Chelsea fans across the world are celebrating their team's historic Champions League win, as a victory parade in west London is planned.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 3:06 am
The White House isn't sounding exactly confident that a deal will be completed by the end of the NATO summit.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 20 May 2012 | 3:00 am
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake in northern Italy kills at least four people, causing serious damage to buildings in several towns.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 2:58 am
Gathering at Camp David for their annual summit, President Obama and other G-8 leaders have been struggling to find a united approach to solving Europe's debt crisis and winning concessions from Iran at talks on its nuclear program.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 20 May 2012 | 2:56 am
BONDENO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 20 May 2012 | 2:55 am
A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student is stirring memories of the dark days decades ago when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks.
A blind Chinese legal activist who escaped house arrest, endured a nearly month-long diplomatic tussle and a hurried daylong flight paused ever so briefly upon his arrival in New York City before taking up a familiar fight.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 20 May 2012 | 2:49 am
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realise we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...
Source: Yahoo! News - Top Stories | 20 May 2012 | 2:46 am
BENGHAZI (Reuters) - People in Libya's second biggest city, Benghazi, voted on Saturday in a local election that will test support for a proposal to set up autonomous rule for eastern Libya. Benghazi was the cradle of last year's revolt which overthrew Muammar Gaddafi but it is also the home of a movement which, frustrated with the new national rulers, wants to turn Libya into a federal state with autonomous provinces. Supporters of autonomy for Cyrenaica, the eastern province that includes Benghazi, were running in the election to choose a new city council. ...
Source: Yahoo! News - Top Stories | 20 May 2012 | 2:43 am
BAMAKO (Reuters) - The soldiers behind Mali's March 22 coup have agreed to allow a caretaker civilian president to remain in charge of the West African state for the time being, mediators for the ECOWAS bloc of West African states said on Saturday. The accord comes after the 15-nation ECOWAS group threatened travel bans and other sanctions on the coup leaders for blocking an extension of the 40-day mandate of interim leader Dioncounda Traore, to whom they nominally handed over power last month. ...
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said Sudan wants a lasting peace with South Sudan but Juba needs to end support for rebels in Sudan's border land, state news agency SUNA said on Saturday. Oil, security and frontier disputes ignited border clashes last month and for a while raised fears of full-blown war in one of Africa's most significant oil regions. South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war. ...
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng arrives in New York with his wife and children to begin a new life in the United States.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 2:36 am
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Hundreds of opposition protesters are rallying in Bangladesh's capital to demand that authorities release 33 activists and find a missing opposition leader.
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was leading Sunday's protest in Dhaka. The 18-party opposition alliance accuses the government of manipulating courts and of abducting one of its leaders, Elias Ali. The government denies the allegations.
On Thursday, the alliance enforced a nationwide general strike protesting a court order rejecting bail for 33 jailed opposition leaders in an arson case. The opposition says the charge is politically motivated.
The opposition has also set a June 10 ultimatum for the government to restore the caretaker government system to oversee national elections due in 2014.
Sri Lanka's president has ordered the release of his jailed electoral rival, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to US-led international pressure three years after the end of the island's long ethnic war.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.
A restive district of the Syrian capital has been rocked by overnight fighting between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.
A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook northern Italy early Sunday, killing at least three people and toppling some buildings.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 20 May 2012 | 2:12 am
BONDENO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage. The 6.0 magnitude quake struck at 22:04 EDT (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic. "I ran out in my underwear," one man told Italian television. ...
Kevin Durant stood above the 3-point line and watched the shot clock dwindle in the final seconds of Game 4. When Metta World Peace backed up slightly on defense, Durant hesitated only an instant before launching a 26-footer.
Israel has criticized an unprecedented South African proposal to label goods produced in Jewish settlements.
South Africa issued a notice saying it wants to require merchants "not to incorrectly label products that originate from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as products of Israel."
The notice did not specify what the labels should say. The proposal has not yet taken effect, pending public objections that can be submitted through the end of June.
Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Army Radio on Sunday that the South African ambassador would be summoned to discuss the proposal.
Israel claims it is being singled out because special labels are not applied to products made in dozens of other places where territorial conflicts exist.
At first, Lyn Hiner thought it was a bug bite when she felt a sudden sting on her right thigh. Then flames burst from her shorts at her San Clemente, Calif., home. At first, Lyn Hiner thought it was a bug bite when she felt a sudden sting on her right thigh. Then flames burst from her shorts at her San Clemente, Calif., home.
U.S. diplomats can breathe a little easier knowing Chen Guangcheng is in the U.S. and that weeks of difficult negotiations and high drama are behind them. Chen arrived Saturday with his wife and two children in New York, where has a fellowship to study.
One of the strongest earthquakes to shake northern Italy rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, a magnitude-6.0 temblor that killed at least three people, toppled some buildings and sent residents running into the streets, emergency services and news reports said.
The quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3.2 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It was one of the strongest quakes to shake the region, seismologists said, and initial television footage indicated that older buildings had suffered damage: roofs collapsed, church towers showed cracks and the bricks of some stone walls tumbled into the street. As dawn broke over the region, residents milled about the streets inspecting the damage.
Italian news agency ANSA, citing emergency services, said two people were killed in Sant'Agostino di Ferrara when a ceramics factory collapsed. Another person was killed in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno, ANSA said.
Italy's Sky TG24 showed images of the collapsed ceramics factory where the two workers were reportedly killed; the structure, which appeared to be a hangar of sorts, had twisted metal supports jutting out at odd angles amid the mangled collapsed roof.
"It was a strong one, and it lasted quite a long time," said Emilio Bianco, receptionist at Modena's Canalgrande hotel, housed in an ornate 18th century palazzo. The hotel suffered no damage and Modena itself was spared, but guests spilled into the streets as soon as the quake hit, he said.
Many people were still awake at 4 a.m. and milling about town anyway since it was a "white night," with stores and restaurants open all night. Museums were supposed to have remained open as well but closed following the bombing Saturday of a school in southern Italy that killed one person.
The epicenter was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide but was felt as far away as Tuscany and northern Alto Adige.
The initial quake was followed about an hour later by a 5.1-magnitude temblor, USGS said. And it was preceded by a 4.1-temblor.
In late January, a 5.4-magnitude quake shook northern Italy. Some office buildings in Milan were evacuated as a precaution and there were scattered reports of falling masonry and cracks in buildings.
In 2009, a devastating temblor killed more than 300 people in the central city of L'Aquila.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending. A copy of the legal brief was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of Monday's filing.
England boss Roy Hodgson warns his players to behave responsibly at their city-centre base during Euro 2012.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 1:32 am
A restive district of the Syrian capital has been rocked by overnight fighting between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.
The Local Coordination Committees and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes took place in Kfar Souseh early Sunday morning but there were no immediate reports of casualties. The district is a high security area, housing several security and intelligence agencies. It has also been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad's regime.
"Violent clashes broke out between rebel fighters and regime troops at a checkpoint in Kfar Souseh district," the Observatory said in a statement. Both the Observatory and LCC said explosions and gunfire were also heard in several other neighborhoods of Damascus.
The revolt against Assad's regime started in March 2011 with mostly peaceful protests calling for political change. The deadly government crackdown led many opposition supporters to take up arms. Now, the regime is facing an armed insurgency targeting government installations, soldiers and security forces.
In March, the U.N. said that 9,000 people had been killed. Hundreds more have died since.
Also Sunday, Syrian rebels claimed in an Internet statement that they carried out a sophisticated attack that killed top political and security officials meeting in the capital. The posting claimed those killed included Maj. Gen. Assef Shawkat, the deputy chief of staff for security affairs; Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha; Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar and former defense minister, Hassan Turkmani.
Al-Shaar denied the reports in a phone call to state-run Syrian TV, saying they were "laughable."
"I am speaking to you from my office at the interior ministry," he said.
