- Financial scammer Bernard Madoff went to court yesterday dressed in a Kevlar vest,
fearing the rising tide of ill-will generated by his $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
But if the rest of the world is against him, federal Judge Lawrence McKenna came down on his side - allowing the swindler to remain free on $10 million bail. "I think the chances of Mr. Madoff fleeing at this point are as close to nil as you can get in any bail package," McKenna said. His ruling marked the second time in three days that federal prosecutors were thwarted. They argued Madoff was a flight risk, and should be jailed for mailing more than $1 million worth of watches and jewelry to relatives and others over Christmas, violating a court order.
(Jan 14 2009) - Birmingham Post : Birmingham urged to boycott Israeli productsas Gaza crisis deepens :
VICTORIA SQUARE -- War in the Middle East could act as a ‘recruiting sergeant’ for extremists and terrorists in Birmingham according to city councillors. The claim was made in a statement put to the council condemning the conflict in Gaza and calling for the government to allow a local authority boycott of Israeli-supporting companies. City leaders agreed to hold a debate on Gaza at the start of their monthly council meeting – but hopes a joint-statement from all sides could be signed were dashed as the ruling Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition and opposition Labour groups failed to agree on wording.
(Jan 13 2009) - Denver Post : Treasury pick failed to pay self-employment taxes :WASH D.C. -- President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Treasury Department and lead the nation's economic rescue failed to pay $34,000 in taxes from 2001 to 2004, but the last-minute disclosure didn't stop Senate Democrats from moving forward with his nomination. Timothy Geithner had paid some of the back taxes in 2006 after the IRS sent him a bill. When the Obama transition team discovered he owed even more back taxes, Geithner paid those additional taxes days before Obama announced his choice in November, according to materials released by the Senate Finance Committee considering his nomination. Obama's staff told senators about the tax issues on Dec. 5.
(Jan 12 2009) - Liberty Post : Diocese braces itself for flood of new claims :VATICAN -– THE Diocese of Cloyne is braced for a flood of new civil claims as controversy over the handling of clerical abuse allegations persuades new complainants to come forward. Allegations of abuse have been made by up to three new individuals since the controversy erupted last December. The diocese is also now reviewing the strict supervisory regime imposed on the clerics at the centre of the claims. In one case, the father of an abuse victim claimed he had information the cleric involved had been in contact with another youngster and now lived close to a school.
(Jan 11 2009) - Jakarta Post : Israeli troops, militants battle in Gaza suburb :
GAZA CITY -– Palestinians receive food aid at a United Nations food distribution center in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Sunday. Israeli troops battled Palestinian gunmen in a suburb of Gaza City on Sunday morning as Israel's military inched closer to Gaza's main population centers despite growing diplomatic pressure to end the conflict. Israeli troops battled Palestinian gunmen in a suburb of Gaza City Sunday in one of the fiercest ground battles so far as Israel's military inched toward Gaza's population centers and residents braced for an expansion of the offensive.
(Jan 10 2009) - Jerusalem Post : Obama won't deal with Hamas :WASH D.C. -– The incoming Obama administration will not abandon US President George W. Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas, the chief national security spokesperson of the Obama transition team has told The Jerusalem Post. US President-elect Barack Obama "has repeatedly stated that he believes that Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to Israel's destruction, and that we should not deal with them until they recognize Israel, renounce violence, and abide by past agreements," said Brooke Anderson in a statement to the Post. Those conditions match the international Quartet's longstanding demands from Hamas, shared by Israel.
(Jan 09 2009) - Christian Post : Prop. 8 Supporters Want Donors Anonymous :
SACRAMENTO, CA. -– Supporters of the ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California have filed a lawsuit seeking to block their campaign finance records from public view, saying the reports have led to the harassment of donors. "No one should have to worry about getting a death threat because of the way he or she votes," said James Bopp Jr., an attorney representing two groups that supported Proposition 8, Protect Marriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage California. "This lawsuit will protect the right of all people to help support causes they agree with, without having to worry about harassment or threats."
