tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3483521039845707252011-04-21T12:29:04.301-07:00Administratorsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-29885488939016911202008-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:002008-11-30T03:59:27.122-08:00

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 not

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-78552265091711856282008-04-11T20:01:00.000-07:002008-04-11T20:03:25.966-07:00

WASHINGTON (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"

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-39813112603161799832008-04-11T19:31:00.000-07:002008-04-11T19:39:18.165-07:00

BAGHDAD, 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,

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-53039921732634430572008-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:002008-04-11T19:28:54.565-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-70378132000356057402008-04-11T01:52:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:55:21.426-07:00

SEOUL, 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 last

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-60437649078274970282008-04-11T01:46:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:51:49.229-07:00

(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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-73763120591182127802008-04-11T01:44:00.001-07:002008-04-11T01:45:34.217-07:00

NEW 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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-67563298698418847482008-04-11T01:40:00.000-07:002008-04-11T01:44:13.003-07:00

(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 Ban

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-13218563229907153312008-04-10T19:13:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:13:40.102-07:00

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 Penn

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-77105442309381952762008-04-10T19:11:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:11:46.997-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-44551162688541341132008-04-10T19:08:00.002-07:002008-04-10T19:09:28.644-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-69694391600392226372008-04-10T19:04:00.000-07:002008-04-10T19:06:28.580-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-66813570990387526822008-04-10T19:03:00.001-07:002008-04-10T19:04:03.221-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-71978103642741352352008-04-10T18:59:00.000-07:002008-04-10T19:02:44.437-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-14996569175338092022008-04-09T20:01:00.001-07:002008-04-09T20:02:21.961-07:00

PORT-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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-53826544374123624352008-04-09T19:46:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:47:38.233-07:00

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 to

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-61641401072564460842008-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:45:06.369-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-12880425604560651552008-04-09T19:42:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:44:07.319-07:00

WASHINGTON (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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-27436899673968509282008-04-09T19:40:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:41:52.532-07:00

LONDON, 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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-92011239359187623052008-04-09T19:38:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:40:14.943-07:00

KATHMANDU, 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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-29043826535818250512008-04-09T19:33:00.001-07:002008-04-09T19:36:45.044-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-55342501731158320462008-04-09T19:33:00.000-07:002008-04-09T19:36:41.418-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-90179699954979565932008-04-09T01:22:00.000-07:002008-04-09T01:54:08.872-07:00

YORK, 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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-19070214478269029682008-04-09T01:20:00.001-07:002008-04-09T01:21:41.893-07:00

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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-56398618531483497942008-04-09T01:09:00.001-07:002008-04-09T01:10:08.693-07:00

SAINI 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

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-24238393906948086102008-04-09T01:07:00.001-07:002008-04-09T01:08:28.230-07:00

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A French-led humanitarian mission decided to abandon Colombia, at least for now, after rebels snubbed their efforts to treat and possibly free hostage Ingrid Betancourt France's Foreign Ministry said there was no longer any reason to keep the mission alive after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced Tuesday that they would no longer unilaterally free

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-37066353739963076672008-04-09T01:03:00.000-07:002008-04-09T01:06:48.274-07:00

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- Police opened fire on rampaging protesters in western Nepal on Wednesday, killing at least one of them a day ahead of a landmark election to chart the country's political future, officials said. The protesters, enraged by the slaying of a candidate a day earlier, began smashing stores and vandalizing buses in the mountainous Surkhet district, prompting police to fire at

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-5975483281950597552008-04-08T01:39:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:40:36.359-07:00

Mobile phone calls will be allowed on planes flying in European airspace under new European Commission rules.The decision means that mobiles could be used once a plane has reached an altitude of 3,000m or more.It follows six months of consultation by the European regulator and the first services could launch next month.Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner, has warned operators to keep the

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-49229296160759116652008-04-08T01:29:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.320-07:00

