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50 Economic Numbers From 2011 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe
Even though most Americans have become very frustrated with this economy, the reality is that the vast majority of them still have no idea just how bad our economic decline has been or how much trouble we are going to be in if we don't make dramatic changes immediately.

Vancouver health authority begins its free crack pipe program for addicts
Crack addicts in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have started receiving free crack pipes as part of a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority harm reduction strategy aimed at curbing the spread of disease.

Iran to test-fire missiles in key oil waterway
Tehran said it will test-fire missiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a move likely to stoke tensions with Washington already running high over Iran's threats to close the strategic oil waterway if sanctions are enforced. "Shorter- and longer-range, ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles will be tested on Saturday," the ISNA news agency quoted Iran's navy spokesman, Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, as saying on Friday.

Clashes in Syria as Arab monitors embolden protesters
Activists say at least 35 people were killed in flashpoint cities like Hama, Deraa and Homs, all of whom were being visited by League monitors. Running battles were fought at one of the largest rallies, in the Damascus suburb of Douma. Security forces were accused of firing live rounds, nail bombs and tear gas.

New Year's Eve 2012: Celebrations start in Pacific
Revellers around the world are celebrating the end of 2011 and starting to see in 2012. Bad weather prompted some New Zealand planners to cancel outdoor events, but a fireworks display off Auckland's Sky Tower started at midnight (1100 GMT). Sydney is set to kick off New Year's Eve celebrations with a multi-million dollar fireworks display later.

US says Egypt agrees to stop raids on democracy groups
Egypt has reassured the US that it will stop raids on the offices of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the US state department says. Officials said property seized in the raids would be returned to the groups, which include two based in the US. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has spoken to Egypt's military ruler by phone to discuss the issue, they added.

Chile forest fire ravages Torres del Paine Park
Four hundred tourists were evacuated from Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia on Thursday as firefighters failed to stem the blaze. Officials said more than 85 sq km (21,000 acres) had been destroyed. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said it could take weeks to bring the fire under control.

EU open to talks with Iran, without preconditions
The European Union is open to meaningful talks with Tehran provided there are no preconditions on the Iranian side, an EU foreign policy spokesman said on Saturday. Earlier, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a senior official as saying that Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will write to the EU's foreign affairs chief to express Tehran's readiness for fresh nuclear talks with major powers.

Along Israel's Border, Preparations Made for Iran-Backed Attacks
Israel and the United States are planning joint military exercises in early 2012 with a focus on missile defense. The moves come amid recent Israeli media reports that Israel's government is considering an attack on Iran's controversial nuclear sites. Iran has vowed to hit back. In northern Israel preparations are being made for that possibility.

Twitter threatened with legal action for hosting terrorist Hezbollah
An Israeli pressure group has threatened micro blogging site Twitter with legal action to force it to close accounts run by Hezbollah and other organisations classified as terrorists by the US. Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Centre, said in a letter to Twitter that it should block access to Hezbollah, the East African al-Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab and other outlawed "Foreign Terrorist Organisations".

Cyclone pummels eastern Indian coast, kills 19
Lashing winds and heavy rain pummeled India's southeastern coastline Friday as Cyclone Thane roared onshore killing at least 19 people. The storm uprooted trees, ripped off traffic signals from their posts and sent shards of glass and other debris whizzing through the air. Roads began to flood and communications were tough because of cellular service outages.

Quake rattles New Zealand's Christchurch: USGS
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck close to the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake was measured only about 14 km (9 miles) northeast of the city. It was another in a series of quakes that have rattled the city since a major earthquake killed almost 200 people there 10 months ago.

2 abortion providers charged with murder in Md.
Authorities say two out-of-state doctors who traveled to Maryland to perform late-term abortions have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder, an unusual use of a law that allows for murder charges in the death of a viable fetus.

Bird flu confirmed in man in China's Shenzhen city
China has reported its first case of bird flu for 18 months, in the major southern city of Shenzhen. Preliminary tests on a 39-year-old man admitted to hospital with pneumonia proved positive for the virus. Postive tests on a dead market chicken last week prompted nearby Hong Kong's government to issue an alert.

North Korea names Kim Jong-un army commander
North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-un, has been formally named supreme commander of the country's armed forces, state media said. Kim Jong-un, who took over after the death of his father Kim Jong-il earlier this month, was appointed at a meeting on Friday, KCNA news agency said.

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Hackers Said to be Planning to Launch Own Satellites to Combat Censorship
The news comes as the tech world is up in arms about proposed legislation that many feel would threaten online freedom. According to BBC News, the satellite plan was recently outlined at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin. It's being called the "Hackerspace Global Grid."

Stuxnet and Duqu Part of Larger Cybermalware Campaign
The team's evidence is not conclusive but the circumstantial connections between Stuxnet and Duqu are now looking firmer, confounding sceptics who have suggested that the relationship is being overplayed as part of a fashion for geo-political software conspiracies.

Report: Jordan takes in families of Hamas leaders from Damascus
Jordan has taken in families of Hamas leaders from Damascus, including the family of the Palestinian organization's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday, quoting a source close to the terror group. According to the source, Jordan took the families in under the condition that the Hamas members would not engage in political activity in the country.

Who is the real Kim Jong-un? Diplomats fret over North Korea's portly new leader and party officials fear a purge
Officially aged 29, but probably only 26 or 27, Kim Jong-un is the youngest man in history with the power to launch a nuclear weapon. But the man who appears to have smoothly risen to become North Korea's "Supreme Military Commander", the title formally bestowed on him on Friday and confirmed by the ruling politburo yesterday, is a worrying blank to most of the outside world.

Palestinian Authority to turn to UN Security Council over Israeli settlements
The Palestinian Authority said on Saturday that it would ask the United Nations Security Council to discuss Israel's settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want for a future state. "In light of the escalation in the settlement campaign, the Palestinian leadership has decided to ask the Security Council to discuss this critical development, which threatens to destroy the peace process and the two-state solution," it said in a statement.

Texas airport: explosives found in man's luggage
A man has been detained at an airport in the US state of Texas after he tried to carry explosives through security, officials say. The man was stopped at Midland International Airport when explosives in military wrapping were found in his carry-on baggage as it went through an X-ray machine. He is being held by the FBI.

Obama signs Iran sanctions bill into law
US President Barack Obama has signed into law a major defence bill including tough new sanctions against Iran. The law cuts off from the US financial system foreign firms that do business with Iran's central bank. But Mr Obama stressed that he had concerns about parts of the legislation dealing with the handling of foreign terror suspects.

Egypt assures US no more raids on rights groups
Egyptian officials have assured the United States they will halt raids on pro-democracy and human rights groups and return property seized in a crackdown that strained ties with Washington, US officials said on Friday. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the US ambassador in Egypt, Anne Patterson, spoke with top Egyptian officials including the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Friday to press US demands that the non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, be allowed to resume normal operations.

Muslim Brotherhood vows not to recognize Israel
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel "under any circumstance," the party's deputy leader Dr Rashad Bayoumi told Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview publish Sunday. In recent Egyptian elections the party list led by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won 36.3 percent of the list vote, while the ultra-conservative Salafi al-Nour Party took 28.8%.

PM: Security fence to be built along Jordan border
When the security fence along the border with Egypt is complete, a fence will also be built along the border with Jordan, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Sunday in a Likud ministerial meeting. The move is intended to curb migrant workers and refugees from Africa from infiltrating into Israel.

Arab body says monitors should quit Syria promptly
An Arab League advisory body called on Sunday for the immediate withdrawal of the organization's monitoring mission in Syria, saying it was allowing Damascus to cover up continued violence and abuses. The Arab League has sent a small team to Syria to check whether President Bashar Assad is keeping his promise to end a crackdown on a nine-month uprising against his rule.

'Iran successfully tests nuclear fuel rods'
Iran has successfully produced and tested fuel rods for use in its nuclear power plants, state television reported on Sunday, in a snub to international demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work. The rods, which contain natural uranium, were made in Iran and have been inserted into the core of Tehran's research nuclear reactor, the television reported.

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Tri-Faith Project to construct multi-million dollar interfaith complex in America's heartland
A new project that its creators call the first development of its kind in the world hopes to shed light on those similarities with the building of the new Tri-Faith Project, a large privately-funded development in Omaha on a former country club and golf course that spans 35 acres and will comprise three sites: Temple Israel, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska (including a church) and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture (which includes a mosque), as well as the large central Tri-Faith Center connecting the three religious centers for common events and meetings.

Iran wants negotiations with West
As Western nations move towards a showdown with Iran over it's nuclear ambitions, the Islamic Republic has signaled it wants a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Iran's National Security Adviser Saeed Jalili is proposing the talks as hostilities grew this week when Iran threatened to stifle international oil flows by closing the Strait of Hormoz in response to threats of escalated international sanctions.

North Korea calls for "human shields" to protect new leader
North Korea called on its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong-un and protect him as "human shields" while working to solve the "burning issue" of food shortages by upholding the policies of his late father, Kim Jong-il. ..."Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of our Party and our people, is the banner of victory and glory of Songun (military-first) Korea and the eternal centre of its unity," the 5,000-word editorial carried by the North's state KCNA news agency said.

Nigeria's president declares state of emergency after Christmas attacks
The move came in response to dozens of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, an Islamist group that claims ties to al-Qaeda, most recently a wave of bombings over Christmas that killed nearly 50 people. The state of emergency will apply to the states of Plateau, Niger, Yobe and parts of Borno, where Boko Haram traditionally has its base, President Goodluck Jonathan said.

Palestinians: Peace talks require halt to Israeli settlement construction
The Palestinians are downplaying expectations ahead of their first meeting with Israelis in more than a year. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and Israeli envoy Yitzhak Molcho are set to meet in Jordan on Tuesday in a bid to get peace talks restarted. Negotiations have been stalled since September 2010.

Magnitude 6.8 quake hits Japan
A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck off the coast of Japan on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The earthquake hit 468 kilometers (302 miles) south-southwest of Tokyo at a depth of 348 kilometers, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning.

Iran 'test-fires cruise missile' in Gulf exercises
Iran has successfully test-fired a ground-to-ship cruise missile during military exercises in the Gulf, the official Irna news agency reports. Iranian naval commander Mahmoud Mousavi was quoted as saying it was the first time they had tested the Iranian-made Ghader missile, with a range of 200km.

Arab Parliament urges end to Syria monitors' mission
An advisory body to the Arab League has called for the organisation's observers to be withdrawn from Syria because of the ongoing crackdown on protests. The speaker of the Arab Parliament said the monitors had to leave "considering the continued killing of innocent civilians by the Syrian regime".

Thousands of blackbirds fall to their death in Arkansas town for second New Year's Eve in a row
Ancient Mayan legend says that 2012 will bring the end of the world. A small Arkansas town might have shown the first example of that as approximately 5,000 blackbirds dropped dead from the sky last night in the early hours of the new year. As if the incident was not strange enough, it is the second time in two years that the birds have fallen as the calendar year changes.

Two Koreas 'at a turning point' says South president
The Korean peninsula is at a "turning point" and there are opportunities for change, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in a new year speech. He said Seoul would "respond strongly" if provoked by North Korea, with whom it remains technically at war.

L.A. arson wave grows to about 40 fires; most since 1992 riots
With about 40 arson fires across Los Angeles in the last three days, the wave of intentional blazes that started in Hollywood on Friday is the worst since the 1992 riots, officials said. Authorities said they remained unsure whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several people, perhaps including copycats. Although the majority of the fires have occurred in the Hollywood area, some also were reported in the San Fernando Valley, Westside and as far south as Lennox near the 105 Freeway.

Australia warning over Murray Valley encephalitis
Health authorities in Australia are warning of a possible outbreak of Murray Valley encephalitis, a rare but potentially deadly disease. The mosquito-borne disease has recently been found in chickens in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales. Humans can also be infected.

Denmark to battle for European unity
Denmark takes over the six-month EU rotating presidency on Sunday (1 January), kicking off what is expected to be another traumatic year for the eurozone and its single currency. Like all presidency countries, Denmark has a specific to-do list, but the eurozone crisis means that its most pressing task will be political in nature: ensuring that euro and non-euro states do not drift apart.

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Assad 'Only Has Weeks'
According to Defense Minister Ehud Barak the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has only ''a few weeks'' before it loses control of the already tempestuous country. ''The Assad family has no more than a few weeks to remain in control in Syria,'' Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense committee on Monday.

Stocks up solidly as US economy takes center stage
Wall Street was poised for a fairly solid opening—Dow futures were up 1.1 percent at 12,286 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 0.6 percent to 1,259.

Pakistan Taliban commanders "at each other's throats"
Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and his deputy, Wali-ur-Rehman, were at each other's throats, the sources said. "You will soon hear that one of them has eliminated the other,

Syria says 'terrorists' strike gas pipeline, state media reports
An explosion struck a gas pipeline Tuesday in central Syria in an attack the government blamed on terrorists, the state-run news agency said. There were no casualties. The blast happened near the town Rastan in the restive Homs province, SANA reported.

Russia's Putin dreams of sweeping Eurasian Union
— Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a vision for a Soviet Union-lite he hopes will become a new Moscow-led global powerhouse. But, his planned Eurasian Union won't be grounded in ideology: This time it's about trade.

Gun sales break records before Christmas, as FBI reports gun dealers ordered 1.5M background checks in December
Guns were more likely than ever to land beneath Christmas trees in 2011, as the FBI reported record-breaking firearm sales in the days leading up to the holiday.

Is a super-volcano just 390 miles from London about to erupt?
A sleeping super-volcano in Germany is showing worrying signs of waking up. It's lurking just 390 miles away underneath the tranquil Laacher See lake near Bonn and is capable of ejecting billions of tons of magma. This monster erupts every 10 to 12,000 years and last went off 12,900 years ago, so it could blow at any time.

Audiences pack venues to hear Santorum speak
Potential voters in Tuesday's caucuses attended a series of town hall events Monday during an 11th-hour campaign swing in hopes of catching a glimpse of the former Pennsylvania senator who has suddenly caught fire in the past two weeks of the campaign here.

IDF predicts missile attacks on J'lem in future war
The army recently updated threat scenarios for every major city in Israel – and for the first time predicted that missiles might hit Jerusalem, even in a relatively minor conflict.

Persian Gulf tensions mount as U.S. engages Israel on Iran
The Obama administration is engaged in a full-court press to persuade Israel that Iran’s nuclear threat can be contained short of war. The U.S. lobbying has received a mixed reception from Israel, where the Netanyahu government has not ruled out a unilateral strike on Iran. Iran, meanwhile, is taking an aggressive stance in response to mounting sanctions.

'Mind control' scientists can make mice forget bad memories - and the technique could work in humans
Neuroscientists at MIT have found a chemical way to make mice forget bad memories. By deactivating a 'memory gene' - Npas 4 - they found that mice would 'forget' their fear of a chamber where they had previously been given electric shocks.

Dream of Universal Currency Just Won’t Die
The euro zone maelstrom refuses to end. Thanks to the debt crisis, some Greek officials are contemplating dumping the common currency for the drachma. Meanwhile, Italy and Spain teeter. A decade after the shared currency was heralded as a 21st-century tool for peace and prosperity, it turns out that currency unions aren’t such a hot idea.

Scientists grow sperm in laboratory dish
The development opens up the possibility of infertile men being able to father their own children rather than using donor sperm. Researchers in Germany and Israel were able to grow mouse sperm from a few cells in a laboratory dish. In a world first a team headed by Professor Stefan Schlatt, at Muenster University in Germany, were able to grow sperm by using germ cells.

Severe weather warnings issued as storms hit UK
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings across many parts of the UK, as storms batter the country. Part of the roof of the grandstand at Epsom racecourse in Surrey has been blown off by high winds. In Scotland, warnings for both snow and high winds have been issued, and gales have gusted up to almost 100mph.

Deadly Chile forest fires spread
Firefighters in Chile are tackling dozens of forest fires which have killed one person and destroyed 230 sq km (57,000 acres) of land in the southern and central regions. A 75-year-old man died in Bio Bio after he refused to leave his home. Firefighters said they had managed to contain four out of six blazes in the Torres del Paine National Park.

‘Oil shale: A sound way to achieve energy independence'
After completing operations at its six oil shale experimental drilling sites, Israel Energy Initiatives has submitted a final assessment of its project’s environmental impacts to the Environmental Protection Ministry. IEI hopes to get the project’s official pilot phase under way in the coming months.

Israeli, Palestinian negotiators to meet in Amman
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will face each other across the table in Amman on Tuesday for the first time in 16 months to discuss how, and indeed whether, diplomatic negotiations will proceed. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reiterated on Monday the Palestinian Authority demand for a full Israeli cessation of construction in the settlements and east Jerusalem, and acceptance of the June 4, 1967, lines as the basis for a two-state solution...

'Iran warns departed US carrier not to return'
Iran will take action if a US aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency quoted army chief Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday. "Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA.

Oil jumps to near $101 amid rising Iran tensions
Oil prices jumped to near $101 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid concerns that rising tensions between Western powers and Iran could lead to crude supply disruptions. Benchmark crude for February delivery rose $1.71 to $100.54 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 82 cents to settle at $98.83 in New York on Friday.

Hackers developing satellite system for 'uncensorable Internet in space'
The threat of Internet censorship has spurred some to seek refuge in space. Hackers at the Chaos Computer Club’s Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin this year proposed an initiative called the Hackerspace Global Grid (HGG), which aims to create and freely make available satellite based communication as a fallback or to bypass stuffy legislation.

Iran nuclear crisis: France wants 'stricter' sanctions
France is convinced Iran is developing nuclear weapons and should face "stricter sanctions", Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said. He urged EU countries to follow the US in freezing Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.

Iowa caucuses: Republicans ready for 2012 contest
Six Republican presidential candidates are preparing for the first official test of the US election season in the rural state of Iowa. The hopefuls toured Iowa on Monday, the last full day of campaigning before the caucuses. Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum lead the polls ahead of Tuesday's vote, but the race remains unpredictable.

Hungarians protest against new Fidesz constitution
Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in Budapest over Hungary's controversial new constitution, a day after it came into force. The country's governing Fidesz party pushed the law through parliament in April after winning a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections. Opponents say it threatens democracy by removing checks and balances set up in 1989 when Communism fell.

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Coming In 2012: Target Tehran
Target Tehran is a new production set to be released worldwide in 2012. Washington hopes it will be a blockbuster. The story is of an all-out air and naval assault on Iran by the forces of freedom and democracy: the U.S. Navy and Air Force. It is yet to be decided if the U.S. infantry will be written into the script; but with an unlimited budget, it very well may happen.

Jubilant Santorum team cheers Iowa success, declares caucus victory
The result of the Iowa caucuses were still not clear by the early hours of Wednesday morning but jubilant Rick Santorum aides were celebrating a moral victory here, after their candidate held Mitt Romney to a virtual tie.

Ahmadinejad: Israel's attempts to 'Judaize' Jerusalem will bring about its end
Israeli attempts to "Judaize" Jerusalem will bring about its end, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday, saying Israel's occupation of Palestinian land was the most important topic in the world. ..."Zionists, who have no faith in religion or even God, now claim piety and intend to take away the Islamic identity of the Holy Quds." "This ridiculous move is in fact the continuation of the colonialist polices of oppressors, which will not save the Zionist regime, but also take the regime closer to the endpoint of its existence,” the Iranian president added.

‘Father Christmas’ Stabbed To Death By Muslim Extremists
A young man dressed as “Father Frost” – the Russian equivalent of Father Christmas – was stabbed to death in Tajikistan on Monday in an attack police believe was motivated by religious hatred, two police sources said.

Turkey FM to visit Iran for nuclear talks
Turkish officials said Wednesday that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit Iran for talks on the country's nuclear program and developments in Iraq and Syria. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Davutoglu will pay a two-day visit to Tehran, starting on Wednesday.

Volcanic Year in Review for 2011
2011 started with a number of the usual suspects making noise, including Kizimen in Kamchatka, a renewed burst of activity at Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau and explosions at Bromo. By midmonth, we started to see the signs of what was to be a very busy year at Italy’s Etna as small explosions began to occur at the beginning of the month and the 1st paroxysm of 2011 began on January 13.

Magma Causing Uplift in Oregon
Although this region has not seen an eruption in at least 1,200 years, the scattered hints of volcanic activity here have been a cause of concern, leading to continuous satellite-based monitoring. Now 14 years of data is revealing just how the Earth is changing there and the likely cause of the uplift — a reservoir of magma invading the crust 3-to-4 miles (5-to-7 km) underground.

