tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3483521039845707252024-03-13T22:16:26.433-07:00all the newsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-29885488939016911202008-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:002008-11-30T03:59:27.122-08:00Taj Mahal hotel owner: We had warning The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, temporarily increased security after being warned of a possible terrorist attack, the chairman of the company that owns the hotel said Saturday. But Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said those measures, which were eased shortly before this week's terror attacks, could not have prevented gunmen from entering the hotel. "If I look at what we had ... it could notUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-78552265091711856282008-04-11T20:01:00.000-07:002008-04-11T20:03:25.966-07:00U.S., North Korea near nuke deal, officials sayWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is close to finalizing a deal with North Korea over its nuclear program, senior State Department officials tell CNN. In the deal being discussed, North Korea would finish disabling its nuclear reactor and provide a full accounting of its plutonium stockpile, the officials said. In an addendum to the main agreement, North Korea also would "acknowledge" Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-39813112603161799832008-04-11T19:31:00.000-07:002008-04-11T19:39:18.165-07:00Iraq, with U.S. air support, said to attack Sadr CityBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi tanks, with U.S. air support, are "attacking Sadr City," the office of Muqtada al-Sadr said Friday, just hours after the Shiite cleric called for calm in the wake of the assassination of one of his top aides in the southern city of Najaf. Eyewitnesses and media in the heavily Shiite Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, home to the cleric's power base in the capital, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-53039921732634430572008-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:002008-04-11T19:28:54.565-07:00Brown: Patience with Zimbabwe is 'wearing thin' LONDON, Britain (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the international community's patience with Zimbabwe's regime is "wearing thin." Brown has said Friday he cannot understand why it is taking so long to announce the results of the March 29 presidential elections in Zimbabwe. The British prime minister says in an e-mailed statement that he is appalled by signs that Zimbabwean Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-70378132000356057402008-04-11T01:52:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:55:21.426-07:00Samsung chairman arrives for questioningSEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee arrived Friday for a second round of questioning by an independent counsel probing allegations of bribery and other wrongdoing at South Korea's biggest industrial conglomerate. Lee, 66, appeared at the office of the special prosecutor for the second time in a week, though did not speak to reporters. He was summoned the first time lastUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-60437649078274970282008-04-11T01:46:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:51:49.229-07:00Suspects in video beating could get life in prison(CNN) -- Eight Florida teenagers -- six of them girls -- will be tried as adults and could be sentenced to life in prison for their alleged roles in the videotaped beating of another teen, the state attorney's office said Thursday. The suspects, who range in age from 14 to 18, all face charges of kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony, and battery, said Chip Thullbery, a spokesman for the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-73763120591182127802008-04-11T01:44:00.001-07:002008-04-11T01:45:34.217-07:00Nude photo of French first lady sells for $91KNEW YORK (AP) -- A nude photo of France's first lady was auctioned Thursday for $91,000, about 30 times more than anticipated, the Christie's auction house said. The image was taken by photographer Michel Comte in 1993, when Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was one of the world's most sought-after models. The 13-by-10-inch photo was bought by an anonymous bidder on behalf of a collector, Christie's said. It Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-67563298698418847482008-04-11T01:40:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:44:13.003-07:00U.N. chief may skip Beijing ceremony(CNN) -- The United Nations secretary general has joined a growing list of high-profile leaders who have indicated they will not attend the Olympic Games' opening ceremony in Beijing, as the troubled torch relay moved to Argentina on Friday. Ban-Ki Moon said he has told Chinese authorities that he "may not" be in a position to attend due to scheduling issues. His spokeswoman Marie Okabe said BanUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-13218563229907153312008-04-10T19:13:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:13:40.102-07:00Sean Penn decides against divorce Hollywood star Sean Penn and his actress wife Robin Wright Penn have withdrawn their petition for a divorce. A court in Marin County, California, dismissed the divorce proceedings at a hearing which neither attended. The couple, who married in 1996, filed for divorce in December, with Wright Penn citing irreconcilable differences. But they went to an Eddie Vedder gig on Monday, with Sean PennUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-77105442309381952762008-04-10T19:11:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:11:46.997-07:00BAE inquiry 'put lives at risk'The government thought "British lives on British streets" would have been at risk if an arms deal inquiry had not been dropped, court documents show. The claims were made at the start of a High Court challenge brought by the pressure groups Corner House Research and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). The groups want to overturn a decision to halt a corruption inquiry into an arms deal between Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-44551162688541341132008-04-10T19:08:00.002-07:002008-04-10T19:09:28.644-07:00UK wrong to halt Saudi arms probe The High Court has ruled that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully by dropping a corruption inquiry into a £43bn Saudi arms deal. In a hard-hitting ruling, two High Court judges described the SFO's decision as an "outrage". Defence firm BAE was accused of making illegal payments to Saudi officials to secure contracts, but the firm maintains that it acted lawfully. The SFO said Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-69694391600392226372008-04-10T19:04:00.000-07:002008-04-10T19:06:28.580-07:00Google and Yahoo to share web ads Yahoo and Google, the world's two biggest search engines, have announced a two-week experiment that will see them share advertising space. During the pilot, Google will be able to place ads alongside 3% of search results on Yahoo's website. Analysts say the move is designed to frustrate Microsoft, which has offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6bn (£22.6bn), or extract a higher offer. The news came Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-66813570990387526822008-04-10T19:03:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:04:03.221-07:00Attacks mark Baghdad anniversary At least six people have been killed in mortar attacks in Baghdad on the fifth anniversary of the city's capture by American forces. The attacks, in the Sadr City district of the city, came as the capital observed a vehicle curfew. Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr had called for a mass anti-American rally, but cancelled it amid security concerns. It is five years since US troops pulled down a large Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-71978103642741352352008-04-10T18:59:00.000-07:002008-04-10T19:02:44.437-07:00Bush hails 'major shift' in Iraq President George W Bush has declared a "major strategic shift" in Iraq following the US troop surge. He said the US now held the initiative and was looking to deliver a "crippling blow" to al-Qaeda in the country. US troop levels in Iraq are now due to be reduced by about 20,000 by July, but Mr Bush said after that, the "drawdown" process would be frozen. Then, he said, senior commander Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-14996569175338092022008-04-09T20:01:00.001-07:002008-04-09T20:02:21.961-07:00Haiti leader urges cut in food taxes to stop riotsPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Haiti's president tried to halt a week of rioting Wednesday by calling for tax cuts on imported food, but the capital descended deeper into chaos as looters and protesters took control of the streets. Bands of young men carrying sticks and rocks set up roadblocks of burning tires. Mobs looted stores, warehouses and government offices, and gunfire rang through slums Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-53826544374123624352008-04-09T19:46:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:47:38.233-07:00'Lord of War' faces extradition to U.S.BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thai police will seek court approval to extradite a Russian man accused of being one of the world's most prolific black market arms dealers to the United States. Thai authorities had lodged charges against Viktor Bout related to his alleged arms smuggling activities, but are dropping them to process the U.S. request to try him. "We are working on the legal procedures toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-61641401072564460842008-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:45:06.369-07:00Peru plane crash kills 5 French tourists LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Five French tourists visiting Peru's Nazca lines were killed Wednesday when their small plane crashed after becoming tangled in power lines, police and witnesses said. The Aero Ica Cessna plane went down near a landing strip in Peru's southern desert and all five tourists aboard died, police chief Col. Guillermo Arteta told Canal N cable news channel. Local media reported the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-12880425604560651552008-04-09T19:42:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:44:07.319-07:00House passes Chinese crackdown resolutionWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Wednesday calling on China to end its crackdown on Tibet and release Tibetans imprisoned for "nonviolent" demonstrations. The vote was 413-1. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who recently dropped out of the presidential race, was the lone congressman voting against it. The resolution passed just hours before runners Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-27436899673968509282008-04-09T19:40:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:41:52.532-07:00UK's Brown to skip Olympics openingLONDON, England (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will skip the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. He became the second major world leader after German Chancellor Angela Merkel to decide to stay away from the opening ceremonies, although Brown's office insisted Wednesday that he was not boycotting the Olympics and would attend the closing ceremony. French President Nicolas Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-92011239359187623052008-04-09T19:38:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:40:14.943-07:00Bloodshed casts shadow as polls open in NepalKATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- Polls opened in Nepal Thursday in an election marred by an outburst of bloodshed that has left eight people dead and stoked fears of more violence on voting day. The voting for a new assembly - aimed at cementing a peace deal with communist insurgents - is intended to usher in sweeping changes for this long-troubled Himalayan country, and will likely mean the end of a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-29043826535818250512008-04-09T19:33:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:36:45.044-07:0054 Myanmar migrants suffocate in freezer BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The bodies of 54 migrant workers from Myanmar were found Wednesday suffocated in a freezer on the back of a truck, police said. Torsak Harnsanam, a police officer at Suksumran Police Station in Ranong province in southern Thailand, said a village chief alerted police at 10 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) that he had found the truck. Police investigated and, in addition to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-55342501731158320462008-04-09T19:33:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:36:41.418-07:0054 Myanmar migrants suffocate in freezer BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The bodies of 54 migrant workers from Myanmar were found Wednesday suffocated in a freezer on the back of a truck, police said. Torsak Harnsanam, a police officer at Suksumran Police Station in Ranong province in southern Thailand, said a village chief alerted police at 10 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) that he had found the truck. Police investigated and, in addition to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-90179699954979565932008-04-09T01:22:00.000-07:002008-04-09T01:54:08.872-07:00Girl dies after being beaten with video game controllerYORK, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A 2-year-old girl died after being beaten with a video game controller by her mother's boyfriend, police said Tuesday. Darisabel Baez's mother overheard the beating Sunday but did nothing until she realized the girl was unconscious, police said. The girl was pronounced dead late Monday at Hershey Medical Center, police Lt. Ron Camacho said. Homicide was added to the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-19070214478269029682008-04-09T01:20:00.001-07:002008-04-09T01:21:41.893-07:00US protests ahead of torch relay Hundreds of pro-Tibet protesters have marched in San Francisco, as the Olympic torch arrived for the US leg of its international relay. Demonstrators carrying Tibetan flags marched to the Chinese Consulate to denounce Beijing's policy on Tibet. Officials have promised tight security for Wednesday's torch relay, following chaotic scenes in London and Paris. Officials in Beijing have Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-56398618531483497942008-04-09T01:09:00.001-07:002008-04-09T01:10:08.693-07:00Baby with two faces worshipped as goddessSAINI SUNPURA, India (AP) -- A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday. The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0