World News: Serbia seeks probe into organ trafficking report
India Plays Hardball With China
- By Harsh V. Pant
- Egypt’s Tainted Elections Spur Opposition Cohesion
By Guy Taylor
- Peru’s ‘Look to Asia’ Strategy Pays Off
By Jason Marczak - India, France Seek to Deepen Partnership
By Saurav Jha - Regional Impact of Thailand’s Withering Democracy
By Fabio Scarpello
Syria: Free Activist Who Criticized Iran | Human Rights Watch
(New York) – Syrian authorities should not prosecute a political activist for statements criticizing Iran’s 2009 presidential election and should release him immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. Such a prosecution would appear to …
EU Membership Prospects Of Albania And Kosovo
Albania has made progress on reform but must do more to curb corruption. On Kosovo, all EU Member States should back a common approach. These are the key points of two resolutions adopted on Thursday by Parliament on the European …
Russian Vogue Will Supposedly Lead Putin To Out His Affair, Love …
Viktoria Davydova’s first cover of Russian Vogue since taking over from Aliona Dolestkaya features Vladimir Putin’s alleged mistress Alina Kabayeva. Kabayeva, who reportedly had a child by Putin last year, is a 27-year-old Olympic …
- The U.S.-Russia Space Relationship and Future Space Security
By Jason D. Wood
By Thomas P.M. Barnett | U.S. Foreign Policy
In a column two weeks ago, I described the outlines of a proposed grand-strategic bargain between China and the United States. Since the column appeared, I and my co-authors spent two weeks in Beijing meeting with top government-sponsored think tanks and retired Chinese senior diplomats to discuss and revise the proposal. I thought it would be useful to report on this dialogue.
AP Interview: Malaysia gay man gets threats
2 hours, 32 minutes ago
(AP) A Muslim gay man in Malaysia says he fears for his safety after speaking about his sexuality in an Internet video that attracted online death threats and accusations by religious authorities that he is insulting Islam.Azwan Ismail told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday he was taking safety …
Middle East
Israeli ministers float limited West Bank pullout
3 hours, 32 minutes ago
(AP) With Mideast peace talks at an impasse, two senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party are shopping around a new idea: In the absence of peace, Israel should pull large numbers of Jewish settlers out of the West Bank while leaving its soldiers in place.They believe the arrangement …
Asia
Australian man jailed for lying about being a POW
5 hours, 13 minutes ago
(AP) An elderly Australian man has been sentenced to four years in jail for lying about being a prisoner of war in order to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension payments.Judge Marshall Irwin of the Brisbane District Court on Tuesday said 84-year-old Arthur Crane would be released after six …
Latin America
Cardinal hopes Cuba will release 11 dissidents
5 hours, 41 minutes ago
(AP) The Roman Catholic Cardinal who helped broker a deal with Cuba to free dissidents jailed in a 2003 crackdown says he hopes the government will make good on its pledge to release the last 11 remaining in prison.Havana Archbishop Jaime Ortega says "hope springs eternal" that Havana will honor its …
Asia
Richardson says NKorea trip is opening for talks
6 hours, 17 minutes ago
(AP) New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson praised North Korea on Tuesday for not retaliating against South Korean artillery drills, and said the current tensions offered an opening for new multinational talks on ending the North’s nuclear program.Richardson had already announced before leaving Pyongyang on Tuesday following talks that officials there said …
Latin America
Argentine ex-President Duhalde seeks re-election
8 hours, 53 minutes ago
(AP) Former Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde has formally launched his campaign for re-election.Congress named then-Sen. Duhalde president after an economic crisis sparked violent social protest in late 2001, forcing Fernando De la Rua’s resignation.Duhalde was in office from 2002 until 2003, when he was succeeded by Nestor Kirchner.Duhalde supported Kirchner at …
Asia
Philippine coup plot suspect freed after 7 years
9 hours, 22 minutes ago
(AP) A former Philippine navy lieutenant accused of leading a 2003 coup plot before winning a Senate seat from jail has been released from seven years in detention in a presidential amnesty for military rebels, officials said Tuesday.Antonio Trillanes IV is the most prominent of about 300 troops who seized an …
Tonga’s parliament chooses PM for first time
9 hours, 57 minutes ago
(AP) Noble Lord Tu’ivakano defeated pro-democracy leader Akalisi Pohiva in a secret ballot among Tongan lawmakers Tuesday to become the country’s first prime minister elected by parliament rather than appointed by the king.Tu’ivakano, a former speaker of Parliament, won 14 votes and Pohiva 12 in the ballot among the 26 members …
Kosovo/Albania: Investigate Alleged KLA Crimes | Human Rights Watch
(New York) – The United States and European governments should demand thorough and impartial criminal investigations in Kosovo and Albania into allegations of serious crimes by former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members, Human Rights …
Europe and Russia
Brother pleads guilty to beating Potter actress