There's a New Volcano to Worry About, and This Time It's in the USA
As you know we’re still in the first week of the new year, but there’s already a brand new volcano—complete with ash-cloud potential—getting ready to wreak havoc on air travel. Unlike the volcanoes over in Europe or down in South America, this one’s a little closer to home, and it’s a heck of a lot easier to pronounce.

S. Korea, US to boost guard against N. Korea attack
The South Korean and US military will soon sign a new plan to counter any North Korean attacks and hold regular exercises, Seoul said Wednesday, amid wariness over the North's power transition. "We believe there remains a possibility of provocations by the North during the power succession to Kim Jong-Un," deputy defence minister Lim Kwan-Bin told reporters.

Science Fiction-Style Sabotage a Fear in New Hacks
When a computer attack hobbled Iran's unfinished nuclear power plant last year, it was assumed to be a military-grade strike, the handiwork of elite hacking professionals with nation-state backing. Yet for all its science fiction sophistication, key elements have now been replicated in laboratory settings by security experts with little time, money or specialized skill. It is an alarming development that shows how technical advances are eroding the barrier that has long prevented computer assaults from leaping from the digital to the physical world.

Japan Reportedly Building Vigilante Virus Assassin Squad
Japan reportedly has paid Fujitsu $2.3 million to build a self-replicating assassin squad -- a computer virus it can set loose in the network to track down and eliminate other viruses.

U.S. Funds Nearly 50% -- $31 Million -- of U.N.’s Global Warming Panel
A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that the United States funded the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations’ authority on alleged man-made global warming, with $31.1 million since 2001, nearly half of the panel’s annual budget.

Colorado Christian University Sues Federal Government Over Health Care
Colorado Christian University in Lakewood is taking the federal government to court. The school says it’s being coerced into violating its deeply-held religious beliefs. The beliefs involve strong opposition to abortion. There are some 4,000 students and 500 employees associated with the university. The school offers a group health plan to its employees and students.

Hormuz oil spike could spark global recession
French foreign minister Alain Juppe supported the American hard line with Tehran, and urged European leaders to impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports and freeze Iranian central bank assets by the end of this month. Currently, Italy imports 13.3pc of its oil from Iran, Spain 9.6pc, Greece 34.7pc and France 4.4pc.

Victory in hand, Romney looks to NH
Narrow Iowa victory in hand, Mitt Romney was looking toward the next-up New Hampshire primary - essentially on his home turf - and sharper criticism from his Republican rivals, including chief challenger Rick Santorum. The former Massachusetts governor was declared the winner of the leadoff presidential caucuses early Wednesday by just eight votes, ringing down the curtain on an improbable first act in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the fall.

Russia says Iran has no long-range missiles
"Iran does not have the technology to create intermediate or long-range inter-continental ballistic missiles," defence ministry spokesman Vadim Koval told the Interfax news agency. "And it will not get such missiles any time soon," he added.

Santorum Thanks God for Strong Iowa Showing, Moves Forward
Rick Santorum did not declare victory in a speech to supporters early Tuesday morning-- the Iowa caucus results were still too close to call. He did, however, give thanks to three sources of support: his wife, God, and Iowa voters. “You have taken the first step of taking back this country," Santorum told his supporters at his Des Moines, Iowa headquarters.

Iran tells departed US carrier to 'stay out' of Persian Gulf'
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy’s carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Ataollah Salehi told IRNA.

US manufacturing activity beats forecasts
US manufacturing activity hit a six-month high in December, according to a survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM's index, which looks at orders, production and jobs, rose to a higher-than-expected level of 53.9 in December, up from 52.7 in November

EU countries preparing to impose oil ban on Iran
A Greek official has indicated that Athens would back an oil embargo on Iran, setting the stage for a positive decision by EU countries at the end of the month. The unnamed official told the Reuters and Bloomberg news wires on Tuesday (3 January) that Greece has dropped its previous opposition to the new measure.

Greece warns of euro-exit as EU economies drift apart
Greece may have to exit the eurozone if it fails to secure its second EU-IMF bail-out its government has warned, amid new protests against spending cuts. "The bailout agreement needs to be signed otherwise we will be out of the markets, out of the euro," government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis told Skai TV on Tuesday (3 January).

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Displaced Kenyans identify with Jesus the refugee
Pastor Ancent Muisyo of the Dadaab International Worship Center said church leaders were encouraging refugees from conflict and famine in the Horn of Africa to be hopeful, even as the government on 21 December 2011 issued a security alert for churches across the country. "The people in Dadaab need to hear words of hope at this time, because they have fled war and insecurity. Their experiences are similar to the flight of baby Jesus into exile over fears of persecution," -we will be encouraging them that God has not forgotten them and a time of restoration is coming."-Christian agencies are continuing to provide relief aid, but it is a Christmas with reduced operations because of insecurity, many aid workers had left.

S. Korea, US to boost guard against North attack
South Korea and the United States will soon sign a new plan on countering any North Korean attacks, Seoul said Wednesday, amid international wariness over the abrupt leadership transition in Pyongyang. "We believe there remains a possibility of provocations by the North during the power succession to Kim Jong-Un," deputy defence minister Lim Kwan-Bin told reporters. The ministry said the South Korean military, in response to any attack, would ensure "the enemy threat, the source of the provocation and its supporting forces are completely removed".

A Blatant, Frontal Assault on the Constitutional Separation of Powers
Thus, despite the fact that the Senate isn’t even dragging its feet on these appointments, and despite the fact that the Senate has been adamant that it is not in recess, Obama has arrogated to himself the power to declare the Senate in recess for them and short circuit the entire Constitutional process for Senate confirmation of Constitutional officers.

EU reaches agreement to ban imports of Iranian oil
The agreement, news of which sent crude oil prices higher, followed talks in the last days of December between EU envoys, diplomats said. Objections to the idea, notably from Greece, were dropped during the talks, they said.

IDF rabbinate edits out Dome of the Rock from picture of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
Israel’s military rabbinate released an educational document ahead of the holiday of Hanukkah last month, featuring a photo of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount without the Dome of the Rock, Haaretz learned on Thursday.

NFL star rips Tim Tebow: “We don’t need God on our sidelines”
“With all due respect we don’t need God on our sidelines,” Suggs said. “I don’t feel comfortable I gotta pray every fourth quarter, like oh my God please come save me again.”

Animal-Related Diseases Concern Scientists
Health researchers and wildlife biologists say the number of infectious diseases that have jumped the boundary from animals to humans and between animal species is on the rise. Scientists believe the increase may be a result of more frequent contact between humans and wild animals, as well as the growing trade in wild animals, both legal and illegal.

Swine flu virus may be spreading between people
The announcement comes after a number of warnings concerning the H3N2 virus by U.S. authorities in recent months. The virus is a variant of the swine flu virus H3N2.

After Receiving Bailout, GM May Move Volt Production to China
Although it happened back in September, 2011, it appears many American taxpayers are unaware that General Motors struck a deal in Shanghai wherein the company has agreed to develop an electric vehicle (EV) platform with its longtime Chinese partner SAIC. What else was included in this deal? GM has agreed to effectively move all future EV development to China. It could also mean that production of the vehicle itself will be moved overseas.

No Mayan Apocalypse in 2012 … But There’s Alot of Other Interesting Stuff Happening
...the date did not represent an end of humanity or fulfillment of the catastrophic prophecies, but that the new cycle “supposes changes in human consciousness.”

Earthquakes prompt record insurance claims in 2011
Insurance industry damage claims from natural disasters like the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand reached a record $105 billion (67.3 billion pounds) in 2011, Munich Re (MUVGn.DE), the world's biggest reinsurer, said on Wednesday.

Pentagon Scientists Use ‘Time Hole’ to Make Events Disappear
A team at Cornell University, with support from Darpa, the Pentagon’s out-there research arm, managed to hide an event for 40 picoseconds (those are trillionths of seconds, if you’re counting). They’ve published their groundbreaking research in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Dozens killed, more than 100 missing in landslide at Philippines gold mine
The landslip struck a remote mountain community near Pantukan town on Mindanao island in the Philippines, and an army unit was digging out buried houses and bodies using shovels and other hand tools, civil defence chief Benito Ramos told AFP. Pantukan and nearby Monkayo town have drawn thousands of gold prospectors for years, and the largely unregulated mining activities have triggered a series of deadly accidents.

Iran plans more military drills in Gulf amid tensions with U.S.
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday that Iran planned to hold more military exercises after a 10-day drill in the Persian Gulf raised tensions with the United States. "The maneuver of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards would be held soon," the ISNA news agency quoted Vahidi as saying after the weekly cabinet meeting. He gave no further details.

In final leg of vote, Egypt's Islamists eye majority
The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood looks set for a dominant role in Egypt's first free parliament in decades and is promising rivals a role in writing a new constitution as military generals face growing pressure to hand power to civilians. Egyptians voted for a second day on Wednesday in the final stage of the lower-house election, the first free legislative vote since army officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952.

Obama defies Congress with ‘recess’ picks
Pushing the limits of his recess appointment powers, President Obama on Wednesday bypassed the Senate to install three members of the National Labor Relations Board and a director for the controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - moves Republicans said amounted to unconstitutional power grabs. Mr. Obama said the appointments, which he previewed during a campaign-style speech in Ohio, were necessary because Senate Republicans have blocked him at every turn. But in making the move, he rejected three precedents, including two in which he played a part, that would have blocked the appointments.

Storms, flooding prompt Dutch evacuations
Dutch villagers have been asked to leave their homes and farms because strong winds and heavy rain have led to fears of coastal flooding. Some farmers in Tolbert in the northern province of Groningen refused to leave their cattle, despite reports that an inland **** was at risk of breaking. There are flood warnings for the Dutch west coast. Gales have also battered the UK, Belgium, France and Germany.

Euro drops after French bond auction
The euro has dropped to its lowest rate against the dollar in 16 months after France sold 8bn euros ($10.3bn, £6.6bn) of bonds at an auction. The euro fell to $1.2831 against the dollar and was at an 11-year low versus the yen. France paid an interest rate of 3.29% to borrow for 10 years, up from 3.18% at the last sale in December.

Assisted suicide: 'Strong case for legalisation'
There is a "strong case" for allowing assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill in England and Wales, a group of experts says. The Commission on Assisted Dying - set up and funded by campaigners who want to see a change in the law - said the current system was "inadequate". It said it was possible to allow assisted dying within a strict set of rules to ensure it was not abused.

31 Killed in Brutal Mexican Prison Fight
A vicious fight among inmates armed with makeshift knives, clubs and even stones left 31 people dead in a prison in a drug cartel-plagued state in northern Mexico, authorities said.

New Defense Plan to Slim Down Military, Shift U.S. Security Focus to Asia
President Barack Obama is putting his personal stamp on a rejiggered Pentagon strategy for absorbing hundreds of billions of dollars in defense budget cuts, marking a turning point in U.S. security policy after a decade of war.

Greek prime minister warns of March default
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said Greece may default on its debts in March unless unions accept further cuts to salaries. Mr Papademos said more cuts were needed to avoid exiting the eurozone. Analysts say the warning is to prepare Greece for more austerity measures.

Baghdad hit by deadly bomb blasts
At least 24 people have died after explosions in Shia areas of Baghdad, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry. The ministry told the BBC that at least 66 people were wounded in the blasts, which occurred in the capital's Sadr City and Kadhimiya neighbourhoods.

Only in Sweden Would File-Sharing Become an Official Religion
It took two years and two failed attempts for members of the Missionary Church of Kopimism to earn the official designation as a state-recognized religion in Sweden, but they finally did it. Run by a group of people who consider copying to be sacred

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Town resists billionaire's Zeus temple bid
Russian precious-metals billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov recently showed interest in purchasing the ruins in Agrigento's famous Valley of the Temples.

Syria reports deadly 'terrorist' explosion in capital Damascus
An explosion by terrorists targeted the central Maidan district of Damascus on Friday, Syrian state television said, adding that the attack targeted a police bus in central Damascus, causing several deaths.

Ex-CIA Chief: Iran Top Threat in 2012
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says Iran's nuclear program is getting 'darker' everyday and adds that country is currently the 'single greatest destabilizing element' with regards to global security.

Israel concerned may be under cyber attack
Israeli officials said on Friday they were concerned the country may be under cyber attack after a wave of credit card code thefts in the past week by a hacker who claims to be operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Chinese Bird Flu Death Was Mutant Strain, Say Health Experts
The strain of H5N1 avian influenza that infected and killed a man in Shenzhen, China, was a mutant strain of the deadly virus, according to Chinese and Hong Kong media reports. A 39-year-old bus-driver named Chen died from multiple organ failure on Dec. 31 after being infected, according to the Department of Health of Guangdong Province.

Seven Indonesean Volcanoes in Level III Alert Status
Out of the seven volcanoes, authorities are focusing on Mount Kawah Ijen, Mount Gamalama and Mount Lewotolo as their eruption impaact is teh biggest compared to others.

Global economy could endure disaster for a week - report
Events such as the 2010 volcanic ash cloud, which grounded flights in Europe, Japan's earthquake and tsunami and Thailand's floods last year, showed that key sectors and businesses can be severely affected if disruption to production or transport goes on for more than a week.

Euro plunges on fears of banking crisis
The Italian bank UniCredit warned its investors of the potential risk of a break-up of the single currency as the euro was battered to a 16-month low against the pound on anxiety about the health of eurozone governments and their banks.

Did the Maya predict the world would end in 2012?
To backup the apprehension over 2012, some will also point to the I Ching and Nostradamus as predictors of note. Though it may also be worth observing that only a few days into this new year, the Rapture Index is just one point below its all-time high.

Military Warning To Iran Over Strait Closure
The UK would respond militarily if Iran carries out its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Defence Secretary has warned. Philip Hammond used a speech in Washington DC to warn Iran that any attempt to close the key Gulf trade route would be "unsuccessful" and could be stopped in part by the Royal Navy.

6,757 aftershocks felt in Japan from March 11 until Dec 31
Of those, there were 14 with a magnitude over 5, 30 with a magnitude of 5, 174 with a magnitude of 4, 707 (magnitude 3), 1,904 (magnitude 2) and 3,928 (magnitude 1), the agency said on its website.

5.3 Earthquake Hits Dominican Republic
the U.S. Geological Survey say the earthquake struck at 5:35 a.m. local time Thursday, and its epicenter was six miles deep (10 kilometers) in Ocoa province, 34 miles (55 kilometers) west of the capital of Santa Domingo.

OBAMA TO SHARE SECRETS
President Obama signaled Congress this week that he is prepared to share U.S. missile defense secrets with Russia.

Nigeria church hit by deadly gun attack in Gombe
Gunmen have attacked a church in north-east Nigeria, killing at least six people, the church's pastor says. Johnson Jauro said the killings took place when gunmen burst into his Deeper Life Church in Gombe, capital of Gombe state. He said his wife was among those killed. Ten other people were injured.

Obama unveils new strategy for 'leaner' US military
The US military will become "leaner" while maintaining superiority as it switches focus to the Asia-Pacific region, US President Barack Obama says. In a rare appearance at the Pentagon, he unveiled a far-reaching defence review under which thousands of troops are expected to be axed. The tide of war was receding and the US must renew its economic power, he said.

More power for EU commission in new draft of fiscal treaty
EU member states are on Friday (6 January) to discuss the latest draft of a new pact on the financial crisis, focusing on how the European Commission can sanction debt-sinners and how to merge the new treaty with EU law despite a UK veto. ...The legal trick to get around the issue could be mandating the commission to act "on behalf" of member states, one EU diplomat said.

Damascus suicide bomber kills 25, wounds 46
A suicide bomber in Syria's capital Damascus killed 25 people and wounded 46 others, local news station Addounia said. "In Damascus there are 25 martyrs, 15 of the bodies were in pieces, and more than 46 people were wounded, most of them civilians" it said.

EU governments consider delay on any Iran oil ban
A European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil imports could take a few months to come into effect because of a push by some EU capitals for a delay that they say is necessary to shield their debt-stricken economies, EU diplomats said on Friday. EU capitals have agreed in principle to an embargo on Iranian oil, part of Western efforts to ratchet up pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

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White House proposes 0.5 percent pay increase for federal workers
The White House will propose a 0.5 percent pay increase for civilian federal employees as part of its 2013 budget proposal, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the plans. The modest across-the-board pay jump would be the first increase for federal workers since before a two-year freeze began in late 2010. Raises for within-grade step increases and promotions have continued during the freeze.

Exclusive: West readies oil plan in case of Iran crisis
Western powers this week readied a contingency plan to tap a record volume from emergency stockpiles to replace nearly all the Gulf oil that would be lost if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters. They said senior executives of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises 28 oil consuming countries, discussed on Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers.

Russian Church head Kirill urges Kremlin policy change
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said the Kremlin should heed the recent mass protests over ballot-rigging and adjust its policies. In a televised message on Orthodox Christmas Day, Patriarch Kirill said it would be a "very bad sign" if the authorities ignored the protesters. He added that he could not take sides in the election dispute.

China warns US on Asia military strategy
China's state media have warned the US against "flexing its muscles" after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific. In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama's move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity. But it said any US militarism could create ill will and "endanger peace".

Britons warned over Nairobi terror threat
British nationals in Kenya have been warned to be vigilant after the Kenyan authorities alerted the public to a heightened threat from terrorist attacks in the capital city, Nairobi. The Foreign Office said it believed terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks. Britons are strongly advised to "exercise extra vigilance and caution in public places", it said.

US economy creates 200,000 jobs in December
The US economy created 200,000 jobs in December, marking the sixth month in a row of gains, official figures show. The rise was much more than expected. Analysts had forecast an increase of about 150,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.5%, which was the lowest level in nearly three years, from a revised 8.7% in November, the Labor Department said.

'UK sends most powerful vessel to Gulf'
The UK is sending its most powerful naval vessel to the Gulf to counter any potential Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Daily Telegraph reported Friday. The ship, a Type 45 destroyer named HMS Daring, will depart from Portsmouth on Wednesday and is set to arrive in the Gulf by the end of January. It is capable of shooting down "any missile in Iran's armory," according to the Telegraph.

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Shades of NKorea's founder in its young new leader
North Korea's young new leader, Kim Jong Un, appears to be fashioning himself as the reincarnation of Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and the nation's founder, as he seeks to solidify his hold on the nation of 24 million in the wake of his father's death last month.

Police: Serial killer targeting California's homeless
A manhunt for a serial killer is under way in Southern California after the fatal stabbings of three homeless men, authorities said. In a span of 10 days last month, three transient men were killed in Anaheim, Brea and Placentia, according to police.

State media: Iran to hold military drills in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran plans to conduct military drills in the Strait of Hormuz in February, state media said Friday. The announcement comes amid tensions about the strategically important waterway. Dubbed "the Great Prophet," the drills will be different from previous ones, a commander with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps told Press TV.

China warns US on Asia military strategy
China's state media have warned the US against "flexing its muscles" after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific. In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama's move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity.

Syria pledges 'iron fist' response to Damascus bombing
Syria's interior ministry has vowed to "strike back with an iron fist" at what it say is a recent "escalation" of anti-government terror attacks. It comes after a bomb in the capital, Damascus, killed at least 26 civilians and members of the security forces.

Nigeria Christians hit by fresh Islamist attacks
Nigeria has been hit by a fresh wave of violence apparently targeting the country's Christian communities. At least 17 people were killed in Mubi in Adamawa state as gunmen opened fire in a town hall where members of the Christian Igbo group were meeting.

Amid tensions, U.S. Navy rescues Iranians from Somali pirates
Just days after Iranian and American military officials traded warnings over a U.S. Navy vessel's departure from the Persian Gulf, the United States Navy has rescued 13 Iranian fishermen and their fishing dhow from Somali pirates in the north Arabian sea, the Pentagon said Friday. And in a side irony that punctuates the rare instance of Iranian-American co-operation, the rescue operation was carried out by a ship belonging to the very U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group that Iranian army officials had earlier boasted of evicting from Gulf waters.

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U.S. Top Officer: Closing Hormuz would be Red Line
Iran has the ability to temporarily block the Strait of Hormuz but the U.S. “would take action and reopen” it, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said Sunday, making clear to Iran that in threatening to close the straits, it is literally playing with fire. .