Turkmani also called the station and said the reports were proof of "media bankruptcy."
"My colleagues and I are well and carrying out our duty to serve the country... these are blatant lies," he said.
Syrian officials rarely respond to claims and statements issued by the opposition and their quick denials on Sunday were unusual.
Clashes in the heart of the Syrian capital have become more common recently but are still rare compared to other opposition strongholds in Syria that witness deadly violence almost daily.
The Local Coordination Committees said "huge reinforcements" were brought in to Kfar Souseh in the wake of the overnight fighting.
A cease-fire that was supposed to start last month has never really taken hold, undermining the rest of international envoy Kofi Annan's plan, which is supposed to lead to talks to end the 15-month crisis.
World powers remain divided on how to end Syria's crisis. The U.S. and other Western and Arab nations have called for Assad to leave power, and the U.S. and European Union have placed increasingly stiff sanctions on Damascus. But with Russia and China blocking significant new U.N. punishments, U.S. officials are trying to get consensus among other allies about ways to promote Assad's ouster.
Serbians voted Sunday in a presidential runoff election that pits pro-European Union Boris Tadic against nationalists Tomislav Nikolic who wants closer ties with Russia and is threatening protests if he loses because of alleged ballot rigging.
The vote is key for Serbia's plans to become an EU member, after being an isolated pariah state under late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s. It also will determine whether Serbia continues to reconcile with its neighbors and wartime foes, including the former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.
Tadic, who is seeking a third term, was slightly ahead of Nikolic in the first round of voting on May 6, while Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party won the most votes for parliament, but is likely to stay without power because Tadic's Democrats have agreed to form the next government with the third-placed Socialists.
The nationalists have accused the Democrats of rigging the general vote, including the first-round presidential ballot — the charge that was rejected by authorities, but is fueling fears of possible post-election violence.
Tadic, who championed Serbia's bid to become an EU member, was leading the pre-runoff polls, but the pro-democratic voters are known to be less enthusiastic than the nationalists when it comes to casting their ballots.
Tadic has built his presidential bid around his pro-Western policies, but his biggest problem remains the economic downturn and corruption within the ruling elite. Faced with the global financial crisis, which has slowed down much needed foreign investments, Tadic's government has seen massive job losses and plummeting living standards.
Nikolic, who narrowly lost two earlier presidential votes against Tadic, claims to have shifted from being staunchly anti-Western to pro-EU, and says that he wants Serbia both "in the West and the East." Nikolic has close ties with Russia and has even in the past envisaged Serbia as a Russian province.
Nikolic's populism has struck a chord with voters, who warmed to his criticism of widespread social injustice and corruption in Serbia and promises of jobs, financial security and billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Tadic has also overseen a more conciliatory stance toward Serbia's neighbors and war foes in the 1990s, including Kosovo, the former province that is considered by nationalists as the cradle of Serbia's state and religion.
Nikolic has said he would abandon the EU plan if it means that Serbia must give up its claim on Kosovo, and he has forged an alliance with the staunchly anti-EU party of former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.
Protesters gathering in Chicago for the NATO summit are gearing up for their largest demonstration.
Thousands are expected to march later Sunday from a downtown park to the lakeside convention center where President Barack Obama and dozens of other world leaders will meet.
Several hundred demonstrators wound through the city's streets for hours Saturday. They increasingly tested police who used bicycles to barricade off streets and horseback officers to coax them in different directions.
Police said sporadic clashes led to 18 arrests.
Most of the demonstrations remained small. But a later march stretched for hours into Saturday evening as protesters zigzagged back and forth through the downtown and clashed with police lines.
Organizers pledged a larger crowd Sunday when Occupy protesters join forces with an anti-war coalition.