Intel will ride out any US recession and make a success of Wimax wireless broadband, the firm's chief executive Paul Otellini has told BBC News.He said: "People turn to computers to improve productivity during downturn, because at the end of the day the computer is a tool for productivity."Intel is the world's largest chip maker for desktops and laptops.Answering BBC News users' questions, he

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-35400267018905224262008-04-08T01:27:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.320-07:00

The role of the militias in Basra is complex.The largest among them are attached to political parties, with elected representatives.Those parties - using the militias as muscle - vie for influence and resources.Basra is fertile ground for both. It is a port city, full of commerce and trade and provides Iraq with access to the sea.In the surrounding area are many of Iraq's oil refineries.There is

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-65589278656942400032008-04-08T01:26:00.001-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.321-07:00

Since the curfew in Baghdad was extended indefinitely, the city has been dotted with military checkpoints. The curfew means no vehicles at all can move - except for those of the police and military.That, of course, makes it much harder for militiamen to move around.They cannot transport supplies or ammunition. They cannot carry the 107mm rockets that are plaguing this city to launching sites.If

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-77819921563236020002008-04-08T01:23:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.321-07:00

In Gen David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the US administration has arguably its strongest leadership in Iraq since the invasion of the country five years ago. The commander of coalition forces in Iraq and the US ambassador to Baghdad are both highly educated, with years of service in the Middle East.In Washington over the next few days they will have to draw on their experience and

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-38895895419820414732008-04-08T01:20:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.321-07:00

England's universities will be required to have "transparent" admissions policies to convince people they are not biased, the government has decided.The announcement, by Universities Secretary John Denham, is part of a redoubling of efforts to get 50% of young people into higher education.He will say he wants universities to show that their staff are implementing their admissions policies

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-62798923503818082402008-04-08T01:18:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.322-07:00

Top officials from the US and North Korea are meeting in Singapore in a bid to break deadlock on the stalled nuclear disarmament deal.US negotiator Christopher Hill warned that time was running out to resolve the stand-off, ahead of his meeting with counterpart Kim Kye-gwan.The US wants Pyongyang to provide full details of all its nuclear activities.The two negotiators have already met twice this

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-42323716926832111982008-04-08T01:14:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.322-07:00

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is supposed to be the financial institution that supervises the world economy.Largely controlled by the US and Europe, it has given advice and funding to developing countries who got into economic difficulties.But now the shoe is on the other foot, with a worldwide credit crunch that is roiling financial markets in the US and Europe while the emerging

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-39956976632290178982008-04-08T01:12:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.323-07:00

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has backed plans to redistribute voting power in the organisation.It has recommended changes which would base the power of each of the IMF's 185 member countries on the size of their economy, reserves and trade.The US has expressed reservations about the move but said that it would support it because it represented progress.However poorer nations and

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-50249703147796351942008-04-08T01:10:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.323-07:00

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed selling some of its gold holdings as part of radical plans to shore up its troubled finances.It hopes to raise at least $6bn (£3bn) from the sale of 12.97 million ounces of gold, about 12% of the total held.As the IMF's role as a lender to troubled economies shrinks, so it needs to find other ways to access funds.Gold has surged recently as

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-46637672064094745512008-04-08T01:08:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.324-07:00

Japan has joined the calls for co-ordinated action to tackle the credit crisis to be discussed at the G7 summit in Washington on Friday.Japanese finance minister Fukushiro Nukaga has written to other G7 members calling for an international response.His British counterpart, Alistair Darling, has also written a letter calling for co-ordinated action.G7 leaders are expected to approve plans for

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348352103984570725.post-91410609248186332382008-04-08T00:58:00.000-07:002008-04-08T01:38:26.324-07:00

Beijing has said no force can stop the world relay of the Olympic flame as it faces new protests on the Californian leg of its journey.Seven Pro-Tibet demonstrators were arrested in San Francisco after tying anti-Chinese banners to the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge.The flame is due to arrive in the city on Tuesday following a troubled relay through Paris and London.The torch was put out three

Administratorsnoreply@blogger.com0