FTR News and More

Obama Inaugural Address

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:44:00 MST

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken ami...

Behavioral Screening -- The Future Of Airport Security?

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:54:00 MST

Keep your shoes and belts on -- waiting in long airport security lines to pass through metal detectors may soon be a thing of the past. Security experts say focus is shifting from analyzing the content of carry-ons to analyzing the content of passengers' intentions and emotions. "We are seeing a needed paradigm shift when it comes to security," says Omer Laviv, CEO of ATHENA GS3, an Israeli-based security company. "This 'brain-fingerprinting,' or technology which...

Dalai Lama Says Diplomacy With Beijing Has Failed

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:15:00 MST

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says he is giving up on talks with China about autonomy, adding that his faith in the Chinese government is becoming "thinner and thinner." > Speaking with reporters Monday in Tokyo, the Buddhist leader said he has to accept failure. He said he has no other alternative but to ask the Tibetan people what to do next.
He also said that suppression in Tibet is increasing and that he cannot pretend everything is OK. > The s...

India Space Probe Seeks Fusion Power Source On Moon

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:13:00 MST

India took a giant leap into the global space club Wednesday when its Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft blasted off on the country's first mission to the moon. Chandrayaan-1 is unmanned, but its mission is long, complex and important. It will follow in the footsteps of the cost-effective and highly successful 1994 U.S. Clementine Deep Space Program Science Experiment that pioneered geologically mapping the moon. > The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be prospecting from close lunar orbit for he...

North Korea Bars International Inspectors From Nuclear Facility

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:40:00 MST

George Bush fails again... North Korea has barred international inspectors from a nuclear reprocessing plant that produces weapons-grade material and intends to restart activity there in a week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday. The decision by North Korea comes as the Vienna-based nuclear agency also announced it had completed on Wednesday the removal of all seals and surveillance cameras from the reprocessing plant, one of several sites at its vast Yongbyon nuclea...

German Scientists Discover 120 Million Year-Old Ant

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:51:00 MST

German biologists have discovered a new species of ant they believe is the oldest on the planet, dating back around 120 million years. Researchers from Karlsruhe's Natural History Museum found the 3-millimetre-long (0.118 inch) insect in the Amazon rainforest in 2007, and hope it will shed light on the early evolution of ants. "It's by far the most spectacular find of my 26-year career," said museum biologist Manfred Verhaagh on Tuesday. Scientists from Karlsruhe origi...

Oil 'Could Hit $200 Within Years'

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:51:00 MST

A serious oil supply crisis is looming, which could push prices above $200 a barrel, a think tank has warned. A "supply crunch" will affect the world market within the next five to 10 years, the Chatham House report said. While there is plenty of oil in the ground, companies and governments were failing to invest enough to ensure production, it added. Only a collapse in demand can stave off the looming crisis, report author Professor Paul Stevens said. "In reality, th...

CERN Fires Up New Atom Smasher To Near Big Bang

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:28:00 MST

It has been called an Alice in Wonderland investigation into the makeup of the universe — or dangerous tampering with nature that could spell doomsday. Whatever the case, the most powerful atom-smasher ever built comes online Wednesday, eagerly anticipated by scientists worldwide who have awaited this moment for two decades. The multibillion-dollar Large Hadron Collider will explore the tiniest particles and come ever closer to re-enacting the big bang, the theory that a colossal exp...

Massive Arctic Ice Shelf Breaks Away

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:51:00 MST

A huge 19 square mile (55 square km) ice shelf in Canada's northern Arctic broke away last month and the remaining shelves have shrunk at a "massive and disturbing" rate, the latest sign of accelerating climate change in the remote region, scientists said on Tuesday. They said the Markham Ice Shelf, one of just five remaining ice shelves in the Canadian Arctic, split away from Ellesmere Island in early August. They also said two large chunks totaling 47 square miles had broken off...

The Untold Story Of India'S Floods

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:56:00 MST

The humanitarian needs created by the worst floods in the eastern Indian state of Bihar for 50 years are outstripping government and agencies' ability to cope, aid workers say. A week ago, the Kosi river in neighbouring Nepal burst its banks and forged a new course through Bihar, submerging hundreds of villages in the five districts of Supaul, Madhepura, Sharsa, Madhubani and Bhagalpur. According to the latest estimates, over 2 million people have been displaced and a quarter of a millio...

After 4,500 Whale Killings, Japanese Publish Their Research

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:52:00 MST

Environmentalists have been all over Japan’s “scientific” whaling for years, with some organizations saying the program is unnecessary or little more than commercial whale hunting in disguise. But now Japanese scientists have published new research in Popular Polar Biology, and their findings aren’t good: whales are getting skinnier, and global warming might be at fault. The scientists measured the amount of blubber in minke whales captured since the 1980s and found th...

Japan to Waste Whale Meat

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:50:00 MST

Whale meat worth about $1.6 million sitting in warehouses waiting for import into Japan may be thrown away because the importer hasn't applied for a permit, Greenpeace International said. As much as 80 tonnes of meat from fin whales, an endangered species, and 5 tonnes of minke whale have been in storage for more than two months, Greenpeace said. Under Japanese law, perishable goods can be discarded if they are stored for more than three months without the right permits, the environmenta...

Musharraf Resignation Accepted

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:15:00 MST

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, facing possible impeachment, announced his resignation Monday and lawmakers immediately accepted it. The former army chief, who came to power in 1999 after deposing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a military coup, said in a televised address to the nation he was stepping down in the best interest of the country, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Musharraf, who had seen his popularity crumble following his party's disastrous electi...

Olympic Girl Seen But Not Heard

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:36:00 MST

Having just been to China, this story is just one of many insidious indications that I, personally, would not like to live in their totalitarian state... A little girl and her song captivated millions of viewers during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. But what they saw was not what they heard. Games organizers confirm that Lin Miaoke, who performed "Ode to the Motherland" as China's flag was paraded Friday into Beijing's National Stadium, was not singing at all...

Exxon Sets U.S. Mark For Quarterly Profit, Misses Forecasts

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:36:00 MST

Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter. That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second. That barely beat the previous corporate record of $11.66 billion, also set by Exxon in the fourth quarter of 2007. But Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500) profit fell short of Wall Street estimates. Analysts predicted the company, the world's largest publicly traded oil firm...

Beijing Begins Massive Olympic Shutdown

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:12:00 MST

Beijing's Olympic shutdown begins Sunday, a drastic plan to lift the Chinese capital's gray shroud of pollution just three weeks ahead of the games. Half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles will be pulled off the roads and many polluting factories will be shuttered. Chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 percent — and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be halted. In a highly stage-managed Olympics aimed at showing off ...

Jesse Helms Quotes On Life And Politics

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:56:00 MST

Some quotes of Jesse Helms, who died on the Fourth of July at age 86: "I'm so old-fashioned I believe in horse whipping." — During a debate in 1991 on an AIDS-related amendment. "Well, there is no joy in Mudville tonight. The mighty ultraliberal establishment, and the liberal politicians and editors and commentators and columnists, have struck out again." — Helms after defeating black Democrat Harvey Gantt for Senate in 1990. "I came up between the tw...

As Gates Steps Away, Let Us Ponder His Legacy

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:50:00 MST

Microsoft experienced a ritual yesterday that is common to offices across America: a valued employee's last day. Co-workers paused to gather around their departing colleague, speeches were made and perhaps some cake was consumed. But this employee isn't just any staff member; he is Bill Gates. Although he will remain chairman, his day-to-day role with the company is over. How do you sum up 33 years spent building the world's largest software company? What accomplishments do you h...

European Union To Lift Sanctions On Cuba

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:16:00 MST

Members of the European Union decided Thursday to formally lift sanctions on Cuba, a spokeswoman for EU Secretary-General Javier Solana said. Christina Gallach said the decision, made over dinner during the first day of a planned two-day summit in Brussels, Belgium, will be formally confirmed Monday during an EU council meeting. The diplomatic sanctions, which limited visits to the Communist island by senior EU personnel, were imposed in 2003 after concerns were raised about human rights i...

Newsman Tim Russert Dies At 58

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:18:00 MST

Tim Russert, who became one of America's leading political journalists as the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday, according to the network. He was 58. The network said Russert suffered a heart attack while at work and could not be revived. He had just returned from a family vacation in Italy to celebrate the graduation of his son, Luke, from Boston College. Russert joined the network in 1984 and quickly established himself as the face of the network's politica...

Boy Dies Of Dry Drowning After Leaving Pool And Walking Home

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:07:00 MST

Johnny Jackson, a 10-year-old American boy from South Carolina, died at home on Sunday from "dry drowning" more than an hour after going swimming and walking home with his mother. The sad event highlights a little known danger that parents and child carers should be aware of, that drowning can kill hours after being submersed in water. Johnny's mother, Cassandra Jackson, told NBC News in a story broadcast on the TODAY show on Thursday that: "I've never known a child cou...