While controversy surrounding the transgendered beauty contestant lingers, Jenna Talackova's quest for the Miss Universe Canada crown is over. The 23-year-old failed to make the top five in the pageant.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 20 May 2012 | 1:02 am
Tropical Storm Alberto swirled off the South Carolina coast, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph on Sunday.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 20 May 2012 | 1:00 am
The senior Scotland Yard officer in charge of three linked phone-hacking investigations will retire later this year, the Met Police confirms.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 12:56 am
World leaders weary of war will tackle Afghanistan's post-conflict future when the NATO summit opens Sunday.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 20 May 2012 | 12:52 am
Featured in Bully, Sioux City is now known as the place where a student was relentlessly bullied and adults did little to stop it.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 20 May 2012 | 12:51 am
A day after the historic Facebook IPO, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status Saturday to "married."
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 20 May 2012 | 12:47 am
Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, Kevin Durant added 31 and made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds, and the Thunder rallied for a 103-100 win and 3-1 series lead over the Lakers on Saturday night.
Demonstrations were held throughout Chicago on Saturday ahead of Sunday's opening of the two-day NATO summit.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 20 May 2012 | 12:38 am
An official says police in Nepal have clashed with protesters using violence to enforce a general strike, detaining at least 52 of them.
Police spokesman Binod Singh says the protesters have attacked and burned at least two dozen vehicles that were defying Sunday's general strike called by Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities.
The group had called for businesses to close and vehicles to stay off the streets to support their demand that states proposed in the new constitution be marked on the basis of ethnic groups.
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists said it has reports of protesters also attacking journalists.
Most markets and shops remained closed and highways were deserted Sunday. Singh said security has been stepped up.
World leaders weary of war will tackle Afghanistan’s post-conflict future when the NATO summit opens Sunday.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 20 May 2012 | 12:15 am
US President Obama wraps up a G8 summit saying that leaders agree economies must focus on jobs and growth to boost recovery.
Source: BBC News - World | 20 May 2012 | 12:09 am
CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders gather in Chicago on Sunday for a summit that will chart a path out of Afghanistan, as Western nations seek to fend off fissures in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 11:56 pm
A small number of British soldiers could remain in Afghanistan after forces withdraw in 2014, a senior UK government official says.
Source: BBC News - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:39 pm
Taiwan's president began his second term Sunday and signaled he will maintain a China policy that has reduced tensions between the sides, offering Beijing little early hope of realizing its long-term goal of unification.
Speaking at a low-key inaugural ceremony in Taipei's ornate presidential office building, Ma Ying-jeou hewed to the same formula for relations across the 160-kilometer-wide (100-mile-wide) Taiwan Strait he championed during his first term.
"Our cross-strait policy must maintain the status quo of 'no unification, no independence and no use of force,'" Ma said.
He reaffirmed his support for the so-called 1992 Consensus, an informal agreement reached by representatives of the sides accepting that there is only one China — and not one China, and one Taiwan, which is the stance of many in Taiwan's pro-independence opposition. But Ma enunciated his position in a way apparently calculated to leave hard-liners in Beijing disappointed.
"When we speak of one China, naturally it is the Republic of China," he said.
The Republic of China is the exiled government that Nationalist icon Chiang Kai-shek brought with him to Taiwan in 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communist forces prevailed in the Chinese civil war.
Beijing sees it as a historical relic that lost its legitimacy when Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China 63 years ago. Since then, Chinese leaders have always insisted that Taiwan must be brought under their control, by persuasion if possible, by force if necessary.
Ma won re-election in January largely by assuring voters that he would safeguard their hard-won democratic freedoms, while simultaneously moving forward with his signature policy of tying Taiwan's high-tech economy ever closer to China's lucrative markets. That formula has helped to lower cross-strait tensions to their lowest level in six decades.
His remarks on Sunday — reaffirming his opposition to unification and his fealty to the Republic of China — make it clear that he still supports that path.
Despite Ma's relatively comfortable re-election victory — he won by six percentage points — he begins his second term under the shadow of deep-seated voter dissatisfaction with his overall performance. A particular focus is his economic policies, including a recent decision to raise utility rates.