(Jan 08 2009) - Bangkok Post : Explosion at Government House :THAILAND -- A bomb exploded at the Government House on Thursday, when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was chairing a meeting. Police said they suspected that the small device was placed near the Thai Ku Fah building inside the Government House compound, when the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occupied the complex in August last year to oust the government led by the dissolved People Power party. The explosion happened in the afternoon, when Mr Abhisit was holding a national security meeting with Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Army Chief Anupong Paojinda and National Police Chief Patcharawat Wongsuwan. It did not cause any injuries.
(Jan 07 2009) - Copenhagen Post : Politicians stay out of school prayer dispute :
VIBORG -- Parents of children at Jutland primary schools have complained about the practice of morning prayer. A state school in northern Jutland has been put in the limelight in recent days, after a parent of one of its students lodged a complaint about the school's practice of having the children recite the 'Our Father' prayer. Children at Houlkær School in Viborg start each school day with the prayer - something that did not sit well with one parent, who complained about the practice to atheist organisation Humanistisk Samfund.
(Jan 06 2009) - Post Chronicle : Congress Set To Convene : Economy is Focus :
WASH D.C. -- The new U.S. Congress convenes on Tuesday under pressure to deal with a worsening economy by passing a stimulus package that Barack Obama could sign into law soon after being sworn in as president. Obama, who takes office on January 20, has vowed to work with Republicans as well as fellow Democrats to reach an agreement on a package that may cost up to $775 billion over two years to stem a deepening recession. "We are in a very difficult spot," Obama told reporters between meetings with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill on Monday. "The situation is getting worse."
(Jan 05 2009) - Phnom Pen Post : World recoils at Gaza assault :PARIS -- Israel's tank and troop assault on the Gaza Strip unleashed cries of alarm worldwide Sunday, but Israel won heavyweight US backing and moves for an immediate ceasefire foundered at the United Nations. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown echoed grave European concerns when he said the ground offensive was a "very dangerous moment" in the conflict, and he called for increased efforts to rapidly secure a ceasefire. The offensive was condemned across the Middle East, with Egypt saying the UN Security Council's silence on Israel's eight-day campaign of airstrikes had effectively given Israel "a green light" for the ground assault.
(Jan 04 2009) - China Post : Series of powerful quakes shake Indonesia :JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A series of powerful earthquakes at dawn killed at least three people and injured dozens more in remote eastern Indonesia on Sunday, cutting power lines and badly damaging buildings. A 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT) about 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Manokwari, Papua, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Agency said. It was followed by a strong 7.5 aftershock. Three bodies were found including a 10-year-old girl, hospital director Hengky Tewu told The Associated Press.
(Jan 03 2009) - Kyiv Post : Ukraine warns EU of natural gas shortages :KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- A senior Ukrainian official says European consumers will see serious natural gas shortages in only two weeks if Moscow and Kiev don't solve their dispute over gas supplies. Bohdan Sokolovsky's statement raises the stakes in an escalating row between the two neighbors. Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year's Day after the two countries failed to resolve payment issues or agree on a price contract for 2009. Most Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.
(Jan 02 2009) - African Post : Ghana Ruling Party Threatens to Boycott :ACCRA, Ghana –- Ghana's ruling party threatened to boycott a district's presidential revote Friday that could decide the African country's next leader. But there was no indication the vote would be canceled. Ruling party spokesman Arthur Kennedy said Thursday the situation in the western district of Tain is not conducive to a fair vote because the party's supporters were being intimidated. "The election is supposed to be free and fair and as a result, under the current circumstances ... we won't take part in the election," Kennedy told The Associated Press.
(Jan 01 2009) - Norway Post : No man is an island :NORWAY -- In his speech to the nation on New Year's Eve, Norway's King Harald opened by quoting the English poet John Donne: "No man is an island, entire of itself...". He also recalled the 60th anniversary of the UN Human Rights Declaration in 2008: "All men are born equal..". - If we had really taken this to heart, the King said, the world woul have looked different from how it looks today. - I want to use this last day of the year to reflect over what it is that link us human beings to each other.
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