Pact Needed To Save Biofuels, Expert Says

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:18:00 MST

World leaders must agree on ways to make biofuels socially and environmentally acceptable before public opinion turns against them for good, a senior United Nations economist said on Tuesday. Biofuels have opened up deep divisions at a U.N. food summit in Rome, with some promoting them as a green way to wean the world off oil, and others demanding a halt to the transfer of food away from hungry mouths and into fuel tanks. Once viewed as a way to divert surplus food production into "cle...

Call for higher food production

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:29:00 MST

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a 50 percent increase in food production by 2030, saying that failure to feed the world's growing population will spark civil unrest and starvation. ``The world needs to produce more food,'' he said today in the opening speech at the World Food Security conference in Rome. ``While we must respond immediately to high food prices, it is important that our longer-term focus is on improving world security -- and remains so for s...

California Tourist Drugged; Killed By Train In Rome

Mon, 26 May 2008 20:49:00 MST

An American tourist from California was killed by a train as he walked on the tracks in a daze after he drank a cappuccino laced with drugs and then was robbed, railway police said Monday. Frank Phel, 74, of California, died early Friday at the suburban Tiburtina station, police official Giovanni Piccolantonio said. Phel's hometown was not disclosed. The suspected robber, a 54-year-old Italian man who was arrested Saturday, had chatted with Phel and his wife before fetching them cappuc...

World Food Program Warns Of 'Silent Tsunami' Of Hunger

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:12:00 MST

Ration cards. Genetically modified crops. The end of pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap supermarkets. These possible solutions to the first global food crisis since World War II — which the World Food Program says already threatens 20 million of the poorest children — are complex and controversial. And they may not even solve the problem as demand continues to soar. A "silent tsunami" of hunger is sweeping the world's most desperate nations, said Josette Sheeran, the WFP...

Riots, Instability Spread As Food Prices Skyrocket

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:53:00 MST

Riots from Haiti to Bangladesh to Egypt over the soaring costs of basic foods have brought the issue to a boiling point and catapulted it to the forefront of the world's attention, the head of an agency focused on global development said Monday. "The finance ministers were in shock, almost in panic this weekend," he said on CNN's "American Morning," in a reference to top economic officials who gathered in Washington. "There are riots all over the world in the poor ...

Commentary: How Would-Be Assassin'S Bullets Changed Me

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:20:00 MST

On February 11, a group of renegade soldiers invaded my home. As I walked toward my house, I was not aware that they had disarmed my guards and broken into the house, knocking down doors looking for me. But as I walked up the street -- ironically, Robert F. Kennedy Boulevard, named for one of my heroes -- I saw one of the renegades and knew that he was going to shoot me. As he aimed for my heart, I turned to run. Instead of the left side of my chest, he shot me twice in the right side of the bac...

World Bank Chief Calls For Immediate Action On Deepening Global Food Crisis

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:15:00 MST

The president of the World Bank yesterday urged immediate action to deal with sharply rising food prices, which have caused hunger and violence in several countries. Robert B. Zoellick said the international community has to "put our money where our mouth is" now to help hungry people. Zoellick spoke as the bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, ended two days of meetings in Washington. He called on governments to rapidly carry out commitments to provid...

Tibet - China "Suicides" Of Tibetan Monks; They Were To Recognise The Next Dalai Lama

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:09:00 MST

Two of the oldest and most respected Tibetan Buddhist monks have died under mysterious circumstances - officially, "they committed suicide" - over the course of the last two months in Shigatse, the second-largest Tibetan city. Both were staunch supporters of the Dalai Lama, whose successor they were supposed to recognise. This is confirmed by various Tibetan and Indian sources, who are remaining anonymous for their own safety, and explain "The news is only now coming to light because...

China Olympic Protests Grow

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:14:00 MST

The Olympic torch is being flown to Buenos Aires from San Francisco as pressure grows on world leaders to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing games because of Chinese human rights abuses. The route of the torch relay was altered in San Francisco yesterday to avoid demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet that disrupted its passage through London and Paris. The 19-city journey has become a focal point for demonstrations against Chinese human rights abuses since a crackdown o...

Sci-Fi Author Arthur C. Clarke Is Dead

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:29:00 MST

Science fiction impresario Arthur C. Clarke is dead, according to published news reports. And as of 3 p.m. PDT Tuesday, the Wikipedia article on Clarke has also already been updated with a banner across the top that reads, "This article is about a person who has recently died." Clarke was the author, or co-author, of dozens of fiction and non-fiction books. But he will likely always be best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was later turned into a landmark film by ...

Gary Gygax, Game Pioneer, Dies At 69

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:42:00 MST

Gary Gygax, a pioneer of the imagination who transported a fantasy realm of wizards, goblins and elves onto millions of kitchen tables around the world through the game he helped create, Dungeons & Dragons, died Tuesday at his home in Lake Geneva, Wis. He was 69. His death was confirmed by his wife, Gail Gygax, who said he had been ailing and had recently suffered an abdominal aneurysm, The Associated Press reported. As co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, the seminal role-playing ga...

The New Cartographers

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:56:00 MST

It’s flu season, and you’re feeling woozy. Have you caught that thing that’s going around? To find out, head over to Who is Sick?, a Google map-based tool that lets users report their symptoms. Plug in your zip code to find nodes of contagion near you. Or maybe you’re depressed. Misery loves company. Check the local emotional temperature at We Feel Fine to see data-mined sentiments from blogs, organized geographically. Maps are everywhere these days. The ubiqui...

Ricin Found In Vegas Motel Room

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:13:00 MST

man is in critical condition after staying in a Las Vegas motel room where the deadly toxin ricin was found, police say. Seven other people were taken to hospital but later released, after several vials of ricin were found at the Extended Stay America Motel. Authorities say they do not believe the incident is related to terrorism. The man in critical condition was taken to hospital on 14 February after complaining of breathing problems. Police said the man was unconscious and they ...

Fidel Castro Resigns As Cuba'S President

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:10:00 MST

Fidel Castro, ailing and 81, announced Tuesday he was resigning as Cuba's president, ending a half-century of autocratic rule which made him a communist icon and a relentless opponent of U.S. policy around the globe. The end of Castro's rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul Castro to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel fell ill in July 2006. President Bush said he hop...

Kosovo Declares Independence From Serbia

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:34:00 MST

Kosovo declared itself a nation on Sunday, mounting a historic bid to become an "independent and democratic state" backed by the U.S. and key European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia. "Kosovo is a republic _ an independent, democratic and sovereign state," parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said as the chamber burst into applause. Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the declaration, which was scripted on parchment. Ac...

Research Sheds New Light On Asteroid Disaster

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:43:00 MST

An asteroid that exploded over Siberia a century ago, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown down trees, wasn't nearly as large as previously thought, a researcher concludes, suggesting a greater danger for Earth. According to supercomputer simulations by Sandia National Laboratories physicist Mark Boslough, the asteroid that destroyed the forest at Tunguska in Siberia in June 1908 had a blast force equivalent to one-quarter to one-third of the 10- to 20-megaton range scientists pr...

U.S. Spy Satellite, Power Gone, May Hit Earth

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:11:00 MST

A disabled American spy satellite is rapidly descending and is likely to plunge to Earth by late February or early March, posing a potential danger from its debris, officials said Saturday. Officials said that they had no control over the nonfunctioning satellite and that it was unknown where the debris might land. “Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation,” Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement. “Numerous ...

Researchers A Step Closer To Synthetic Life

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:25:00 MST

Researchers at the Venter Institute in Rockville, Md., have completed phase two of a three-part plan to create synthetic life. Craig Venter, the scientist-entrepreneur who founded the institute and jump-started the race to map the human genome, announced the achievement Thursday. The research team succeeded in creating a man-made copy of the genome for a bacterium, the first time that's been done. A genome is the complete set of DNA in the chromosomes of a living organism, the instructi...

The Best Stocks For 2008

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:47:00 MST

Interesting collection of companies on this list....

Prodigy And Tragedy: How America Lost A True Genius

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:08:00 MST

Viewed from the distance of half of a century, and with all the knowledge of the extraordinary and unhappy path he was to beat through life, the pictures are heartbreaking. We are always moved by concentration and tension in children. And here is Bobby Fischer in a shirt that looks like it could be his pyjama top, biting his nails as he contemplates the arrangement of chessmen before him. He is playing in his first masters' event, in New York, the Lessing J. Rosenwald tournament of 1956, and...