Tens of thousands of anti-Ma protesters gathered in downtown Taipei on Saturday to demonstrate against those policies. Wearing red and green armbands emblazoned with the Chinese character for "anger," the demonstrators snaked their way through the streets of the capital before gathering in front of the presidential office building under a light drizzle.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States on Saturday and declared "equality and justice have no boundaries" after China let him leave a Beijing hospital to quell a sensitive diplomatic rift between the two countries.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 11:29 pm
A Myanmar negotiator says ethnic Shan rebels have agreed in a second round of talks to end fighting with army troops in the country's east, the latest reported deal between the new reformist government and various ethnic separatist movements.
Negotiator Aung Min, who is also the country's railway minister, said he discussed enforcing a December cease-fire and eradicating drugs in eastern Myanmar in talks with Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army (South).
He told reporters Saturday night after the talks in the Shan State capital, Kengtung, that recent clashes were a result of misunderstanding over the firing of warning shots.
"After detailed negotiations today, there will be no more fighting," Aung Min said.
Myanmar President Thein Sein's government has reached cease-fires with several ethnic rebel groups, but fierce fighting continues with the Kachin minority in northern Myanmar, with whom peace talks have so far failed.
The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Sunday reported that the Kachin guerrillas had blown up several electricity pylons on Friday. "So, electric power supply will be reduced for a while across the nation as personnel concerned are trying to repair the towers as possibly quick as they can," it said.
Much of Myanmar has long suffered from frequent power shortages, due to resource mismanagement that predates the fighting.
The state press has recently been highlighting such attacks in an apparent propaganda ploy to pin the blame on the Kachin for the continuing fighting. Thein Sein late last year issued an order for the army to cease its offensive against the Kachin, but it has not been effective.
Since taking office last year as a military-backed but elected president, Thein Sein has moved to roll back many of the repressive actions of the military regimes that preceded him.
His efforts have included reconciliation with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her pro-democracy movement and also the long-running problem of ethnic rebellions.
Myanmar's ethnic minorities, who are clustered mostly in border areas, have long sought greater autonomy.
Voters in Serbia have a choice between a reformist and a nationalist as they vote for a president, months after winning EU candidate status.
Source: BBC News - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:08 pm
A late 3-pointer by Kevin Durant gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a 103-100 Game 4 win over L.A. on Saturday
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 19 May 2012 | 11:07 pm
A Chinese coal miner has been rescued after being trapped underground for 17 days by an underground flood that killed at least 10 others.
State television and the official Xinhua News Agency say rescuers brought 39-year-old Si Li out of the Junyuan No. 2 Coal Mine in the northeastern city of Hegang on Saturday. The reports Sunday said he was hospitalized in stable condition.
Xinhua said 28 miners were in the mine when it flooded May 2. Ten died, three are still missing and the rest escaped as the water rose or were rescued shortly after the disaster.
China Central Television said Si survived in part by eating straw bags used in the mine.
A growing number of parents and educators are urging Michigan lawmakers to change the date by which kids can enter kindergarten.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 19 May 2012 | 10:56 pm
(Reuters) - Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wed longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan on Saturday, announcing the nuptials through a status update on the social networking site.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 10:51 pm
The island of Bastoey is home to a prison population that is allowed to wander woods, fields and beaches unhindered by the unarmed guards.
Source: BBC News - World | 19 May 2012 | 10:11 pm
Joplin, Mo., residents recover from last year's deadly tornado that left 161 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 19 May 2012 | 10:01 pm
Nick Stahl has resurfaced virtually following his disappearance more than a week ago. The 33-year-old "Terminator 3" star says he plans rehabiliation, E! News reports.
Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, arriving in the U.S. Saturday, told NBC News he trusts the Chinese central government and hopes people will help him promote justice.
St. Louis first baseman and 2011 comeback player of the year leaves Saturday’s game against L.A.
Source: The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed | 19 May 2012 | 9:28 pm
Italian news reports say three people have been killed in a 5.9-magnitude earthquake that struck northern Italy near Bologna
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 9:25 pm
An Australian man is suing the State Government for failing to protect him from a convicted New Zealand paedophile who taught at his school in the 1960s.The man claims he was sexually abused weekly by his art teacher, William Alexander...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 8:37 pm
A military parade outside Windsor Castle was just the beginning of two weeks of celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Charlie D'Agata reports on the pomp and circumstance.
