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Clinton: Iran talks due in Istanbul on April 13-14
Iran and six world powers will meet in Turkey on April 13-14 for a round of talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday. The previous such meeting took place in Istanbul in January 2011, when the two sides failed even to agree on an agenda.

Tennessee Mother Faces Possible Jail Time For Baptizing Children
A Shelby County mother is facing contempt-of-court charges and possible jail time for baptizing her two children without the knowledge or consent of her ex-husband.

Rebel assault on strategic Mali garrison town of Gao
Tuareg rebels in Mali have attacked the strategic northern garrison town of Gao with heavy weapons, hours after another town, Kidal, fell to them. Two army helicopters were scrambled in response, a local official told AFP news agency by phone.

SKorea to work with US to reduce Iran oil imports
South Korean officials said Saturday that they will continue working with the U.S. to reduce oil imports from Iran after President Barack Obama greenlighted potential sanctions against countries that continue to buy Iranian oil.

Headstone of Hitlers' parents' grave removed
The tombstone marking the grave of Adolf Hitler's parents, a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis, has been removed from an upper Austrian village cemetery at the request of a descendant, and the grave is ready for a new burial, officials said Friday.

Supporters of Syrian opposition to meet in Turkey
China and Russia turned down invitations. Iran didn't get one. The absence of these key supporters of the Syrian regime at a meeting in Istanbul on Sunday highlights the global division over how to stop the bloodshed in Syria as much as the unity of dozens of participating countries from the Western and Arab worlds.

Officials: 3 killed as human sacrifices in Mexico
Authorities in the northern Mexican state of Sonora have arrested eight people accused of killing two boys and one woman as human sacrifices for Santa Muerte -- the saint of death -- officials said Friday.

U.S. drones attack militants in Pakistan, Yemen
U.S.-operated drones carried out deadly missile strikes against suspected al Qaeda targets in Pakistan and Yemen on Friday, U.S. government sources said.

Panetta: Israel strike in Iran will engage US
US defense secretary says Washington can find itself involved in Iran sooner than desired if Israel decides to launch military strike News Agencies United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told US Marines and sailors on Friday that Afghanistan is making progress against the Taliban but Iran remains a potential threat to the US.

Assad regime won't back down before opposition, says Syrian Foreign Ministry
A Syrian official said on Friday that the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad will not pull troops from cities and towns engulfed in the country's unrest before life returns to normal in these areas. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi told state TV late Friday the military is in these cities "in a state of self defense and protecting civilians."

Keith Olbermann Fired From Current TV
Controversial TV anchor Keith Olbermann has been replaced at Current TV by an equally controversial player - Eliot Spitzer. Current TV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt made the announcement in an open letter to viewers posted at the network's website.

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Email and web use 'to be monitored' under new laws
The government will be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK under new legislation set to be announced soon. Internet firms will be required to give intelligence agency GCHQ access to communications on demand, in real time. The Home Office says the move is key to tackling crime and terrorism, but civil liberties groups have criticised it.

Turkey's Erdogan: Israeli strike on Iran would devastate Mideast
An Israeli strike against Iran would have "disastrous" consequences, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Saturday, adding the world remains silent on Israel's reported nuclear armament while threatening Iran over its peaceful program.

Bomb blasts kill 11 in southern Thailand
At least 11 people have been killed and 110 wounded in co-ordinated bomb attacks by suspected Muslim insurgents in the main shopping area of a city in southern Thailand.

IDF: Attacks against soldiers on rise since latest round of Gaza violence
Planned attacks against Israeli soldiers along the Gaza border are on the rise since the latest round of violence three weeks ago, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Libyan tribal clashes kill at least 147 people
Six days of tribal clashes in a remote desert town in southern Libya have killed 147 people, the country's health minister has said. Fatima al-Hamroush said in Tripoli on Saturday that the fighting in Sabha has also left 395 wounded and 180 people have been transported to the capital Tripoli for emergency treatment.

Egypt's Brotherhood names presidential candidate
The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Saturday named Khairat al-Shater, a deputy to the Brotherhood's leader and an accomplished businessman in Egypt, as its presidential candidate for May's vote, its official Facebook page said.

Fans burn couches, flip cars after Kentucky's win
Riot police used pepper spray in small amounts for crowd control as thousands of rowdy fans swarmed into the streets near the University of Kentucky campus, overturning cars and lighting couches ablaze after a victory over cross-state rival Louisville in a Final Four matchup.

Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday
Hundreds of Christian pilgrims marked Palm Sunday in the Holy Land on Sunday, holding masses and processions retracing Jesus' triumphant return to Jerusalem. Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by cheering crowds bearing palm fronds, according to the Bible.

Japan 'worst case tsunami' could reach 35-metres
A 35-metre (115-foot) tsunami could hit the Japanese coast in the wake of a massive earthquake, an expert panel has said after revising its worst case scenario projections following last year's disaster.

Mega Millions winners are rich, but not THAT rich
Congratulations, Mega Millions winners! You've just won the biggest lottery in history! Move over Bill Gates and Warren Buffett! Not so fast, Richie Rich


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Euro unemployment spikes to record 10.8 percent
Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro hit its highest level since the currency was introduced back in 1999, official figures showed Monday, in a further sign that the region is back in recession as governments cut spending to deal with their debts.

Ex-'gays' seek parity with homosexual promoters
An organization that works in support of former homosexuals is seeking parity with promoters of homosexuality – and says this year’s “Day of Silence” is just exactly the right time for students to hand out information about those who seek to leave – or have left – the “gay” lifestyle.

Confirmed: CIA secret prison in Poland
The official investigation into a CIA-run prison in Poland started in 2008, a year after Donald Tusk took office. It took three years for evidence of the site to come to light. Allegedly, a secret interrogation facility for terror suspects was operating in Stare Kiejkuty, a small village in remote Poland, from December 2002 to the fall of 2003, “depriving prisoners of war of their freedom” and “allowing corporal punishment.”

Irish bishops say God is “silent and unmissed” in Europe
Europe today is tired of religion and bored by God claims the Irish bishops in a new pastoral letter dated March 29. Throughout the European Union it appears that God is 'silent and unmissed in the lives of many.' The bishops' 12-page document, titled 'Repent and Believe the Good News,' advises the Irish not to follow the lead of their neighbors on the continent.

Children 'sacrificed' to Mexico's cult of Saint Death
Eight people have been arrested for allegedly killing two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman in ritual sacrifices by the cult of La Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, Mexican prosecutors said.

Obama, Calderon, Harper talk trade, energy
President Barack Obama is convening a summit with leaders from Mexico and Canada on Monday that aims to boost a fragile recovery and grapple with thorny energy issues against a backdrop of painfully high gas prices. The session at the White House is a make-good for a planned meeting last November in Hawaii on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit.

Israeli strike on Iran would be 'disastrous,' Turkey's Erdoðan says
"The entire region would be devastated if Israel strikes Iran," Erdoðan said and added that he shared his views with U.S. President Barack Obama. A regional conflict triggered by a possible Israeli strike "would not end up like the war between U.S. and Iraq. Israel should not attack Iran," Erdoðan said and added that Israel was taking part in "disaster-mongering" with its constant threats of a possible strike on Iran.

U.S. calls on Iran to prove its nuclear program not intended for military means
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged Iran to back up its declaration that Islam bars weapons of mass destruction by agreeing to a plan that would prove it does not intend to develop nuclear arms. Ahead of international talks April 13 in Istanbul on Iran's uranium enrichment program, Clinton talked strategy with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Tehran last week with other government officials.

Fearing Syria war, Gantz holds surprise drills
Fearing a future war with Syria, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz held a surprise drill inspection of two key military bases in the North on Sunday to ensure that they will be able to continue operating in the event of significant missile attacks.

Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool
Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of federal agents, has become a powerful and widely used surveillance tool for local police officials, with hundreds of departments, large and small, often using it aggressively with little or no court oversight, documents show.

Internet activity 'to be monitored' under new laws
Under legislation expected in next month's Queen's Speech, internet companies will be instructed to install hardware enabling GCHQ – the Government's electronic "listening" agency – to examine "on demand" any phone call made, text message and email sent, and website accessed in "real time", The Sunday Times reported. A previous attempt to introduce a similar law was abandoned by the former Labour government in 2006 in the face of fierce opposition.

Annan to brief UN Security Council on Syria peace plan
Violence is continuing in Syria as the UN and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, prepares to brief the Security Council on the progress of his peace plan. Activists say at least three people have been killed in an army offensive in Idlib province, and there has been fresh fighting in the city of Homs. There has also been an explosion in central Damascus, state media report.

Raid hits Nigeria Islamist sect Boko Haram 'bomb factory'
Nigerian security forces have raided a suspected bomb-making factory, killing at least nine alleged Islamist militants, officials say. The raid, in the Okene district of Kogi state, came after the authorities discovered the facility they believe was run by the Boko Haram sect. Two members of the security forces were killed in the firefight.

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Obama Will Risk Israel's Security to Win Re-election
what is happening here is a full court press that is political and ideological because there is this naive utopian hope within the Obama administration that if they can simply bring about some kind of Palestinian-Israeli peace accord, all the problems of the Jihad being waged against us will go away — it won’t work,”

UAE boot to Western groups shows wider Gulf unease
Yet it's a vivid lesson in the growing unease across the Gulf as authorities target dissenting voices and pull the welcome mat out from under international groups seen as potential pro-reform sounding boards, including the U.S.-funded National Democratic Institute whose Dubai office was abruptly closed last week.

More 'Dangerous Parents' Flee With Children
The number of "dangerous parents" fleeing with their children when social services become involved in their families is increasing, a senior British judge has warned.

IRS Already Gearing Up for Health-Care Crackdown
The rest of the country may be waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the fate of President Barack Obama’s health-care law, but the Internal Revenue Service is wasting no time. It wants to add new agents to hunt down tax cheats and still plans to spend $303.5 million building a system to oversee the effects of the health law even though its future is unclear.

Al Qaeda 'coming soon' to NYC, graphic warns
A mysterious image threatening the return to New York of Al Qaeda has appeared on a handful of Arabic websites, prompting the New York police department and federal authorities to investigate.

Egyptian Copts abandon constitution talks
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church has announced it is withdrawing from talks on a new constitution, saying Islamist domination of the drafting body made its participation "pointless", Egypt's state news agency said. The decision late on Sunday followed calls by Egyptian liberals to boycott the constitution drafting committee, which is seen as failing to adequately represent the nation's diversity.

Obama warns 'unelected' Supreme Court against striking down health law
Obama, employing his strongest language to date on the Supreme Court review of the federal health care overhaul, cautioned the court Monday against overturning the law...

Massive wealth destruction' about to hit investors: Faber
Investors, particularly those in the "well-to-do" category, could lose about half their total wealth in the next few years as the consequences pile up from global government debt problems,

Pentagon activates missile defenses for North Korean launch
The Pentagon recently activated its global missile shield in anticipation of North Korea’s launch of a long-range missile, according to defense officials. The measures include stepped-up electronic monitoring, deployment of missile interceptor ships, and activation of radar networks to areas near the Korean peninsula and western Pacific.