Britain Slams Russia After Closing Culture Offices

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:29:00 MST

Britain accused Russia of "conduct not worthy of a great country" on Thursday after what it called a campaign of intimidation by security services forced its cultural centers in two Russian cities to halt operations. The British Council has been involved in an escalating dispute with Moscow over the legality of its Russian branches, part of a wider diplomatic argument over the murder in 2006 of a former Russian agent in Britain. The British Council said it would suspend its work in...

Bhutto Assassination Plunges Pakistan Into Turmoil

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:20:00 MST

Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber on Thursday, plunging the nuclear-armed country into one of the worst crises in its 60-year history. Her killing after an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi triggered a wave of violence, especially in her native Sindh province, and could lead to the postponement of January 8 polls meant to return Pakistan to civilian-led democracy. Bhutto, 54, had hoped the huge popular following she enjoyed among the Paki...

Asteroid Could Strike Mars In Early 2008

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:31:00 MST

A group of U.S. astronomers say there is a chance an asteroid could hit the planet Mars by the end of next month. Stargazers in Arizona discovered a 50-meter wide asteroid in November that was designated "2007 WD5." Astronomers at the U.S. space agency NASA's Near-Earth Object Office are tracking the object and say it may pass within 48,000 kilometers of Mars by January 30. The astronomers say there is a one-in-75 chance the asteroid will strike the planet on that day. The as...

Amazing Find Of Dinosaur 'Mummy'

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:43:00 MST

Fossil hunters have uncovered the remains of a dinosaur that has much of its soft tissue still intact. Skin, muscle, tendons and other tissue that rarely survive fossilisation have all been preserved in the specimen unearthed in North Dakota, US. The 67 million-year-old dinosaur is one of the duck-billed hadrosaur group. The preservation allowed scientists to estimate that it was more muscular than thought, perhaps giving it the ability to outrun predators like T. rex. The research...

General Paul Tibbets, Pilot Of The Enola Gay, Dies At 92

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:24:00 MST

Brigadier General Paul Tibbets Jr., the commander and pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II, died Thursday at his home in Columbus, Ohio. He was 92. His death was announced by a friend, Gerry Newhouse, who said Tibbets had been in decline with a variety of ailments. Newhouse said Tibbets had requested that there be no funeral or headstone, fearing it would give his detractors a place to protest. In the hours ...

Dalai Lama Formally Installed As Professor In US University

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:08:00 MST

The Dalai Lama was formally installed Monday in his first teaching professorship at a U.S. university, where he encouraged students, faculty, staff and community members to look beyond money and fame for happiness. Education paired with destructive behavior is wasted, but knowledge used for good is a powerful instrument, the Dalai Lama said in his first speech as an official member of the faculty at Emory University. "As a professor of this university, I think you should listen to me,&...

Discovery: Complex Mission Ahead, But Shuttle Crew Ready

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:50:00 MST

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery is set for an ambitious remodeling mission to the international space station this week, hoping to take in stride the risks and surprises that lately seem inevitable. On missions this year, two shuttle crews forged success but weathered significant problems: an ill-timed outage of Russian computers aboard the station that threatened to send the orbital base spinning out of control and a gouge under a wing that briefly raised the specter of the 2003 shut...

I Am Creating Artificial Life, Declares Us Gene Pioneer

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 08:19:00 MST

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain...

Scientists Develop Technique To Induce Out-Of-Body Experiences

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:53:00 MST

Scientists have induced the age-old phenomenon of out-of-body experiences in healthy volunteers for the first time. The technique, which uses a virtual-reality-style set up of cameras linked to a head-mounted video display, will help researchers understand how the brain assimilates sensory information to determine the position of its body. The technique could also improve virtual reality games and remote surgery by creating the illusion that a person is somewhere other than in their own bo...

Roswell True after 60 Years?

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:08:00 MST

EXACTLY 60 years ago, a light aircraft was flying over the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, at a height of around 3000m. Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the aircraft. Visibility was good and as pilot Kenneth Arnold scanned the sky to find the source of the light, he saw a group of nine shiny metallic objects flying information. He estimated their speed as being around 2600km/h - nearly three times faster than the top speed of any jet aircraft at the time. Soon,...

Gordon Brown Confirmed As Leader Of Uk Labour Party

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:06:00 MST

Gordon Brown has been confirmed as the new leader of Britain's ruling Labour Party at a specially convened conference here and told the party faithful he is "ready to serve". The appointment was confirmed by Prime Minister Tony Blair to applause and cheers. Brown was elected unopposed after left wing challengers failed to secure enough nominations to force a contest. On Wednesday, Brown will achieve his long-standing ambition to lead the country when he takes over fro...

Rushdie Knighthood Inflames Pakistan

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:57:00 MST

And this is rational behavior that should be condoned in the year 2007? Would any God really want someone to blow himself up over something that happens in a country 3 thousand miles away? Insanity. THE British author Sir Salman Rushdie could face new death threats after receiving a knighthood, with Pakistan's parliament condemning the honour as "blasphemous and insulting" to Muslims and a senior minister in its Government saying that it justified suicide bombing. As Pakistan...

Mercer Ranks Countries' Paid-Vacation Policies

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:23:00 MST

It's the start of vacation season, but you can probably count on one hand, if that, the people you know who are taking off several weeks this summer. The tally likely would be much higher if you also had friends from, say, Finland, where workers must get a minimum of 30 days paid vacation plus up to 14 paid holidays a year. That makes it the country with the most generous paid time off laws out of 49 nations surveyed by human resource consulting firm Mercer....

Endangered Species Conference Agrees To Ban Almost All Trade In Threatened, Lucrative Sawfish

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:03:00 MST

An international conference on endangered species banned almost all trade yesterday in sawfish -- large shark-like rays whose long snouts bristling with teeth are in high demand among collectors. All seven species of sawfish are listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union due mainly to overfishing. They are highly valued for their fins, meat and snouts known as rostra which can be up to 61/2 feet long. They also are caught and traded as live animals for aquaria and parts ...

Grim Cargo Of Rare Species Found Drifting Off China

Sun, 27 May 2007 17:11:00 MST

ENDANGERED, hunted, smuggled and now abandoned - 5000 of the world's rarest animals have been found in a deserted boat near the coast of China. The pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards were crushed inside crates on a rickety wooden vessel that had lost engine power off Qingzhou island in the southern province of Guangdong. Most were alive, though 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper were also found. Conservation groups said the haul was discovered on one of the world's most lucr...

Solar Peak Expected In 2011-2012

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:02:00 MST

The peak of the next sunspot cycle is expected in late 2011 or mid-2012 -- potentially affecting airline flights, communications satellites and electrical transmissions. But forecasters can't agree on how intense it will be. A 12-member panel charged with forecasting the solar cycle said Wednesday it is evenly split over whether the peak will be 90 sunspots or 140 sunspots. The government's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado, tracks space weather and forecasts its change...

Former Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin Dies

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:50:00 MST

Former President Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, died Monday. He was 76. Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov confirmed Yeltsin's death, and Russian news agencies cited Sergei Mironov, head of the presidential administration's medical center, as saying the former president died Monday of heart failure at the Central Clinical Hospital. Although Yeltsin pushed Russia to embrace democracy and...

Chinese Homeowner Stands Her Ground

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:32:00 MST

Yikes... look at the photo in this article... For weeks it has drawn attention from people all across China, as simple homeowners stared down the forces of large-scale redevelopment that is sweeping this country, blocking the preparation of a gigantic construction site by an act of sheer will. Chinese bloggers were the first to spread the news of a house perched atop a tall, thimble-shaped piece of land like the Mont St. Michel, surrounded by a vast excavated ditch. Newspapers dove in next...

Israeli envoy recalled after being found tied up with bondage gear

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:33:00 MST

Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after police found him drunk, naked and tied up with sex bondage paraphernalia in the garden of his residence. The envoy, Tsuriel Raphael, identified himself to police after a rubber ball was taken out of his mouth, according to Israeli media reports. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Zehavit Ben-Hillel, said he was removed from his post because of "behaviour that is unbecoming of a diplomat", and not because his activities wer...

NASA Sacks Nappy-clad Astronaut

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:31:00 MST

I'm very proud of our space program, having worked at the Kennedy Space Center and watched many successful launches, but the hillarious headline above marks the lowest point in our illustrious space history. Let's tell the astronaut corps to live up to our high expectations. Their purity and strength should be an example that rises even above that of our presidents....

Nasa Lacks Funds To Find Killer Asteroids

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 04:18:00 MST

NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done. The cost to find at least 90 percent of the 20,000 potentially hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about $1 billion, according to a report NASA will release later this week. The report was previewed Monday at a Planetary Defense Conference in Washington. Congress in 2005 aske...