Iran holds military exercise near Afghan border
Iran launched a military maneuver near its border with Afghanistan on Saturday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, days after naval exercises in the Gulf increased tensions with the West and pushed up oil prices. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces, said the "Martyrs of Unity" exercises near Khvat, 60 km (40 miles) from Afghanistan, were "aimed at boosting security along the Iranian borders," Fars reported.

Austria hit by heavy snow, major railway line shut
Heavier than usual snowfall and high winds have caused chaos on roads and railways in many areas of Austria. Part of a major railway route has been shut down in the west of the country, and some villages and tourist resorts have been cut off. Up to 1.2 metres (4ft) of fresh snow has been recorded in some areas since Thursday.

Arabs to meet on Syria as peace mission stumbles
Arab League monitors will say on Sunday Syria is defying a plan to end its crackdown on peaceful protests, Al Jazeera reported, as Arab foreign ministers prepared to discuss the findings of the mission.

Strong data damps Fed need to buy bonds: Bullard
Signs the U.S. recovery is gaining strength suggest the Federal Reserve may not need to buy any more bonds to spur growth, a top policymaker said on Saturday. "I don't think it's very likely right now because the tone of the data has been pretty strong" through the end of 2011 and up to now, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told reporters after a speech at an economics conference. "We can probably wait and see for now."

Report: Russian naval force arrives at Syria port in 'show of solidarity'
A large Russian naval forced arrived at the Syrian port city of Tartus, the French AFP news agency reported on Sunday, in what the regime of President Bashar Assad is calling a show of "friendship." Last November, a Syrian news agency reported that Russian warships were planned to arrive at Syrian territorial waters, indicating that the move represented a clear message to the West that Moscow would resist any foreign intervention in the country's civil unrest.

Report: Iran begins uranium enrichment at underground site
Newspaper close to Iran regime, the Kayhan daily, reports that Iran has begun enriching uranium at sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordow site near the holy city of Qom.

Palestinians nabbed with 12 explosive devices
Four Palestinians were arrested by a Border Guard force Sunday morning in possession of an improvised gun, a commando knife and 12 explosive devices of different sizes. According to suspicions, the four were on their way to carry out a terror attack.

US to sell Israel 2,500 Hummers, trucks
The IDF is soon to purchase 2,500 Hummer vehicles, trucks and other equipment from the United States military, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday. Top IDF officials have recently travelled to the US and reached a preliminary agreement on the deal, which includes gear used during US engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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US expels Venezuelan diplomat Livia Acosta Noguera over links to cyber-attacks
THE Obama administration will expel Venezuela's consul general in Miami after allegations surfaced that she discussed possible cyber-attacks on US soil while she was stationed at her country's embassy in Mexico. The State Department said it had declared the diplomat, Livia Acosta Noguera, persona non grata and given her until Tuesday to leave the country.

Muslim Brotherhood political advancement in Egypt could strengthen Hamas
There was an unmistakable hint of triumph in the comments made by Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the elected Hamas government in Gaza when he was hosted by Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. ...It is very telling that Haniyeh's first official visit outside Gaza as prime minister was to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo's Moqattam district.

Solomon Islands hit by 6.6 magnitude earthquake
The quake hit at a depth of 23 miles at about 3:00pm local time (4.00am GMT) some 220 miles east of Kirakira, the main city of the Solomons' major island, Makira. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was "no destructive widespread tsunami threat" based on historical data.

Hamas PM: We will never give up our arms, territory, or claims on Jerusalem
Hamas prime minister in Gaza said Sunday that the militant group will never give up its arms, its territory or its claims on Jerusalem on behalf of the Palestinians. Ismail Haniyeh spoke to a cheering crowd of 5,000 in the Tunisian capital Sunday. He predicted difficult days ahead for Israel, which is grappling with how to respond to the Arab Spring, a series of popular uprisings that began in Tunisia a year ago.

Panetta: U.S. will not allow Iran to develop nuclear bomb, block Strait of Hormuz
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday that the U.S. would act if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon or close the Strait of Hormuz. Panetta, speaking to CBS' Face the Nation, said that if Iran started developing a weapon, the U.S. would act. "I think they need to know that — that if they take that step — that they're going to get stopped."

Alaska town tries to dig out from huge snow dump
Dozens of National Guard troops have arrived to help an Alaska fishing town dig out from massive snows that have collapsed roofs, trapped some people in homes, and triggered avalanches. Cordova is used to snow, but not like this season's blanketing. The Guard reported more than 18 feet of snow has fallen in the past weeks, although the National Weather Service did not immediately have a measurement.

Venezuela's Chavez welcomes ally Ahmadinejad
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismissed a U.S. warning to avoid close ties with Iran on Sunday, denouncing what he said was Washington's attempt to dominate the world as he welcomed the Iranian president to the Latin American nation. Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived at the start of a tour to shore up support from the region's leftist leaders, as tough new Western sanctions aim to isolate the Islamic republic and target its vital oil exports.

Amnesty says Arab leaders fail to see scale of uprisings
Leaders in the Arab world have still not understood the full significance of the Arab Spring uprisings, Amnesty International has said in a new report. The rights group said the actions of protesters had been more effective than international powers in driving change in the region. But it warned of further suppression of protests by Arab leaders this year.

Heavy snow blankets West Austria region of Vorarlberg
Heavy snow blocked roads and rail services to Austria's western province of Vorarlberg for hours on Monday. Officials said that up to 60cm (23in) snow had fallen overnight into Monday and the risk of avalanches was high, assessed at four on a scale of five. Although road links were re-established, Austrian rail service OeBB said the Arlberg train route was closed.

Germany's Merkel in eurozone crisis talks with Sarkozy
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun eurozone crisis talks in Berlin with the German chancellor amid gloomy economic prospects for 2012. EU leaders are facing multiple pressures on the 17-nation eurozone in the run-up to a summit on 30 January. Chancellor Angela Merkel insists on tougher penalties for countries that violate eurozone budget rules.

South Korea's Lee Myung-bak in China for state visit
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has arrived in Beijing for a three-day state visit. He has met Chinese President Hu Jintao as well as Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress. This is the first major meeting between the two since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death. Mr Hu is to host an official state dinner for Mr Lee.

Nigeria fuel strike brings country to a halt
A general strike in Nigeria over the elimination of a fuel subsidy has brought the country to a standstill. Shops, offices, schools and petrol stations around the country closed on the first day of an indefinite strike. Thousands of people gathered in Lagos and other cities to protest at the loss of the subsidy which has meant a doubling of fuel and transport costs.

Iran death sentence for 'CIA spy' Amir Mirzai Hekmati
A US man of Iranian descent has been sentenced to death by a court in Tehran for spying for the CIA. Amir Mirzai Hekmati was "sentenced to death for co-operating with a hostile nation, membership of the CIA and trying to implicate Iran in terrorism," semi-official Fars news agency said. The 28-year-old's US-based family say he was in Iran visiting grandparents.

Khamenei says Iran will not yield to Western sanctions
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran would not yield to the pressure of sanctions imposed by the West to get the Islamic Republic to change its nuclear course. "The Iranian nation believes in their rulers ... Sanctions imposed on Iran by our enemies will not have any impact on our nation," he said in a speech broadcast by state television.

Evangelicals may face choice: electable candidate or 'moral' one
So evangelical voters may be willing to support a presidential candidate with a checkered past, and this presidential election, they may have to choose between a candidate who can win and a candidate who mirrors their religious ideals.

Obamas held a secret Alice in Wonderland-themed party at White House in depths of recession in 2009
Right as the economy was going down the rabbit hole, the Obamas decided to host an Alice in Wonderland themed Halloween party, complete with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Tim Burton-arranged decorations. They even talked to Star Wars director George Lucas and convinced him to lend them the original Chewbacca costume for the entertainment of their guests.

Church attacks in Nigeria leave at least 27 worshippers dead
The religiously motivated massacres, three in as many days since Thursday, targeted Christians in Mubi and Gombe, both towns in the north-east where a state of emergency was declared by President Goodluck Jonathan last week. Some 17 other deaths have been reported in other regions.

Gulf states brace for unwanted US-Iran war
This very real fear is prompting the oil-rich states to enhance their defences while hoping that diplomacy can rein in Tehran's regional ambitions and put an end to its worrying nuclear programme. "No one in the Gulf States wants war but everyone is preparing for the possibility that it might happen," said military analyst Riad Kahwaji.

Syria hails visit of Russian warships to Tartus
Syrian authorities have called the visit of a Russian naval task force to the port of Tartus a “show of solidarity with the Syrian people,” the official SANA news agency reported. A Russian task force, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, arrived in Tartus on Sunday to replenish water and food supplies during a long-term training mission in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

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The Top Faith Stories of 2011
Trends are interesting. I have compiled the top 15 stories of faith from 2011 by gathering information from other ministries, perusing news stories on my own, and talking to fellow leaders in ministry. Here goes. And the list is not in any particular order.

The MOST Important Video About Israel You'll Ever See
Can ancient prophecies about Israel be true? Is the Bible true or relevant today? This video will put those questions to rest! (From Israel)

Iran offers to share nuke technology with Africa
Iran's nuclear chief says his country is willing to help what he called "friendly" African nations that have uranium reserves to set up facilities to process the ore into nuclear material. Fereidoun Abbasi says Iran has mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle from extracting uranium ore to producing fuel for reactors and is ready to share the technology.

Strait of Hormuz powder keg: US-Israel to meet Great Prophet?
The U.S. is moving thousands of its troops to Israel for a planned joint exercise. It comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions in the Persian Gulf over Iran's threat to block the crucial Hormuz Strait. Some analysts have voiced fears it could be part of a build-up to a military strike on Iran. RT's Paula Slier, who's in Jerusalem, quotes Israeli military as saying this would be the biggest military games ever.

Totally Drug-Resistant Form of TB Emerging in Second Country
Three years after the first reports in the world of a totally drug-resistant (TDR) form of tuberculosis (TB) in Iran, at least 12 cases of TDR-TB have been confirmed in India over the last few months. According to the Times of India, cases began emerging in October 2011, making it the second country find this deadliest strain of TB among patients.

New Sex Ed Standards Call for Homosexuality to Be Explained to 5th Graders
Young elementary school students should use the proper names for body parts and, by the end of fifth grade, know that sexual orientation is “the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender,” according to new sexual education guidelines released Monday by a coalition of health and education groups.

Supreme Court Justices ‘Blast’ EPA for Telling Idaho Couple They Can’t Build on ‘Protected Wetlands’
Several conservative members of the Supreme Court criticized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday for heavy-handed enforcement of rules affecting homeowners after the government told an Idaho couple they can’t challenge an order declaring their future home site a “protected wetlands.”

Hamas leader warns PA against pursuing peace with Israel instead of Palestinian unity
If Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas bets on peace talks with Israel rather than reconciling his Fatah movement with Hamas, he will lose out, Zahar said in an interview with Reuters in his Gaza office.

Israel preparing for nuclear Iran within a year
If Tehran carries out nuclear weapons tests, the U.S. will offer Israel a defense pact, but would urge Israel not to respond with an attack on Iran, according to AFP. Russia would be expected to sign a deal with the U.S. in order to prevent armament in the region, and Saudi Arabia would be likely to develop its own nuclear capabilities, according to the report.

Syria's Assad vows to stay in power, says 'victory is near'
In his fourth speech since the Syrian revolt began in March, Assad also lashed out at the Arab League and accused the Cairo-based bloc of failing to protect Arab interests.

Homeland Security monitors journalists
Freedom of speech might allow journalists to get away with a lot in America, but the Department of Homeland Security is on the ready to make sure that the government is keeping dibs on who is saying what.

The State of California’s assault on family values continues into 2012
Assembly Bill 266 has being sitting in the State’s Education Committee for two years. Now an amendment to this legislation has revealed its destructive agenda. Prior to the amendment, AB 266 dealt with sports teams and arenas and as a follow-up for the very appropriate Title 9 legislation, both genders must have access to any class or sports program. Now, according to the amendment, “…A pupil shall be permitted to participate in a sex-segregated school program, activities, and facilities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with his or her gender identity, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE GENDER LISTED ON THE PUPIL’S RECORDS.” The pupil now decides whether he is a male or female. Giving this type of adult responsibility to a child, especially a troubled-child, is reckless.

Israel preparing for a nuclear-armed Iran: report
Israel has so far maintained it will do all within its power to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities, but has shifted its position following recent United Nations’ reports, according to the Times.

EU meeting on Iran oil embargo set for January 23
European Union governments agreed on Tuesday to bring forward a meeting of foreign ministers expected to decide on an oil embargo on Iran by one week to January 23. In its statement confirming the date, the EU said the decision to bring it forward from Jan. 30 was taken to avoid a scheduling clash with a summit of EU leaders set for that day.

5 Things You Should Know About the FBI's Massive New Biometric Database
"The FBI recognizes a need to collect as much biometric data as possible within information technology systems, and to make this information accessible to all levels of law enforcement, including International agencies."

Report: Israel preparing for nuclear Iran within a year
Israel is preparing for an Iran with nuclear capabilities within the next 12 months, according to a report by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank. The U.K. daily Times newspaper published extracts of the report by the Tel Aviv University institute on Monday, according to an AFP report.

U.S. Agents Helped Mexican and Colombian Drug Traffickers Launder Millions, Report Says
The Mexican magazine Emeequis published portions of documents that describe how Drug Enforcement Administration agents, a Colombian trafficker-turned-informant and Mexican federal police officers in 2007 infiltrated the Beltran Leyva drug cartel and a cell of money launderers for Colombia's Valle del Norte cartel in Mexico.

Iran's uranium enrichment is escalation, says US
The warning comes after the UN's nuclear watchdog confirmed that Tehran had begun enriching uranium up to 20% at its northern Fordo plant. Analysts say 20% enrichment is an important step towards making uranium weapons-grade, but Tehran says it is for purely peaceful purposes. The UK and France condemned the move.

Nigeria fuel strike: Burning roadblocks on second day
Roadblocks have been set alight in Nigeria's main city of Lagos on the second day of an indefinite strike over the elimination of a fuel subsidy. Correspondents say the city is tense after a protester was killed in Lagos on Monday in a demonstration over the doubling of petrol prices. Unions in the northern city of Kano have cancelled protests after five people died.

China's Wen to visit key Mideast energy powers
China's Premier Wen Jiabao will visit three key Middle Eastern oil and gas suppliers -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar -- from the weekend, amid signs that Beijing wants to expand its options in the face of US sanctions aimed at Iran. An announcement on Tuesday from the Chinese Foreign Ministry (www.mfa.gov.cn) said Wen would meet host leaders to "thoroughly exchange views on developing bilateral relations and on international and regional issues of common concern".

Bahrain to Jewish leader: Iran is a threat to us all
Iran is a common threat to Bahrain, Israel and the US, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by a Jewish official on Sunday. Rabbi Marc Schneier, vice president of the World Jewish Congress, said the king told him he was alarmed by the Islamic Republic during a 45- minute meeting held in the capital city of Manama late last month.

Assad: Priority is to restore order, hit 'terrorists'
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday blamed "foreign planning" for a 10-month-old popular uprising in which thousands of people have been killed and vowed to strike "terrorists with an iron fist." Assad, speaking in public for the first time since June, also said he welcomed the idea of expanding the government to include "all political forces" and held out the prospect of a referendum in March on a new constitution for Syria.


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UNBELIEVABLE EVENTS IN 2011~SO WHAT IS NEXT THIS YEAR?
A summation of very unusual events over 2011.

Visiting Catholic Bishops Decide: "Gaza is a Prison"
Eight Catholic bishops from Europe and North America have just visited the Christian community in Gaza. French Bishop Dubost's comment was, “Last week, I asked prisoners in the largest prison in Europe (in Evry) to pray for you”. The inference is clear: Gaza’s Christians are living in a big prison and terrified by Israel.-Not a word about the Islamic repression of that tiny Christian community in Gaza - and Bethlehem and the rest of the PA.

Bomb kills Iranian nuclear expert
Two assailants on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the car of an Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility, killing him and another person Wednesday, state TV reported. The slayings suggest a widening covert effort to set back Iran's atomic program.

Iran's Game of Threats is About to Backfire
Iran's threat to close the narrow Strait of Hormuz has drawn the attention of military forces around the world and ignited a buildup that could endanger the region. While the U.S. and her major allies regularly maintain a naval presence in the Persian Gulf, other countries have dispatched warships to send a clear message to Tehran.

HAARP Detection Network opens to the public with national purpose
According to the Website's about section, the project has been under development for a couple of years. Volunteers have added 22 sensors at their residences, in unknown locations. These sensors measure the effects and changes of the ionosphere that HAARP tampers with and a magnitude system that goes with the sensor readings triangulates the center of the frequency above the country.

Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake strikes off the Northern Sumatra Coast
The strong earthquake hit on Wednesday morning at 12:37 a.m. local time. The quake has not produced a tsunami warning from the warning center yet.

Italy austerity: PM Monti warns of angry response
Italian PM Mario Monti has warned of protests against the EU and Germany if his country's economic reforms and changes to labour laws go unrecognised. Mr Monti was speaking in a newspaper interview before making his first visit to Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. He said that despite Italy's "sacrifices", there had been no EU concessions such as interest rate cuts.

Pakistan army warns PM Gilani over criticisms
Criticism of Pakistan's military by PM Yousuf Raza Gilani will have "serious ramifications", the army has said. Earlier this week Mr Gilani was quoted saying the army chief and head of intelligence acted unconstitutionally by making submissions to a Supreme Court inquiry rocking the government. The army warned of "potentially grievous consequences for the country".

Euro crisis puts continent's future in doubt, warns Fiat boss
Marchionne said: "We are playing with fire. One of the things we need to realise is that the world is fundamentally interconnected. We have ended up being accountable to a lot of people who financed our public debt.

Oklahoma Sharia law ban 'unconstitutional', court rules
The US state of Oklahoma has been stopped from introducing a amendment to its constitution, stopping courts from considering Islamic law in judgements. A federal court of appeals upheld a district judge's decision to block the implementation of the amendment. The ban on Islamic law was approved by 70% of voters in a referendum in 2010.

Alaska snow and ice cuts off Cordova and Nome
Extreme winter weather has left one Alaskan town battling huge snowdrifts and forced another to seek fuel supplies from a Russian tanker. National Guard troops are in Cordova, helping the town dig out after fresh snowfalls on Tuesday added to the 18ft (5.5m) that has fallen since November. A US Coast Guard icebreaker and a Russian tanker are trying to resupply Nome, cut off by thick sea ice.

Russian space chief says satellites may have been sabotaged
Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin stopped short of accusing any country of disabling Russian satellites, but in an interview published Tuesday in the daily Izvestia he said some Russian craft had suffered "unexplained" malfunctions while flying beyond the reach of his country's tracking facilities. Popovkin said he didn't want to proportion blame, but modern technology makes spacecraft vulnerable to foreign influence.

US senators warn Ashton on risk of Iran war
US senators have warned EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton that Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme risks igniting a military confrontation. ...They urged Europe to press ahead with sanctions on Iran's most valuable export - oil, with EU foreign ministers set to decide on a possible embargo at a meeting on 23 January.

Iran, West approaching 'turning point' in 2012, officials warn
War games. Threats to close a key oil passageway and block a U.S. aircraft carrier from returning to the Persian Gulf. An American sentenced to death in Tehran, accused of spying. And now a breakthrough in Iran's nuclear program. The developments portend what officials see as a momentous year ahead in the standoff between Iran and the West, as Iranian leaders appear to grow bolder despite a new round of international sanctions which, by most accounts, is taking a toll.

Iran atom agency calls killing 'heinous act'
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Wednesday the country's nuclear path will not change, after Tehran accused Israel of killing one of its nuclear scientists in a "heinous act". The agency said in a statement that the disputed nuclear program, which Iran says is for energy and the West says aims to make atomic weapons, would carry on despite international pressure, Iran's Arabic language al Alam TV reported.

Syria's Assad addresses supporters in Damascus square
Syrian President Bashar Assad, fighting 10 months of pro-democracy protests, greeted thousands of rapturous supporters in a Damascus square on Wednesday, only a day after breaking a six-month public silence. The crowd shouted "Shabiha forever, for your eyes, Assad", a reference to loyalist militiamen who have gained a fearsome reputation for their part in suppressing anti-Assad protests.