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 8:25 pm
White House says it is not expecting to finish negotiations over reopening key supply lines during the NATO summit
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 8:19 pm
March by hundreds of former soldiers and their young recruits in Haiti's capital turned violent and 50 participants were detained
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 7:59 pm
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's board voted at a leadership retreat in Miami to back a resolution supporting marriage equality, calling the position consistent with the equal protection provision of the U.S. Constitution.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status to "married" on Saturday. Zuckerberg and 27-year-old Priscilla Chan tied the knot at a small ceremony at his Palo Alto, Calif., home, capping a busy week for the couple.
Chrysler is recalling nearly 87,000 Jeep Wranglers in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere due to a risk of fires.
Source: USATODAY.com Feed | 19 May 2012 | 7:40 pm
(Reuters) - Google said on Saturday that Chinese authorities have approved its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings, the last regulatory hurdle to a deal that would allow the world's No. 1 Internet search engine to develop its own line of smart phones.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 7:23 pm
Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng arrived Saturday evening in the United States, bringing an end to a diplomatic firestorm that erupted after he escaped from house arrest and took to YouTube to complain about abuse he said his family suffered at the hands of authorities.
Source: CNN.com - World | 19 May 2012 | 7:13 pm
Three activists who travelled to Chicago for a Nato summit have been accused of manufacturing Molotov cocktails in a plot to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets.But...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 7:13 pm
The peaceful event, called Blockupy, in a nod to the Occupy movement, was the culmination of four days of demonstrations and drew about 20,000 protesters.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 6:53 pm
It's not just violence that plagues Afghanistan. As Allen Pizzey reports, a culture of corruption could cost Afghans their future.
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 6:51 pm
In Chicago at the NATO meeting, the big question will be how fast the U.S. and its allies can get out of Afghanistan without seeing that nation collapse after a 10-year investment of allied blood and treasure. Bill Plante reports.
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 6:50 pm
In a sudden end to a diplomatic stalemate, blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng was brought to the U.S. Elaine Quijano reports on Chen's journey and an apparent positive turn in U.S.-China relations.
Source: Latest World Headlines - CBS News | 19 May 2012 | 6:45 pm
CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 6:28 pm
The Manhattan Cocktail Classic (MCC) wrapped up its third edition earlier this week – a 120-hour stretch (more or less) of sipping, sampling, drinking, guzzling and just plain ol’ partying. Launched as something of a rival to Tales of the Cocktail. Read some lessons learned from this year’s event.
Source: Speakeasy | 19 May 2012 | 6:09 pm
The United States and Pakistan will not reach a deal on opening NATO supply routes before coalition leaders meet on Sunday, two senior U.S. officials told CNN.
Source: CNN.com - World | 19 May 2012 | 5:53 pm
CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Eight major economies raised the pressure on Iran on Saturday, signaling their readiness to tap into emergency oil stockpiles quickly this summer if tougher new sanctions on Tehran threaten to strain supplies.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 5:52 pm
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed nine people at a Syrian military post in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, an attack the government said was the latest proof that an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad was a foreign plot.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 5:47 pm
Like many Greeks left unemployed by their country's economic tailspin, Dimitris Spachos finds it easier to talk about his nation's problems than his own.Enormous debt accumulated over decades sent the country into a recession so...
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 5:15 pm
Ever encountered a snotty attitude at an organic food stand? It makes sense psychologically, according to a new study that analyzed how people reacted after looking at different kinds of foods, MSNBC... Lifestyle News Summaries. | Newser
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 4:54 pm
Google said Saturday that Chinese antitrust authorities have cleared the Internet giant's proposed purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., pushing the $12.5 billion deal over its last regulatory hurdle.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 4:54 pm
In a race that was a virtual repeat of the Kentucky Derby, I'll Have Another raced from behind on Saturday to beat pace-setter Bodemeister, who also finished second in the Derby.