US draws up plans for nuclear drones
American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling. ..."It's pretty terrifying prospect," said Chris Coles of Drone Wars UK, which campaigns against the increasing use of drones for both military and civilian purposes. "Drones are much less safe than other aircraft and tend to crash a lot.

Obama hosts Canada and Mexico leaders for talks
Tackling drugs and reducing trade barriers topped the agenda when President Barack Obama hosted talks with the leaders of Canada and Mexico. Mr Obama said the three nations would "simplify and eliminate" more trading regulations to boost their economies. He said 2011 saw US trade with its two neighbours top $1tn for the first time.

Suspicion in Iran grows over Turkey's regional role
A senior Iranian political figure has spoken out against Turkey hosting Iran's next talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear program, in the latest anti-Turkish broadside from politicians in Tehran, Fars news agency reported late on Monday. ..."Offering Istanbul as the venue for the upcoming talks ... might give this wrong impression to the opposite side that Iran has grown weak and is in weak conditions," he added.

Defense Ministry reiterates order to evacuate Hebron home
The Defense Ministry reiterated Tuesday its order to Jewish families to evacuate Beit Hamachpela, the disputed Hebron apartment building by 3 p.m. The statement came amid speculation that the deadline would be delayed in response to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's request to the Defense Ministry on Monday to delay the evacuation order to allow the 15 Jewish families that reside there the opportunity to make their legal case.

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4.0 M - OKLAHOMA
4.0 M Date-Time: 3 Apr 2012 07:33:59 UTC 3 Apr 2012 02:33:59 near epicenter 3 Apr 2012 01:33:59 standard time in your timezone Location 34.689N 95.828W Depth 4 km Distances 3 km (2 miles) SE (141 degrees) of Pittsburg, OK

New Isotope Measurement Could Alter History of Early Solar System
"It shrinks the chronology of early events in the solar system, like the formation of planets, into a shorter time span," said Argonne physicist Michael Paul. "It also means some of the oldest rocks on Earth would have formed even earlier

French police swoop on more suspected Islamists
Elite police arrested 10 suspected Islamists in early morning raids across France on Wednesday in a clampdown ordered by President Nicolas Sarkozy after seven people were killed by an al-Qaida-inspired gunman last month.

UFO Encounter Revealed After Almost 40 Years By Ex-Military Pilot
When they were informed that ground control had no other traffic in their vicinity, Jividen became concerned that the mysterious object hadn't shown up on radar. So he asked for clearance to deviate from their approach and turn directly toward the bright red UFO "just to see what it does." As he turned toward the object, Jividen says it turned toward his plane. "It suddenly flew from right to left, across the nose [of our plane], and just stopped at our 11:00 o'clock position. At that point, I started to speed up to see if I could close on the object, and as I sped up, it was pacing me in front. In other words, as I'd speed up, he'd speed up.

IMF chief goes cap in hand to US
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has implored the United States to bolster debt-ridden European countries.

Sheriff Joe expands Obama probe to Hillary supporters
film producer Bettina Viviano and Hollywood-based digital photographer Michele Thomas have given Arpaio’s investigators the names of dozens of Hillary Clinton supporters willing to come forward with evidence and affidavits. Among their claims is that the Clintons were the first to charge Obama is not a natural born citizen as required by Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution and that his birth certificate is a forgery. Moreover, the Hillary supporters identified by Viviano and Thomas have argued that the pattern of questionable and possibly illegal activity suggests that the alleged act of producing forged birth certificate documentation for Obama may have been merely more of the same.

A Swarm of Small Quakes Rattle Nerves in Riverside County
There's the Elsinore Fault, close to which several of the earthquakes have occurred this week," said Dr. Gareth Funning, of UC Riverside. On Tuesday morning, a small but shallow earthquake struck the Coachella Valley, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Small quakes are simply reminders that Southern California is always on the move.

Judges order Justice Department to clarify Obama remarks on health law case
A federal appeals court is striking back after President Obama cautioned the Supreme Court against overturning the health care overhaul and warned that such an act would be "unprecedented." A three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to explain by Thursday whether the administration believes judges have the power to strike down a federal law. One justice in particular chided the administration for what he said was being perceived as a "challenge" to judicial authority -- referring directly to Obama's latest comments about the Supreme Court's review of the health care case.

Netanyahu to meet with Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad next week
A Palestinian delegation headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will arrive in Jerusalem next week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli sources confirmed on Wednesday. At the meeting, the delegation is expected to present Netanyahu with a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressing the stalled peace process.

Obama's NSA: Close to knowing all about us
...Attorney General Eric Holder has officially and publicly declared “new guidelines that permit the federal counterterrorism investigators to collect, search and store data about Americans who are not suspected of terrorism, or anything … “According to the Justice Department, law enforcement and other national security agencies can copy entire databases and sift through the data for suspicious patterns to stop potential terrorist threats...

Tanker with Syrian oil passes through Egypt's Suez
The M.T. Tour, a tanker identified by the United States as owned by a sanctions-evading company set up by Iran, passed through Egypt's Suez Canal on Tuesday. The ship, owned by ISIM Tour Ltd, had been held up by Egyptian authorities for five days for not paying passage fees through the canal, which guarantees a right of passage to all ships during war and peacetime.

Government plans to sue Arizona sheriff for targeting Latinos
The Obama administration on Tuesday said it was preparing to sue Arizona county sheriff Joe Arpaio and his department for violating civil rights laws by improperly targeting Latinos in a bid to crack down on illegal immigrants. The sheriff's high-profile crackdown on illegal immigrants has helped thrust the issue onto the national political stage with some states passing tough new laws aimed at pushing out those in the country illegally.

Fuel arrives in Gaza to ease power crisis
Fuel has started arriving in the Gaza Strip as a result of a deal between the territory's Hamas-led government and the rival Palestinian Authority. Raid Futuh, co-ordinator of the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, said tankers of Israeli diesel had begun arriving on Wednesday. He said 430,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's sole power plant were expected.

Russian warns against arming Syrian opposition
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Syria's opposition will never defeat the country's armed forces even if it is "armed to the teeth". Mr Lavrov warned that there would be "slaughter for many years" if Western and Arab states intervened militarily and supplied weapons to rebel groups. Gulf states agreed on Sunday to pay the salaries of Free Syrian Army fighters.

Russian-built nuclear submarine joins Indian navy
India has formally commissioned a nuclear-powered submarine into its navy, rejoining the elite club of nations with such a weapon. The $1bn (£630m) Russian-built vessel is being leased by the Indian navy for the next 10 years. It was handed over to India in eastern Russia in January. India previously operated a Soviet nuclear submarine until 1991.

Gales cause power cuts to about 50,000 homes and businesses
Nearly 50,000 homes and businesses in England are without electricity after gales and ice brought down power lines. Northern Powergrid said it was dealing with 40,000 buildings without power in County Durham and North Yorkshire, including 11,000 homes in Whitby. In North Derbyshire, Western Power Distribution confirmed about 9,000 customers were without electricity.

Texas tornadoes wreck homes and ground flights
Several powerful tornadoes have touched down near Dallas, in the US state of Texas, flipping trucks, wrecking homes, uprooting trees and grounding planes. Dallas-Fort Worth Airport cancelled flights and moved passengers away from glass windows for their safety. Meteorologists estimated that six to 12 tornadoes had touched down in North Texas.

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Pope Assails ‘Disobedience’ Among Priests
Striking the tone that once earned him the moniker “God’s Rottweiler,” Pope Benedict XVI in a tough pre-Easter homily on Thursday decried “disobedience” in the church, cutting down reform-minded priests who seek the ordination of women and the abolition of priestly celibacy.

U.S. Officials Seek Source of Salmonella Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said federal and state health authorities are investigating the salmonella outbreak in 19 states and the District of Columbia. According to the CDC, 93 people in 19 states and the District of Columbia have fallen ill due to a rare strain of the bacteria called salmonella Bareilly. Health officials said that 10 people have been hospitalized, though there have been no reports of fatalities.

Russia warns against arming Syrian rebels
Even if the United States decides to arm Syrian rebels "to the teeth," the fighters would still be no match for government forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad, a top Russian diplomat said Wednesday.

First US Marines deployed to Australia
The first contingent of up to 2,500 US Marines to be deployed in Australia were settling in Wednesday as Washington bolsters its military presence in the strategically vital region. Some 200 Marines touched down in Darwin overnight as part of an enhanced defence cooperation outlined during a visit by US President Barack Obama in November that rankled China. The troops are in the Northern Territory on a six-month rotational basis and will be based at Robertson Barracks on the outskirts of the city.

Sharpton In The White House
Today, race-baiter Al Sharpton, who was most recently seen threatening the city of Sanford, Florida over the Trayvon Martin case, attended the White House Prayer Breakfast.

Holder says 'courts have final say' in response to furor over Obama's health law comments
The comments come after a three-judge panel for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to explain its position by Thursday at noon. It marked the latest escalation between the two branches of government over the federal health care overhaul, after President Obama cautioned the Supreme Court against overturning the law and warned that such an act would be "unprecedented."

Americans brace for next foreclosure wave
But a painful part two of the slump looks set to unfold: Many more U.S. homeowners face the prospect of losing their homes this year as banks pick up the pace of foreclosures. "We are right back where we were two years ago. I would put money on 2012 being a bigger year for foreclosures than 2010,"

Officials from Egypt's Brotherhood at White House
White House officials held talks with representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood in Washington this week, as the Islamist group threw itself into the fray in Egypt's presidential election.

Terror cells on high alert to attack U.S.
The terror cells in the U.S. are being coordinated by Quds Force personnel operating out of the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, the source says. Because Iran and the U.S. have no diplomatic relations, Iran’s Interests Section operates under the umbrella of the Pakistani embassy. “These cells work out of safe houses where ammunition and explosives are stored, each with an operational commander who reports back to Iran,” the source says.

3-4 N.Korean subs disappear after leaving east coast bases
“North Korea seems to be actively conducting submarine infiltration drills in the wake of warmer weather recently,” adding, “(The South Korean military) is closely watching the situation without ruling out the possibility of a provocation disguised as a drill.”



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Beijing steps up pressure to prevent strike on Iran
A senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday an attack on Iran would invite devastating retaliation that would envelop the region and destabilize the global economic recovery, and added that the international community had to restrain itself from war.

US court jails Mexican drug gangster blamed for 1,500 hits
A top Mexican drug gangster of the Juárez cartel who is blamed for more than 1,500 killings including that of a US consulate employee has been sentenced to life in prison by an American court.

US says still expects İstanbul to host Iran nuclear talks
The United States has said it still expected planned talks between Iran and major world powers to take place in İstanbul after Iranian officials came up with suggestions for alternative venues in recent days, but emphasized the issue needs to be clarified soon.