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Deployment of thousands of U.S. troops in Israel, a start of war against Iran?
On December 20, the Jerusalem Post reported that Lt.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the U.S. forces based in Germany, said that there will be a deployment of several thousand American soldiers in Israel. An Egypt-based military expert, major general Jamal Mathloum, said that “there is a military strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Israel since the 1980s and there is definitely mutual understanding.” He added that the U.S. troop deployment might not necessarily mean a direct signal of war, but that it could be read as Israel and U.S. readiness in case of a conflict arising in the region.

Eric the horse mutilated on ‘Satan sacrifice day’
..the two-year-old stallion was found dead in his field with his right eye gouged out, his teeth removed and his genitalia hacked off. The horrific attack happened last weekend — and Saturday was St Winebald Day, a date in the satanic calendar traditionally celebrated with bloody rituals.

Tax-Funded Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibition Again Focused on Homosexuality
For the second year in a row, the federally funded National Portrait Gallery (NPG), a part of the Smithsonian Institution, held an exposition during the Christmas season focused on the homosexual lifestyle.

U.S. military moves carriers, denies Iran link
The U.S. military said on Wednesday that a new aircraft carrier strike group had arrived in the Arabian Sea and that another was on its way to the region, but denied any link to recent tensions with Iran and portrayed the movements as routine. The shift in the powerful U.S. naval assets comes at a moment of heightened tensions with Iran, which has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most important oil shipping lane - if U.S. and EU sanctions over its nuclear program cut off its oil exports.

Top U.S. official meets with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns met Mohamed Morsi, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in Washington's highest level outreach to the Islamist group as part of a series of meetings with Egyptian political figures in Cairo, the State Department said. "From our perspective it was an opportunity to hear from them and to reinforce our expectation that all the major parties will support human rights, tolerance, rights of women and will also uphold Egypt's existing international obligations," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

12 Infected With New Swine Flu Strain
The days of medical masks at airports and widespread panic may be coming back—that's because at least 12 humans are believed to have been infected with a new strain of swine flu that's not covered by this season's vaccine. The new swine flu strain, H3N2v, has shown at least some potential for human-to-human transmission in those 12 individuals, which makes it especially dangerous.

'Hezbollah, Iran providing weaponry to Assad'
Iran and Hezbollah are actively assisting Syrian President Bashar Assad and providing him with weaponry as part of an effort to ensure that he survives in the face of growing resistance and protests, head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said...

Children 'dumped in streets by Greek parents who can't afford to look after them any more'
Children are being abandoned on Greece's streets by their poverty-stricken families who cannot afford to look after them any more. Youngsters are being dumped by their parents who are struggling to make ends meet in what is fast becoming the most tragic human consequence of the Euro crisis.

Dollar power on the wane, new reserve system likely : Stiglitz
“I am for a new global reserve system because money is moving in the wrong direction – from poor to rich countries. China and Russia pushed for a new reserve system at the last G-20 meeting but the United States did not agree to let the dollar be replaced,” Stiglitz said. “Hopefully, there will be a consensus on a departure from the dollar-dominated regime.”

Fitch warns of 'cataclysmic' euro collapse
Speaking to investors as part of a European roadshow, Mr Riley said a collapse of the euro would be disastrous for the global economy, and while it is not Fitch's baseline scenario, it could happen if Italy did not find a way out of its debt problems.

Japan 'to reduce Iran oil imports'
Japan will take "concrete steps" to reduce its oil dependency on Iran, its finance minister has announced. The comments from Jun Azumi came after he met US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Tokyo. Mr Geithner is seeking backing from China and Japan for stricter sanctions on Iran's oil industry in a bid to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

China's collapse 'will bring economic crisis to climax in 2012'
A looming hard landing in China will bring the financial and economic crisis of the past five years to a climax in 2012, one of the City of London's leading analysts has warned. Albert Edwards, head of strategy at Société Générale and one of the UK's leading "bears", said the next 12 months would be the "final year of pain and disappointment".

Putin 'too busy' for presidential election debates
Vladimir Putin will not take part in Russian presidential election debates because of his duties as prime minister, his spokesman has announced. Taking time off for debates would "undoubtedly impede his ability to duly carry out his duties", Dmitriy Peskov told Russian media. Despite marathon TV chats and news conferences, the two-time president has never debated with challengers.

US Homeland Security watches Twitter, social media
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document. A "privacy compliance review" issued by DHS last November says that since at least June 2010, its national operations center has been operating a "Social Networking/Media Capability" which involves regular monitoring of "publicly available online forums, blogs, public websites and message boards."

EU moves towards agreement on details of Iran oil embargo
European Union states drawing up details of an oil embargo on Iran have given wide backing to a proposal to allow European entities to continue to receive repayments in oil for debts they are currently owed by Iranian firms, EU diplomats said. The 27 states are also working towards a phased implementation of a ban on imports of oil and petrochemical products from Iran. One diplomat said a consensus was emerging that the oil import ban should come into force after six months and the petrochemical product ban after three - similar to provisions in US legislation.

Mexico drug war deaths over five years now total 47,515
Mexican officials say nearly 13,000 people were killed in violence blamed on organised crime between January and September last year. This means there have been 47,515 drug-related killings since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on drug traffickers in late 2006.

Japan 'to reduce Iran oil imports'
Japan will take "concrete steps" to reduce its oil dependency on Iran, its finance minister has announced. The comments from Jun Azumi came after he met US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Tokyo.

Spain doubles target in debt auction, yields down
Spain's borrowing costs fell at an auction of government bonds on Thursday that saw solid demand in 2012's first real test of appetite for debt from the euro zone's bruised periphery. But Spain still faces huge challenges this year to meet tough European deficit targets after the government missed its 2011 cost-cutting goal and the economy sinks into recession.

Prime-Time TV Network News Ignoring SOPA
Have you noticed TV news networks are largely quiet on SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) during prime-time viewing hours? You're not alone. Media watchdog Media Matters found that most major TV news networks haven't been giving SOPA prime-time coverage in any substantial terms. In a recently released report, the research organization discovered that "most major television news outlets -- MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, CBS, and NBC -- have ignored the bill during their evening broadcasts."

Egypt activists vow no Israeli pilgrimage to tomb
Egyptian Islamists and other activists vowed Wednesday to prevent Israelis from making an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of a 19th-century Jewish holy man in the Nile Delta. Pilgrimage opponents have decided to stage protests on roads leading to the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira in the village of Daymouta, 180 kilometers (112 miles) north of Cairo, said Gamal Heshmat of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group which is the country's best organized political movement.

Mississippi judge bars release of inmates pardoned by Barbour
A Mississippi judge barred the state Wednesday from releasing prisoners newly pardoned by former Governor Haley Barbour, a conservative Republican who outraged some by granting clemency to more than 200 convicts as he was leaving office.

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Standard & Poor's downgrades 9 European nations
The question is whether the move worsens a downturn that the Obama administration has warned is the greatest danger to the global economy. Economists already expect the situation in Europe to slightly bruise the United States.

RUSSIA SAYS MILITARY OPTION AGAINST IRAN DANGEROUS
The Russian Ambassador to NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, speaking to the press in Brussels, said that involving Iran in military action due to its nuclear programme would pose a direct threat to Russia's security. "Iran," said Rogozin, "is our neighbor, and should the country become involved in military operations this would pose a threat to our security."

S. Korea: North tests 3 short-range missiles
North Korea fired three short-range missiles this week in an apparent routine test of its technology, a South Korean official said Friday.-Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper first reported the tests. North Korea regularly conducts short-range missile tests, but the latest came as it tries to consolidate new leader Kim Jong Un's grip on power after his father Kim Jong Il's death on Dec. 17.

Israel, Palestinians to hold further talks Saturday
The exploratory discussions began on Jan. 3 and followed a long break in negotiations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended talks 15 months ago over Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

U.S. warns of possible "terrorist" attack on Bangkok
The U.S. embassy in Thailand warned on Friday that "foreign terrorists" could be looking to conduct attacks in areas of the capital, Bangkok, frequented by tourists and told its citizens in a message to be careful.

Another ATF weapons operation comes under scrutiny
"Apparently guns got away again," said one source close to the investigation, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa). "How many got into Mexico, who knows?"

Global Economy, Markets at Risk in 2012
“For the moment, the U.S. Treasury is viewed as a safe haven,” Gross said. “Until we see some clear evidence in terms of where the world is going, reflation or deflation, then that’s a decent alternative. It allows you to get your money back.

A universal currency could end the financial crisis
...currency unions -- or even a single global currency -- have a fair share of appeal. A universal medium of exchange could eliminate currency risk and jack up trade. It would mean speculators couldn't short an individual country's currency.

China to slow sharply: Citigroup's Richard Cookson
CHINA'S economy is likely to slow sharply this year as the country's recent growth has been unstable and driven by credit and property bubbles, a senior Citigroup private bank executive said yesterday.

Iranian paper calls for retaliation against Israel
A hard-line Iranian newspaper called Thursday for retaliation against Israel, a day after the mysterious killing of a nuclear scientist in Tehran with a magnetic bomb attached to his car. Iran's top leader blamed Israel and the U.S. Provocative hints from Israel reinforced the perception that the killing was part of an organized and clandestine campaign to set back Iran's nuclear ambitions, which the U.S. and its allies suspect are aimed at producing weapons. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes only.

Alleged Russia arms ship docks in Syria despite vow to change course
But Turkish Foreign Ministry official Selcuk Unal said the ship docked Thursday at the Syrian port of Tartus, according to Turkey's navy. The ship had turned off its tracking device and the information could not be independently verified. The ship, owned by the St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd, was carrying "tens of tons of munitions," according to Cyprus state radio.

Russian spacecraft to crash to Earth on Sunday
The minibus-sized Russian craft has been in a low orbit around Earth since losing contact with engineers shortly after its launch on November 8. It had been intended to explore Phobos, one of Mars's two moons, but became stranded while still orbiting Earth and attempts to put it back on its original course failed.

Record snow in Anchorage as Alaskan communities run out of shovels following 27ft snowfall... and there's more to come!
Weary Alaskans today woke up to another heavy snowfall as Anchorage experiences its snowiest period since records began, causing more headaches in coastal areas already struggling to dig out. The snow started falling shortly before midnight last night and meteorologists warned Anchorage residents that the heaviest snowfall - up to 16 inches - could come later on Thursday.

Italy's borrowing costs fall in bond auction
Italy's cost of borrowing has fallen at the government's latest bond auction, though some analysts were disappointed by the level of demand. Italy raised its target of 4.75bn euros (£3.96bn) in Friday's bond sale. The interest rate on the government's benchmark three-year bond fell to 4.83% from 5.62% at the last auction at the end of December.

Iran nuclear: Ali Larijani accepts Turkey talks offer
Iran has said it has agreed to talks with six world powers on its controversial nuclear programme, days after the UN confirmed Tehran was producing 20% enriched uranium. Visiting Turkey, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said he had accepted Ankara's offer to try to restart the talks. Negotiations have stalled since a meeting in Istanbul a year ago.

South Sudan clashes: Murles exact revenge in Jonglei
Some 57 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in a revenge attack in South Sudan, officials say. Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said members of the Murle community had attacked their Lou Nuer rivals in Jonglei state. Earlier this month, a force of some 6,000 Lou Nuer fighters went on the rampage, forcing tens of thousands of Murles to flee their homes.

Obama requests another $1.2 trillion to pay US costs
President Barack Obama has formally notified Congress of proposals for a $1.2 trillion (£782bn) rise in borrowing, risking another battle with Republicans. In a letter, Mr Obama said "further borrowing is required to meet existing (spending) commitments". Congress has 15 days to vote on the proposal, which would raise the debt ceiling to $16.4 trillion.

Markets punish Slovenia for political crisis
Slovenia's borrowing costs have reached 'bail-out territory' after lawmakers rejected the premier-designate, putting the euro-country on the line for further downgrades by ratings agencies. Zoran Jankovic, the mayor of Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, fell four votes short of the 46 needed to be approved as prime minister by the parliament, with the country's president set to re-cast his name or propose someone new within two weeks.

Negotiators finalise broad outline of EU fiscal treaty
Negotiators from 26 member states have reached broad agreement on the new fiscal treaty, paving the way for a formal agreement by EU leaders at the end of the month. EUobserver understands that the role of the European Commission will be kept as stated in the latest draft - it is to have "reporting" powers rather than being able to take deficit sinners to court over failure to enshrine a "golden rule" on balanced budgets in their constitution or other long-term-binding legislation.

'New Egypt gov't to focus on Palestinian rights'
Former US President Jimmy Carter said Thursday, after meeting Egypt's military rulers and political parties, that he expected Egypt's new government to focus more than the previous leadership on Palestinian rights as highlighted under the 1979 peace accords. "This new government will probably be much more concerned about the rights of the Palestinians than have the previous rulers or leaders in Egypt, but in my opinion that will be conducive to a better prospect of peace between Israel and its neighbors," he said.

'Israel not involved in Iran scientist killing'
President Shimon Peres on Thursday denied that Israel was involved in the killing of a nuclear scientist in Iran on Wednesday. During an interview with CNN, Peres was asked whether Israel was involved in the killing of a university professor and department head of a uranium enrichment facility in Tehran to which he answered: "Not to the best of my knowledge."


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Anti-US chants as slain Iran nuclear expert buried
Thousands of mourners chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" on Friday during the funeral of a slain nuclear expert whom Iranian officials accuse the two nations of killing in a bomb blast this week as part of a secret operation to stop Iran's nuclear program. The assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan has raised calls in Iran for retaliation against the U.S. and Israel, and an independent news website Friday said Iran is preparing a covert counteroffensive against the West.

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. harassed by Iranian boats
At a time of heightened tensions with Iran, U.S. military officials told CNN Friday that U.S. military and Coast Guard ships had two close encounters earlier this month with high-speed Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf that exhibited provocative behavior. The incidents occurred January 6, according to a senior U.S. military official.

Jobless Rate in U.S. May Rise Amid ‘Transitory’ Progress, Fed’s Evans Says
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent may be partially reversed in coming months. “I’m a little concerned that the most recent improvement is going to be transitory and it might move up above 8.5 percent,” Evans said in response to audience questions after a speech today in Carmel, Indiana.

Draft cyber bill gives DHS controversial authorities
The draft version of the comprehensive cybersecurity bill could give the Homeland Security Department the ability to take "any lawful action" against contractors if their systems are under attack. Bob Dix, a former staff director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and now vice president government affairs and critical infrastructure protection for Juniper Networks, said that could mean taking over a vendor's system that contains federal data.

Universal Flu Vaccine Could Be Available by 2013
Annual flu shots might soon become a thing of the past, and threats such as avian and swine flu might disappear with them as a vaccine touted as the "holy grail" of flu treatment could be ready for human trials next year. That's earlier than the National Institutes of Health estimated in 2010, when they said a universal vaccine could be five years off.

Syria crisis: Qatar calls for Arabs to send in troops
The ruler of the Gulf state of Qatar has said Arab countries should send troops into Syria to stop government forces killing civilians there. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani told US news channel CBS "some troops should go to stop the killing". It is the first time an Arab leader has publicly called for military intervention in Syria.

France downgrade: French PM downplays rating decision
French PM Francois Fillon has defended his government's economic policies following the decision by ratings agency Standard and Poor's to downgrade the credit rating of France. He said the government would push ahead with reforms and debt reduction. Standard and Poor's said Europe's austerity and budget discipline alone were not sufficient to fight the debt crisis and may become self-defeating.

Obama asks for power to reorganise six federal agencies
US President Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet to Republicans by asking Congress for the power to shrink the federal government. He told business leaders that he wants to close the US commerce department and merge six agencies. The White House said the plan would save $3bn (£2bn) over 10 years and cut 1,000 to 2,000 jobs through attrition.

U.S. judge backs multiple rifle sales reporting
A U.S. judge on Friday refused to block new federal rules requiring gun dealers in four states bordering Mexico to report the sales of multiple semi-automatic rifles, a victory for the Obama administration.

'Saudis have enough oil to make up for Iran'
US House Majority Leader Cantor meets Middle East officials, says oil producers ready, able to meet demands. Saudi Arabia says it has enough oil output capacity to meet global customers' needs if new sanctions keep Iran from exporting oil, a top US Republican lawmaker said on Friday.

Israeli official: Report of Mossad agents posing as CIA spies 'absolute nonsense'
A senior Israeli government official has called "absolute nonsense" a Friday report in Foreign Policy that Mossad agents posed as CIA officers in order to recruit members of a Pakistani terror group to carry out assassinations and attacks against the regime in Iran.

New York pastors and lay people arrested for praying in protest
Police Thursday arrested 43 New York City pastors and lay people who were protesting the city’s ban on church use of public schools for worship services. The ban is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12.

Iran to host UN nuclear inspectors amid tensions over Strait of Hormuz threat
Iran has agreed to host a high-level team of United Nations nuclear inspectors later this month, according to Western diplomats.

Iran: We have evidence U.S. killed nuclear scientist in Tehran
Iranian state television said on Saturday that Iran had evidence the United States was behind the latest assassination of one of its nuclear scientists.

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The Mormon Plan for America and The Rise of Mitt Romney The Man Who Would Be God
The very ethos of the Mormon faith is built around the anticipated return of Jesus to Independence, Missouri, for his thousand-year millennial reign. It is here that he will assign godhood to the worthy. However, it cannot take place until the U.S. Constitution falters and is saved by the LDS church. The nation will become a Mormon theocracy. Mitt Romney has raised Mormon speculation that this may be the time and that he may be the one to lead the way as both U.S. President and LDS high priest.

Russia: Attack on Tehran is Attack on Moscow
Russia has given Iran its bear hug and warns Israel and the West that an attack on Tehran would be considered an attack on Moscow. The threat heightens the prospect of World War III in the event of a military strike on Iran. “Iran is our neighbor,” Russia's outgoing ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, told reporters in Brussels. “And if Iran is involved in any military action, it’s a direct threat to our security.”

Strong quakes rattle remote Antarctica
Two strong earthquakes 40 minutes apart rocked the remote South Orkney Islands in Antarctica on Sunday, experts from the US Geological Survey said. The epicentre of the first, a magnitude 6.5 temblor, was at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), some 464 kilometres west of Coronation Island, the USGS said. No destructive tsunami was created, according to a US-based warning centre. The quake occurred at 1340 GMT, and about 40 minutes later the region was struck by an aftershock measured at 6.2, according to USGS.

Synagogue Broken Into, Scrolls Desecrated
Vandals broke this week into a synagogue in Hemed, a religious moshav located in central Israel. Worshippers who came to the synagogue for morning prayers were shocked to find out that the ark had been opened and that the Torah scrolls were taken out of it, thrown on the floor and then covered with mud. The Synagogue was also robbed. -“This was no ordinary theft,” Yaakov Maor, a resident of Hemed, said. “It’s not a regular robbery but is much more than that. This is a desecration of Torah scrolls because of hatred.”

Russian space probe to crash on Earth within hours
A failed Russian probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars but stuck in Earth orbit will come crashing down within hours, the Russian space agency said Sunday. Roscosmos said the unmanned Phobos-Ground will crash between 1641 and 2105 GMT (11:41 a.m. and 4:05 p.m. EST). It could crash anywhere along the route of its next few orbits, which would include Europe, southeast Asia, Australia and South America. The U.S., Canada and much of Russia are outside the risk zone.

Roofs blown off homes as tornadoes hit North Carolina
Dozens of homes were damaged and more than 1,000 people lost power, NBC local affiliate station WCNC reported. Aerial video footage showed debris scattered across North Carolina's Burke and Rutherford counties.

Middle East may destabilise because of "intensifying" Iran nuclear crisis, warns William Hague
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary expressed concerns that Iran's actions could spark a nuclear arms race, and called on the Iranian government to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the growing confrontation. "We do have to confront this problem, because Iran has embarked on a course which threatens the whole region of the Middle East with nuclear proliferation," Mr Hague said.

Thailand hunting Hezbollah operatives planning terror attacks against Jews, Israelis
Thailand's intelligence services launched a manhunt Friday for a Hezbollah operative who is part of a terror cell planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Bangkok. The Counter-Terrorism Bureau has issued a warning to Israelis to stay away from the Thai capital, and advised those already in Bangkok to avoid areas commonly frequented by Israelis.

Iran vows retaliation against Israel for scientist
A senior Iranian commander vowed retaliation against Israel, the US and Britain for what he perceives as their role in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist last week. “The opponents of [Iran's Islamic] Revolution and the nation's progress should have no doubt that the punitive response to the US, the Zionist regime (Israel) and their criminal accomplices will be delivered in an opportune time,” Iran's Press TV quoted deputy armed forces chief, Brig.-Gen. Massoud Jazayeri as saying on Sunday.