Researchers Map The Sexual Network Of An Entire High School

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 23:25:00 MST

For the first time, sociologists have mapped the romantic and sexual relationships of an entire high school over 18 months, providing evidence that these adolescent networks may be structured differently than researchers previously thought. The results showed that, unlike many adult networks, there was no core group of very sexually active people at the high school. There were not many students who had many partners and who provided links to the rest of the community. Instead, the romantic...

Blitz On Illegal Fishing Will Fill Top End Australian Jails

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:13:00 MST

ILLEGAL fishermen caught plundering northern waters could make up almost a third of the Northern Territory's prison population within two years, placing "extreme pressure" on its courts and jails, Territory officials have warned. A crackdown on poaching has so overwhelmed the Top End's judicial system that the Northern Territory Government has requested financial support from the commonwealth. A spokesman for federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison yesterday said further talks ...

Search For Alien Life Closer With Technique To Analyze Planets

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:35:00 MST

NASA scientists were able to analyze the makeup of distant planets in other solar systems using a technique that could one day be used to find life on other planets, astronomers said Wednesday. Teams of scientists used the space-based Spitzer infrared telescope to measure the spectra, or light emissions, of two giant, gaseous planets, trillions of kilometres away from Earth. By breaking the light given off by the planets into different wavelengths, the scientists could analyze their chemical...

Asteroid On Collision Path With Earth in 2036

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:26:00 MST

The United Nations will shortly be asked to take on a new and unfamiliar mission - to save the Earth, not from drought, war or disease, but from the cataclysm that could occur following a direct hit by an asteroid. A group of former astronauts and cosmonauts is warning that at least one asteroid already identified in outer space is on a path that could indeed see it colliding with our planet in 2036. They say work should begin now on considering a strategy to protect humankind from this an...

In Rich Countries Children’s Basic Needs Have Been Generally Met But...

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:13:00 MST

The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre today releases the Report Card 7 which focuses on the well-being of children and young people in the world’s advanced economies and provides the first comprehensive assessment. The six dimensions taken to measure the well- being of children – material well-being, health and safety, education, peer and family relationships, behaviours and risks, and young people’s own subjective sense of well-being – offer a picture of the lives of ...

Ancient Boy's Skeleton Sparks Evolution Debate

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:32:00 MST

Deep in the dusty, unlit corridors of Kenya's national museum, locked away in a plain-looking cabinet, is one of mankind's oldest relics: Turkana Boy, as he is known, the most complete skeleton of a prehistoric human ever found. But his first public display later this year is at the heart of a growing storm -- one pitting scientists against Kenya's powerful and popular evangelical Christian movement. The debate over evolution vs. creationism -- once largely confined to the United ...

Ocean Living: From Hydropolis To Trilobis

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 09:56:00 MST

We've been promised many things in the world of Tomorrowland: jet packs, flying cars, picnics on the moon. We remember those pledges, ruefully. But with all of our attention on the skies above, we tend to forget about the seas below and another once-popular 21st century prediction: that one day we'll be living on and under the oceans. The idea isn't so far-fetched. As Earth gets increasingly crowded and polluted, some 225 million square miles of prime real estate representing 7...

Climate-Change Report Expected To Project Rising Temperatures And Sea Levels

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 19:20:00 MST

Scientists from across the world are here this week to hammer out the final details of an authoritative report on climate change that is expected to project centuries of rising temperatures and sea levels unless curbs in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are put in place. According to scientists involved in writing and reviewing the report, the fourth since 1990 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body overseen by the United Nations...

Ancient Complex Discovered Near Stonehenge

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:52:00 MST

Archeologists working near Stonehenge in England have discovered an ancient religious complex containing a treasure trove of artifacts that may finally illuminate the lives and religious practices of the people who built the mysterious monument 4,600 years ago, British archeologists said Tuesday. The circle of massive stone blocks on England's Salisbury Plain, southwest of London, is one of the best known archeological sites in the world, but researchers know surprisingly little about the...

U.S. Pays Tribute To Ford

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:50:00 MST

Washington paid tribute to former President Gerald Ford at a state funeral on Tuesday, hailing him as a leader who helped heal America's divisions after the Watergate scandal. President George W. Bush headed a list of dignitaries, including former presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who gathered at Washington's National Cathedral to pay last respects to Ford, who died on December 26 at age 93. "Time and again he would step forward and keep his promise ev...

Iraqi Government To Investigate Conduct Of Saddam Hanging

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:47:00 MST

The prime minister on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the conduct of Saddam Hussein’s execution in a bid to learn who among the witnesses taunted the former Iraqi leader in the last minutes of his life, then leaked a cell phone video. The video contained audio of some witnesses taunting Saddam with chants of “Muqtada” and of the former leader responding that his tormentors were being unmanly. It surfaced on Al-Jazeera television and the Internet late Saturday, t...

Celebrations Follow Hussein's Hanging

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 19:11:00 MST

witness to Saddam Hussein's execution in Baghdad said that celebrations broke out after the former dictator died, and that there was "dancing around the body." "Saddam's body is in front me," said an official in the prime minister's office when CNN telephoned. "It's over." In the background, Shiite chanting could be heard. When asked about the chanting, the official said "These are employees of the prime minister's office and government chant...

Iran's Parliament Votes To Revise Ties With The U.N. Nuclear Agency

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:11:00 MST

Iran's parliament voted to urge the government to re-examine its ties with the U.N. nuclear agency following a Security Council decision to impose sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. The move Wednesday signaled that Iran was likely to reduce its cooperation with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. Iranian state radio predicted that once the bill came into effect, "the agency will become an ineffective and weak body." The vote came four d...

Space Telescope To Seek Out Earth-Like Planets

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:00 MST

A French-led satellite project took off Wednesday on a mission to seek new Earth-like planets outside the solar system. The multinational mission will also study stars on a quest to uncover more about their interior, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced. The Corot project sends into orbit a telescope that is able to detect smaller planets than are currently known. With the spacecraft, astronomers expect they will discover between 10 and 40 rocky objects slightly larger than Earth,...

Former President Gerald Ford Dies At 93

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:52:00 MST

Former President Gerald R. Ford, who declared "Our long national nightmare is over" as he replaced Richard Nixon but may have doomed his own chances of election by pardoning his disgraced predecessor, has died. He was 93. The nation's 38th president, and the only one neither elected to the office nor the vice presidency, died at his desert home at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country," his wife, Betty, said in a statement....

Ethiopian Forces Near Somali Capital

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 11:15:00 MST

Ethiopia today pressed on with its offensive against Somali Islamists and threatened to seize the Somali capital, Mogadishu. At least two Ethiopian jets fired missiles on retreating Islamist forces, prompting the interim Somali government to claim a partial victory. Hundreds of troops have been killed during a week of heavy artillery and mortar fighting amid fears that it could spark a wider regional conflict in the Horn of Africa. "Ethiopian forces are on their way to Mogadishu. Th...

New UN Secretary General

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:46:00 MST

UN Secretary-General-designate Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the next Secretary-General to succeed Kofi Annan at an oath of office ceremony here Thursday. Witnessed by senior diplomats of member states and senior UN officials, Ban repeated the oath after current General Assembly president Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa. "I, Ban Ki-moon, solemnly swear to exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as Secretary-General of the United Nations, ...

China's Rivers Become Rivers Of Gold

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 14:11:00 MST

SHARES in water and waste companies including Veolia Environnement are rising as China, home to 16 of the world's 20 most-polluted cities, starts to clean up. China will spend an estimated 1.9 trillion yuan ($A308 billion) on its environment up to 2010 to cut emissions, purify its polluted water and halt erosion, all byproducts of two decades of record economic growth. Environmental damage and associated health problems cost the nation $69 billion a year, according to the World Bank. T...

Germany Protests Against Iranian Holocaust Conference

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:49:00 MST

Germany has condemned an Iranian conference on the Holocaust. Spokesman for the German foreign ministry Jens Ploetner said Wednesday that nothing of scientific value would come out of the Tehran conference ending Tuesday. "The German government condemns all attempts to deny the Holocaust and question Israel's right to independent statehood," he said. "For us, living in the country where the mass murder of Jews was planned and carried out, we feel a special responsibil...

Nuclear 'Slip Of The Lip' Puts Olmert On Hot Seat

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:18:00 MST

For half a century, military censors have struggled to defend Israel's worst-kept secret -- that the country possesses atomic weapons. Even as its nuclear history has leaked into declassified documents, articles and books, an official policy of "ambiguity" has endured: By refusing to confirm or deny that it has the bomb, and refraining from testing one, Israel has lived up to a quiet understanding with the United States to avoid fueling a Middle East arms race. So why does it a...