U.S. Missile Defense in Gulf Signals Strike on Iran – Russian Lawmaker
A U.S.-backed plan to build a missile defense shield within the Gulf States may signal preparation for a military strike on Iran, Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov said on Friday.

Employment gains slow, jobless rate drops
Payrolls rose far less than expected in March, keeping the door open for further monetary policy support from the Federal Reserve, even as the unemployment rate fell to a three-year low of 8.2 percent.

A Cashless Society May Be Closer Than Most People Would Ever Dare To Imagine
Most people think of a cashless society as something that is way off in the distant future. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. The truth is that a cashless society is much closer than most people would ever dare to imagine. To a large degree, the transition to a cashless society is being done voluntarily.

Annan: Ceasefire Deadline — 0600 on April 12
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan told the Syrian government and rebels on Thursday that the year-long conflict must end at 6am local time on April 12. Annan told the 193-nation UN General Assembly by video link from Geneva that he was urging "the government and the opposition commanders to issue clear instructions so that the message reaches across the country, down to the fighter and soldier at the local level."

Africa Rising: China steps up production in Ethiopia with drill instructors, investors
"They do this in the morning," Vice President Helen Hai, herself a recent recruit, explains about the exercise. "This is how we train to have a military mind set." China 'buying out' Africa: Top 5 destinations of Chinese money Huajian is one of the latest Chinese companies to move into Ethiopia. While the government has long leaned on Western support to feed the needy and provide social services, it is increasingly attracting Asian finance and investment for industry and infrastructure.

Mint promotes digital-chip currency for penniless future
On the cusp of the post-penny age, the Royal Canadian Mint is preparing to launch a digital alternative to all coinage and small bank notes — dubbed "MintChip" — which it hails as the natural next step in the "evolution of currency."

Rising world food prices spark fears of unrest
Global food prices rose in March for a third straight month with more hikes to come, the UN’s food agency said on Thursday, adding to fears of hunger and a new wave of social unrest in poor countries.

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Cardinal Keith O'Brien urges Christians to 'proudly' wear cross
Britain's most senior Roman Catholic Church cleric has called for Christians to wear a cross every day. In his Easter Sunday sermon, Cardinal Keith O'Brien will tell worshippers to "wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ" each day of their lives.

Hamas executes 3 in Gaza, including Israel 'collaborator'
Islamist group Hamas executed three men on Saturday, hanging two convicted murderers and a Gazan found guilty of collaborating with Israel, the Hamas-run ministry of interior said.

U.S.: New satellite images show Syria’s Assad poised to hit residential areas
The United States released satellite images on Friday that it said showed Syria has artillery poised to hit residential areas and has moved some forces from one town to another despite calls for a withdrawal.

China looks at more support for IMF bailouts
China and Japan have signalled they may be moving closer to increasing their financial support to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to help it prop up the eurozone.

Serial killer fears grow in France after Paris deaths
Fears are growing that a serial killer may be operating in the French capital following four similar murders there since November. The killings were all carried out in and around Paris, reportedly with the same gun. The latest was on Thursday.

Hugo Chavez weeps and calls on God to spare his life
Very little is known about the 57-year-old socialist leader's condition, including even what type of cancer he has. Chavez has undergone three operations in less than a year, and received two sessions of radiation treatment. In a televised speech to the Catholic service in his home state of Barinas, Chavez cried and his voice broke as he eulogised Jesus, revolutionary fighter Ernesto "Che" Guevara and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.

US credit rating downgraded, again
A small credit ratings agency downgraded the United States' credit rating for a second time, arguing the country was no closer to solving its runaway debt problem. In a move that could foreshadow decisions from larger agencies, Egan-Jones downgraded the US to AA from AA+.

Jobs recovery suffers setback in March
Employers hired far fewer workers in March than in previous months, keeping the door open for the Federal Reserve to provide more monetary support for a still sluggish economy. The report was seized upon by Republicans hoping to make the weak economy the centerpiece of their campaign for November's presidential and congressional elections.

Treasury freezes pay for CEOs at Ally Financial, GM, AIG
The chief executives of General Motors , AIG, and Ally Financial had their 2012 compensation packages frozen for a second year in a row by the Treasury Department after they got "exceptional" bailout help during the financial crisis.

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NBC: Zimmerman Audio Removed by 'Mistake, Not Deliberate'
In a statement to Reuters, Steve Capus, President of NBC's news division, said that the decision to air the sliced-and-diced version of the George Zimmerman phone call to the police just before he shot Trayvon Martin was "a mistake and not a deliberate act to misrepresent the phone call." Yeah. Right.

Triumphant Tuareg rebels fall out over al-Qaeda's jihad in Mali
The rebels, armed with weapons stolen from Muammar Gaddafi’s formidable arsenal, took over an area of the Sahara as big as France in an astonishing 72 hours, taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath of an army coup. Few of the people they promised to free waited to find out what freedom would be like. Instead, an estimated 250,000 people left their homes, terrified families fleeing with their children and possessions.

Government Surveillance Crackdown On Internet Goes Into Overdrive
In a New York Times editorial, former government cybersecurity czar Richard A. Clarke has called for the creation of customs checks on all data leaving and entering US cyberspace. Clarke makes the call in relation to Chinese hackers stealing information and intellectual property from US firms.

Pope Benedict delivers Easter message of peace in Rome
Pope Benedict XVI has delivered his traditional Easter message of peace in front of tens of thousands of pilgrims in St Peter's Square in Rome. He urged Syria's government to end the bloody year-long conflict, and spoke of the trouble in Nigeria and Mali. At a Mass on Saturday, he warned that mankind is "groping in the darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil".

Afghan night raids: Kabul signs deal with US forces
The Afghan government has signed a deal on the conduct of night raids by US special forces, bringing the operations under Afghan leadership. Under the agreement signed by the Afghan defence minister and the US commander, US forces will play a supporting role in the raids. The US military say night raids are a valuable way of finding and detaining suspected militants.

NBC News reportedly fires producer of edited George Zimmerman tape
NBC News has fired a producer who worked on a 'Today' show segment that featured a heavily edited 911 recording in which George Zimmerman appears to racially profile Trayvon Martin before the teen's shooting, according to The New York Times.

Rutgers University investigates satirical Hitler article under Jewish student's name
Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., is investigating an incident in which a student-run satirical newspaper published an article called "What About the Good Things Hitler Did?" while using a real student's name and photograph, MyFoxNY reports.

Obama agency rules PepsiCo cannibalizing aborted fetus is “ordinary business”
In a shocking decision delivered Feb 28 th , President Obama’s Security and Exchange Commission ruled that PepsiCo’s use of aborted fetal remains in their research and development agreement with Senomyx to produce flavor enhancers falls under “ordinary business operations”.

Nigeria bombing near church 'kills 20'
A large bomb exploded near a church in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna as Easter Sunday services were being held, killing at least 20 people, a rescue official said on condition of anonymity. "Now we have 20 dead from the twin explosions," said the official who was not authorised to speak publicly.

‘America Is Better Than Glenn Beck’: College Textbook Includes Anti-Beck Writing
"Today's Tea Party adherents are George Wallace legacies." "[Glenn] Beck is an ignorant, divisive, pathetic figure." If those sentences sound to you like they're straight out of the op-ed pages of the Washington Post and the New York Times, you'd be right. But they can also be found in a college textbook assigned to students at a community college in Texas.

Japan deploys missiles in Tokyo for N.Korea rocket
Japan has deployed missile batteries in central Tokyo and dispatched destroyers as North Korea makes final preparations for a rocket launch that could take place this week despite global condemnation.

Syria demands written guarantees from rebels before pulling back troops
Syria said on Sunday it wants "written guarantees" that insurgents will stop fighting before it implements a troop pullback agreed by President Bashar Assad, putting the likelihood of an imminent truce into doubt.

Israel signals willingness to accept Western plans for next round of Iran nuclear talks
Israel has signaled it would accept, as a first priority, world powers focusing on persuading Iran to stop higher-level uranium enrichment when they resume stalled nuclear negotiations this week with Tehran.

Nuclear-armed foes Pakistan, India talk peace over lunch
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stood side-by-side in New Delhi on Sunday at the highest-level meeting on each other's soil in seven years as the nuclear-armed foes seek to normalize ties.

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Fighting rocks Syria less than 24 hours to deadline
Syria's conflict spilled over into Turkey on Monday and government forces battled rebel fighters near the border in clashes that appeared to doom a ceasefire less than 24 hours before a U.N.-brokered deadline for a Syrian army pull-back.

U.S. deploys aircraft carrier in Gulf, as West prepares for Iran nuclear talks
The battleships will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden, and also patrol the Gulf's strategic oil routes that Iran has threatened to shut down in retaliation for economic sanctions.

Special IDF units preparing for mass Lebanon incursion if war breaks out with Hezbollah
special Israeli units are preparing to take part in mass incursions into Lebanon if another round of fighting with Hezbollah breaks out. Just as important, they are being trained to heed the legal implications.

Japan deploys missile batteries as North Korea readies long-range rocket
Washington, Japan and South Korea have all condemned the move, saying any missile would contravene United Nations sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s missile program. China, the North’s major ally, has urged restraint.

Blast hits Egypt pipeline carrying gas to Israel
An explosion hit the Egyptian pipeline carrying gas to Israel and Jordan on Monday for 14th time since the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak began last year, security sources said. The blast took place in the northern Sinai at the entrance of the Mediterranean coastal town of Al-Arish. Residents in the city told Reuters they had heard the sound of the explosion.

South Korea: North digging underground tunnel for new nuclear test
Recent satellite images show North Korea is digging a new underground tunnel in what appears to be preparation for a third nuclear test, according to South Korean intelligence officials. The excavation at North Korea's northeast Punggye-ri site, where nuclear tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009, is in its final stages, according to a report by intelligence officials that was shared Monday with The Associated Press.

U.S. deploys aircraft carrier in Gulf, as West prepares for Iran nuclear talks
The U.S.­ Navy has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear program, Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said Monday. Derrick-Frost said that the deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region.

Syrian rebels reject new demands as ceasefire nears
Rebels in Syria have rejected a last-minute demand by the government, made just 48 hours ahead of a proposed ceasefire which now looks set to fail. Damascus on Sunday called for written guarantees from rebel fighters to end attacks and a promise from foreign states not to fund them. The Free Syrian Army said it backed the UN-Arab League truce, but refused to meet the government's demands.

China sets up rare earth body to streamline the sector
China has set up a rare earth association in a bid to streamline the sector's development, as it continues to face criticism over its policies. Beijing has imposed quotas on exports of rare earth elements, a move which its critics say has pushed up prices.

Egypt election: Omar Suleiman bid draws Brotherhood warning
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has warned of renewed turmoil if ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's former spy chief succeeds in a bid to become president. Omar Suleiman, who also served as vice-president during last year's uprising, submitted his application on Sunday.