Syria crisis: Assad 'gives amnesty for uprising crimes'
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has granted a general amnesty for all crimes committed during the 10-month uprising, state-run media report. It would apply to army deserters who turned themselves in before the end of January, peaceful protesters and those who handed in unlicensed weapons, Sana state news agency is quoted as saying.

China angry at US sanctions on oil firm Zhuhai Zhenrong
China has criticised sanctions imposed by the US on a Chinese firm for selling refined petroleum products to Iran. China's foreign ministry said imposing unilateral sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong based on US law was "unreasonable".

Israel: Arabs involved in 67% of murder cases
Crime rates in the Arab sector are a cause for concern as Ministry of Public Security figures reveal that in 2011 Arabs were involved in 67% of the murder cases and 70% of attempted murder cases.

Blast kills 18 during Pakistan religious procession
An explosion on Sunday near a Shiite Muslim procession in the central Pakistani town of Khanpur killed 18 people and wounded at least 30, police and emergency services officials said. The explosion went off as the mourners came out of a mosque, District Police Chief Sohail Chatta told The Associated Press. The bomb appeared to have been planted ahead of time in the path of the procession, he said.

Palestinians: It's up to Israel to get peace talks going
As Israeli, Palestinian envoys met for third time in Amman this weekend, PA negotiator reiterates demand for settlement freeze; sides reportedly agreed to meet again on Jan. 25, a day ahead of Quartet deadline.

UN chief urges end to Israeli 'occupation'
Ban Ki-moon says violence against civilians must end, settlement construction works against two-state solution in keynote address in Beirut AFP UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for an end to Israeli "occupation" in the Arab world, saying the illegal building of settlements worked against a two-state solution.

Romney opens 21-point lead in South Carolina: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has opened a wide lead over his rivals in the South Carolina primary election race, trouncing Newt Gingrich and gaining momentum in his march toward the party's nomination, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.

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France: Iran violating arms embargo with Syria shipments
Iran has repeatedly violated a UN arms embargo with exports to protest-hit Syria, the French foreign ministry said on Monday, citing a UN group of experts. "The UN panel of experts on Iran has identified and informed the Security Council of several violations of the embargo on arms to or from Iran set up by the United Nations Security Council," said spokesperson Romain Nadal. "These arms deliveries are illegal and deeply shocking because they benefit a regime that has chosen a kind of repression that the UN rights council has repeatedly said constitutes 'crimes against humanity'," he said.

Schools ‘spy’ on fat kids
A group of Long Island students will soon be wearing controversial electronic monitors that allow school officials to track their physical activity around the clock. The athletics chair for the Bay Shore schools ordered 10 Polar Active monitors, at $90 a pop, for use starting this spring. The wristwatchlike devices count heartbeats, detect motion and even track students’ sleeping habits in a bid to combat obesity.

Obama Seeks New Power to Merge Agencies, Pledges Some Action ‘With or Without Congress’
Obama wants more power to reorganize the executive branch, powers he says will only be used to make government more efficient. “This is the same sort of authority that every business owner has to make sure that his or her company keeps pace with the times,” Obama said at the White House Friday. “Let me be clear, I will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government.”

New Animal Virus Takes Northern Europe by Surprise
Scientists in northern Europe are scrambling to learn more about a new virus that causes fetal malformations and stillbirths in cattle, sheep, and goats. For now, they don’t have a clue about the virus’s origins or why it’s suddenly causing an outbreak; in order to speed up the process, they want to share the virus and protocols for detecting it with anyone interested in studying the disease or developing diagnostic tools and vaccines.

Anti-Israel hackers strike El Al, TASE websites
Hours after anti-Israel hackers said they would strike the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al, both sites were taken offline overnight on Monday. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange website made a swift recovery and was back online by Monday morning, but the El Al website remained unavailable into the morning.

Strong earthquake hits off Antarctica's coast
A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday off the coast of Antarctica, prompting a warning that there was a "small possibility" it could trigger a tsunami. The tremor was centered in waters south of South America's southern tip, about 334 miles (539 kilometers) west of Coronation Island and 388 miles northeast of Palmer Station in Antarctica, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

S&P defends mass downgrade across Europe
Amid a wave of criticism, Standard & Poor's defended its decision to downgrade nine European countries and insisted Saturday that the region's leaders aren't doing enough to solve their debt crises.

Russia Surprises West With Harder Syria Stance
Moscow, which has billions of dollars of contracts and investments tied to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has thus far been an obstacle to Western attempts to toughen sanctions on Damascus.

Russia: Attack on Tehran is Attack on Moscow
Russia has given Iran its bear hug and warns Israel and the West that an attack on Tehran would be considered an attack on Moscow. The threat heightens the prospect of World War III in the event of a military strike on Iran.

Two US aircraft carriers opposite Iran, 15,000 troops in Kuwait
...the Pentagon is substantially building up its combat power around Iran, stationing nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait - two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit – and keeping two aircraft carriers the region. The USS Carl Vinson, the USS John Stennis which was to have returned to home base and their strike groups will stay in the Arabian Sea.

Joint US-Israel missile drill delayed
Israel and the US have decided to cancel a massive missile defense drill planned for the spring, amid concern the exercise could lead to an escalation with Iran, senior defense officials said Sunday

Sinai could be next terror hotspot, says study
Sinai is fast turning into a tinderbox of instability, a potential launchpad for terrorism and a source of tension between Egypt and Israel, an Israeli-authored study for a major US think tank found last week.

Emergency call as Romania austerity protests escalate
Romania's government has called an emergency meeting after growing violent protests against austerity cuts. It comes as dozens of people were injured for the second day running in clashes between demonstrators and riot police in the capital Bucharest.

Car bomb kills eight near Iraqi city of Mosul
Eight people have been killed by a car bomb attack near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The attack targeted a Shia community outside this city, which is predominately Sunni.

Israel requests delay in US-Israel missile defense exercise
A major U.S.-Israeli missile defense exercise that had been planned to take place in the spring has been postponed due to a request by the Israeli Defense Ministry, American and Israeli officials told Yahoo News Sunday.

Greek PM confident debt swap to be clinched in time
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said on Monday he was confident a deal on a crucial debt swap plan would be reached in time, striking an optimistic tone despite mounting concern over Athens' race against the clock to avoid a disorderly default.

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Osteen: Romney "believer in Christ, like me"
Joel Osteen, one of America's most popular religious figures, said on "CBS This Morning" that GOP candidate Mitt Romney believes in Jesus like he does. "What I see about Governor Romney is that he says, 'I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, he's raised from the dead and he's my savior.' I see him as being a believer in Christ, like me."

Mark Levin: We're In A "Post-Constitutional America"
“We’re already in a post-Constitutional America. In so many respects, we’ve distanced ourselves from our founding, and my big fear is so many people don’t understand what our founding is all about," Mark Levin said on FOX News today.

Strange but possible: Influenza pandemics and La Niña may be linked
...scientists have an intriguing new theory about these oscillations in sea temperatures in equatorial regions of the Pacific Oceans: They believe El Niño and La Niña may be related to flu epidemics.

25 Volcanoes Showing Abnormal Activity: Presidential Aide
Twenty-five volcanoes in Indonesia are now showing abnormal activity or have been put on alert or watch status, presidential special aide Andi Arief said here on Saturday. “According to official data, 25 volcanoes are now under alert or watch status and they must be given priority with regard to disaster mitigation planning at district or city levels,” he said at a workshop on journalists’ role in disaster management.

Apocalypse How? Dire 2012 Forecasts
Only the gloomiest of Wall Street's prognosticators got it right in 2008 and 2009. Since then, their pessimism has been infectious. On almost any investing topic -- from emerging markets to U.S. stocks, from commodities to sovereign debt -- there are respected experts predicting the worst.

Curse of the skyscrapers
An "unhealthy correlation" exists between the construction of skyscrapers and financial crashes, according to a new report from Barclays Capital. The construction of the Empire State building in New York in 1930, along with towers in Kuala Lumpur in 1997 and Dubai in 2010 have all been followed by economic crises, the report noted.

Central bank independence at risk from financial crisis, warns UBS
The European Central Bank faces the most severe problems, warn UBS analysts, who said the ECB's increasing exposure to struggling eurozone lenders risked putting it in a position whereby it might require its own capital boosted in future. In recent months, the ECB has significantly relaxed the collateral requirements on banks that borrow from it, leading to fears that new losses in the banking system could quickly eat into its capital base.

Israel 'waging covert war on Iran'
A report released this week claims agents from Israel's spy agency Mossad posed as CIA officers in 2008 in order to recruit people to carry out attacks and assassinations against Iranian officials.

Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza
Armed Hamas men broke into a gathering of some 30 Shi'ite worshippers in the Gaza Strip last Friday and brutally attacked them, Haaretz has learned. The assault was part of a broader crackdown on Shi'ite organizations, including charities, that has been sparked in part by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza.

Egypt's next parliament to be led by Islamist
Liberals and Islamists in Egypt announced a temporary agreement Monday on a power-sharing plan that would install a Muslim Brotherhood leader as speaker of the country’s newly elected parliament. The agreement among six political parties all but guarantees that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party will lead Egypt’s first elected parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February, with the Islamist party expected to control as many as half the seats.

Indian TB cases 'can't be cured'
Tuberculosis which appears to be totally resistant to antibiotic treatment has been reported for the first time by Indian doctors. Concern over drug-resistant strains of TB is growing, with similar 'incurable' TB emerging in Italy and Iran. Doctors in Mumbai said 12 patients had a "totally drug resistant" form of the infection, and three have died.



China's economic growth slows to 8.9% in fourth quarter
China's economy, the world's second-largest, grew at its slowest pace in more than two years, latest government figures show. Gross domestic product expanded by 8.9% in the three months to the end of December, from a year earlier. That is down from 9.1% in the previous quarter. The statistics bureau data showed that growth for the full year was 9.2%, down from 10.3% in 2010.


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EU: Israel undermines Jerusalem as capital of 2 states
Israel's policies in Jerusalem are "systematically undermining the Palestinian presence" in the city and making the prospect of it becoming the shared capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state "increasingly unlikely and unworkable," British daily The Independent quoted a report drafted by European diplomats as saying.

EU report calls for action against Israeli settlements
The European Commission is being urged to consider drafting legislation to ensure financial transactions by EU member states do not support Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. The proposal is made in a confidential report by top EU diplomats in the area.

The Real 2012 Doomsday: U.S. Falls To Tyranny
While many Americans deny that the U.S. government will ever use such weapons on a widespread basis against dissenters, recent developments in the country appear to indicate otherwise. The crackdowns on OWS camps carried out by police in riot/military gear, armed with tear gas canisters and rubber bullets, indicate that when large masses of people cry out, no matter what the political agenda, they will be quieted by local, State and/or Federal officials.

Iran offered Syria’s Brotherhood power if it agreed to Assad staying on: official
Iran has offered the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood a deal that includes giving the Islamist opposition group all of the government, but under the condition that President Bashar al-Assad remains as the country’s premier, an official said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

Syria rules out any kind of foreign intervention
Syria Tuesday rejected Qatar's proposal for deployment of Arab troops to curb the 10-month long violent uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, even as army defectors again sought UN Security Council intervention. In an interview with a US television network aired over the weekend, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani said he favoured sending Arab troops to Syria to "stop the killing."

The cyborgs are coming! Living brains implanted with electronic chips to replace 'faulty' parts
...researchers at Tel Aviv University have successfully created circuits that can replace motor functions - such as blinking - and implanted them into brains. They hope the technology could in the future help people suffering from brain malfunctions such as Parkinson's disease - by replacing damaged or malfunctioning tissue with chips that perform the same function.

SOPA on life support after web protests, White House and GOP rebellion
Controversial anti-piracy legislation, already on life support in the House, is now in serious doubt in the Senate, where the confluence of a Republican rump rebellion, White House concerns and a Wednesday blackout by Wikipedia, Mozilla and other big-name websites is enough to give some senators second thoughts.

Up to 6.7 million bats dead of fungus
"White-nose syndrome has spread quickly through bat populations in eastern North America, and has caused significant mortality in many colonies," said Dr. Jeremy Coleman, co-ordinator of the U.S white-nose syndrome program. "Many bats were lost before we were able to establish pre-white-nose syndrome population estimates."

FOREIGN COMPANY BUYS U.S. ELECTION RESULTS REPORTING FIRM
In a major step towards global centralization of election processes, the world's dominant Internet voting company has purchased the USA's dominant election results reporting company. ...With SCYTL internet voting, there will be no ballots. No physical evidence. No chain of custody. No way for the public to authenticate who actually cast the votes, chain of custody, or the count.

Huge ID project offers multitude of challenges
The Indian Government is dedicated to giving each of its citizens a unique, 12-digit number under a scheme called Aadhaar, or Foundation. By the time it is completed it will be 10 times bigger than the world's current largest biometric database. Some estimates say it will cost a total of $36 billion. The reasoning behind the scheme is simple: officials believe giving citizens such a number will make the provision and distribution of services more efficient and help to reduce the corruption that infects Indian society.

Greek PM says creditors may be forced to take losses: report
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said he will consider legislation forcing the country's creditors to take losses on their holdings if no agreement can be reached in critical negotiations set to resume on Wednesday, the New York Times reported. ...Many private investors, like hedge funds, pension funds and banks, would just as soon see an involuntary default, because much of their holdings are insured through credit default swaps, the Times reported.

Treasury dips into pension funds to avoid debt
The Treasury on Tuesday started dipping into federal pension funds in order to give the Obama administration more credit to pay government bills. "I will be unable to invest fully" the federal employees retirement system fund beginning Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

Iran warns Saudis, Europeans over oil
“We invite Saudi officials to further reflect and consider” their offer to compensate for curbed Iranian oil exports, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in an interview with Iran’s Arabic language broadcaster Al-Alam.

Syrian 'chemical, biological' weapons concern Israel
Israel has serious concerns about what will happen to "huge stockpiles" of chemical and biological weapons in Syria when the Assad regime collapses, a senior military official said on Tuesday.

Syrian army 'agrees to ceasefire in Zabadani'
Syrian troops who were attacking rebels in the town of Zabadani, close to the capital Damascus, have agreed to a ceasefire, an opposition leader says. Radwan Ziadeh told the BBC troops had shelled the town since Friday, but had agreed to stop hostilities as the Free Syrian Army had strong local support. He said many members of the Syrian army had defected to the rebels' side.

Germany lowers growth forecast for 2012
Germany has lowered its economic growth forecast for 2012, a sign of the impact of the continuing eurozone debt crisis. Europe's largest economy will grow by 0.7% this year, instead of the 1% the government predicted in October, Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said. But he insisted: "There can be no talk of recession."

Pakistan delays US envoy Marc Grossman's visit
Pakistan has postponed a visit by US Special Envoy Marc Grossman until a parliamentary review of bilateral relations is completed. Correspondents say the postponement is a sign of increased tensions between uneasy allies. American reports said last week that Mr Grossman has been the driving force behind secret US talks with Taliban.

UK unemployment increases to 2.685m
UK unemployment rose by 118,000 in the three months to November to 2.685 million, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate also rose to 8.4% from 8.3%, the highest since January 1996. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in December rose by 1,200 to 1.6 million.

IMF looking for extra cash to stem euro-crisis
The US-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking more money to help stem the eurozone crisis, with world growth forecasts slashed once more Wednesday (18 January). Directors of the IMF on Tuesday agreed to look for supplementary resources, as requested by their French chief Christine Lagarde, amid increasing worries over the global impact of the euro crisis.

Russia warns West against Iran strike, sanctions
Russia warned on Wednesday that an attack on Iran would cause a catastrophe and said US and European Union sanctions against Tehran were aimed at triggering popular discontent by "strangling" the economy. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Western sanctions against Iran and talk of a potential attack undermine efforts to revive negotiations aimed at ensuring it does not develop nuclear weapons.


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Nearly Half of Churchgoing Americans Say Church Doesn’t Have an Effect on Their Lives
According to the Barna Group, an evangelical company that studies faith in America, nearly half (46 percent) of churchgoing Americans report that their lives have not changed at all as a result of attending church. While this is startling, 26 percent of individuals who reported having been to church before said that their lives had been changed or impacted “greatly” by the experience; 25 percent said that church was “somewhat” influential.

La Nina said bringing U.S. drought
The La Nina weather event, dubbed "the diva of drought," is peaking and increasing the odds the southwestern and southern United States will be dry, NASA says. The space agency said sea surface height data from its Jason-1 and -2 satellites show the milder repeat of last year's strong La Nina has recently intensified.

Israeli Hacker Groups Raise Cyberwar Stakes
Several days after a hack attack by Saudi and other Arab hackers against the web sites of El Al and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel's “IDF-Team” hacker group struck back against web sites of large banks in the United Arab Emirates, and in Gaza. On Tuesday, the same group hit the sites of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange site.

Pagan mom challenges Bibles in North Carolina school
The Gideons International had delivered several boxes of the sacred books to the school office. The staff allowed interested students to stop by and pick them up.

New York Moves to Deploy Body Scanners on Street in Search for Guns
Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS in New York his department is looking to deploy Terahertz Imaging Detection scanners on the street in the war on “illegal guns.” Kelly said the scanners would be used in “reasonably suspicious circumstances” and intended to cut down on the number of stop-and-frisks on the street. So called stop-and-frisks are considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Treasury dips into pension funds to avoid debt
The Treasury on Tuesday started dipping into federal pension funds in order to give the Obama administration more credit to pay government bills. "I will be unable to invest fully" the federal employees retirement system fund beginning Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

Obama: More jobs in jobless benefits than Keystone
President Obama said that he will delay his vacation and keep Congress in session until the passage of his desired payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits extension -- two proposals that Obama said would create more jobs than the Keystone XL pipeline that his administration recently delayed.

Eurozone on 'brink' of recession: Juncker
"In the eurozone, we are on the brink of a recession, albeit a technical one," Mr Juncker told reporters after a meeting with recently appointed Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo. "I think there's no alternative to budget consolidation."

Programmer arrested for stealing Fed Reserve code
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a press release: "As today's case demonstrates, our cyber infrastructure is vulnerable not only to cybercriminals and hackers, but also alleged thieves like Bo Zhang who used his position as a contract employee to steal government intellectual property. Fighting cyber crime is one of the top priorities of this office and we will aggressively pursue anyone who puts our computer security at risk."

Financial crisis: get ready for next wave
The World Bank yesterday signalled a downturn so severe it would eclipse the chaos that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Deloitte Access Economics director, Chris Richardson, said if there was not a sharp turnaround overseas, Australians were in for a rocky ride through a ''GFC Mark II''.

US rejects Keystone XL Canada oil sands pipeline
The US state department has formally recommended the rejection of a controversial crude oil pipeline. The state department denied a permit for the 1,600-mile (2,700km) Keystone XL pipeline, saying it had insufficient time to review the plans. The Canada-Texas project has been delayed amid objections by the state of Nebraska and environmental groups.

Mozambique and SA's Kruger park hit by deadly floods
Four people have died and more than 4,000 others are without shelter after torrential rains in Mozambique. Three days of storms and high winds have hit water and power supplies and destroyed farm animals and cash crops. The storms have also led neighbouring South Africa to close its famous Kruger National Park, where helicopters have been used to evacuate tourists.

Support wanes in US Congress for anti-piracy bill
Eight US lawmakers have withdrawn their support for anti-piracy laws, after "blackout" protests on thousands of internet sites. Two of the bill's co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those backing away. Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and blog service WordPress are among the highest profile sites to block their content.

'Hezbollah has long-range surface-to-air missiles'
The IDF has changed its operational assessment regarding the threat from Lebanon and is currently working under the assumption that Hezbollah has obtained sophisticated long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Syria, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Russia: EU and US want war with Syria
Russia has accused Nato countries of trying to start a war with Syria and create political instability in Iran - claims backed up by some Western security analysts. Its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov at a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday (18 January) said: "Our partners in the West are in fact discussing a no-fly zone ... There are other ideas being realised, including humanitarian convoys, in the hope they could provoke a response from [Syrian] government forces."

Russia Warns Against Iran Attack
Russia warned on Wednesday that an attack on Iran would be a "catastrophe" for the region and said world powers should adopt a policy of non-intervention in the Middle East and North Africa. “It is impossible to list all the consequences [of an attack],” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an annual address. “But I have no doubt that it would pour oil on the still smoldering fire of Sunni-Shia confrontation, which would lead to a chain reaction.”