11 hours, 3 minutes ago
(AP) The brother of an actress who appeared in the Harry Potter movies has pleaded guilty to assaulting her, allegedly after she met a man who was not Muslim.The 22-year-old Afshan Azad plays Padma Patil, a classmate of the teenage wizard, in the movie series.Prosecutor Richard Vardon told Manchester Crown Court …
Latin America
Police: Man kills bride, best man, self at wedding
11 hours, 37 minutes ago
(AP) A bridegroom fatally shot his new wife, his best man and then himself after announcing to horrified guests that he had a "surprise" for them, authorities said Monday.Witnesses reported that 29-year-old Rogerio Damascena, a sales manager in Camaragibe, outside the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, did not give any previous …
News Of The World Desean Jackson Punt Return, Eagles Miraculous …
DeSean Jackson punt return scored on a kickoff return 65 yards on the final play of the game and the Eagles converted 28 points 7:28 into the final minutes to break on Sunday to the Giants 38-31 and reached for the first time this …
Study: Nearly half of weapons in Brazil illegal
12 hours, 48 minutes ago
(AP) A study on arms traffic in Brazil shows that nearly half the weapons circulating in Brazil are not legally registered.Justice Minister Luiz Paulo Barreto says the survey traced 288,000 weapons seized since 1982, and found that 47.6 percent of them were not registered. He adds that 80 percent of the …
Arizona Immigration Law In The Supreme Court: Employers Who …
The Chamber claims that Arizona’s law is preempted by federal immigration law, but the lower courts disagreedeven the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the most liberal federal appeals court in the nationupheld the law. …
Unemployment Extension Update 4
Unemployment Extension Update 4 – US Congress has reinstated the previously approved extensions for Americans receiving unemployment benefits. The extension does not add to the 99 weeks that had been approved but does allow anyone who …
Hewlett-Packard Takes Aim At Cisco With A Trade-in Offer …
HP is making big waves for its business clients by launching a new product today, associated with a very interesting offer and is looking to oust Cisco. A Catalyst for Change is a trade-in promotion that allows companies to upgrade …
Europe and Russia
France authenticates journalists video
13 hours, 22 minutes ago
(AP) French officials have authenticated a recent video of two French journalists who were kidnapped in Afghanistan a year ago, and they appear to be in good health.Stephane Taponier and Herve Ghesquiere were taken hostage outside Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul on Dec. 29.France-3 television station announced Monday that the journalists had recorded …
Middle East
Iran rejects Hariri tribunal verdict in advance
13 hours, 54 minutes ago
(AP) Iran’s supreme leader has rejected any ruling by a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri even before the verdict has been issued.The tribunal based in the Netherlands is expected to imminently indict members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah _ one of Iran’s major allies in …
Latin America
Colombian judge refuses to free slain rebel’s body
13 hours, 55 minutes ago
(AP) A Colombian judge has refused a request by the family of slain rebel military commander Victor Suarez to bury him in his hometown.Judge Paula Jimenez accepted the government’s arguments that releasing the body of Suarez into the custody of relatives would pose a threat to public order.Rodolfo Rios represents Suarez’s …
Africa
Explosion at Kenya bus station leaves 1 dead
14 hours, 35 minutes ago
(AP) A bomb exploded at a downtown bus station in Kenya’s capital late Monday as passengers boarded a bus, killing at least one person and wounding up to 39 others, police said. Suspicions centered on a Somali militant group.The person who was killed was carrying a piece of luggage that contained …
Middle East
Strong earthquake kills 7 in Iran
15 hours, 1 minute ago
(AP) A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck southeastern Iran late Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring 33 others, Iranian state TV reported.The report said the strong quake hit Hosseinabad, a small town of a few hundred residents in a sparsely populated Chah Malek region of southeastern Iran, at 22:12 local …
Europe and Russia
Court upholds sentence for former Nazi hit man
15 hours, 4 minutes ago
(AP) Germany’s top criminal court has rejected an 89-year-old man’s appeal against a life sentence given to him earlier this year for killing three Dutch civilians during World War II.Aachen state court said it was notified Monday that the Federal Court of Justice had rejected Heinrich Boere’s appeal on Dec. 1.The …
China Defense Blog: ROC Navy Opens Missile Base In Eastern Taiwan …
The nation’s navy opened yesterday a military base with Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles in eastern Taiwan to the media for the first time. Officers and their men gave a demonstration of operations concerning installing and hanging the …
Middle East
A look at Iraq’s top leaders
15 hours, 35 minutes ago
(AP) A snapshot of the top leaders of Iraq’s incoming government._Prime Minister: Nouri al-Maliki, Shiite, the current premier.Al-Maliki, 60, was first installed as prime minister as a compromise candidate in 2006 but barely hung onto the job this year when his political coalition fell short of winning the most seats in …