Augusto Pinochet, 91, Chilean Dictator

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:37:00 MST

Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator of Chile who died yesterday aged 91, saved his country from communism and created the most successful economy in Latin America; he was also responsible, however, for the widespread torture and murder of his political enemies. Any judgment of Pinochet must take account of the rule of his predecessor, President Salvador Allende, who in 1970 had become the first Communist in the world to win power in a democratic election. Allende's program of nationaliz...

Disabled Deprived Of Access To Many Top Web Sites

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:19:00 MST

Many Web sites around the world are beyond the reach of disabled persons but could easily be improved to meet international accessibility standards, a survey commissioned by the United Nations found on Tuesday. The study, conducted for the world body by British technology firm Nomensa, looked at 100 popular sites in 20 countries and found the vast majority failed to meet international standards of accessibility. "We've clearly got some obstacles to overcome," Nomensa's Leo...

New Evidence Exonerates Foreign Medics In Libyan AIDS Trial

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:15:00 MST

New biological evidence casts more doubt on Libyan government charges against six imprisoned Bulgarian and Palestinian medical workers accused of deliberately infecting several-hundred Libyan children with the AIDS virus. The medics face the death penalty if convicted, but as VOA's David McAlary reports from Washington, laboratory tests support their claims of innocence. Researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Rome provide an alibi for the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian...

Richest Tenth Own 85% Of World'S Assets

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:40:00 MST

The richest 2 per cent of adults own more than half the world’s wealth, according to the most comprehensive study of personal assets. Among the largest economies, Britain boasted the third-highest average wealth of $126,832 (£64,172) per adult, after the United States and Japan, a United Nations development research institute found. Those with assets of $500,000 could consider themselves to be among the richest 1 per cent in the world. Those with net assets of $2,200 per...

Blair To Renew Britain's Nuclear Arsenal

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:30:00 MST

British Prime Minister Tony Blair committed to keeping a British nuclear arsenal well into the 21st century on Monday, saying the government planned to order new nuclear-armed submarines to replace its existing fleet. Blair also said the government would extend the life of its U.S.-made Trident D5 missile. But in a concession to dozens of legislators in his Labour Party who oppose spending billions of pounds (dollars) on a new nuclear weapons system, Blair said Britain would cut its nuclea...

Annan Describes Iraq As Being In A Civil War

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:23:00 MST

Kofi Annan, the departing secretary general of the United Nations, said that Iraq had descended into a civil war that was even deadlier and more anarchic than the 15-year sectarian bloodshed that tore apart Lebanon. "When we had the strife in Lebanon and other places, we called that a civil war; this is much worse," Annan said in an interview with BBC. In making his remarks, Annan joined a growing number of foreign and Iraqi leaders, policy makers and news organizations who say that I...

Ba Planes, Passengers Deemed Safe From Radiation

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:27:00 MST

This has to be one of the most tragic real-world spy stories I can remember... Three British Airways planes, grounded while authorities examined them for traces of radiation, have been cleared to return to service, officials with Britain's Health Protection Agency said Saturday. Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB spy who was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210, had flown aboard the planes. Health officials said none of the estimated 33,000 passengers and 3,000 crew members aboard ...

Chaos Reigns For Mexican Inauguration

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:12:00 MST

Felipe Calderon, a diminutive but determined 44-year-old conservative, was inaugurated Friday as president of a deeply divided Mexico amid fisticuffs between rival lawmakers and raucous protests in the country's "legislative palace." Leaders of the largest opposition party in Congress, the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, say Calderon's election was illegitimate, and they battled conservative congressional deputies and senators on the floor most of the week. But th...

S.Korea Slaughters Dogs And Pigs

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:15:00 MST

It looks like dogs are an endangered species in Asia after the recent slaughter in China... and now this... Unaware of his fate, a two-year-old dachshund barked while chained to his dingy, wooden house, as South Korea slaughtered hundreds of dogs and pigs in efforts to stem the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The dog's owner, Im Soon-duck -- like many villagers -- was more concerned about losing her three pigs than the dog, which was a present from her daughter in Seoul....

Space Station Cosmonaut Launches Golf Ball Into Orbit

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:19:00 MST

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin was late for his tee time in space Wednesday, but still managed to launch a super-lightweight golf ball into orbit — even if he shanked his shot. Tyurin hit the golf ball 77 minutes behind schedule after delays to fix an overheating spacesuit and a stuck exterior hatch. Using a gold-plated six-iorn and an American astronaut in the role of caddy-and-safety-holder, Tyurin hit the drive from a spring-like tee outside the international space station, 220 ...

World has Under a Decade to Act on Climate Change

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 11:23:00 MST

The world has less than a decade to take decisive action in the battle to beat global warming or risk irreversible change that will tip the planet towards catastrophe, a leading U.S. climate scientist said on Tuesday. And the United States, the world' biggest polluter but major climate laggard, has a vital role to play in leading that fight, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told Reuters on a visit to London. "The biggest problem is that the ...

O.J.'S Latest: 'If I Did It, Here'S How It Happened'

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:08:00 MST

This article only rates a mention here because I can't believe how colossally stupid OJ is! Well... he's about as stupid as the jury that didn't believe DNA evidence and as the detective and prosecutor who opened the door to allow OJ to walk out. In a new TV interview and book, O.J. Simpson discusses how he would have committed the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend "if I did it." The two-part television interview, titled "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's ...

Iraq Stunned By Kidnap Of 150 People

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:47:00 MST

Scores of gunmen in police uniforms abducted up to 150 Sunni Muslim men from the offices of the Higher Education Ministry in central Baghdad this morning in the largest mass kidnapping of the conflict in Iraq. A convoy of around 40 new camouflaged pick-up vehicles was seen surrounding one of the ministry's research buildings in Karradah, a religiously-mixed neighbourhood, at around 9:30am local time. Around 80 gunmen dressed as police commandos were then seen lining up a crowd o...

Sandinista Leader Wins In Nicaragua

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:33:00 MST

Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who fought off a US-backed insurgency in the 1980s, has won Nicaragua's presidential election, according to results released today. With 91 per cent of the vote counted, Ortega had 38 per cent of the vote compared to 29 per cent for Harvard-educated Eduardo Montealegre. Under Nicaraguan law, the winner must get 35 per cent and have a five-percentage point lead to win the election outright and avoid a runoff....

Hussein Sentenced To Death For Shiite Slaughter

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:44:00 MST

Reaction to the verdict on Saddam Hussein was split along religious lines, while Iraq's government and President Bush said the verdict would be a key milestone for the country. But purported loyalists to Hussein, who was convicted of crimes against humanity and murder, vowed revenge, and the nation braced itself for a potential new wave of violence. Coming just two days before the American midterm elections, the Iraqi court's sentence of a hanging death gave President Bush the firs...

Iceland May Review Commercial Whaling If Unable To Export Meat

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:44:00 MST

Iceland may reconsider its decision to resume commercial whaling if the whale meat cannot be exported, an official said Thursday. Whaling commissioner Stefan Asmundsson said in a telephone interview that whaling was a commercial activity, comparing it to the car industry. 'When you don't have buyers for your cars, you halt production,' he said. The decision to resume commercial whaling, announced mid-October, has sparked protests from conservationists and several governments....

Conservation Hotspots May Not Help Save Endangered Species

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 11:30:00 MST

Up till now certain areas of the earth have been allotted conservation status depending upon where environmentalists felt conservation would be best served. It has now been found that conservation hotspots may ultimately not be able to help save 11% of endangered birds, 24% of endangered mammals and 33% of endangered amphibians. Now they feel that these protected areas may not be all encompassing for less noticeable and lesser known, but equally endangered species that live outside their purv...

Blair Speaks Out on Climate Change

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 10:44:00 MST

Tony Blair today appealed to world leaders to unite to tackle the threat of climate change as the Government set out its blueprint for a new global framework to cut damaging greenhouse gas emissions. The long-awaited review of the economic impact of rising world temperatures by former World Bank chief economist Sir Nicholas Stern warned that time was running out for effective action. While the Prime Minister acknowledged that Britain needed to be "bolder" in the measures it adopt...

China Struggles To Treat Floating Debris At Three Gorges

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 23:25:00 MST

China is struggling to find a solution on how to treat the huge amount of floating debris which is clogging up the Three Gorges Reservoir. Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation, said, "We are trying to find an efficient method to develop and use this floating flotsam, but so far we have made little progress." According to Zhang Weige, director of the department responsible for monitoring debris in the reservo...

Iceland Breaks Whale Hunting Ban

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 16:36:00 MST

Iceland has resumed whale hunting putting an end to a two-decade long ban. The fin whale - a large specimen measuring some 20 metres - was harpooned off the west coast on Saturday. Iceland becomes the second country after Norway to break the moratorium imposed by the International Whaling Commission in 1985. Fisheries Minister Einar Kristinn Gufinnsson: "I think it's a very important day, of course it's only a beginning, but we hope it will continue, this is a resumption o...