Russia, China increase push to end Syria violence
A Russian diplomat said on Monday that Moscow was working with the Syrian authorities to seek an end to violence and the start of talks with their opponents, but stopped short of publicly pressing the government to meet a military withdrawal deadline. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem was expected to arrive in Moscow on Monday and meet his Russian counterpart on Tuesday...

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U.S. deploys second aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf
Amid rising tensions with Iran over its nuclear program, the United States Navy takes rare step of deploying two aircraft carriers to the Middle East.

Russian massing troops near northern Iranian border?
The Russian military anticipates that an attack will occur on Iran by the summer and has developed an action plan to move Russian troops through neighboring Georgia to stage in Armenia, which borders on the Islamic republic, according to informed Russian sources. Russian Security Council head Viktor Ozerov said that Russian General Military Headquarters has prepared an action plan in the event of an attack on Iran.

Obama healthcare law could sharply worsen U.S. deficits: study
President Barack Obama's healthcare law could sharply exceed its cost-savings targets and add up to $530 billion to the federal budget deficit, a leading authority on U.S. government benefit programs said on Tuesday.

Russian Spies Employ Genies – Turkish TV
Genies, or jinns, are one of the three sentient races created by Allah along with humans and angels, according to the Quran. Belief in genies remains widespread throughout the Islamic world; in 2011, several close allies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were detained on accusations of sorcery and conspiring with genies.

Listen to audio file of a Clintonville boom
Clintonville residents are not making up the sleep-shattering booms and window-rattling vibrations that have plagued this community for two weeks, City Administrator Lisa Kuss said Monday. At midnight Monday, Kuss publicly released an audiotape of a single boom recorded March 24 by a college student turned amateur boom buster.

Welcome to the new Great Depression
“It’s not the total misery of the 1930s, but it’s not good,” he said...

Big US-Arab Gulf air force exercise draws Iranian warning to stop at once
Tehran was being told that neither the Obama administration nor the Gulf Arab governments were deterred by its threats of retaliation against emirates placing bases at the disposal of foreign forces for an attack on Iran. However, shortly after the exercise began, Iranian ambassador to Kuwait Rouhullah Qahremani called urgently on Kuwait Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Khalid Al-Sabah with a warning that the Iranian air and navy would attack the Gulf nations taking part in the exercise unless they withdrew at once.

Massive Dolphin Die-Off in Peru May Remain a Mystery
When a retired fisherman called to report that about 1,500 dolphins had washed up dead on Peru’s northern coast, veterinarian Carlos Yaipén’s first reaction was, “That’s impossible.” But when Yaipén traveled up the coast last week, he counted 615 dead dolphins along a 135-kilometer stretch of coastline.

Palestinians appeal to UN Security Council over Israeli settlements
The Palestinians accused Israel on Monday of systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with its continuing campaign of settlement building. Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour sent a protest letter to the UN Security Council two days before the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the U.S., UN, European Union and Russia - meets in Washington to discuss the long-stalled peace process.

Syrian forces fire into Turkey and Lebanon
Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders Monday, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a cease-fire plan that seems all but certain to fail. Across Syria, activists reported particularly heavy violence with more than 125 people killed in the past two days.

Ahmadinejad: Iran can withstand oil embargo 'for years'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran has enough funds to withstand a total embargo on its oil sales for several years, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. "They (western powers) want to impose sanctions on our oil and we must say to them that we have that much saved that even if we didn't sell oil for two to three years, the country would manage easily," Ahmadinejad said during a visit to Hormuzgan province.

Egypt court suspends constitutional assembly
A court in Egypt has suspended the 100-member assembly appointed last month to draft the country's new constitution. Several lawsuits had demanded Cairo's Administrative Court block the decision to form the panel as it did not reflect the diversity of Egyptian society. They said women, young people and minorities were under-represented.

Abu Hamza US extradition backed by European Court
The European Court of Human Rights has backed the extradition of Abu Hamza and four other terror suspects from the UK to the US. The Strasbourg court held there would be no violation of human rights for those facing life and solitary confinement in a "supermax" prison.

Ukraine steps up anti-opposition campaign after initialing EU pact
Ukraine has stepped up efforts to dismantle the country's main opposition party after initialing a political and trade agreement with the EU. Diplomats from both sides at a ceremony in Brussels on 30 March formally sealed the content of the 1,000-page-long treaty after more than four years of negotiations.

Syrian FM: Ceasefire should coincide with monitors' arrival
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said Tuesday that a cease fire should coincide with the arrival of international observers. Speaking after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Mouallem said that Syria has withdrawn some troops from some provinces in accordance with UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's ceasefire plan...


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Trayvon Martin case: Zimmerman faces 2nd-degree murder charge
George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, faces a second-degree murder charge for shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in Sanford, Fla., the special prosecutor in the case announced Wednesday.

Rising global tension: Philippine’s largest warship in tense stand-off with Chinese surveillance vessels
The Philippines has said its largest warship is engaged in a tense stand-off with Chinese surveillance vessels at a disputed South China Sea shoal.

Double 8.0+ magnitude megathrust earthquakes rip ocean floor off the coast of Sumatra
A massive earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday afternoon, triggering a tsunami alert for the Indian Ocean. The quake struck about 434 kilometers (270 miles) southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province, and had a magnitude of 8.6, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It took place at a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles). The massive earthquake was followed by a 6.0 in the north Indian Ocean and then a 8.2 earthquake near the main epicenter. The tremor revived fearful memories of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in the region in 2004 that killed tens of thousands of people.

Stock and bond markets rocked by fears of Italian and Spanish debt spirals
Global stock and bond markets suffered a rout as traders fled the renewed spectre of a eurozone default and fresh evidence of a global recession.

Israel holds secret talks on involvement in Mideast nuclear disarmament conference
Finland's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs visited Jerusalem secretly last week for talks with Israeli counterparts about Israel's involvement in a conference to ban nuclear arms from the Middle East. Two years ago Israel voiced opposition to such a conference. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference is scheduled to be held in Helsinki in December but could be deferred until 2013.

US weighs limited military action against Assad. Turkey may join
Obama is still flat against broad US military intervention in Syria, administration circles feel America could no longer stay aloof from what is happening there. They are thinking in terms of limited military action to show Bashar Assad and the heads of his regime and army the first American red lines against his brutal crackdown.

Iceland volcano: and you thought the last eruption was bad...
alarmingly, there are signs of high activity beneath the much larger, neighbouring Katla caldera in Iceland – a possible sign of an impending eruption. This should prompt extensive high-level contingency planning across Europe, as Katla has the potential to be much more damaging than Eyjafjallajökull. Since Iceland was settled in the ninth century, Katla has erupted on average every 60 years, but has not had a significant eruption since 1918.

Rare, Unexplained Daytime Fireball Scorches Texas Sky
A great ball of fire streaked across the Texas sky during the daytime last week, much to the surprise of thousands of people who witnessed it. So bright that it looked "like a little piece of the sun falling," as one San Antonio resident told the local news station, the rare daytime meteor event was yet another example of the scientific mystery known as spring fireball season.

Iran uncovers Israel-linked 'major terrorist group'
The Iranian intelligence ministry has identified a "major terrorist group" linked to Israel and arrested some of its members, state media report. Bombs, machine-guns and military communications equipment were reportedly seized in operations in Iran's "border and central provinces". The arrests came after months of complex operations, the ministry said.

Russia President-elect Putin calls for political unity
Russia's President-elect Vladimir Putin has urged the country to put political battles behind it and focus on delivering prosperity. In his last speech to parliament as prime minister Mr Putin also said Russia's population growth was a positive sign. The presidential election left "echoes of heightened emotions".

Sudan vows to retake Heglig oil fields from South Sudan
Sudan has vowed to use "all legitimate means" to repulse South Sudan from its largest oil field, a statement on the official Suna news agency says. South Sudanese troops seized control of Heglig on Tuesday, as heavy fighting raged for a second day. Both sides blame each other for the latest conflicts along the undemarcated and disputed oil-rich border area.

Rick Santorum suspends US presidential campaign
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has ended his bid for the White House, leaving Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee. The former Pennsylvania senator made the announcement at a news conference in the city of Gettysburg. "While this presidential race is over for me, we are not done fighting," said Mr Santorum, a social conservative.

Clinton pressures Russia to toughen on Syria
Pressure mounted on Russia to back stronger action against its ally Syria after President Bashar Assad failed to meet a United Nations cease-fire deadline. “The Russians have continuously said they want to avoid civil war, they want to avoid a regional conflict,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday evening at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.


'Iran to offer new proposals at nuclear talks'
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said Wednesday that the country would put forward "new initiatives" in upcoming negotiations over its nuclear program. According to Iranian English-language state television Press TV, Jalili said, “Iran's representatives will participate in the negotiations with new initiatives and we hope that the P5+1 countries will also enter talks with constructive approaches.”


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War in the Middle East May Be Inevitable
Since the Oslo Peace Process began in 1993 and movement toward a "two-state solution" got underway in earnest, Israel has made concession after concession, and in return they have received nothing but rejection and more terrorist activity.

Obama State Department set to cede oil-rich Alaska islands to Russia
Obama’s State Department is giving away seven strategic, resource-laden Alaskan islands to the Russians. Yes, to the Putin regime in the Kremlin. … The seven endangered islands in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea include one the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The Russians are also to get the tens of thousands of square miles of oil-rich seabeds. surrounding the islands. The Department of Interior estimates billions of barrels of oil are at stake.

Fibonacci numbers - The Fingerprint of God
Still more evidence of the genius of our Grand Creator, Jehovah. How could evolution be responsible for this mathematical miracle!

Italy pays higher interest rates to raise money
Italy's borrowing costs are continuing to rise amid renewed uncertainty about its debt load and growth prospects. Italy easily sold €4.88 billion ($6.41 billion) in bonds in four denominations on Thursday, but investors demanded higher returns. The Treasury sold €2.88 billion in three-year bonds at a yield of 3.89 percent, up from 2.76 percent last month. Demand was a healthy 1.37 times the maximum offer of €3 billion.

Putin backs 2-term limit as he starts his 3rd
Vladimir Putin, the man who will become Russia’s president for a third term next month, indicated Wednesday that he would back a law that bars others from doing what he did - serve as president for more than two terms. But Mr. Putin also suggested such a law would not apply to himself, leaving open the possibility that he could run for a fourth presidential term in 2018.

UN Implies Syria Cease-Fire Imminent
Kofi Annan implied today that a ceasefire in the civil war in Syria is imminent. Speaking in Tehran, he stated that, “If everyone respects it, by 6 a.m. on Thursday there should be a much improved situation on the ground.”

Unusual hail, heavy rain, snow hit southern Saudi
High areas in the southern Saudi province of Aseer witnessed unusual rough weather that included the fall of heavy rain, wind, hail, snow that resulted in the drowning of two children and two men. Some areas of the southern region were covered in almost a white sheet of snow as rain continued to fall on Wednesday.