Paper Chase: Guantanamo Detainee Asks Poland To Probe Alleged CIA …
[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah on Thursday asked Polish prosecutors to investigate claims that he was abused in a secret CIA prison [JURIST news archives] in the country. Zubaydah, a top al Qaeda suspect, …
Latin America
Jamaican election held over citizenship dispute
15 hours, 36 minutes ago
(AP) Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s party is seeking to maintain its slim parliamentary majority in a Monday by-election called after a governing lawmaker revealed she held U.S. citizenship.The contest in northeastern St. Ann parish is the fourth by-election since 2007 involving ruling-party legislators who have violated constitutional law by holding dual …
Trial opens for suspect in 1990s Cuba bombings
16 hours, 10 minutes ago
(AP) A Salvadoran man accused of being involved in a 1990s bombing spree at Cuban tourist hotels went on trial Monday on terrorism charges, the government said.Havana has blamed Cuban-American exile groups for the deadly attacks and claims that Francisco Chavez Abarca confessed to being hired to plant the bombs by …
Africa
Nigeria: President launches book of Facebook posts
16 hours, 16 minutes ago
(AP) Nigeria’s president says he is launching a book chronicling his Facebook interactions with his Facebook friends to encourage reading as Africa’s most populous country heads into an election year.President Goodluck Jonathan said Monday that he decided to compile his Facebook conversations in the book titled "My Friends and I," because …
Middle East
Iraq’s Camp Bucca becoming commercial center
17 hours, 15 minutes ago
(AP) Camp Bucca, the sprawling former prison once run by the U.S. military in southern Iraq, will be turned into a commercial center with offices, warehouses, aviation and fuel services to support investors, an Iraqi official said Monday.Basra Investment Commission leader Haider Ali Fadhil said the $245 million-deal with the Iraqi …
Africa
Mandela son-in-law granted bail, may be extradited
17 hours, 23 minutes ago
(AP) An Interpol spokeswoman says that bail has been granted for the son-in-law of former South African president Nelson Mandela.Isaac Amuah, a former professor at Manchester Community Technical College, turned himself in to South African police Monday, and was granted bail of $73,000. Amuah had left Connecticut 12 years ago while …
Latin America
Mexican ex-candidate freed by kidnappers
17 hours, 49 minutes ago
(AP) A former Mexican presidential candidate was freed Monday more than seven months after his kidnapping, telling reporters outside his Mexico City home that he is well and forgives his captors.Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, a top Mexican political power broker who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1994, gave no details about …
Europe and Russia
Turkey’s leader asks Obama to thwart genocide vote
18 hours, 22 minutes ago
(AP) Turkey’s prime minister asked President Barack Obama on Monday to prevent a possible House vote on a resolution declaring the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told parliament that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sent Obama a letter asking he prevent the vote, saying …
Middle East
Iran first vice president faces corruption charges
18 hours, 53 minutes ago
(AP) Iran’s first vice president is facing corruption charges and will have to stand trial, the judiciary said Monday.Conservative lawmakers have openly accused First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi of financial corruption in recent months, but this was the first confirmation of charges against him. Rahimi has denied the charges and …
Africa
Merger of Somali militants could mean more attacks
19 hours ago
(AP) Somalia’s weak, U.N.-backed government could face an increase in attacks from Islamist insurgents after the two largest groups dropped their running feud and merged, analysts and fighters said Monday.The announcement on Sunday of a merger between al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam means the two won’t waste resources fighting one another, and …
Europe and Russia
Serbia seeks probe into organ trafficking report
19 hours, 29 minutes ago
(AP) Serbia urged international authorities on Monday to investigate allegations of a trade in the kidneys and other organs of civilians slain in the aftermath of Kosovo’s 1999 war for secession, officials said.A Serbian government official traveled Monday to the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, to meet …
EU: Shorter shifts for pilots could reduce fatigue
20 hours, 35 minutes ago
(AP) The European Union wants to limit the number of hours that pilots can work daily in order to reduce fatigue that some scientist say is a cause in a fifth of all fatal air crashes worldwide.The European air safety agency recommended Monday that pilots not work more than 14 hours …
Spanish police recover art stolen from warehouse
20 hours, 35 minutes ago
(AP) Spanish police say they have recovered artworks including pieces by Picasso, Colombian artist Fernando Botero and Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida that were stolen from a Madrid warehouse.Specialized Crimes unit chief Dionisio Martin said Monday the art was found in a stolen truck in an industrial area on Madrid’s southern outskirts.The …