Hippos Killed Off By Hungry Militiamen

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 10:51:00 MST

The last remaining hippos in eastern Congo are facing extinction and could be wiped out by Christmas in many parts of a significant national park if heavy poaching by hungry militiamen continues. In the first two weeks of this month, more than 400 hippos were slaughtered in Virunga National Park, a lawless area that was once home to one of Central Africa's greatest hippopotamus concentrations, the Zoological Society of London said in a statement. A recent survey sponsored by the society...

US Population Tops 300 Million

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:03:00 MST

Shakespeare might have called it, "Little Ado About Much." The "much" is the nation's population, which reached 300 million at 7:46 am Tuesday, according the Census Bureau's population clock. The "little," is the relatively low profile afforded the occasion by many top government officials. According to an AP report, getting to 300 million isn't just about numbers. Its about the politics of illegal immigration, and the tricky work of calculating when an...

North Korea Says It Conducts Nuke Test

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 10:07:00 MST

North Korea faced united global condemnation and calls for harsh sanctions Monday after it announced it had detonated an atomic weapon in an underground test that thrust the secretive communist state into the elite club of nuclear-armed nations. The explosion prompted worldwide concern it could seriously destabilize the region, and even Pyongyang's ally China said it strongly opposed the move. South Korea's spy chief said there were possible indications the North was moving to conduc...

First Woman Space Tourist Arrives at International Space Station

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:57:00 MST

Anousheh Ansari, the first woman space tourist, arrived at the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz craft, NASA said. The vehicle carrying Ansari, 40, an Iranian-born American, NASA's Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, docked with the station at 4:34 a.m. Florida time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement on its Web site. Ansari and her colleagues were welcomed by the station's three-man crew after floating through a...

Atlantis’ Success Paves Way For Europe, Japan Missions

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:55:00 MST

I've been inside Atlantis on the ground and I'm glad to see that she made it back after a successful mission. Extra sleep and loud applause for the Atlantis shuttle crew, huge relief for NASA’s shuttle programme - and joyful anticipation among European and Japanese space officials: that’s the mood after the completion of the first major construction mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in nearly four years. The faultless landing Thursday morning of Atlanti...

Thai Army Coup Ousts Government

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:24:00 MST

The Thai armed forces dismissed the government and revoked the country's 1997 constitution on Wednesday after a coup to oust Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. A coup spokesman, Retired Lieutenant-General Prapart Sakuntanak, announced the dismissal in a televised address after the army took control of Bangkok without a shot being fired and announced a commission to reform the constitution. The prime minister declared a state of emergency from New York....

Earthlike Planets May Be Common

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:05:00 MST

Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. These solar systems feature gas giants known as "Hot Jupiters," which orbit extremely close to their parent stars -- even closer than Mercury to our sun, University of Colorado researcher Sean Raymond said. The close-orbiting gassy planets may help encourage the formations of smaller, rocky, Earthlike...

Blair's Statement Fails To Dampen Discontent

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 11:06:00 MST

Tony Blair’s announcement today failed to quell the discontent among Labour MPs over his leadership. Doug Henderson, a close ally of Gordon Brown, said it was not clear that the electorate now knew any more about the Prime Minister’s intentions than they did before his statement. Mr Henderson said: “It does not seem to me that the public know any more about the Prime Minister’s retirement plans. “People keep saying to me that the Labour Party must have a cl...

China's First Regulations On Trade Of Endangered Species Comes Into Effect

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 11:12:00 MST

Applause for China's attempt at endangered species protection. China's first regulation on the trade of endangered wild fauna and flora comes into effect on Sept. 1, and Chinese officials say it will be strictly enforced. The rules cover wildlife listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). China joined the international convention in 1980. Chen Jianwei, deputy director of the Office of State Endangered Species T...

Evidence Of 'Dark Matter' Claimed

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:58:00 MST

Astronomers used an array of powerful telescopes and cosmological measuring techniques to capture images that are the first direct evidence of "dark matter," the unseen material believed to comprise most of the mass of the universe, researchers announced Monday. The breakthrough came from observing the aftermath of the collision of two massive galaxies - together known as the bullet cluster because of the shape of its cloud. The cosmic crash separated the gas clouds that normally s...

Space Pioneer Van Allen Dies

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:23:00 MST

James Van Allen, a pioneer in space physicst who helped propel the United States into the space race and discovered the Earth-circling radiation belts that now bear his name, died Wednesday at 91. Van Allen died of heart failure at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, said Stephen Pradarelli, the spokesman for the University of Iowa, where Allen has worked for years. Van Allen helped blaze the trail into space for America in the panicky weeks after the launch...

Rising Tension in Middle East

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 08:54:00 MST

Escalating violence in the Middle East is concerning world financial markets and humanitarian organizations as Israel strikes back after being the subject of unprovoked attacks by Lebanese and Palestinian forces....

Disquiet Over National Identity Cards in the UK

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 07:52:00 MST

The government claims that national identity cards will help to counter terrorism, illegal immigration and ID fraud. That's rubbish, says Henry Porter, and in fact there is something much more sinister about them - they will fundamentally alter the relationship between citizen and state, and make slaves of us all. Coming soon to the US as well under the Real ID Act......

North Korea Missle Launches Spark World Outrage

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 10:41:00 MST

NORTH KOREA test-fired a seventh missile last night as the United Nations Security Council prepared for urgent talks and Japan retaliated with economic sanctions. At the same time South Korea raised its state of military readiness and said it would "deal strongly" with all threats from North Korea. China called for calm. "We are seriously concerned about the events that have occurred," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said in a statement. "We hope that all si...

US Says N Korea 'Moving Forward' In Missile Launch

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:50:00 MST

A top US administration official said that North Korea appeared to be 'moving forward' to a long-range missile launch in a deliberate bid to spark a crisis. While reports said the United States had activated its missile defense system, there were no concrete signs that a launch was imminent. US national security advisor Stephen Hadley said it was 'hard to tell' whether the North had finished fuelling up its Taepodong-2 for a launch that would end a moratorium on its missi...

Iran May Force Non-Muslims To Wear Colored Badges In Public

Fri, 19 May 2006 21:53:00 MST

The Canadian and Australian prime ministers expressed concern at unconfirmed reports that said Iran may force non-Muslims to wear colored badges in public so they can be identified. The National Post newspaper reported Friday, citing human rights groups, that Iran's parliament passed a law this week that sets a public dress code and requires non-Muslims to wear a special insignia. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear a yellow, red or blue strip of cloth, respectively, on...

China Bans Endangered Species Imports & Exports

Thu, 18 May 2006 21:14:00 MST

China has banned the import and export of endangered species of wild fauna and flora. The regulation, effective from September 1, is a move by the Chinese government to regulate the trade, protect wild fauna and flora, and comply with the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. According to the regulation, the import and export of endangered wild animals and plants and their related products for commercial purposes is banned. For special purpose...

DNA Study: Human-Chimp Split Was Messy

Thu, 18 May 2006 03:37:00 MST

Humans and chimps diverged from a single ancestral population through a complex process that took 4 million years, according to a new study comparing DNA from the two species. By analyzing about 800 times more DNA than previous studies of the human-chimp split, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard were able to learn not just when, but a little bit about how the sister species arose. "For the first time we're able to see the details written out in the DNA," said Eri...

Censorship and the Internet

Wed, 03 May 2006 16:27:00 MST

Annual report: everyone's interested in the Internet - especially dictators The Internet has revolutionised the world's media. Personal websites, blogs and discussion groups have given a voice to men and women who were once only passive consumers of information. It has made many newspaper readers and TV viewers into fairly successful amateur journalists. Dictators would seem powerless faced with this explosion of online material. How could they monitor the e-mails of China's 130 mi...

Berlusconi Finally Quits After Defeat

Sat, 29 Apr 2006 23:53:00 MST

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, finally announced that he would resign last night, three weeks after he was defeated in a general election. His decision to step down clears the way for Romano Prodi, the leader of the centre-left coalition which won the election by the smallest margin in Italian history, to take power. Mr Berlusconi, 69, a billionaire media owner and political ally of Tony Blair who led Italy at the head of a Right-wing coalition for five years, had refused to ackn...

Panel Dumps Net Neutrality / House Committee Drops Amendment Banning Two-Tier Internet

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 22:12:00 MST

Is the Internet about to change before our very fingertips? Internet carriers would have a free hand to charge the likes of Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and eBay Inc. extra for faster delivery of services to consumers under a bill approved by a House committee Wednesday. The vote, 42-12, brings a two-tier Internet one step closer to reality despite the wishes of a broad coalition of Web site operators and public interest groups that insist the fees will crush innovation. The Web companies had hoped...