Global trade expected to slow in 2012
Europe's sovereign debt crisis and other economic shocks are expected to slow the growth in global exports to just 3.7 percent in 2012, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. That comes after a slowdown to 5 percent in 2011 and 13.8 percent in 2010, the global trade body said in its annual report.

Congressman says 80 fellow lawmakers are communists
Rep. Allen West (R-FL) claimed at a town hall meeting that about 80 members of Congress are communists,

Michael Savage: Book Sales Portend Obama Win
The upcoming New York Times non-fiction bestseller list could foretell the outcome of the November presidential election by indicating how enthusiastic conservatives are to vote and participate in the campaign, according to talk radio host and author Michael Savage.

As weather gets biblical, insurers go missing
As weather disasters strike with more frequency, homeowners first get hit with the destruction or total loss of property. Many are then hit with the unexpected loss of homeowners insurance policies as insurance companies re-evaluate their financial liabilities.

The Army Is Stocking Up On A Ton Of Anti-Radiation Pills To Protect Troops
the U.S. Army Medical Material Agency wants to ensure "critical operational forces are protected in the event of nuclear fallout." The FDA recommends taking potassium iodide in radiation emergencies to block cancer-causing radioiodines that would otherwise be absorbed by the body's thyroid — the gland in your neck that regulates adrenaline and metabolism, along with doing a bunch of other stuff we need to survive.

Police gear to stop 'flytilla' activists at BG Int'l
Some 650 police officers, mostly in plain clothes, are expected to meet pro-Palestinian activists who will arrive in Israel as part of the protest fly-in scheduled for Sunday. Israel believes some 500-1,000 activists will try to enter Israel en route to the Palestinian Authority. Police sources said that most plain-clothed officers will not be armed.

Icelandic Volcanoes Said to Be Growing Restless
Two years ago, the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull caused havoc across Europe, with airborne ash grounding flights for six days. Eyjafjallajökull may be quiet now, but, according to The Telegraph, activity has been increasing in the volcano belt that stretches diagonally across the middle of Iceland from the Westman Islands in the south to the Lake Mývatn area in the north, along the line of the American and Eurasian geological tectonic plates.

Evangelicals will vote for Mormon Mitt Romney, says Southern Baptist leader
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will have little trouble courting the evangelical vote, Southern Baptist Convention leader Richard Land told The Daily Caller during a Wednesday interview.

Magnitude 5.9 quake hits off coast of Oregon: USGS
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon on Wednesday and was followed a minute later by a smaller quake off the coast of central California, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quakes were unlikely to trigger a tsunami. The Oregon quake was initially reported as a magnitude 6.2 and the California one as a 5.3. Both were later downgraded.

Mexico shaken by two earthquakes in 24 hours
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck off Mexico's Pacific coast, the second to hit the area in the last 24 hours. The quake struck in the Gulf of California, 127km (78 miles) northeast of the town of Guerrero Negro, in Baja California, the US Geological Survey said. No immediate damage was reported, and no tsunami warning has been issued.

Abdullah seeking divorce from Palestinians
King Abdullah is seeking to complete the divorce proceedings between Jordan and the Palestinians which his late father, King Hussein, began in 1988. The separation began in July that year, a few months after the eruption of the first intifada. King Hussein realized back then that it was not in the interest of his kingdom to maintain a linkage to the West Bank, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Guns silent in hours after Syria truce deadline
A UN-backed ceasefire aimed at halting more than a year of bloodshed in Syria appeared to be holding early on Thursday but activists saw no sign that President Bashar Assad was pulling his forces out of restive cities. The flashpoint provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, which have been under sustained shelling by Assad's forces over the last week, were calm after the 6 a.m.ceasefire deadline.

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With time short, US meets Iran for nuclear talks
Giving Iran another chance at diplomacy, deeply skeptical Obama administration officials return to nuclear negotiations this weekend looking for quick progress — or at least enough hope to hold off urgent calls from Israel for military action.

The April 11, 2012 Event: cluster of large earthquakes rattle the globe from Indonesia to Mexico
A strong earthquake hit Mexico on Wednesday, shaking buildings and sending people running out of offices onto the streets of the capital Mexico City. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.5 -magnitude quake was centered on Mexico’s Pacific coast near Michoacan and struck fairly deep under the earth at 65 km or 40 miles. Prior to the Mexico earthquake, a powerful and shallow 5.9 struck near the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the coast of Oregon- indicating tectonic plates worldwide are being rattled by planetary seismic tension. Prior to Oregon earthquake, two massive 8.0+ magnitude earthquakes (8.6 and 8.2) struck the ocean floor off the north coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. As I warned in my book The Extinction Protocol, the power unleashed in these seismic events is growing.

Rare 15th century Jewish siddur to be auctioned in Paris sale
A rare 15th century festival prayer book written in Hebrew and estimated to be worth up to $800,000 will be exhibited in New York next week ahead of its sale at Christie's Books and Manuscripts auction in Paris next month.

Strong pair of 6.2 and 6.9 earthquakes strike Gulf of California
A pair of strong earthquakes rocked Mexico’s Gulf of California only minutes apart early Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quakes — magnitude 6.9 and 6.2 — were centered about 85 miles northeast of Guerrero Negro in the Mexican state of Baja California

Italy’s Mt. Etna volcano rocked by 6th eruption in 2012
Mount Etna is erupting for the sixth time this year with lava and plumes of smoke and ash from a new crater on the volcano’s southeast side. The new activity was preceded by new phase that began last night and that, according to experts from the INGV in Catania, has the same characteristics as the one before this one.

Threat of monster tsunami poses ominous possibilities
The new estimates, based on a tremendous earthquake striking in the 750-km Nankai Trough running from Honshu to Kyushu, warn of devastation far worse than last year's megaquake and tsunami. A magnitude 9 quake in the trough would create higher and faster tsunami than those of March 11 and kill tens of thousands — possibly hundreds of thousands — of people

Officials, diplomats want even more EU secrecy
Most member states and EU institutions are keen to draw a new veil of secrecy over how they appoint top officials and enforce EU law. The rights of journalists, NGOs and average people to get access to internal EU documents is currently governed by a regulation from 2001.

Russia Rejects G8 Attempts to Single out Homosexuals
“In this connection we cannot agree with attempts to artificially single out this category of people as an independent group claiming that its rights and interests should be specially protected,” he said.

Storm dumps waist-high hail in Texas Panhandle
Maintenance crews worked Thursday to clear roads after a storm dumped several inches of hail on parts of the Texas Panhandle, trapping motorists in muddy drifts that were waist-to-shoulder high. The storm left so much hail in its wake that workers had to use snow plows to clear the piles from the road.

Syria ceasefire: UN plans to send observers 'in days'
A draft UN resolution has outlined plans to send an advance mission to Syria to monitor compliance with a UN and Arab League-backed peace plan. The draft, prepared by the US, is expected to be voted on at the Security Council on Friday, with monitors arriving by early next week.

Muhammad cartoon revenge plot trial opens in Denmark
Four men accused of planning an attack on a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad have gone on trial in Denmark. Three Swedish citizens and a Tunisian are accused of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons

Uranium enrichment 'key focus' of Iran talks
Persuading Iran to scale back its enrichment of uranium, which can be used for peaceful purposes but also for nuclear weapons, will be the key aim of world powers in upcoming talks, analysts say. The US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany may also press Tehran, at the meeting in Istanbul on Saturday, to give the UN nuclear watchdog more access to its facilities and answer accusations of a covert weapons programme

North Korea's Rocket Fails, but More Fireworks Could Follow
North Korea's satellite launch, planned as a celebration of the centenary of the birth of its founding President, Kim Il Sung, failed sometime shortly after 7:40 a.m. Friday when the first stage of the Unha-3 rocket dropped to the Yellow Sea about 165 km west of Seoul.

Chief nearing retirement killed in NH drug bust
A man opened fire on police during a drug bust Thursday night, killing a New Hampshire police chief just days from retirement and injuring four officers from other departments. Early Friday, the shooter remained holed up in the home with a woman, police said.

Spanish bailout 'impossible' for eurozone, says prime minister Mariano Rajoy
The eurozone is not equipped to bail out Spain, the country's prime minister Mariano Rajoy has admitted, as global traders continued to punish the nation's stocks and bonds.


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'Syrian forces shell Homs, breaking ceasefire'
Syrian forces shelled two central districts in the battered city of Homs throughout the night and into Saturday morning, a resident activist and a human rights group said, the first bombings since a ceasefire took hold on Thursday. "There was shelling last night in the old part of the city, in Jouret al-Shiyah and al-Qaradis. And I have heard eight shells fall in the past hour," Karm Abu Rabea, a resident activist who lives in an adjacent neighborhood, said on Saturday morning.

'Life-threatening' storms feared for Midwest
Tornado sirens sounded across Oklahoma City hours before dawn Saturday as the nation's midsection braced for what forecasters cautioned could be a day of "life-threatening" storms, with the most dangerous weather expected to develop in the afternoon.

Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test
North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.

IMF funds drive caught in global power shift
Tensions among some of the world's leading economies have boiled up over a plan to raise new resources for the International Monetary Fund to contain the euro zone debt crisis, and a quest by emerging economies to win more say in the global lender.

China gives currency more freedom with new reform
China took a milestone step in turning the yuan into a global currency on Saturday by doubling the size of its trading band against the dollar, pushing through a crucial reform that further liberalizes its nascent financial markets. The People's Bank of China said it would allow the yuan to rise or fall 1 percent from a mid-point every day, effective Monday, compared with its previous 0.5 percent limit.

N.Korea Wastes Millions on Rockets while People Starve - Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama lashed at the North Korean leadership on Saturday for spending millions of dollars on rockets “that don't work,” while the country's population is "starving." U.S. President Barack Obama lashed at the North Korean leadership on Saturday for spending millions of dollars on rockets “that don't work,” while the country's population is "starving."

Report: German ship carrying Iranian weapons to Syria stopped at sea
A German ship carrying Iranian weapons was stopped the Mediterranean on Saturday, according to a report by Der Spiegel. The ship, weighing 6,200 tons, was carrying weapons and ammunition to Tartus, Syria with the aim of arming President Bashar Assad's forces, the report said.

Christian pilgrims gather in Jerusalem for ancient fire ritual
Thousands of Christian pilgrims are gathering in Jerusalem for an ancient fire ritual that celebrates Jesus' resurrection. They have crowded Saturday into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where many Christian traditions hold that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

US ahead of Iran talks: We want to see actions, not just words
Senior officials from Iran, world powers arrive in Istanbul ahead of Saturday's nuclear negotiations. Diplomat says, 'I don't think Iranians would come if they weren't serious,' but sources close to Iran's delegation say Tehran saw 'few encouraging points' in remarks from Western officials

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Afghanistan: Taliban insurgents attack embassies and Nato headquarters in Kabul
The Taliban also said they were carrying out attacks in several Afghan provinces. A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in attack by militants on three neighbourhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in a text message to The Associated Press.