A visit to the innovation hubs of Seattle and Silicon Valley stirred both excitement and dread. Here’s why.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 4:15 pm
The banking giant's $2 billion loss has many lawmakers and economists wondering what happened to the 2010 financial overhaul, which was supposed to prevent risky hedging. Many are also looking back further — to a Depression-era law, repealed in 1999, that separated commercial and investment bank activities.
A bird completes a rube goldberg machine similar to the game mousetrap. For more hilarious pet videos check out.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 4:08 pm
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, whose escape from house arrest sparked a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and China, flew to the U.S. with his wife and two children. He reportedly will be studying law at New York University.
Studios are always looking for a way to tie a movie to some element of pop culture in hopes of a guaranteed box office blow out. Board games may be the biggest stretch so far, but it is happening.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 3:29 pm
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - At least 22 al Qaeda-linked militants and 12 Yemeni soldiers were killed in clashes and air strikes overnight during a U.S.-backed offensive against insurgents in the south of the country, officials said on Saturday.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 2:36 pm
On the day three men were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism at President Obama's campaign headquarters and other Chicago-area sites, protests on the first day of the NATO summit on Saturday have been vigorous and noisy but largely peaceful. Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 2:34 pm
"Being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle have always been very important to me," says George Clooney's girlfriend
Source: People.com Latest News | 19 May 2012 | 2:20 pm
Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his family are due to arrive in Newark this evening after a surprise early-morning flight from Beijing. Host Guy Raz gets the latest from NPR's Michele Kelemen, who's been following the story.
NPR's Scott Horsley talks about what some are terming the "diplopaloozaa" this weekend, when President Obama hosts the G8 conference at Camp David on Saturday and the next day plays host to two dozen NATO heads of state in Chicago.
Concerns about whether debt-laden Greece will be forced to pull out of the eurozone, and what that would mean for a weakened European economy is the first topic on Saturday's agenda at the Group of Eight summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama, a senior administration official said.
Source: CNN.com - World | 19 May 2012 | 12:55 pm
I've noticed that a few of my conservative Facebook friends have linked to the recent debate between Paul Krugman and Ron Paul on Bloomberg. Some of them are embarrassed to find that Krugman was the more convincing participant.
I have a theory as to why. In that short interview Ron Paul revealed that his school of Austrian economics is more about assertions and ideology then it is about empirical data.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 12:44 pm
Prosecutors also said the men, arrested in a raid Wednesday, planned to attack Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets during this weekend's NATO summit. The suspects were each being held on $1.5 million bond.
The ruling African National Congress has threatened legal action against a Johannesburg gallery for displaying art which lampoons President Jacob Zuma and accuses the party of corruption.The ANC wants the Goodman Gallery to remove...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:55 am
An explosive device went off outside a high school in southern Italy as students arrived for class yesterday, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding seven others, officials said.The device went off just before 8am in the Adriatic...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:50 am
North Korea has publicly executed at least three people in recent years after they were found guilty of cannibalism, according to a think tank in Seoul.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 11:41 am
It was supposed to be a celebration filled with regal splendour to herald the start of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. But even before the poached eggs and noisettes of lamb were served, a row was raging over Britain's decision...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:30 am
The muggy, impenetrable darkness of the African night offered me little solace as I was pushed into the tiny prison cell. The smell of human sweat was overpowering as I focused on a tangle of limbs on the concrete floor. The heavy...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:30 am
Gac Filipaj cleans bogs for a living. Not just any bogs, mind. Privileged bogs. Ivy-league bogs. Between the corridors and walls of one of the world's finest learning institutions he works a regular late shift, sweeping and cleaning...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:30 am
Salvage experts plan to use water-filled cisterns to weigh down the above-sea side of the Costa Concordia that capsized off the Italian coast. It is part of an effort to turn the massive vessel upright so it can towed for demolition...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:30 am
Invitations to the Queen's Jubilee luncheon were only handed out to European royalty, but there was a Kiwi name on everyone's lips at the exclusive soiree - Emilia Wickstead.Wickstead, 28, from Auckland, was the designer behind...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - World | 19 May 2012 | 11:30 am
Astronomers may have detected evidence of a possible planet disintegrating under the searing heat of its host star located 1,500 light-years from Earth. Similar to a debris-trailing comet, the super Mercury-size planet candidate is theorized to fashion a dusty tail. But the tail won't last for long. Scientists calculate that, at the current rate of evaporation, the dusty world could be completely vaporized within 200 million years.