'Radioactive material stolen from Egypt plant'
Radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the site of violent protests last week, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant was seized while another safe containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.

Israeli hackers down Gaza, UAE bank websites
Israeli hackers operating under the name of 'IDF Team' brought down the website of the Arab Bank of Palestine on Thursday morning in retaliation for a web attack on Israel's Anti-Drug Authority website. In a message sent to The Jerusalem Post early Thursday morning, members of the 'IDF Team' said that by 10:00 am Israel time, the Gaza-based Arab Bank of Palestine's website would be disabled, together with the website of the UAE's central bank.

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Nearly Half of Churchgoing Americans Say Church Doesn’t Have an Effect on Their Lives
According to the Barna Group, an evangelical company that studies faith in America, nearly half (46 percent) of churchgoing Americans report that their lives have not changed at all as a result of attending church. While this is startling, 26 percent of individuals who reported having been to church before said that their lives had been changed or impacted “greatly” by the experience; 25 percent said that church was “somewhat” influential.

La Nina said bringing U.S. drought
The La Nina weather event, dubbed "the diva of drought," is peaking and increasing the odds the southwestern and southern United States will be dry, NASA says. The space agency said sea surface height data from its Jason-1 and -2 satellites show the milder repeat of last year's strong La Nina has recently intensified.

Israeli Hacker Groups Raise Cyberwar Stakes
Several days after a hack attack by Saudi and other Arab hackers against the web sites of El Al and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel's “IDF-Team” hacker group struck back against web sites of large banks in the United Arab Emirates, and in Gaza. On Tuesday, the same group hit the sites of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange site.

Pagan mom challenges Bibles in North Carolina school
The Gideons International had delivered several boxes of the sacred books to the school office. The staff allowed interested students to stop by and pick them up.

New York Moves to Deploy Body Scanners on Street in Search for Guns
Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS in New York his department is looking to deploy Terahertz Imaging Detection scanners on the street in the war on “illegal guns.” Kelly said the scanners would be used in “reasonably suspicious circumstances” and intended to cut down on the number of stop-and-frisks on the street. So called stop-and-frisks are considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Treasury dips into pension funds to avoid debt
The Treasury on Tuesday started dipping into federal pension funds in order to give the Obama administration more credit to pay government bills. "I will be unable to invest fully" the federal employees retirement system fund beginning Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.

Obama: More jobs in jobless benefits than Keystone
President Obama said that he will delay his vacation and keep Congress in session until the passage of his desired payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits extension -- two proposals that Obama said would create more jobs than the Keystone XL pipeline that his administration recently delayed.

Eurozone on 'brink' of recession: Juncker
"In the eurozone, we are on the brink of a recession, albeit a technical one," Mr Juncker told reporters after a meeting with recently appointed Belgian Prime Minister Elio di Rupo. "I think there's no alternative to budget consolidation."

Programmer arrested for stealing Fed Reserve code
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a press release: "As today's case demonstrates, our cyber infrastructure is vulnerable not only to cybercriminals and hackers, but also alleged thieves like Bo Zhang who used his position as a contract employee to steal government intellectual property. Fighting cyber crime is one of the top priorities of this office and we will aggressively pursue anyone who puts our computer security at risk."

Financial crisis: get ready for next wave
The World Bank yesterday signalled a downturn so severe it would eclipse the chaos that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. Deloitte Access Economics director, Chris Richardson, said if there was not a sharp turnaround overseas, Australians were in for a rocky ride through a ''GFC Mark II''.

US rejects Keystone XL Canada oil sands pipeline
The US state department has formally recommended the rejection of a controversial crude oil pipeline. The state department denied a permit for the 1,600-mile (2,700km) Keystone XL pipeline, saying it had insufficient time to review the plans. The Canada-Texas project has been delayed amid objections by the state of Nebraska and environmental groups.

Mozambique and SA's Kruger park hit by deadly floods
Four people have died and more than 4,000 others are without shelter after torrential rains in Mozambique. Three days of storms and high winds have hit water and power supplies and destroyed farm animals and cash crops. The storms have also led neighbouring South Africa to close its famous Kruger National Park, where helicopters have been used to evacuate tourists.

Support wanes in US Congress for anti-piracy bill
Eight US lawmakers have withdrawn their support for anti-piracy laws, after "blackout" protests on thousands of internet sites. Two of the bill's co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those backing away. Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and blog service WordPress are among the highest profile sites to block their content.

'Hezbollah has long-range surface-to-air missiles'
The IDF has changed its operational assessment regarding the threat from Lebanon and is currently working under the assumption that Hezbollah has obtained sophisticated long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Syria, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Russia: EU and US want war with Syria
Russia has accused Nato countries of trying to start a war with Syria and create political instability in Iran - claims backed up by some Western security analysts. Its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov at a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday (18 January) said: "Our partners in the West are in fact discussing a no-fly zone ... There are other ideas being realised, including humanitarian convoys, in the hope they could provoke a response from [Syrian] government forces."

Russia Warns Against Iran Attack
Russia warned on Wednesday that an attack on Iran would be a "catastrophe" for the region and said world powers should adopt a policy of non-intervention in the Middle East and North Africa. “It is impossible to list all the consequences [of an attack],” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an annual address. “But I have no doubt that it would pour oil on the still smoldering fire of Sunni-Shia confrontation, which would lead to a chain reaction.”

'Radioactive material stolen from Egypt plant'
Radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the site of violent protests last week, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant was seized while another safe containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.

Israeli hackers down Gaza, UAE bank websites
Israeli hackers operating under the name of 'IDF Team' brought down the website of the Arab Bank of Palestine on Thursday morning in retaliation for a web attack on Israel's Anti-Drug Authority website. In a message sent to The Jerusalem Post early Thursday morning, members of the 'IDF Team' said that by 10:00 am Israel time, the Gaza-based Arab Bank of Palestine's website would be disabled, together with the website of the UAE's central bank.

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Mexico arrests Knights Templar cartel chief
Mexican authorities have arrested one of the leaders of the powerful Knights Templar drug cartel on the outskirts of Mexico City during an operation involving dozens of marines.

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Dodd warns of Hollywood backlash against Obama over anti-piracy bill
Hollywood's top lobbyist and former Sen. Chris Dodd is threatening to cut off campaign funds to President Obama's re-election effort because of anger over the White House appearing to side with tech companies in a bitter fight over anti-piracy legislation.

Obama: Iranian economy in 'shambles'
In meeting with Jewish donors in New York, US president says Western sanctions caused severe damage to Iranian economy; reaffirms commitment to military, security cooperation with Israel

Exterminate a species or two, save the planet
Biologists have suggested a mathematical model, which will hopefully predict which species need to be eliminated from an unstable ecosystem, and in which order, to help it recover.

Why Mormons say they're Christians
"I grew up as a Mormon bishop's daughter, so I know how they think; I know how they program their members," she accounts. "Mormonism is no different than any other cult. It's very likened to Islam because they're not really allowed to have critical thinking." And Erickson says the LDS Church wants the outside world to think it is part of Christendom.

Almost Perfect: Researcher Nears Creation of Superlens
To build a superlens, you need metamaterials: artificial materials with properties not seen in nature. Scientists are beginning to fabricate metamaterials in their quest to make real seemingly magical phenomena like invisibility cloaks, quantum levitation -- and superlenses.

IMF warns of threat to global economies posed by austerity drives
The leaders of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation on Friday issued a warning about the economic and social risks of austerity programmes in a "call to action" designed to boost growth and fight protectionism.

Solar blast heading our way
The sun has unleashed a blast in Earth's direction, and that should cause brighter-than-normal auroral displays this weekend. Skywatchers won't be the only ones monitoring the storm: The folks in charge of power grids and orbiting satellites will also be on guard to make sure the disturbance in the (geomagnetic) force won't be disruptive.

Hackers attack FBI, Justice Department websites after Megaupload shutdown
Minutes after the U.S. Department of Justice shut down notorious file-sharing site Megaupload.com, the department’s own website was brought down in a cyber attack orchestrated by the hacker group Anonymous.

Air Force’s Top Brain Wants a ‘Social Radar’ to ‘See Into Hearts and Minds’
But Social Radar won’t be a single sensor to discover your secret yearnings. It’ll be more of a virtual sensor, combining a vast array of technologies and disciplines, all employed to take a society’s pulse and assess its future health. It’s part of a broader Pentagon effort to master the societal and cultural elements of war — and effort that even many in the Defense Department believe is deeply flawed. First step: mine Twitter feeds for indications of upset.

10 NATO troops killed in Afghanistan in 24 hours
An Afghan soldier shot and killed four French troops Friday in eastern Afghanistan and a helicopter crash killed six more NATO service members in the south, officials said, marking a particularly deadly 24 hours for coalition forces.

U.S. shuts Megaupload.com, hackers retaliate
The U.S. government shut down the Megaupload.com content sharing website, charging its founders and several employees with massive copyright infringement, the latest skirmish in a high-profile battle against piracy of movies and music.

Israel arrests senior Palestinian Aziz Dweik
A senior Palestinian politician and member of the militant group Hamas has been arrested by the Israeli army in the West Bank. Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), was arrested at an army checkpoint, his chief of staff told AFP news agency.

Greece: Eurozone won't add cash if bond talks fail
Eurozone countries won't increase financial support for Greece if it fails to secure a bond-swap deal with private creditors, the country's foreign minister warned Thursday. Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos's remarks came hours before he held a second day of talks with banking negotiators to reach a deal, known as the Private Sector Involvement, aimed at slashing the country's debt by euro100 billion ($130 billion).

Arabs running out of options on Syria violence
Arab states are worlds apart on Syria as they haggle over whether to keep peace monitors in the country as their month-long mandate expires without a halt to President Bashar al-Assad's bloody crackdown on popular unrest.

US has new confidence in peace talks with Taliban
The Obama administration expressed new confidence that talks with the Taliban next week offer the best chance yet to end the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan, despite warnings from the intelligence community that the Taliban is more interested in continuing fighting than making peace.

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The Israeli/Arab Conflict – Will This Ever End?
'The truth is that Israel’s neighbors and the international community will be much more respectful if they can see that we have a clear message and are firm on our own national agenda. Mixed messages and the willingness to negotiate on the very fundamentals of Jewish national existence project a very dangerous message to those who still hope to see the Jewish State as a passing phenomenon that will again be forgotten by history – which is not the case. The return of the Jewish people from the exile and the re-establishment of the Jewish State in the land of Israel are irreversible facts. '

Iranian regime ‘frightens me,’ Harper says
'Prime Minister Stephen Harper says a consensus is growing among world leaders that Iran would have no hesitation using nuclear arms once they develop the weapons and the capability to deliver them. “I’ve watched and listened to what the leadership in the Iran regime says, and it frightens me,” Mr. Harper said in a CBC interview.-“In my judgment, these are people who have a particular, you know, fanatically religious worldview, and their statements imply to me no hesitation of using nuclear weapons if they see them achieving their religious or political purposes”

Obama Admin Mandates Religious Employers Cover Contraception Cost, Catholic Bishops Furious
The Catholic Bishops of the United States are reportedly furious over what they call the “literally unconscionable” decision by the Obama Administration to require that contraception be included in virtually all health plans provided by religious-affiliated institutions to their employees. The announcement means that the mandate and its narrow exemption will not change. Rather, there will be a delay in enforcement against some employers.

Analysis: China as lender of last resort...more than just a loan
China is filling a lending vacuum in Asia as European banks limp home to preserve capital, and is making sure loans have spin-off benefits for Chinese manufacturers and exporters, even at the expense of the rates they offer. Cash-strapped businesses looking to Chinese banks for loans would do well to have something to offer China in return - for big loans come with strings attached.

Palestinians to renew efforts for bid to U.N.
Palestinian officials say that they will resume their effort to gain U.N. membership, and that they could launch a nonviolent third intifada because they see no chance of reaching a peace deal with the current Israeli government. The Palestinians had put their U.N. bid on hold to participate in informal Jordanian-sponsored talks with Israel that began at the beginning of the year in Amman.

China gets jump on U.S. for Brazil’s oil
Off the coast of Rio de Janeiro — below a mile of water and two miles of shifting rock, sand and salt — is an ultradeep sea of oil that could turn Brazil into the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, behind Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States. ...The United States wants it, but China is getting it.

Obama’s Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Look to China Sales
President Barack Obama’s decision yesterday to reject a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline may prompt Canada to turn to China for oil exports. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports,” according to details provided by Harper’s office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country’s “financial security.”

One Mexican State Bordering The US Was Deadlier Than All of Afghanistan Last Year
Organized crime-related deaths in one Mexican border state during the first nine months of 2011 exceed the number of Afghan civilians killed in roughly the same period in all of war-torn Afghanistan. According to the Mexican government, from January through September 2011 2,276 deaths were recorded in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas and New Mexico.

U.S. considering shutting down its embassy in Syria
An administration official confirmed to The Cable Friday that U.S. officials have been in discussions with the Syrian regime in an effort to negotiate new security agreements for the streets surrounding the embassy, which have become more and more dangerous for U.S. personnel as the violence in Damascus has drawn closer to the central city. Those streets house several other foreign embassies as well, meaning that if the Syrian government does not meet requests for better security guarantees, several countries could be forced to roll up their diplomatic presence in Damascus, despite their preference to stay.

Bioterror fears halt research on mutant bird flu
Scientists who created a potentially more deadly bird flu strain have temporarily stopped their research amid fears it could be used by terrorists. In a letter published in Science and Nature, the teams call for an "international forum" to debate the risks and value of the studies. US authorities last month asked the authors of the research to redact key details in forthcoming publications.

Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills
Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills.

U.S. mulls closing Damascus embassy as security worsens
The United States warned on Friday that it may soon close its embassy in Syria due to the worsening security situation, a move that could exacerbate tensions between Washington and Damascus over its bloody crackdown on protests.

Greece debt swap talks drag into weekend
Greece and its creditors are continuing negotiations on a debt swap on Saturday after late-night talks edged them closer to a vital deal but failed to clinch an agreement.

Nigeria violence: Many dead after Kano blasts
Eyewitnesses in the northern Nigerian city of Kano say they have counted more than 20 bodies after co-ordinated bomb attacks on Friday. A 24-hour curfew is in place in the city. Police have confirmed seven deaths in various locations.

Exclusive: Senior al Qaeda figure killed in drone strike
A militant who acted as a senior operations organizer for al Qaeda was targeted and killed in one of two U.S. drone strikes launched against targets inside Pakistan last week, a U.S. official said.

South Carolina primary: Gingrich surge troubles Romney
Despite battling an ex-wife's claim that he wanted an open marriage, Mr Gingrich was 6% ahead of Mitt Romney in one eve-of-vote opinion poll. Former Massachusetts Governor Romney said the race was "neck and neck". Saturday's election is a crucial test for the four remaining contenders.

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Iraq falling back into ‘authoritarianism’: Human Rights Watch
Iraq is falling back into authoritarianism and headed towards becoming a police state, despite U.S. claims that it has helped establish democracy in the country, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday. The criticism from the New York-based HRW comes less than a year after thousands of Iraqis took to the streets nationwide to criticize the government for poor services.

Libya’s premier warns that country could fall into ‘bottomless pit’ as protests soar
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), warned on Sunday the country could be heading towards a “bottomless pit” after protesters stormed a government office in Benghazi when he was inside. A crowd demanding the resignation of the Libyan government smashed windows and forced their way into the NTC’s local headquarters late on Saturday, in the most serious show of anger at the new authorities since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.

Interest rates to be flagged to the US public
The US Federal Reserve has said it will soon inform the public on benchmark interest rates and when they will rise. The bank will also say what the rate will most likely be at dates in the future. Starting on Wednesday, the Fed will issue a chart, one of four per year, in which officials will forecast rate rises.

Netanyahu: Israel must prevent the elimination of the Jewish people
The Israeli government has the "right, duty and capability" to prevent the elimination of the Jewish people and the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. During the meeting, the cabinet marked the 70th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference on the Nazi "Final Solution" for the Jewish people.

Syrian troops retreat from large Damascus suburb
An activist group says Syrian security forces have retreated from the streets of one of biggest suburbs of the capital after intense clashes with anti-government army defectors. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights' head Rami Abdul-Rahman says that as of early Sunday, government troops had pulled back to a provincial headquarters and a security agency building in the Damascus suburb of Douma. He had no information on casualties.

Egypt's Islamist parties win elections to parliament
The final results in Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections confirm an overwhelming victory for Islamist parties. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won the largest number of seats under Egypt's complex electoral system. The hardline Salafist Nour party came second.

Mexico earthquake in Chiapas shakes region
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake has hit the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, shattering windows and sending frightened residents into the streets. The quake struck in the Pacific Ocean about 35 miles (55km) south-west of the city of Mapastepec, near Mexico's border with Guatemala. The tremor was felt hundreds of miles away in El Salvador's capital, San Salvador.

South Carolina poll: Gingrich triumphs over Romney
Newt Gingrich has convincingly beaten Mitt Romney in South Carolina's primary election, the latest leg in the battle to be the Republican candidate in November's US presidential poll. With almost all votes counted, Mr Gingrich had 40% to Mr Romney's 28%. Mr Romney was widely seen as the frontrunner, but the latest outcome is set to turn the race into a long, hard-fought campaign, correspondents say.

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EU appoints German diplomat as Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process
The Council of the European Union has appointed Mr Andreas Reinicke as EU Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process. His task will be to contribute to achieving the EU's policy objectives in the region, including a comprehensive peace, a two-state solution and a settlement of the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese conflicts. He will act as the EU envoy to the Middle East Quartet.

Edelstein: World Cannot be Silent about Iranian Threat
Public Information and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli-Yoel Edelstein said, Monday, that the world cannot be silent and do nothing about the Iranian nuclear threat. -Referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he continued, "Today there is a crazy man openly threatening to destroy Israel.

Biggest solar storm since 2005 pummels Earth
A potent solar flare has unleashed the biggest radiation storm since 2005 and could disrupt some satellite communications in the polar regions, US space weather monitors said Monday.

Iran renews Strait of Hormuz shutdown threats after EU joins U.S. in banning oil imports
The European Union banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran’s nuclear development program. In Iran, one politician responded by renewing a threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, an oil export route vital to the global economy, and another said Tehran should cut off crude shipments to the EU immediately.

Russia to use Caucasus drills to prepare for international conflicts
The Ministry of Defense has started preparations for one of the biggest military exercises of the year, the "Caucasus-2012" drills. The exercises are taking place in Southern Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Armenia in September 2012. One purpose of the large-scale drills this year is to prepare the Russian military for a possible armed conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.

Georgia and possible complications in Iran
Developments between Iran and the USA are currently the hot topic being discussed by the world’s media. It is clear that whatever comes Georgia will not be able to remain neutral towards the situation in the region. Iran is Georgia’s neighbour and any kind of further deterioration of the situation will influence Georgia either directly or indirectly. Georgian politicians and analysts are attentively following developments in the situation.

Iranian regime ‘frightens me,’ Harper says
“I’ve watched and listened to what the leadership in the Iran regime says, and it frightens me,” Mr. Harper said in a CBC interview. “In my judgment, these are people who have a particular, you know, fanatically religious worldview, and their statements imply to me no hesitation of using nuclear weapons if they see them achieving their religious or political purposes,” he said. Asked why world leaders are not doing more about it, Mr. Harper said a consensus among world leaders has been growing “at least privately.”

‘Israel to Give Obama 12 Hours Notice on Attacking Iran’
Israel told visiting US Gen. Dempsey that Obama would get no more than 12 hours notice before an attack on Iran, the London Times reports.----'It is left to speculation whether the rumors are based on facts or are leaked by officials to mask the possibility of secret military coordination.'

US aircraft carriers to deliver 'direct message to Iran'
In an apparent show of strength, Washington is deploying a second carrier strike group in the Gulf. US officials also confirmed their commitment to maintaining a global fleet of 11 aircraft carriers despite budget pressure to cut the fleet's size. “That’s the reason we maintain a presence in the Middle East,” AP cited US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, as saying in a speech to about 1,700 sailors aboard the USS Enterprise. “We want them to know that we are fully prepared to deal with any contingency and it’s better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy.” Panetta added that the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise is on course for the Persian Gulf – and will steam through the Strait of Hormuz in a direct message to Iran, AP reports.