Syria unrest: Renewed clashes as UN monitors due
Fresh clashes have erupted in Syria as a vanguard of UN monitors prepares to arrive to oversee the shaky ceasefire. Activists said there was heavy shelling in the city of Homs, while rebel fighters reportedly attacked a police station in Aleppo province. The UN passed its first resolution on Syria on Saturday, authorising the deployment of unarmed observers.

Israeli brand uses Lord's Prayer on T-shirts
Castro T-shirts include print of Christian prayer, much to embarrassment of one customer who unknowingly purchased shirt and wore it to synagogue

China loosens currency controls on the yuan
China has loosened its currency controls in a move that may spur gains in the value of the yuan. From Monday, the yuan can fluctuate up to 1% in trading against the US dollar, up from the previous limit of 0.5%, the People's Bank of China said. The increase of the trading band was announced in English, a rare statement that suggests it was targeted at foreign audiences.

North Korea's Kim Jong-un in first major public speech
North Korean new leader Kim Jong-un has made his first televised public speech, as Pyongyang marks the centenary of the birth of the country's founder. He offered respects to grandfather Kim Il-sung and late father Kim Jong-il. Mr Kim praised the "military first" doctrine and said the time his nation could be threatened was "forever over".

Activists: Syrian forces resume shelling in rebel city
Syrian troops resumed their shelling of residential neighborhoods dominated by rebels in the central city of Homs Sunday, activists said, after the U.N. Security Council voted to dispatch the first group of monitors to the country to shore up a shaky truce.

Police detain 'flytilla' activists; hundreds more expected
Police detained a few dozen pro-Palestinian activists who flew to Israel as part of the "flytilla" protest on Sunday. The activists want to draw attention to Israel’s practice of barring foreigners it believes could cause trouble by engaging in pro-Palestinian activities during their visit.

Killer of 77 goes on trial in Norway
The terror trial against an anti-Muslim fanatic who confessed to killing 77 people in Norway starts Monday amid worries that he will use the proceedings to showcase his radical views.

Israeli police arrest fly-in activists
Israel deployed hundreds of police Sunday at its main airport to detain activists flying in to protest the country's occupation of Palestinian areas in defiance of vigorous Israeli government efforts to block their arrival.

At least five dead as tornadoes hit Midwest and Plains
At least five people have been killed in Oklahoma and a disaster emergency has been declared in Kansas after a severe storm system moving through the Midwest spawned a number of strong tornadoes.

Taliban frees hundreds of prisoners in attack on Pakistan prison
Taliban militants armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades battled their way into a prison in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, freeing close to 400 prisoners, including at least 20 described by police as "very dangerous" insurgents, authorities and the militants said.

Change of heart in Moscow and Beijing will unlock Syrian crisis
With the death toll in the 13-month-old Syrian uprising having exceeded the 10,000 mark last week, Russia and China have signaled that they may change their position with respect to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, unlocking the key to secure a strong resolution against the brutal regime in the Arab country.

Medvedev Thanks Patriarch for Church’s Role in Russia’s Spiritual Revival
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with Orthodox Easter and thanked him for the Church’s role in Russia’s spiritual revival, the Kremlin press office said on Sunday.

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The Decline of Greenism
An April 9 Gallup Poll shows that since 2006, radical environmentalism has been losing influence in America. Gallup results are even more dramatic when viewed over the last couple of decades: worry about water pollution dropped from consuming 72% of Americans in 1989 to perturbing 46% in March 2011; worry about air pollution since 1989 dropped from 63% to 36% in 2011. When Gallup asks Americans to prioritize environmental concerns or economic concerns, the same pattern emerges. In the latest poll on the subject, 54% favor economic growth and 36% favor the environment. Pew Research polls on global warming show a similar loss of trust in radical environmentalism.

Two volcanoes in Costa Rica now reporting increased activity
Thursday last the Turrialba sent experts scurrying to analyze the recent activity at the colossus southeast of San José. On Saturday, however, the Volcán Rincón de la Vieja, decided on a rumble of its own. It was around 2pm when residents heard the rumbles from the volcano located north of San José in the province of Guanacaste. Maria Martinez, volcanologist from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), explained that the phreatic eruption occurred at the lake and spewed water and sediment over the outer edge on the north side of the volcano.

Mexico’s sleeping Popocatépetl volcano awakens again
Popocatépetl, the nearly 18,000 foot volcano that hovers like a sentinel on the southeastern fringe of Mexico’s capital, awakened again Sunday, punctuating an especially shaky seismic season. Popo, as the mountain is widely called, spewed at least seven exhalations overnight Saturday and through the day Sunday, sending vapor, smoke and gas billowing into the clear sky. The most serious occurred just after 9 a.m. Sunday, sending a vapor cloud a mile into the air.

Death Ridge to form, another tornado event before the end of the month in the Plains
A "Death Ridge" is a ridge of high pressure west of the plains, which brings in drier and colder northwest winds into Tornado Alley. The ridge is carved by a trough in the Eastern USA and a trough west of California, out in the Pacific. When these two form, a ridge forms in the middle. However, a Death Ridge is a sign that another significant tornado event may follow.

Stiglitz's Presentation On Why The Entire Global Economic System Is Doomed To Fail
In this presentation, Stiglitz explains why the system is heading towards collapse. Stiglitz hints a globalist solution, with a non-dollar reserve currency, and more coordination of monetary policy to avoid currency wars and competitive devaluations.

America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President
So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor. In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions.

U.S. political rhetoric to stay as China widens yuan band
China's widening of the yuan's trading band will do little to blunt criticism of its currency policy by the United States and the Treasury Department said on Sunday more progress was needed to correct a "misalignment" of the exchange rate. Not much shift in the political rhetoric from Washington was expected in the wake of China's milestone move on Saturday to allow the yuan to rise or fall 1 percent from a mid-point every day, effective Monday, from its previous 0.5 percent limit.

Assad offers Moscow, Beijing bonds worth $30bn. Russian warships off Syria
Announcing he is not responsible for the safety of UN observers on their way to Syria if they don’t obey his rules, President Bashar Assad has set in motion steps for prolonging his war on the Syrian people rather than abiding by a truce. debkafile discloses he offered Moscow and Beijing $30 billion worth of government bonds for a massive injection of funds to replenish his depleted war chest. And at the UN Security Council, while Russia’s Vitaly Churkin in a surprise turnabout voted with the West on a UN observer team to secure the Syrian ceasefire, Moscow quietly sent warships to Syrian shores to secure the Assad regime.

Saudi shows determination to bring down oil prices
The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has said it will bring down the prices of petroleum based products, especially gasoline. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has promised he will work with OPEC to accomplish the drop in prices prior to the northen summer.

Egypt presidential elections likely to be delayed by months
The decision of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that presidential elections will only take place after the drafting of the constitution is likely to delay the elections by months, if not more. With this decision, the SCAF was responding to demands of the liberal and religious currents in Egypt, both of which feared that presidential elections under Egypt‘s current constitution would grant the president broad powers...

Some Asian glaciers 'putting on mass'
Some glaciers on Asia's Karakoram mountains are defying the global trend and getting thicker, say researchers. A French team used satellite data to show that glaciers in part of the Karakoram range, to the west of the Himalayan region, are putting on mass.

Afghan attacks: Fighting 'over' in Kabul
Fighting in the Afghan capital Kabul has finally ended - about 18 hours after the Taliban launched their assault, local officials have said. A spokesman for Kabul's police chief said the last gunman, who was fighting near the parliament in the west of the city, was killed early on Monday. Security forces earlier flushed out insurgents in the central diplomatic area, home to several embassies.

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Quake Expert: Earth Cracking Up
Expert Gheorghe Marmureanu - from Romania's National Institute of Earth Physics - says 39 quakes had hit the globe within two days. The series started with two massive quakes in Indonesia measuring 8.6 and 8.2 on the Richter scale rapidly followed by three more only slightly smaller in Mexico within hours. "There is no doubt that something is seriously wrong. There have been too many strong earthquakes," said Marmureanu. He added: "The quakes are a surprise that cannot be easily explained by current scientific knowledge.

Russia’s Shiveluch volcano spews ash up to 9,500 meters (31,000 ft) – its most powerful eruption this year
Russia’s northernmost active volcano is churning out ash to a height of 9,500 meters (over 31,000 feet) in the country’s Far East, local scientists reported on Tuesday. The 3,283-meter (10,771-foot) Shiveluch volcano increased activity in May 2009 and has been periodically spewing ash from three to ten kilometers. “A powerful eruption of ashes took place 05.59 a.m. local time [17:59 GMT on Monday], a source at the Far Eastern Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

49th volcano erupts in 2012: Ecuador’s Sangay volcano unleashes 2 km ash cloud
During an over-flight on 13 April, an explosion from Sangay volcano was observed at 08:25 local time. It generated an ash and steam column of 2 km above the summit crater. A new vent was detected; both on visible and thermal images, located next to the active dome on the SE flank (Ñuñurqu).

6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Papua New Guinea
A 6.8-magnitude quake struck off the northeast of Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning issued. The quake hit at 5:13 pm (0713 GMT) 141 kilometers (88 miles) north of the country’s second largest city of Lae and 443 kilometers from the capital Port Moresby at a depth of 201 kilometers, it said. “A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement.

Obama lawyer: Birth certificate irrelevant to eligbility
She is legal counsel representing Obama’s re-election campaign, and argued then that New Jersey law does not require Obama to present a valid birth certificate to establish his qualifications under Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution to be on the New Jersey Democratic Party primary ballot. Hill repeatedly explained to Judge Jeff S. Masin that, “We do not believe the president’s birth certificate is relevant to this case.”

Hamas War on Israel: 1,100 Missiles a Year
Hamas’ missile and rocket war on southern Israel is 11 years old today (Tuesday), 12,500 rockets later. More than 40 people have been killed, thousands have been wounded and property damage and economic losses has been immeasurable.

Jordanian parliament moves to ban Muslim Brotherhood party
Jordan's parliament took legal measures on Monday to disqualify the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, the country's largest opposition movement. In a Lower House session, 46 out of 83 Jordanian lawmakers voted to add an item in the country's draft political parties law forbidding the establishment of any political party on a "religious basis."

Michigan government unleashes armed raids on small pig farmers, forces farmer to shoot all his own pigs
NaturalNews can now confirm that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has, in total violation of the Fourth Amendment, conducted two armed raids on pig farmers in that state, one in Kalkaska County at Fife Lake and another in Cheboygan County. Staging raids involving six vehicles and ten armed men, DNA conducted unconstitutional, illegal and arguably criminal armed raids on these two farms with the intent of shooting all the farmers' pigs under a bizarre new "Invasive Species Order" (ISO) that has suddenly declared traditional livestock to be an invasive species.