US Condemns Iran Nuclear Advance

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 05:23:00 MST

The United States has said Iran is "moving in the wrong direction" after its announcement that it has successfully enriched uranium. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had become the latest nation with "nuclear technology". A US spokesman said Iran's defiance of UN calls to cease nuclear activities isolated Iran and its people. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog is visiting Tehran on Wednesday to try to defuse the crisis. Iran made its announcement ...

Doctors Implant Lab Grown Bladders Into Patients

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:08:00 MST

Interesting news that could eventually signal the end of illegal trade in human organs and waiting lists for organ recipients... U.S. doctors have successfully implanted bladders grown in the laboratory into patients with bladder disease. These custom bladders grew from the patients' own bladder cells on a specially shaped mold. The surgeons hope to use the technique to repair or replace other complex internal organs. Seven youths aged four to 19 are the first beneficiaries of new bladders e...

4,000 Oil-Coated Birds Wash Up On Hokkaido

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:44:00 MST

A massive environmental disaster appears to have been covered up by Russia or Japan. Thousands of oil soaked bird carcasses have been washing up on the island of Hokkaido, including endangered species....

Bush Reaffirms Pre-Emptive Use Of Force

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:40:00 MST

Undaunted by the difficult war in Iraq, President Bush reaffirmed his strike-first policy against terrorists and enemy nations on Thursday and said Iran may pose the biggest challenge for America. ADVERTISEMENT In a 49-page national security report, the president said diplomacy is the U.S. preference in halting the spread of nuclear and other heinous weapons. "The president believes that we must remember the clearest lesson of Sept. 11: that the United States of America must confront threats...

Saturn Moon May Have Water

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:06:00 MST

A spacecraft orbiting Saturn may have made a stunning, textbook-altering discovery: liquid water spewing from the surface of one of the planet's frigid moons. The geysers could be super-cold versions of Earth phenomena such as Yellowstone's Old Faithful. ...

Dalai Lama Offers Lifeline To Indian Tiger

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 18:13:00 MST

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, has thrown a lifeline to India's dwindling tiger population after an emotional appeal to outlaw the trade in animal skins provoked an extraordinary reaction in his homeland. All over Tibet, there have been reports of people burning wild animal furs since the Dalai Lama, the Himalayan region's exiled god-king, made his appeal at a Buddhist prayer meeting in southern India in January. Thousands of Tibetans attended the festival and many carri...

Satellite Images Show Antarctic Ice Sheet Losing Mass

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 16:18:00 MST

The Antarctic ice sheet is responsible for 90 percent of the world's ice. Studies over the past several years have showed that the sheet is losing mass, causing a rise in global sea surface levels. But the conclusions have been reached based on snapshots of parts of the ice blanket, such as its thinning edges. "But you know now what's going on which I think is pretty good," said Isabella Velicogna, who is with the University of Colorado's Cooperative Institute for Research a...

Taiwan Formally Scraps Reunification Body

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST

President Chen Shui-bian signed documents which formally scrapped the council charged with formulating policy on unification with China, despite strong protests from Beijing. 'The National Unification Council will cease to function and the budget will no longer be appropriated,' said the documents, according to a statement from Chen's office. The council and accompanying guidelines on unification, which were also scrapped, were largely symbolic but the decision to dispense with the...

Iraq on Brink of Civil War: Samarra Bombs Outrage Mideast Press

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:07:00 MST

Sectarian violence has killed dozens, destroyed a holy shrine, and caused the Iraqi government a coalition crisis all in the course of a week. Despite the US' best attempts, the country seems to be slipping toward a bloody and destructive civil war....

Are Drugs a Problem on the reservation or in a poverty stricken area?

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:11:00 MST

This article discusses the issue of illegal drug trafficking on Indian reservations. The article mentions John V. Oakes, one of many fast-rising Native American drug traffickers across the country, who saw himself as "untouchable," as one senior investigator put it, protected by armed enforcers and a code of silence that ruled the reservation. The same arrogance exists amongst the drug traffickers in the poverty stricken areas of our inner city. The abundance if drugs in the inner cities...

'Scientifically Taken' Whale Meat Used As Dog Food in Japan

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:30:00 MST

Whale meat caught under Japan s research program is so abundant that it is being sold as pet food. According to the UK s Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), thousands of pounds of whale meat is being stored as more animals are killed each year. The Japanese government has attempted to sell the whale meat to schools but the price has continued to drop. ...

Forecast Is: It's The Warmest For 1200 Years

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 MST

The whole Northern Hemisphere is experiencing a sustained period of warming that is unprecedented in the past millennium. A study of temperature records - from tree rings, ice cores and old documents - has found that at no time since the 9th century have temperatures been so consistently high. The study, published in the journal Science, found that the late 20th century has been the warmest period for the Northern Hemisphere since the records began in AD800. ...

Beat It, Pluto: Xena May Be Newest Planet

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 16:43:00 MST

A ball of ice and dust found last year in the outskirts of the solar system is 30 percent wider than Pluto, a team of German astronomers is reporting today. The finding definitively makes the icy ball -- temporarily labeled 2003 UB313 and nicknamed Xena -- the largest known object to be discovered orbiting Earth's sun since Neptune was identified in 1846 and adds to the debate over what should be considered a planet. The diameter of Xena, the astronomers found, is 1,860 miles, give or t...

Coretta Scott King, 78

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:00:00 MST

Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. who took up his fight for racial equality after his assassination, has died. She was 78. King died overnight, according to a statement from her family. Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young made the announcement in a telephone interview this morning on NBC's "Today'' show, the Associated Press reported. King spent a month in Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta last year after suffering a stroke and a h...

7 Myths About The Challenger Shuttle Disaster

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 19:50:00 MST

An insider's view... remembering the space shuttle Challenger....

Arabs Jubilant At Hamas Victory

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:44:00 MST

Hamas appears to have won approximately 60% of the Palestinian vote, leading to majority control of the Palestinian government. Jubilant Arabs welcomed Hamas' apparent win in Palestinian parliamentary elections and analysts said it could provide a boost for other Islamic militant groups. "This is a victory to all the region's free people," said Ayyoub Muhanna, a 29-year-old Lebanese who owns a spare parts shop in the southeastern town of Rashaya. "The Palestinians gave their ...

Earth-like Planet Found 20 Thousand LY Away

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:37:00 MST

Taking a tip from Albert Einstein, scientists have found the smallest, most Earth-like planet yet using stars to boost the power of their telescopes. The new planet is a ball of rock coated in frozen oceans roughly five times the size of Earth. It is more than 20 thousand light-years away, impossibly out of reach for foreseeable human travel. But the manner of its detection suggests the universe could be full of mid-sized terrestrial planets not too different from our own. "We think these ...

Canada Set to Elect Right-ist Government

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST

Canada looks set to elect a new Right-facing government that will be more foil than buffer to George Bush south of the border. I guess they don't get it either....

Mission to Pluto

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST

An unmanned NASA spacecraft hurtled toward Pluto on Thursday on a 3-billion-mile journey to the solar system's last unexplored planet - a voyage so long that some of the scientists who will be celebrating its arrival are just taking their first physics class....

Sharon Unlikely to Resume PM Post in Israel

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 00:00:00 MST

After a crippling stroke last week, Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, is unlikely to resume the mantle of leadership. Sharon's vision of redefining the borders of Israel to appease her neighbors will likely be lost in the face of his poor health....

Bolivia Joins Turn to Left in Latin America

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST

Bolivia has joined Brazil, Venezuela, and other Latin American nations by electing a socialist president. The new president plans to nationalize the oil industry and allow minor narcotics use....

Cat-Fox Found in Borneo... But Already Endangered

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 00:00:00 MST

The first new predator species to be found in 100 years in Borneo was announced this week, but Chinese plans to log 1.8 million hectares of the island will probably doom that species and many more to extinction. The plan is to put a palm oil plantation on the island although oil-palms don't usually grow well above 200m and the island's average elevation far exceeds that. Sad....

Merkel Becomes First Female Chancellor of Germany

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 00:00:00 MST

Angela Merkel is sworn in as the first female chancellor of Germany....

Rosa Parks: 1913-2005

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST

Rosa Parks, involuntary leader of the American civil rights movement, passed away in Detroit....

Earthquake in Kashmir

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 00:00:00 MST

A huge earthquake in Kashmir has killed 20,000 Pakistanis and hundreds of Indians....

China Considering Tiger-Product Markets

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

China is considering reopening markets in the tiger trade, using 'farmed' Tigers. Conservationists are concerned that such a legal market could legitimize the trade and expand poaching....