Toward Twister Forecasting: Scientists Make Progress in Assessing Tornado Seasons
This information gap took on new urgency after tornadoes in 2011 killed more than 550 people, more than in the previous 10 years combined, including a devastating outbreak in April that racked up $5 billion in insured losses.

No injuries reported after tornadoes reported in eastern Arkansas
The National Weather Service says it received reports of possible tornadoes in Arkansas, Dallas, Lonoke, Prairie and Cleveland counties Sunday night. There were no reports of any injuries.

Iran 'definitely' closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo
The announcement came in response to a decision by the European Union on Monday to impose an oil embargo on Iran over the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program. “The pressure of sanctions is designed to try and make sure that Iran takes seriously our request to come to the table,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as "preppers." Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.

More quakes follow 5.0 shaker on Big Island
A series of earthquakes shook an area of southeast Hawaii island Sunday afternoon, one of them a 5.0 magnitude quake. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, all of the quakes were centered in an area about eleven miles southeast of the town of Volcano on the Big Island. The first quake occurred at 4:35 p.m. with a magnitude of 4.1. That quake was followed a minute later by one with a 5.0 magnitude.

Obama Orders Catholics to Act Against Their Faith; Bishops Call it 'Unconscionable'
The Obama administration on Friday finalized a regulation that orders all Americans—unless they work directly at a church--to purchase government-approved health insurance plans that cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives including those that cause abortions.

While the Israeli leadership has signaled support for US president Barack Obama in his re-election bid by urging Jewish voters in America to vote for
The owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, has suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu consider ordering a Mossad hit team to assassinate U.S. President Barack Obama so that his successor will defend Israel against Iran.

US miffed as Israel hints at unilateral strike on Iran N-sites
While the Israeli leadership has signaled support for US president Barack Obama in his re-election bid by urging Jewish voters in America to vote for him, Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak is said to have told general Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, that Israel will give the US no more than 12 hours notice before it ventures to demolish Iran's nuclear installations.

Tony Blair had 'secret group preparing for euro referendum'
The group was secret partly to avoid Gordon Brown's disapproval, Hain discloses in his autobiography Outside In, to be published on Monday. The episode shows how determined Blair was in 2002 and 2003 to join the euro.

Access report warns of 'Eurogeddon'
The report, titled "Eurogeddon", warns that 2012 could easily bring a deep recession and widespread bank failures in Europe. Deloitte Access Economics director Chris Richardson says there is a 50-50 chance that Europe will muddle through the crisis.

Israeli settlers reject Netanyahu's request to evacuate largest outpost in West Bank
The ongoing controversy about the evacuation of the Migron outpost hit a new high Sunday, as settlers angrily rejected a compromise proposal offered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu asked the Migron settlers to voluntarily evacuate the outpost and receive in return support to establish a community on nearby state land. The settlers rejected the proposal and demanded that Netanyahu authorize the Migron outpost's settlement by legislation.

Davos elites to seek reforms of 'outdated' capitalism
Economic and political elites meeting this week at the Swiss resort of Davos will be asked to urgently find ways to reform a capitalist system that has been described as "outdated and crumbling." "We have a general morality gap, we are over-leveraged, we have neglected to invest in the future, we have undermined social coherence, and we are in danger of completely losing the confidence of future generations," said Klaus Schwab, host and founder of the annual World Economic Forum.

EU Iran sanctions: Ministers adopt Iran oil imports ban
European Union foreign ministers have formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran over its nuclear programme. The sanctions involve an immediate ban on all new oil contracts with Iran, while existing contracts will be honoured until 1 July.

Why Isn’t Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece?
As the Greek default (and it is a default no matter what they end up calling it) is finalized this week, the consensus seems to be that failure to reach a deal would cause a global financial apocalypse. That may be true. And if it is, why aren’t we more worried about Illinois? It’s more or less the same size as Greece, its finances are in the same generally catastrophic shape, and its leaders are just as feckless and dishonest.

Spanish central bank predicts big drop in economy
Spain faces more unemployment misery and needs serious labor market reforms, the country's central bank warned Monday as it slashed its economic forecasts for this year. The Bank of Spain predicted the country's economy will contract 1.5 percent this year, rather than expand by that same amount as per its forecast until now.

Egypt's post-Mubarak parliament holds first session
The first Egyptian parliament elected since President Hosni Mubarak resigned last February after a popular uprising is holding its inaugural session. Islamists dominated the elections held for the People's Assembly over the past three months, winning 73% of the seats. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party won 235 seats, the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party 121 and the moderate al-Wasat Party 10.

Kano attack: Emir leads prayers in Nigerian city
Both Muslim and Christian residents of Kano, the northern Nigerian city where at least 160 people were killed in a series of attacks on Friday, have been urged to heed a day of prayer. A special prayer session has been held near the palace of the Emir of Kano, asking Allah to help end the violence. Islamist militant group Boko Haram says it carried out the attacks.

Arab Spring sees rise in anti-Semitism
There has been an increase in anti-Semitism in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring, according to a report set for release on Sunday. That is the finding of the study Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein is to submit to the government.

'Syria purchases 36 fighter planes from Russia'
Syria purchased 36 Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten fighter planes from Russia for $550 million, the Russian daily Kommersant reported Monday. The deal, signed in December, specifies that production of the planes will begin once initial payments are made. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in January that Russia has no intention to justify its arms sales to Syria.

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Netanyahu: World Silent on Threats to Destroy Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took advantage of a special plenary meeting to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day to address the threats to Israel's existence. "70 years after the Holocaust, much of the world remains silent in the face of Iran's declared intent to wipe Israel off the earth," Netanyahu said. -"These are days when most of the governments of the world remain silent in the face of cries of Palestinian Muftis to kill Jews wherever they are. Where is the condemnation of the Mufti? Not the Mufti of history, but the Mufti of today? International Holocaust Remembrance Day should be the day the world stands behind the words 'never again,'" Netanyahu said.

Deeper Than Oil: The Red Flag Still Flies High in Russia
One thing that many people have overlooked about the current unrest in Russia is the depth of support for left wing values. Is a new red dawn about to rise over the Kremlin?

Magnitude-6.3 quake hits Pacific; no tsunami alert
A magnitude-6.3 earthquake has shaken the Pacific region south of the Fiji islands. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any alerts or warnings after the quake.

Earthquake strikes Chile
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile Monday afternoon, authorities there said. "It was just a scare," said Gonzalo Arroyo, regional emergency management director in Concepcion province. "The only problem we have was that cell phone lines became saturated moments after the earthquake," he said. The U.S. Geological Survey gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 6.2.

Earthquake Shakes Northern Dominican Republic
The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1. The epicenter was in the coastal town of Rio San Juan, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) north of the capital and 22 miles (35 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco de Macoris

Magnetic Storm Sparks Disruption Concerns
The strongest geomagnetic storm in more than six years is continuing to hit the Earth, with experts concerned it could affect power grids and satellites and maybe even airline routes. The storm occurred on Sunday and the effects are expected to continue until Wednesday at least.

Supreme Court: GPS devices equivalent of a search, police must get warrant
In a rare defeat for law enforcement, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed on Monday to bar police from installing GPS technology to track suspects without first getting a judge's approval. The justices made clear it wouldn't be their final word on increasingly advanced high-tech surveillance of Americans.

Judge's order in ‘birther' case unlikely to draw Obama
In a surprising ruling Friday, a Georgia state administrative judge declined to quash a subpoena directing Obama to attend a hearing Thursday at the Fulton County courthouse on a challenge to strike him from the Georgia ballot this fall on claims he is not a U.S. citizen. Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi issued the decision after previously declining to dismiss the case, one of dozens around the country brought by so-called “birthers.” Malihi, appointed in 1995 by Gov. Zell Miller, presides at the Georgia Office of State Administrative Hearings, which hears complaints against state agencies.

Davos 2012: Has capitalism got a future?
The founder and driving force of the forum, Prof Klaus Schwab, is even blunter. "Capitalism in its current form no longer fits the world around us," he says.

South Korea looking to buy Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system
South Korea has offered to buy a significant quantity of Israeli-made weapons and defense systems, including the anti-rocket Iron Dome system, if Israel agrees to purchase South Korean fighter jets. The Israel Air Force is looking to replace its aging fleet of American-made A-4 Skyhawk jets, which are used to train fighter pilots.

How Tony Blair tried to give Gibraltar to Spain to curry favour with the European Union
Peter Hain says the then-Prime Minister was “contemptuous” toward the desire of Gibraltar residents to remain under the British flag and told how close Britain came to losing the rocky territory to the Spanish in 2002.

Gold for Oil: India and Iran Ditch Dollar – Report
According to a new and yet unconfirmed report, India bought oil from Iran using gold. India certainly has the gold resources to fund the oil, while Iran is under pressure by the West, due the continuation of its nuclear program. There were reports that officials have been floating this idea for some time, and now, as the EU finally decided upon an oil embargo on Iran, more details became available, yet still pend confirmation.

Justices Rein In Police on GPS Trackers
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that police violated the Constitution when they attached a Global Positioning System tracker to a suspect's vehicle without a valid search warrant, voting unanimously in one of the first major cases to test privacy rights in the digital era.

Gulf Arab states to pull observers from Syria
Gulf Arab states have announced that they are withdrawing from the Arab League's observer mission in Syria. The Gulf Co-operation Council also called on the UN Security Council to put new pressure on Damascus to end a violent crackdown against protests. It came after Syria rejected an Arab League plan for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and hold elections.

Turkey PM says French bill on genocide denial 'racist'
The Turkish prime minister has said a bill passed by the French parliament on the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule is "racist". Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Turkish parliament in Ankara that the bill "murdered freedom of thought". French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to sign the bill into law before the end of February.

EU ministers agree new bail-out fund, criticise Greece
EU finance ministers have overcome Finnish objections to a permanent bail-out fund for the eurozone, access to which will be made conditional on signing a new treaty on fiscal discipline. "We were able to agree on a text of the revised treaty concerning the European Stability Mechanism," Chair of the meeting Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told a press conference late Monday night (23 January).

Egypt parliament chooses Brotherhood speaker
Egypt's Islamist-led parliament voted to appoint a top politician in the Muslim Brotherhood as the new assembly's speaker, the Brotherhood said on its website, a choice that would have been unthinkable when Hosni Mubarak was in power. Mohamed Saad el-Katatni, secretary-general of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was appointed speaker in a vote during the parliament's first session on Monday, following a raucous debate about whether candidates for the post should be allowed to address the chamber beforehand.

Australia to follow EU lead in banning Iranian oil
Australia will follow the EU's lead in banning oil imports from Iran, the country's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday. "On the question of Iran, let me be absolutely clear (regarding) the actions taken in Brussels yesterday on sanctions by the European Union. We in Australia will undertake precisely the same parallel action for Australia," he told reporters during a visit to London.

Barak: We will negotiate with Hamas if they halt terror
Israel will negotiate with the Palestinian unity government if Hamas agrees to Quartet conditions and dismantles its terror infrastructure, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with Israel Radio Tuesday. "The continuation of the peace process is in the interest of Israel, the Palestinians and the world," Barak said. "If Hamas adopts the Quartet's conditions and dismantles its terror infrastructure, we will negotiate with them."

Gold for Oil: India and Iran Ditch Dollar – Report
According to a new and yet unconfirmed report, India bought oil from Iran using gold. India certainly has the gold resources to fund the oil, while Iran is under pressure by the West, due the continuation of its nuclear program.

Poll: Gingrich leads Romney in Florida
Likely Florida Republican primary voters said they preferred surging GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich to Mitt Romney, a Rasmussen Reports poll indicated. Likely GOP primary voters said they preferred the former House speaker over the former Massachusetts governor 41 percent to 32 percent, results released Monday indicated. Former U.S.

Sen. Rand Paul detained by TSA
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was detained Monday by the Transportation Security Administration in Nashville after he refused a full-body pat-down, his office said.

Car bombs hit Baghdad's Sadr City
Two car bombs have killed at least 10 people and wounded 38 in separate attacks in a Shia district of Baghdad, Iraq's interior ministry says. The first bomb hit day labourers waiting for jobs in Sadr City, in eastern Baghdad.

Big Tokyo earthquake likely 'within the next few years'
The chance of a big earthquake hitting the Japanese capital in the next few years is much greater than official predictions suggest, researchers say. The team, from the University of Tokyo, said there was a 75% probability that a magnitude seven quake would strike the region in the next four years.

Fannie, Freddie writedowns too costly: regulator
The regulator for Fannie Mae (OTC BB:FNMA.OB - News) and Freddie Mac (OTC BB:FMCC.OB - News) told lawmakers that forcing the government-controlled mortgage firms to write down the principal on underwater home loans would require more than $100 billion in fresh taxpayer funds.

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Solar storm's effects to lash Earth until Wednesday
Our planet is being bombarded by high-energy particles unleashed by the strongest solar storm since 2005, scientists say.

'Palestinians say fifth Amman meeting will be last'
The PA has come under heavy pressure from the Quartet to continue the talks but will not agree to do so, Ma'an cited unnamed Palestinian sources as saying.

Solar storm knocks DNS Servers offline, NOAA Website affected for Comcast users
Many are reporting that they cannot get into the NOAA Websites. DNS servers are to blame as solar storm impacts planet, sending power surges through.

Obama’s new fairytale: Peace and prosperity for war-bent US
Obama is trying to ratchet up support for re-election. In his third State of the Union speech, he pledged another program for change.

Delta Air Lines reroutes some flights amid concerns over big solar flare
The so-called space hurricane unleashed by the sun - and that is pelting Earth with huge amounts of radiation - forced Delta Air Lines Tuesday to reroute some flights that were to fly close to the North Pole.

Netanyahu: World must stop Iran from conducting second holocaust
This is a day when the world needs to commit not to allow another genocide and to act so that weapons of mass destruction don't reach the hands of Iran's ayatollahs.

India Fingerprinting, Iris Scanning Over One Billion People
The Indian government is ramping up efforts to fingerprint and iris scan the entirety of its 1.2 billion citizens in an ambitious scheme to issue national ID cards with biometric details. The plan has so far already enrolled 110 million people and issued 60 million numbers, with the aim of enrolling 200 million by this March and 600 million by 2014.

Is The NYPD Experimenting With Drones Over The City? Evidence Points To Yes
Surveillance cameras already dot the city’s streets, but is the NYPD exploring the use of even more eyes in the skies, in the form of drones? Some evidence points to yes.

Former Indian Army Officer Col. Dr. Anil Athale Warns: Expect a Chinese Attack Against India by 'June/July 2012'
China is carefully orchestrating security-related incidents against India. Such incidents include Chinese military incursions into Indian territory in the Western and North-Eastern border regions of India, recent mistreatment of Indian diplomats and businessmen in China, recurring disputes on the issuance of visas, and diplomatic rows involving Chinese attempts to question Indian sovereignty in Jammu & Kashmir.

Iran preparing now for Armageddon
Khamenei has been heard to say that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, is near and that specific actions need to be taken to protect the Islamic regime for upcoming events.

Israel to UN: Tomorrow will be too late for action against Iran
"The Arab world is in flames and the Security Council is dealing with construction permits in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)," Israel's United Nations envoy Ron Prossor said in a speech at the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Prosor used the Security Council's monthly meeting on the situation in the Middle East to direct harsh criticism at the body.

U.S. to grant three-year extension of loan guarantees to Israel
The U.S. government has informed Israel that it will recommend that Congress approve a three-year extension of loan guarantees to Israel, worth $3.8 billion. The announcement came after several months of worry in Israel that the loan guarantees would not be extended, despite Israel's request. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Nides and Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin announced the American decision at a meeting with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Monday.

Google announces privacy changes across products; users can’t opt out
Google will soon know far more about who you are and what you do on the Web. The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine. ...Consumers won’t be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect March 1.

New US unit to probe 'unfair trade practices' in China
US President Barack Obama has announced a new body to investigate unfair trade practices in countries such as China. ''I will not stand by when our competitors don't play by the rules,'' he said. He was speaking in his third State of the Union address on Tuesday night in Washington DC.

South Sudan in Kenyan oil pipeline deal
South Sudan has agreed a deal with Kenya to build an oil pipeline, potentially reducing its dependence on its northern neighbour Sudan. It will link South Sudan's oil fields to the Kenyan port of Lamu and should be ready in a year, a minister said. The move comes as South Sudan starts to shut down oil production after Sudan seized crude oil piped through its territory for export.

Russia says it opposes sanctions on Syria
Russia said on Wednesday it remained opposed to sanctions against Syria and signaled no change in its stance over the government's crackdown on protesters seeking an end to Syrian President Bashar Assad's rule. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also reiterated Moscow's opposition to outside military intervention in Syria and called for negotiations to end 10 months of bloodshed in which the United Nations says more than 5,000 civilians have been killed.

Iran's Ahmadinejad ups rates to stem money crisis
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to increase bank interest rates on Wednesday, hoping to halt a spiraling currency crisis intensified by new Western sanctions. "The economy minister has announced Ahmadinejad has agreed with the approval of the Money and Credit Council to increase interest rates on bank deposits to up to 21 percent," the official IRNA news agency reported.

Britain OKs television ads for abortion clinics
Britain's broadcast advertising body has given the go-ahead for private abortion clinics to advertise their services on television, angering those who say that the move desensitizes the public to the practice.

Gay marriage gaining momentum in WA Legislature
The last time same-sex marriage was debated in the Washington state Legislature, lawmakers voted to ban it. Fourteen years later, the issue is before the Legislature once again after a multiyear effort that has incrementally increased rights to gay and lesbian couples in the state.

Somalia: Western hostages freed in US military raid
Two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Somalia three months ago have been freed in a rare US military raid there. US officials have confirmed that elite US Navy Seals were dropped into Somalia to carry out the overnight operation which resulted in a shoot-out.

Pentagon budget to cut military, cancel programs
The Pentagon will preview a budget proposal this week that begins to implement $487 billion in spending cuts over the next decade by trimming the size of the military and canceling or scaling back some weapons programs.

Los Angeles mayor signs porn star condom requirement
Porn actors in Los Angeles will have to use condoms on the set as a condition of obtaining a film permit under a first-in-the-nation requirement quietly signed into law by the mayor, and a nearby community was considering a similar rule.

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Ban Ki-moon to visit Israel, Palestinian territories
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan in a Middle East tour supporting the peace process, Ban said Wednesday. "My visit comes at an important moment," the UN chief said at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Anti-Semitism still haunts Germany
What on Earth does the Jewish community in Germany make of the flurry of headlines this week that described substantial anti-Semitism, and how have they reacted to plans to publish extracts from Mein Kampf?

'Cloaking' a 3-D object from all angles demonstrated
Now, Andrea Alu and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin have pulled off the trick in "free space", making an 18cm-long cylinder invisible to incoming microwave light. "What we do is different; we realise a shell that scatters [light] by itself, but the interesting point is that if you combine the shell with the object inside, the two counter out and the object becomes completely invisible," Prof Alu told BBC News.

Obama, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Share Tense Tarmac Moment
Brewer, who was on the tarmac to greet Obama, hand-delivered a letter before engaging the president “intensely” for several minutes, including pointing her finger directly at him, according to Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown, acting as a pool reporter for other media outlets.

Obama’s Former Faith Adviser: ‘I, Frankly, Am Glad American Civil Religion is Dying’
Shaun Casey, the religious affairs adviser to presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008, said at a discussion on Tuesday about “God and Politics” that the demise of religious society in the United States is a good thing.

Halt in Iran oil could push crude up by 30 percent
If Iran halts exports to countries without offsets from other sources it would likely trigger an "initial" oil price jump of 20 to 30 percent, or about $20 to $30 a barrel, the IMF said in its first public comment on a possible Iranian oil supply disruption.

‘Massive’ Blockade Needed to Stop Iran Threat, Israel’s Steinitz Says
The gravity of a potential nuclear-armed Iran is such that stronger action is needed, he said. A “massive blockade,” so that “no one can even go out,” stands some chance of success, he said.

Death Valley's Big Bang: Volcano "Potentially Active"
The new study, though, suggests the massive blast occurred more recently, when Death Valley was very much as it is today—which could mean that conditions are still ripe for an eruption.

Federal Mortgage Insurer Headed Toward Collapse
“We are watching—in not-so-slow motion—the same gradual descent into insolvency that occurred with Fannie and Freddie a little more than three years ago,” reads the outlook for FHA authored by Edward Pinto, an executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s, and Peter J. Wallison, a general counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department during the Reagan administration.