6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Valparaiso, Chile
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the port city of Valparaiso in Chile on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No tsunami warning has been issued. The earthquake had a depth of 16.1 miles, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of major damage, but it was felt in the capital city, Santiago, located 69 miles from the epicenter.

Soros warns euro crisis could destroy the EU
Billionaire George Soros warned on Monday that the euro crisis is growing deeper, tearing at the fabric of European Union cohesion, because policymakers are prescribing the wrong remedies. "I'm afraid that the euro crisis is getting worse. It's not over yet, and it is going in the wrong direction," Soros said in discussion with Denmark's economics minister hosted by the daily newspaper Politiken.

Analysts: China broke sanctions if N. Korea using its missile launcher
China likely provided the mobile long-range missile launcher that North Korea displayed in a military parade over the weekend, which would put Beijing in violation of U.N. sanctions, analysts say. The 16-wheeled vehicle, known as a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL), is apparently based on a Chinese design, said Ted Parsons of IHS Jane's Defense Weekly.

Spectacular Solar Flare Erupts From the Sun
The sun erupted in an amazing solar flare today (April 16), unleashing an intense eruption of super-heated plasma that arced high above the star's surface before blasting out into space. The powerful solar flare occurred at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT) and registered as a moderate M1.7-class on the scale of sun storms, placing it firmly in the middle of the scale used by scientists to measure flare strength.

Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings
The fundamental rift on Iran between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu burst into the open Monday, April 16 when high-ranking Israeli officials close to Netanyahu directly accused the president of reneging on the US-Israeli understandings reached ahead of the Istanbul talks between the six powers and Iran on April 14.

Palestinian inmates in Israel begin mass hunger strike
More than 1,200 Palestinian inmates held in Israeli jails have begun a hunger strike to protest against what they say are unfair prison conditions. Another 2,300 Palestinian detainees are refusing food for a day, the Israel Prisons Service (IPS) says. They are protesting against so-called "administrative detentions", which allow suspects to be held indefinitely without charge or trial.

Australian PM sets out Afghan exit plan
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan earlier than planned. Ms Gillard made the announcement in a speech in Canberra, and ahead of a key Nato conference on Afghanistan in Chicago next month. She said troops would begin pulling out this year and most would be home by the end of 2013 - an election year in Australia.

UK inflation rate rises to 3.5% in March
Inflation in the UK rose unexpectedly on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure in March, driven by higher food prices and the cost of clothing. CPI inflation rose to 3.5% in March from 3.4% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation fell slightly to 3.6% from 3.7%.

Colombia summit prostitutes scandal 'an embarrassment'
Claims that Secret Service agents and military personnel hired prostitutes in Colombia are an embarrassment, the US military's top officer has said. "We let the boss down," US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told a Pentagon news conference. Secret Service and military staff have been questioned over allegations of misconduct on the eve of President Obama's visit for a weekend summit.

China increases its US debt holding for second month
China has increased its holding of US debt for the second month in a row as its foreign exchange reserves continue to rise. Beijing bought $12.7bn (£8bn) of US bonds to increase its holding to $1178.9bn in February, latest data by the US Treasury department showed. China's foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, rose 3.9% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

US Senate blocks Obama's Buffett Rule proposal
Senate Republicans have blocked the Buffett Rule, President Barack Obama's proposal to raise tax rates for top earners to at least 30%. Senators largely voted on party lines and failed to win the 60 votes to move the bill forward for a full debate. Republicans have resolutely opposed the measure, saying it is a political gimmick that will not create jobs.

Military spending: EU dwarf shrinks as US gets bigger
The US is spending more on its military than EU countries, China and Russia put together. Meanwhile, as US President Barack Obama pulls troops out of Europe, the financial crisis is seeing EU capabilities erode. America spent $711 billion (€548bn) at current prices on its armed forces last year, according to figures published on Tuesday (17 April) by Swedish NGO the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

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EU and UfM reaffirm their intention to work closely
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton met with the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Fathallah Sijilmassi to discuss the steps forward for the UfM. Ashton and EU officials expressed their full support to the UfM. The European Institutions assume the northern co-presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean after the decision of the Council of EU ministers of Foreign Affairs on 27 February 2012.

Two states only solution and Israel to commit, Jordan King
The "Two States" solution is the only possible for the peace process in the Middle East. It is thus necessary that "Israel be committed" to create "Two states with equal dignities and self-determination" with "East Jerusalem as capital of Palestine." It's a solution which will guarantee safety and peace in Israel", otherwise "Israel will be far from being secure and it will take decades to restart the peace process." This was the message given by King Abdullah II of Jordan to the plenary hall in Strasbourg. A guest of the European Parliament at the end of talks with the EU, the Jordanian King was widely applauded by all and given a standing ovation.

Media Reveal the Muslim Brotherhood’s True Face
we see how Western concepts, when articulated through an Islamic framework, lead to results antithetical to the West. For instance, “democracy” and “elections”—which in the West suggest “freedom,” “human rights,” “liberty,” etc.—are today being used to bring Sharia law, the antithesis of Western law, to power.

Election 2012 Trial Heat: Obama vs. Romney
These are the results when registered voters are asked: "Suppose the presidential election were held today. If Barack Obama were the Democratic Party's candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney were the Republican Party's candidate, who would you vote for Barack Obama, the Democrat or Mitt Romney, the Republican?"

Governor Walker takes lead in recall election poll
A new automated survey from a Democratic polling firm finds that Gov. Scott Walker (R) has a narrow lead over both of his likely rivals in Wisconsin's June recall election.

Breivik questioned about 'Knights Templar' group
Prosecutors have said they believe Breivik's so-called "Knights Templar" group doesn't exist "in the way he describes it." Breivik insists it does, and said police just hadn't done a good enough job in uncovering it. "It is not in my interest to shed light on details that could lead to arrests," he said.

Stephen Goodson – banker, admirer of Nazi economy
Goodson authored a 2004 book titled Bonaparte & Hitler Versus the International Bankers, where he writes that Germany’s economic success story as opposed to “human rights issues’’ provoked World War II.

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes
In a simulation war game featuring Israelis in senior positions, Israel loses 10 fighter jets in a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and manages to set back the Iranian nuclear program by seven years. An angry President Barack Obama takes no steps against Israel but also refuses to intervene on its side.

Ted Nugent Rebuffs Democratic Attacks: ‘I’m a Black Jew at a Nazi-Klan Rally’
“I spoke at the NRA and I will stand by my speech. It was 100 percent positive,” Nugent told the Dana Loesch radio show today. “It’s about we the people taking back our American dream from the corrupt monsters in the federal government under this administration and the communist czars he’s appointed.”

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Israel, Cyprus gas finds spur Mediterranean race
Israel’s biggest gas discovery, potentially turning the fuel importer into an exporter, is prompting a race by nations from Lebanon to Turkey to tap similar deposits in disputed waters of the East Mediterranean.-“All sides are looking at the eastern Mediterranean in a new light, but at the same time border disputes remain very important,” said Charles Gurdon, managing director of London- based risk assessor Menas Associates. “In the end, most of these cases will have to go to int'l arbitration.”

Pop artists turning to Satanic imagery to drum up controversy, sales, experts say
It’s an age-old saying in Hollywood that sex sells, but with consumers finding themselves oversaturated with sexual imagery, today’s top acts are turning to something even more sinful to get our attention: Satan.

Titanic Pastor's Last Cry: 'Unsaved to the Lifeboats'
Harper had pastored churches in Glasgow and London and was on his way to America to accept the pastorate of Moody Church in Chicago, founded by the famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody. As the ship began to sink, Harper was heard to cry: "Women, children, and the unsaved to the lifeboats!"

New English Translation of Bible Omits 'Jesus Christ,' 'Angel'
The Voice, a Bible that replaces "Jesus Christ" with terms like "Jesus the Anointed One," had its complete edition released by Thomas Nelson Publishing last month.

Blair warns against Western disengagement from Middle East
Quartet representative says he now better recognizes threat of radical Islam. If we disengage from what’s happening in the Middle East right now,” he said, “we will make a mistake.” Blair suggested he would have been even more deeply involved in Middle East issues if he could relive his term, and he “would be even more radical” in his domestic reforms.

Bizarre cosmic ray mystery deepens
Cosmic rays are charged subatomic particles that streak to Earth from deep in outer space. A few rare cosmic rays are extraordinarily powerful, with energies up to 100 million times greater than any attained by human-made particle colliders, such as CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The sources of these cosmic rays are a mystery.

UC Scientists Testing HIV Prevention Pill
The University of California is testing a potential HIV prevention pill in a first-of-its-kind study in the state. UC’s California HIV-AIDS Research Program has awarded grants totaling $11.8 million to see how the new drug works. The antiretroviral pill, Truvada, is designed to prevent HIV from taking hold in someone not infected with the virus. Dr. George Lemp said that an international trial has shown it works in select gay and bisexual populations.

Mandatory ‘Big Brother’ Black Boxes In All New Cars From 2015
A bill already passed by the Senate and set to be rubber stamped by the House would make it mandatory for all new cars in the United States to be fitted with black box data recorders from 2015 onwards. Section 31406 of Senate Bill 1813 (known as MAP-21), calls for “Mandatory Event Data Recorders” to be installed in all new automobiles and legislates for civil penalties to be imposed against individuals for failing to do so.

Egypt's grand mufti visits Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque
One of Egypt's leading Islamic clerics has prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, despite Arab opposition to visiting Israel-controlled areas. The Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, said on his Twitter account that he had made an unofficial visit to the mosque, one of the three holiest places in Islam. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the six-day war of 1967.

India test launches Agni-V long-range missile
India has successfully launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile able to carry a nuclear warhead, officials say. The Agni-V was launched from a site off India's east coast and took about 20 minutes to hit its target somewhere near Indonesia in the Indian Ocean. The missile has a range of more than 5,000km (3,100 miles), potentially bringing targets in China within range.

Obama on 'similar path' as Hitler, Stalin
An Illinois Catholic bishop had fiery words for President Barack Obama’s “pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda” during a homily over the weekend where he encouraged good Catholics to stand up for their beliefs at the voting booth. “This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky said

Obama calls for Afghan body abuse punishment
US President Barack Obama says American soldiers shown in photos apparently abusing Afghan corpses in 2010 should be held accountable, a spokesman said. "The conduct depicted in those photos is reprehensible," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. The pictures, published in the Los Angeles Times, shows the soldiers posing with the mangled remains of suspected suicide bombers.

Italy follows Spain on missing deficit target
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti followed in the footsteps of his Spanish counterpart on Wednesday (18 April) by announcing that Italy would need extra time to reaching its deficit target amid a deepening recession. The Italian government had pledged to balance its budget in 2013, but it now expects the economy to shrink by 1.2 percent of GDP this year, the cabinet said in a statement.