IRA Converts to Political Entity

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

With their historic decomissioning of their stockpiles of 'illegal' weapons, the IRA has converted to using purely political means....

Simon Wiesenthal Dies

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

Famed Nazi hunter and holocaust survivor, Simon Wiesenthal has died at age 96. ...

U.S. Commemorates 4th Anniversary of World Trade Center Attacks

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

The U.S. commemorates the fourth anniversary of September 11th....

New Orleans Mayor Orders Eviction of Holdouts

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

The mayor of New Orleans has ordered the forcible eviction of holdouts who have refused to leave the city because they are too old, because they have pets, or because they want to protect their property....

Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 00:00:00 MST

Chief Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist has died after a prolonged illness during which he continued to actively serve on the bench....

Hurricane Katrina Hits New Orleans

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, possibly killing thousands and displacing up to 3 million people....

Gaza and West Bank Pullouts Completed

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Israeli police and soldiers have finished the short term goal of evacuating settlers from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Some of the settlers had been in place for a generation, but the move is seen as a major step toward Muslim-Israeli relations in the Middle East....

Joint Russia-China Military Exercises

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Joint Russia-China military exercises on Chinese soil signal a dramatic shift in relations and alignments in Asia....

Oil Prices Beginning to Wear on US Economy

Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Rising oil prices that have been artificially inflated by war and international tension have finally started to take a toll on the US economy....

Israeli Pullout from Gaza

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

The official Israeli pullout from the Gaza strip is underway in a landmark political move that could, in the long run, reverse the tide of anti-semitism and inter-religious conflict in the Middle East....

Gas Prices Continue to Climb

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Gas prices hit another record modern high at $2.53 per gallon. It costs me about $30 per week in gas to commute to work....

Nuclear Nations: Iran and North Korea

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

The nuclear landscape is changing. As inconclusive talks with North Korea wrap up, Iran is on the verge of fully restarting its civilian nuclear program. Too bad Rumsfeld and Cheney helped Iran get a nuclear program in the first place....

Nuclear Nation: Pakistan

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Pakistan successfully test fired a land-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead....

Fed Raises Short-Term Interest Rates

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

The private Federal Reserve Bank has raised interest rates again by a quarter point, the 10th raise since 2004. Some analysts are concerned that the raises may be near the tipping point that could deflate the growing economy....

Waves of Jellyfish Sting Spaniards

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Massive schools of jellyfish, brought close to the shore due to rising temperatures and the presence of food in runoff and sewage contaminated sea water, are stinging thousands of people on the Mediterranean coast of Spain....

Discovery Lands Safely

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Space shuttle Discovery landed safely today, but the happy occurence will not put an end to the over-cautiousness of our post-9-11 society....

North Korea Talks Winding Down

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Diplomatic talks on North Korea's nuclear program are winding down to a frustrating conclusion as the North is unwilling to give up consideration of a civilian nuclear power plan. Also, the US is unwilling to grant concessions to the Asian nation until North Korea is nuclear free....

Snuppy: First Cloned Dog

Wed, 03 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

South Korean scientists have been the first to create a cloned dog. The experiment required 1095 cultured embryos and 123 attempts at implantation, resulting in three pregnancies and one successful puppy....

Xena: 10th Planet Officially Found

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

A 10th planet has been officially found and tentatively designated Xena. The planet is believed to be larger than Pluto and to orbit the Sun 45 degrees out of the plane in which the other planets orbit. Hugh Heffner is said to be financing a mission to the planet to discover for the Amazon Women of Xena pictorial spread in an upcoming edition of Playboy magazine....

Saudi King Fahd Dies

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 00:00:00 MST

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd has died after a long illness due to a stroke. He has been peacefully replaced by his brother, the 80+ year-old Crown Prince Abdullah....

IRA Turns to Politics, Leaves Violence

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

The Irish Republican Army, fighting British occupation of the emerald isle since the early 20th century, is abandoning violence in favor of the political process. Recent events have seen the Sinn Fein's top leaders and much of the Irish population turn away from the violent lawlessness of the IRA....

Shuttle Discovery Launches Successfully

Tue, 26 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

The space shuttle Discovery has launched successfully from the Cape Canaveral Space Station a few minutes ago....

Al Quaeda Bombing in Egypt

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

At least 88 people have bene killed at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik. So far it looks like Muslim extremists are to blame....

Unarmed Brazilian Man Killed by London Police

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

In a new culture of fear, the new image of the shoot-first-ask-questions-later London police is emerging. An innocent Brazilian electrician was shot five times in the head, after he was on the ground, by police who didn't bother to interrogate him first....

N Korea to Disarm if Peace Agreement Signed

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

North Korea has agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program if the North and South can sign a peace agreement that would end the 60 year old armistice....

China Devalues Yuan 2.1%

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

In a surprise move, China has revalued the yuan by 2.1% as a token gesture toward the United States. The yuan has been pegged at an exact value against the dollar for a decade, prompting many to suggest that it is artificially inflating the China-US trade gap. The yuan will now be valued against a floating range of other currencies....

London 'Dummy' Bombings

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Bombings of a similar pattern, but lessened effect, took place in London today, reportedly injuring one....

Canada Legalizes Same-sex Marriage

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Now the Republicans can truly 'blame Canada.' Our great neighbor to the white north has legalized same-sex marriage nationwide....

Westmoreland Dies

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Top US general during the Viet Nam conflict, General William C. Westmoreland died last night at 91. General Westmoreland oversaw the US military build up in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1968....

1768 US Servicemen and Servicewomen Dead in Iraq

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

This week has seen 170 dead in Iraqi suicide bombings and the total of US military dead in Iraq climb to 1,768....

Former UK PM Heath Dead at 89

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Former UK Prime Minister and same-party opponent of the Right-wing Margaret Thatcher is dead at 89....

29 Killed in Iraqi Suicide Attacks

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

29 more people were killed in suicide attacks in Iraq today....

Former WorldCom Exec Sentenced to 25 Years

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in one of the largest corporate accounting fraud cases in history....

Suicide Bomber Kills 27 in Baghdad

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

A suicide bomber killed 27 in a poor Baghdad suburb when he attacked a US military patrol handing out candy and toys to children. Most of the dead were Iraqi children....

London Bombers were British Citizens

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

It turns out that the London bombers were all British citizens, believed to be second generation sons of Pakistani immigrants....

Pakistan Commuter Train Collision

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Over 150 people have died in a collision of three trains in Pakistan....

EU Enforcing Fishing Rules

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

In a move that will hopefully set a trend for the rest of Europe, the EU High Court has fined France US$24 Million for failing to implement EU fisheries policies....

ETA Terrorists Attack Power Plant in Spain

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

ETA separatists have attacked a new power plant in northern Spain....

US Backs Japan on UN SC, But No Reforms

Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

The US will back Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, but will not back reforms proposed by Japan, Brazil, Germany, and India....

Brazil Wins Battle in Making Cheaper AIDS Drugs

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Brazil has successfully pressured Abbott Laboratories Inc. into discounting the price of an important anti-HIV drug. Earlier this month, Brazil had threatened to begin producing the drug in violation of the companies US patent that expires in 2015....

Blair to Implement Stronger UK Terror Laws

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

After the attacks of last week, Tony Blair has proposed implementing stronger anti-terrorism laws that will allow easier incarceration and prosecution of suspected terrorists....

We've added a world news page!

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

We've added a new world news page to collect major events that we think impact your political timeline. Feel free to suggest a news item!...

4 Bombs Strike London Transportation System

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 00:00:00 MST

Four bombs struck the London rail and bus system, killing at least 50 and wounding 100's....

Afghan Girl Begs For Bread, Prays For Help

Sat, 14 Nov 1998 11:34:00 MST

Little Banafsha wakes up in her small mud home, has a cup of tea and braces herself for the day ahead. She is just 11 years old but she is the breadwinner for her family. Literally. Without the bread that she begs from strangers, she, her sisters, baby brothers and mom would all go hungry. Her father is a drug addict, focused only on his next high, her mom cares for the little ones and heavy responsibility falls on Banafsha's young shoulders....

Experts Weigh In On Which Vitamins To Toss Back Or Toss Out

Fri, 13 Nov 1998 10:45:00 MST

Interesting article on what the experts take....

Remarkably Preserved Fossil May Be Missing Link

Tue, 19 May 1998 13:50:00 MST

The remarkably preserved fossil remains of a lemur-like, 47-million-year-old creature was unveiled amid great fanfare at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Tuesday. Some say the fossil, named Ida, is the "missing link" between modern primates – humans, monkeys and apes - and their more distant relatives. Ida’s preservation is so good that the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal are visible. However, some independent experts are critic...