Source: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 11:26 am
British Rock legend Paul Weller seemed in a buoyant mood when he stopped by the WSJ Cafe, the Journal's live music showcase, for a recent performance. Weller smiled and joked with his bandmates and the intimate audience, and proved he was in fine voice when he launched into "That Dangerous Age," off of his new record "Sonik Kicks."
Source: Speakeasy | 19 May 2012 | 11:00 am
KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated explosives in an Afghan district close to the border with Pakistan, killing at least 10 people including children, officials said on Saturday.
Source: Reuters: Top News | 19 May 2012 | 9:34 am
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" was an elemental drama, with a comet, a solar eclipse, and a monk frozen in ice. With this episode, it becomes even more clear that the sequel series "The Legend of Korra" has moved from the natural and supernatural to the technological.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 9:00 am
Queen Elizabeth II continued the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee with a large military parade and other events. Charlie D'Agata reports.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 6:03 am
I've tried more than once to write this concluding post for Blogging to Nirvana, but it hasn't been easy. We returned from Dharamsala, India in late March, but it may as well have been last week.
Source: Los Angeles Times - Top News | 19 May 2012 | 6:00 am
The Olympic torch began its 70-day, 8,000-mile journey around Britain Saturday from Land's End in Cornwall, with three-time Olympic gold medal winner Ben Ainslie the first to carry the torch.
Source: CNN.com - World | 19 May 2012 | 3:15 am
A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student is stirring memories of the dark days decades ago when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks.
BAMAKO (Reuters) - The soldiers behind Mali's March 22 coup have agreed to allow a caretaker civilian president to remain in charge of the West African state for the time being, mediators for the ECOWAS bloc of West African states said on Saturday. The accord comes after the 15-nation ECOWAS group threatened travel bans and other sanctions on the coup leaders for blocking an extension of the 40-day mandate of interim leader Dioncounda Traore, to whom they nominally handed over power last month. ...
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said Sudan wants a lasting peace with South Sudan but Juba needs to end support for rebels in Sudan's border land, state news agency SUNA said on Saturday. Oil, security and frontier disputes ignited border clashes last month and for a while raised fears of full-blown war in one of Africa's most significant oil regions. South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement with Khartoum that ended decades of civil war. ...
Sri Lanka's president has ordered the release of his jailed electoral rival, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, bowing to US-led international pressure three years after the end of the island's long ethnic war.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.
A restive district of the Syrian capital has been rocked by overnight fighting between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.
BONDENO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage. The 6.0 magnitude quake struck at 22:04 EDT (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic. "I ran out in my underwear," one man told Italian television. ...
Kevin Durant stood above the 3-point line and watched the shot clock dwindle in the final seconds of Game 4. When Metta World Peace backed up slightly on defense, Durant hesitated only an instant before launching a 26-footer.
Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, Kevin Durant added 31 and made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds, and the Thunder rallied for a 103-100 win and 3-1 series lead over the Lakers on Saturday night.
A tropical storm watch was issued for the South Carolina coast after Alberto formed, bringing an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season.
Nick Stahl has resurfaced virtually following his disappearance more than a week ago. The 33-year-old "Terminator 3" star says he plans rehabiliation, E! News reports.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status to "married" on Saturday, wedding longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan.
Roger Penske ran out the clock on Michael Andretti's team, giving the Indianapolis 500 pole to Ryan Briscoe.