Iran 'will not be hurt by oil embargo' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vows
Speaking to state television, Mr Ahmadinejad declared: "Once our trade with the Europe was around 90 percent but now it has reached to 10 percent and we are not seeking this 10 percent... experience has shown that Iranian nation will not be hurt," "For the past 30 years the Americans have not been buying oil from us. Our central bank has no relations with you," he added.

Palestinians: Peace negotiations with Israel have ended
The time frame that the Palestinians have allowed for talks with Israel in Amman under Jordanian auspices expires on Thursday. According to diplomatic sources associated with the Middle East Quartet - the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia - last-minute efforts are underway to head off the talks' collapse, but the prospects seem slim.

Fiji declares a state of disaster over severe flooding
Fiji has declared a state of disaster over flooding and landslides that have killed at least six people and displaced thousands. Officials say that at least 3,500 people are now in temporary shelters. The state of disaster has been declared in the western regions of Fiji's largest island of Viti Levu, where the flooding impact is worst.

Fed not to raise US interest rates until late 2014
The Federal Reserve has said it does not now expect to raise interest rates in the US until late 2014. The surprise move sent the dollar sharply lower in markets, and caused US government borrowing costs to fall. In its regular policy statement, the central bank said it saw "significant downside risks" to the economy, and said inflation had fallen back to a level in line with its mandate.

Merkel: Transfer more powers to EU, not more money to bail-out fund
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said transferring more powers to EU institutions rather than increasing the size of the eurozone's future bail-out fund is the way to overcome the euro crisis. "We have said right from the start that we want to stand up for the euro, but what we don't want is a situation where we are forced to promise something that we will not be able to fulfil," Merkel said Wednesday...

'Israel has declared war on Hamas in West Bank'
Israel has declared war on Hamas representatives in the West Bank, Palestinians said Tuesday, pointing out that five legislators belonging to the Islamist movement have been arrested in the past few days. Early Tuesday, IDF soldiers arrested Abdel Jabbar ******* a Hamas legislator, in Ramallah and confiscated documents, a laptop and mobile phones from his home.

China decries EU sanctions on Tehran
China said Thursday that EU sanctions on Iran are "not constructive," AFP quoted Chinese media sources as saying. "To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran are not constructive approaches," Beijing's foreign ministry said. ...China is Iran's top trading partner, and has consistently opposed the use of sanctions against Tehran.

Depleted Arab League mission resumes work in Syria
Arab League observers in Syria, depleted by a pullout of their Gulf Arab colleagues, resumed work on Thursday for the first time in a week during which a bloody struggle between President Bashar Assad and his opponents has raged on. Security forces deployed across the Damascus suburb of Douma on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Douma, a protest hotbed that has recently seen a rise in rebel activity, was rocked by loud explosions overnight, according to activists living there.

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‘Israel to Give Obama 12 Hours Notice on Attacking Iran’
The Netanyahu government also will not coordinate with the United States an attack on the Islamic Republic, according to the report, the latest in a number of suposed scenarios concerning cooperation or lack of it between Jerusalem and Washington.

Barney Frank Is Getting Married
A wedding date has not been set, according to a New England Cable News report, and a spokesman for the 16-term Massachusetts congressman declined to provide CNN with any additional details about when the couple will tie the knot. Frank, 71, has no plans to say anything about the event, spokesman Harry Gural said.

Meet the ‘Preppers’ — The Americans Stockpiling Food & Water for a Possible Collapse
The world’s a scary place. Wars, famines, corrupt politicians, terrorism, imploding economies — the list goes on. There are plenty of issues worth fearing, which is why a subset of the nation is preparing for what they see as impending calamity. These individuals, dubbed “preppers,” are stocking up on food, guns, water and other items that they may need should the economy erupt or a massive natural disaster strike. With so many possibilities for problematic occurrences, these individuals want to ensure that they can live beyond any tragically defining moments.

Turkey 1st Muslim nation to show 'Shoah'
We should acknowledge the courage and determination of the Turks," said Lanzmann, who spent 11 years working on the documentary. "Turkey is a country people don't know and understand very badly." Turkey's broadcast of the film is the culmination of work by the Aladdin Project, a Paris-based group which tries to improve Jewish-Muslim relations.

Bus-Size Asteroid to Give Earth Close Shave Friday
The newfound asteroid 2012 BX34, which is about the size of a city bus, will pass within 36,750 miles (59,044 kilometers) of Earth at about 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Friday, astronomers with NASA's Asteroid Watch program announced via Twitter. The space rock is about 36 feet (11 meters) wide, making it much too small to pose a threat to Earth.

PA officials say Israeli border proposal a non-starter
Palestinian officials said Friday that Israel's presentation of its ideas for border and security arrangements of a future Palestinian state at a meeting in Amman on Wednesday was a non-starter, envisaging a fenced-off territory of cantons that would preserve most Jewish settlements. Israel's envoy to the talks, Yitzhak Molcho, outlined Wednesday night for the Palestinians the principles and parameters that will guide Israel's policy on border issues, an Israeli government official said.

Hamas quietly quits Syria as violence continues
The leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has effectively abandoned his headquarters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, diplomatic and intelligence sources said on Friday. Damascus is isolated following a bloody, 10-month uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad and is not secure, the diplomat said, adding that Meshaal was no longer able to receive international visitors there.

Corruption scandal shakes Vatican as internal letters leaked
Vigano, currently the Vatican's ambassador in Washington, said in the letters that when he took the job in 2009 he discovered a web of corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to outside companies at inflated prices. In one letter, Vigano tells the pope of a smear campaign against him (Vigano) by other Vatican officials who wanted him transferred because they were upset that he had taken drastic steps to save the Vatican money by cleaning up its procedures.

Survey: Record number of Israeli Jews believe in God
Fully 80 percent of Israeli Jews believe that God exists - the highest figure found by the Guttman-Avi Chai survey since this review of Israeli-Jewish beliefs began two decades ago. The study also found that 70 percent of respondents believe the Jews are the "Chosen People," 65 percent believe the Torah and mitzvot (religious commandments ) are God-given, and 56 percent believe in life after death.

Palestinians don't want two-state solution, they want to eliminate Israel
Mitt Romney said on Thursday that the Palestinians are not interested in a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, rather that they are interested in the elimination of the State of Israel. The Republican presidential candidate was prompted by a question posed by a Palestinian-American Republican at a CNN-sponsored debate in Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday night.

Outside Syria's capital, suburbs look like war zone
When Arab League observers headed to the suburbs of Damascus on Thursday, Syrian security refused to accompany them to most areas, because they are no longer in control there. In some towns no more than a 15-minute drive from the capital, the governor of rural Damascus warned that gunmen were walking the streets.

Dempsey: Strike against Iran would be 'premature'
The US is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and is prepared to use force to that end, but a military strike against the Islamic Republic would be "premature" at this juncture, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with the National Journal on Thursday.

Arab League to call for UN backing on Syria plan
The Arab League is to ask the United Nations Security Council to back its plan to end the violence in Syria. On Sunday, the League called for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down and hand power to his deputy.

Spain unemployment total passes five million
Spain's unemployment figure passed the five million mark in the last quarter of 2011, official figures show. The National Statistics Institute said 5.3 million people were out of work at the end of December, up from 4.9 million in the third quarter.

Portugal and Greek concerns weigh on world stocks
World stocks fell from a 5-1/2 month high on Friday as gains spurred by the Federal Reserve's pledge of low interest rates gave way to concerns about Portugal, seen as the next domino in the euro zone crisis, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks.

Magnitude 5.3 quake off Greek islands, no injuries
Greek authorities say an earthquake with preliminary 5.3-magnitude has shaken the southern Aegean Sea islands, but no injuries or damage have been reported.

Taxpayers still owed $132.9B from bailout: report
A government watchdog says U.S. taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion that companies haven't repaid from the financial bailout, and some of that will never be recovered.

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Putin's Russia set against regime change in Syria
Russian warnings to the West and its Arab allies to keep their hands off Syria hide a slight chance for compromise on a UN resolution aimed at halting bloodshed in the country, but a demand for President Bashar Assad to step aside could be a deal-breaker. With Prime Minister Vladimir Putin facing the biggest protests of his 12-year rule and planning to return to the Kremlin in a March presidential vote, Russia wants to avoid stamping its approval on any regime change engineered from outside.

Japan Earthquake: Tokyo residents fear the big one
It is the seismic shift that Tokyoites dread most of all: a powerful earthquake that kills thousands and plunges Japan's political and financial nerve center into chaos in the space of minutes. A catastrophe that size has caused low-level anxiety for decades, but the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck the Tohoku region in Japan's northeast almost a year ago has brought the prospect of devastation in the capital into even sharper relief.

Specter of Euro Collapse Spurs Emergency Plan: Israel Overnight
Israel's government is preparing for a possible collapse of the euro region, the destination for about 30 percent of its exports and a source of tourist revenue, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said.

Palestinians say Israel is proposing West Bank barrier as future border
Israel is proposing to essentially turn its West Bank separation barrier into the border with a future state of Palestine, two Palestinian officials say, based on their interpretation of principles Israel presented in talks this week. The officials said Israeli envoy Yitzak Molcho told his Palestinian counterpart that Israel wants to keep east Jerusalem and consolidate Jewish settlements behind the separation barrier, which slices close to 10 percent off the West Bank.

Annual US, South Korea war games from Feb 27
The United States and South Korea are to hold annual military exercises on the Korean peninsula soon, the first since the recent change of leadership in North Korea. There had been speculation that the joint U.S -South Korean military drills might be postponed or called off this year. But on Friday, the U.S. and South Korea militaries announced the annual exercises would go ahead.

Christian Teen Allegedly ‘Censored’ & ‘Punished’ Over Anti-Gay Adoption Newspaper Op-Ed
A Wisconsin school district is under fire after reportedly responding harshly to an op-ed written by a 15-year-old high school student. The anti-gay adoption article, penned by Brandon Wegner, a Christian, ignited intense debate in the district. According to lawyers defending Wegner, he was “censored” and “punished” by school officials following the publication of his article.

US building 'mothership' for launching Navy Seal raids
Documents released by the Pentagon show that the military is urgently refitting the USS Ponce, a 1960s transport ship, so that it can accommodate the speed boats and Blackhawk helicopters favoured by America's special forces. The vessel had been scheduled for decommissioning but was given a new lease of life after requests from US Central Command, which has responsibility for American troops in the region, for a floating base that could remain anchored in one spot for weeks at a time.

Iran hits back at EU with own oil embargo threat
Fighting sanctions with sanctions in a test of strength with the West over its nuclear ambitions, Iran warned on Friday it may halt oil exports to Europe next week in a move calculated to hurt ailing European economies. The Tehran government grappling with its own economic crisis under Western trade and banking embargoes, will host a rare visit on Sunday by U.N. nuclear inspectors for talks that the ruling clergy may hope can relieve diplomatic pressure as they struggle to bolster public support.

Syria crisis: UN Security Council mulls Assad measures
The UN Security Council has met to consider a draft resolution against Syria's government. Activists and the Arab League urged the UN to take stronger action after a surge in violence this week in which dozens of people have died. The UK, France and Germany drafted a resolution with Arab states, supporting the League's call for President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to a deputy.

Fitch downgrades five eurozone economies
Fitch ratings agency has downgraded five eurozone economies, including Italy and Spain, citing financial weakness during the debt crisis. Italy was downgraded two notches to A- from A+, while Spain was also lowered two levels to A from AA-. Belgium, Slovenia and Cyprus were also downgraded, while Fitch cut its outlook for the Republic of Ireland.

'US bombs can't destroy buried Iran nuke plants'
Even the heaviest US bombs are not powerful enough to destroy some of Iran's more fortified nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying Friday. The Pentagon is taking steps to improve its "bunker-busting" capabilities, they added. The US's 30,000-pound (13,600 kilo) "Mass Ordnance Penetrator" (MOP) was specifically designed to be able to take out Iranian and North Korean nuclear facilities.

Iran moving closer to stage where it will be too late to destroy nuclear facilities, Israel warns
Reviving Western concerns that his government is still contemplating unilateral military action against Iran, Ehud Barak gave one of the clearest signs yet that Israel's support for new US and EU sanctions remains strictly limited.

Syria crisis: UN Security Council mulls Assad measures
The UN Security Council has met to consider a draft resolution against Syria's government. Activists and the Arab League urged the UN to take stronger action after a surge in violence this week in which dozens of people have died.

Libya prisoners make new torture allegations
New evidence has emerged that supporters of the former Libyan leader, Col Gaddafi, have been tortured while in detention. The BBC has been told by inmates at a jail in Misrata that they were beaten, whipped and given electric shocks.

Connecticut killer sentenced to die for "unimaginable horror"
A judge ordered Joshua Komisarjevsky to be executed this summer for the 2007 murders of a mother and her two daughters during a brutal home invasion in Connecticut, saying on Friday that he committed a crime of "unimaginable horror."

Actress' claim to be gay by choice riles activists
Cynthia Nixon learned the hard way this week that when it comes to gay civil rights, the personal is always political. Very political. The actress best known for portraying fiery lawyer Miranda Hobbes on "Sex and the City" is up to her perfectly arched eyebrows in controversy since The New York Times Magazine published a profile in which she was quoted as saying that for her, being gay was a conscious choice. Nixon is engaged to a woman with whom she has been in a relationship for eight years. Before that, she spent 15 years and had two children with a man.

Fading Gingrich falls behind in polls
Newt Gingrich struggled to regain momentum in the Republican presidential race on Friday as two new polls showed him falling behind rival Mitt Romney, who was seen as the winner of the final debate before the Florida primary.

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Turkey may provide Hamas with $300 million in annual aid
Turkey may provide Hamas with $300 million in annual aid, Turkish sources report. The aid would take place of Iranian funding, which has been significantly reduced. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reportedly received assurances to this effect during his recent visit to Turkey.

Day of clashes at Occupy Oakland ends with at least 200 arrests
Occupy Oakland protesters broke into City Hall, stole an American flag from the City Council chamber and set it on fire Saturday night, punctuating a wild day in which police deployed tear gas, arrested more than 200 marchers and dodged hurling objects. ...Saturday marked the first major clashes between protesters and police since November and left three officers with minor injuries, as protesters threw bottles, metal pipes, rocks, spray cans and "improvised explosive devices," police said.

Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, goes back to Jordan
The political leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, is due to make his first official visit to Jordan, 13 years after Hamas leaders were expelled from the country. Khaled Meshaal will hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah. Mr Meshaal has been based in Syria, but following the violence there he and other exiled Hamas leaders are reported to be looking for a new home.

Davos 2012: IMF issues austerity warning
Inappropriate spending cuts could "strangle" growth prospects, the head of the IMF has warned. Austerity programmes must be tailored to each economy, Christine Lagarde said, and not be "across the board". The International Monetary Fund has been one of those stressing the need for countries to cut their debts, but some fear this could hit growth.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai 'plans talks with Taliban'
The Afghan government is planning to meet the Taliban in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to jump-start peace talks, the BBC has learned. The landmark meeting will come in the coming weeks, before the establishment of a Taliban office in Qatar, according to Western and Afghan officials. The Taliban have refused previously to recognise the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Arab League chief heads to UN over Syria
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby headed to New York on Sunday seeking to win support from the UN Security Council for a plan to end violence in Syria by asking President Bashar Assad to step aside. Elaraby will brief the Security Council on Tuesday but the Arab initiative, which is backed by Western states, is facing resistance from Russia and China, two of the five permanent members of the council with veto powers.

Ahmadinejad: West implanted Israel into ME to control oil
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that western powers had implanted the Israeli regime into the Middle East as part of a scheme to gain control of the region and its resources. “Why did they install the Zionist regime (Israel)? To gain control over oil, as well as the popular and revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East,” Iranian news agency Press TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a speech at a youth conference in Tehran.

Greeks reject German plan for EU budget commissioner
Greek officials have reacted angrily to a leaked German proposal for an EU budget commissioner with veto powers over Greek taxes and spending. The Greek government said it must remain in control of its own budget.

Iran says oil could reach $120 to $150 per barrel
The head of Iran's state oil company said Sunday that the price of crude will reach $120 to $150 per barrel, as officials in Tehran prepare to discuss a ban on crude sales to European Union countries in retaliation for an EU embargo.

Netanyahu pessimistic on Mideast peace prospects
Peace prospects with the Palestinians are looking poor, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday after exploratory talks aimed at relaunching negotiations ended in deadlock.

'US bombs can't destroy buried Iran nuke plants'
Even the heaviest US bombs are not powerful enough to destroy some of Iran’s more fortified nuclear facilities, The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying on Friday. The Pentagon is taking steps to improve its “bunker-busting” capabilities, they added.

Syrian forces battle to retake Damascus suburbs
Thousands of Syrian soldiers moved into the suburbs of Damascus that have fallen under rebel control on Sunday, killing five civilians, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence.

Police fire tear gas at Oakland, 200 arrested
Riot police fought running skirmishes with anti-Wall Street protesters on Saturday, firing tear gas and bean bag projectiles and arresting more than 200 people in clashes that injured three officers and at least one demonstrator.

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Spanair collapses, stranding 20,000 people
Spain's fourth-largest airline Spanair has collapsed, leaving more than 20,000 passengers stranded across Europe and Africa. The Barcelona-based firm stopped operating on Friday and more than 200 flights were abruptly cancelled.

Report: Israel Agrees to Cede Sovereignty of Jordan Valley
Israel does not demand sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and for all practical purposes cedes this sovereignty, according to a report in the daily Maariv about ongoing talks in Jordan between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Pope calls for peace in Holy Land
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for peace in the Holy Land, as preliminary talks to relaunch negotiations between Israel and Palestine ended in a deadlock over the last few days.

Magnitude-5.0 shakes Big Island in Hawaii
The quake struck near Holei Pali beneath the south flank of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at 4:36 p.m. (6:36 p.m. PST) at a depth of five miles, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 25 miles south of Hilo and 220 miles southeast of Honolulu. There was no tsunami threat.

U.S. Drones Patrolling Its Skies Provoke Outrage in Iraq
A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Some senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.

'The United Kingdom has no industry any more': Sneering Sarkozy attacks Britain on French TV
A sneering Nicolas Sarkozy has attacked Britain for being a country with 'no industry'.

Mashaal in Amman: No Palestinian state in Jordan
“Jordan belongs to the Jordanians and Palestine to the Palestinians,” Mashaal said in a message aimed at reassuring Abdullah that Hamas does not challenge his monarchy.

In Case You Still Don't Get It, Here's Why A Greek Default Should Put Fear In Your Heart
Remember Greece? It's been two years since a financial crisis erupted in the birthplace of drama, and the final act is still unfinished. Economists and investors see a Greek default as the biggest test of the world financial system since the crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment house in 2008. It is also the biggest threat to what has been a successful start to the year in the U.S. stock market

Russia seeks to slow UN action on Syria as fighting rages
Russia sought to avert a swift UN Security Council vote on a Western-Arab resolution on Syria as street battles continued to rage on the doorstep of Damascus Monday. On the ground, Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops sought to consolidate their grip on suburbs rebel fighters had taken only a few miles from the center of the regime's power.

Syrian army returns to Damascus suburbs
The Syrian army is reported to have regained control of some Damascus suburbs recently held by rebel forces. Huge deployments of troops and tanks were used, and the suburb of Saqba is still under bombardment, activists say.

Strong earthquake hits Peru's central coastline
Peru's central coastline has been hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says. The tremor, with its epicentre some 15km (nine miles) south-east of the city of Ica, hit just after midnight (05:00 GMT) at a depth of 39km (24 miles), the USGS said.

UN chief: Africa leaders should respect gay rights
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says African nations should stop treating gays as "second-class citizens, or even criminals". Ban told African leaders that gathered in Ethiopia's capital on Sunday for an African Union summit that discrimination based on sexual orientation "had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for far too long".

Abbas: Israel to blame for failure of latest talks
The Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday blamed each other for the impasse in newly launched peace efforts, raising doubts about whether the dialogue would continue just weeks after it began.

Greek PM seeks backing for reforms, debt deal near
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos sought backing on Sunday from leading Greek party leaders for painful and unpopular reforms that the near-bankrupt country must negotiate now that a long-awaited debt relief deal seems almost secured.

Iran vows to stop "some" oil sales as inspectors visit
Iran sent conflicting signals in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, vowing to stop oil exports soon to "some" countries but postponing a parliamentary debate on a proposed halt to crude sales to the European Union.

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