Why Obama Lies
George Will writes that "Barack Obama's intellectual sociopathy -- his often breezy and sometimes loutish indifference to truth -- should no longer startle." But why do Obama and his supporters feel no compunction when they do so? And does this pattern provide an opportunity for Mitt Romney to gather votes in November?

Eurozone crisis deepens and tensions rise within European Union
The outlook for the eurozone took a turn for the worse on Wednesday after data showed the economy deteriorating in Italy and Spain and the Portugese prime minister refused to rule out the need for a second bailout. Stock markets tumbled across Europe after the Italian prime minister Mario Monti warned that he would miss deficit targets agreed with Brussels after suffering slower than expected growth.

Europe Central Banks May Be Forced to Print More Money
Central banks in Europe are increasingly reluctant to pump more money into markets after already massive liquidity injections intended to kick-start economic growth but, according to analysts, they may have no choice.

Earth Unprepared for Super Solar Storm
"We need a much better understanding of the likelihood of space weather disruptions and their impacts, and we need to develop that knowledge quickly," Hapgood, head of RAL Space's space environment group, writes in a commentary in the April 19 issue of the journal Nature.

Tokyo mega-quake would kill over 9,600, simulation shows
More than 9,600 people would die with nearly 150,000 injured if a mega-quake struck Tokyo, a disaster that would also level large parts of the Japanese capital, a government projection said Wednesday. The frightening simulation was released by the Tokyo metropolitan government as Japan slowly rebuilds its northeast coast, which was devastated by a magnitude 9.0 quake in March last year that unleashed a deadly tsunami.

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Rival European and Russia resolutions on Syria
European nations and Russia have proposed rival U.N. resolutions that would expand the number of U.N. cease-fire monitors in Syria from 30 to 300. The key difference in the texts _ circulated Friday morning to the Security Council and obtained by The Associated Press _ is whether there should be any conditions on the deployment of the larger observer force. The draft proposed by Russia, Syria's closest ally, does not include any conditions.

Millions to protest in Damascus and Cairo
The meeting of 15 leaders of state in Paris as part of the “friends of Syria” initiative is widely covered in the Arab press on Friday. The leaders are discussing measures to be taken if Bashar Assad does not stop the use of violence against civilians. -Syrians are expected to take part in nationwide demonstrations Friday under the banner “we shall win and Assad will be defeated.” -“Million-man-march” in Egypt Friday: Scores of Egyptians are expected to take to the streets Friday in a call to transfer power to civil authorities and agree on a new constitution.

Obama Lawyer Admits Forgery but disregards “image” as Indication of Obama’s Ineligibility Damage Control
A recent ballot challenge hearing in New Jersey exposes a desperate strategy by Obama to distance himself from his forged certificate and induce the contrived value of his transient political popularity as the only “legitimate qualification” needed to hold the office of the presidency.

Obama impeachment bill now in Congress
Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., has introduced a resolution declaring that should the president use offensive military force without authorization of an act of Congress, “it is the sense of Congress” that such an act would be “an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor.”

Sarkozy falls further behind Socialist challenger Hollande ahead of French presidential elections
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost ground to his Socialist Party opponent, Franois Hollande, just days before the first round of voting in the presidential election, a latest poll has revealed.

America in Bible prophecy
To make the Antichrist rule a global one, many Western interpreters today allegorize “The Great Sea” as “the sea of humanity” – by this we lose the meaning and the intent of the prophecy. This reference to “The Great Sea” cannot be an allegory pertaining to the “sea of humanity” since in every verse the Bible uses “The Great Sea” it is as the Mediterranean Sea (see Numbers 34:6-7, Joshua 1:4, 9:1, 15:12, 15:47, 23:4, Ezekiel 47:10, 15, 19, 20, Ezekiel 48: 28). The Bible makes every effort to clarify that the nations roundabout Israel is what is intended:

Syria on Brink of Civil War – Russia
Syria faces a catastrophic civil war if both sides in the crisis that has gripped the country for over a year fail to take advantage of the current fragile ceasefire there, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Abu Marzook: Hamas won't honor peace treaty with Israel
Hamas's deputy politburo chief Mousa Abu Marzook told Jewish daily Forward that Israel and the Palestinians should reach a ceasefire agreement without Hamas recognizing Israel as a state. He stressed that the Islamist movement will not honor any peace treaty with Israel. In an interview with the US-based Jewish daily, Abu Marzook said, "We will not recognize Israel as a state. It will be like the relationship between Lebanon and Israel or Syria and Israel."

Scientists detect blast at Alaska volcano
...a brief eruption at Cleveland Volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands sent up an ash cloud that quickly dissipated. Geophysicist Dave Schneider says the cloud rose as high as 15,000 feet and dissipated in about two minutes. He says the cloud was not a hazard to aviation.

Mexico raises volcano alert level after rumbling
Authorities in Mexico have raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano southeast of Mexico City due to increasing activity. It's now at the fifth step on a seven-level warning scale. A lava dome is growing in the volcano's crater, the National Disaster Prevention Center said Tuesday. The 17,886-foot (5,450-meter) volcano also has been spewing fragments of incandescent rock recently, as well as water vapor and ash.

North Korea to launch satellites 'one after another'
The rocket, which Pyongyang said was intended to put a satellite into orbit, disintegrated some two minutes after blast-off. The UN Security Council strongly condemned the launch and said it would tighten existing sanctions. In a statement late on Thursday, the North said it has already completed an investigation into the cause of the failure.

New federal agency OFR stirs 'Orwellian' fears
Detractors call it "the CIA of financial regulators,” and conjure "Orwellian" visions of "an omniscient Soviet-style central risk manager."

Is ************* Doomsday Machine About To Blow?
If the area in which Unit 4 is struck by another 7.0 magnitude earthquake, there’s a 70 percent chance that “the entire fuel pool structure will collapse” and massive doses of lethal nuclear radiation will be released into the atmosphere. The disaster would release approximately “134 million curies is Cesium-137 — roughly 85 times the amount of Cs-137 released at Chernobyl as estimated by the U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP).” Experts believe that the amounts are sufficient to “destroy the world environment and our civilization”,

An Executive Order You Should Know About
Obama issued an Executive Order that you should know about. This order gives an unprecedented level of authority to the President and the federal government to take over all the fundamental parts of our economy...all of our water resources, construction services and materials, our transportation system, food and health resources, our energy supplies, even farm equipment, can be taken over by the President and his cabinet secretaries. The Government can also draft U.S. citizens into the military and force U.S. citizens to fulfill "labor requirements" for the purposes of "national defense." There is not even any Congressional oversight, only briefings are required.

Amid nuclear talks, Iran warns of cutting oil to more EU states
Iran's oil minister on Thursday raised the prospect of more cutoffs in oil sales to the European Union if the bloc failed to show some flexibility toward Iran ahead of a second round of nuclear talks next month. Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi said that while Iran has cut sales to Britain and France, it continues selling crude to "other countries" in the world.

Israeli Conservative Movement approves ordination of gay rabbis
Israel's Masorti (Conservative) Movement decided to approve the ordination of homosexual rabbis, in a dramatic vote on Thursday. The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, affiliated with the movement, will admit gay and lesbian students for training as spiritual leaders as of the upcoming school year.

Food Stamp Rolls to Grow Through 2014, CBO Says
The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that 45 million people in 2011 received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a 70% increase from 2007. It said the number of people receiving the benefits, commonly known as food stamps, would continue growing until 2014.

Evolution seen in 'synthetic DNA'
Researchers have succeeded in mimicking the chemistry of life in synthetic versions of DNA and RNA molecules. The work shows that DNA and its chemical cousin RNA are not unique in their ability to encode information and to pass it on through heredity. The work, reported in Science, is promising for future "synthetic biology" and biotechnology efforts.

'Huge' water resource exists under Africa
Scientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater. They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface. The team have produced the most detailed map yet of the scale and potential of this hidden resource.

Ministers ponder creation of EU super-president
...A senior EU source told this website following a meeting of the club in the Val Duchesse stately home in Brussels on Thursday (19 April) that the new supremo would have more power than either Herman Van Rompuy or Jose Manuel Barroso do today but also more "democratic legitimacy" because he or she would be elected by MEPs. In other reforms, the new figure would "streamline" the European Commission into a two-tier structure.

France wants more Syria observers to prevent civil war
Seeking to avoid civil war, France is drafting a new resolution for the United Nations Security Council designed to allow a larger observer force to be deployed in Syria with up to 500 observers as well as helicopters, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Friday. ..."This is our last chance to avoid civil war," Juppe told BFM television. "We have this (Kofi Annan) agreement with all our partners so we have to give it a chance for a few more days.

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"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"U.S. Republicans seek to provide Israel with $680 million for Iron Dome anti-missile system
The United States would spend an additional $680 million through 2015 to strengthen Israel's short-range rocket shield under a plan crafted by Republicans from the House of Representatives, two congressional staff members disclosed on Friday. ...There was no immediate official comment from the Obama administration on Republican plans to seek $680 million starting in the current fiscal year through fiscal 2015.

Netanyahu coalition could fall apart if West Bank neighborhood is dismantled, says vice PM
Evacuating the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El could lead to the dissolution of the coalition, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Saturday at a meeting in Be’er Sheva. ..."We have said we would not remove this neighborhood. If that happens, the government will fall apart," continued Ya'alon.

Chip lets smartphones see through walls, clothes
Researchers at a Texas university have designed a chip that could give smartphones the long-envied ability of comic book her Superman to see through walls, clothes or other objects. A team at University of Texas at Dallas tuned a small, inexpensive microchip to discern a "terahertz" band of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Egyptian protesters fill Cairo's Tahrir Square
Tens of thousands of protesters have massed in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to demonstrate against continuing military rule. Supporters of a variety of political groups, including Islamist, liberal and leftist forces, entered the square - a regular focal point for rallies. Many are angry at the disqualification of popular presidential candidates.

Leader of 'radical' US nuns rejects Vatican criticism
The leader of a group of US nuns the Vatican accuses of flouting Church teaching has rejected the claims. "I've no idea what they're talking about," Sister Simone Campbell, head of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby, told the BBC. "Our role is to live the gospel with those who live on the margins of society. That's all we do."

6.6 quake rocks Indonesia's Papua: USGS
A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Papua region, sending panicked residents running from their homes and schools, officials said.

Vatican embracing anti-Semitism?
The Catholic splinter group Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) sent a letter of reconciliation to the Vatican, which Der Spiegel magazine defined as “the greatest gift to the papacy of Benedict XVI.” Pope Joseph Ratzinger has long wanted to heal the schism with the Society and bring the followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre back into the Church.

Vanderbilt Says Christian Club Can’t Require Leaders to be Devout Christians
Vanderbilt University has informed a small Christian student organization that it will no longer be recognized as a student group because it requires its members to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, according to email correspondence provided to Fox News.

Vietnam seeks help with mystery disease; 19 dead
Vietnam has asked the World Health Organization to help investigate a mystery disease that has killed 19 people and sickened 171 others in central Vietnam. Le Han Phong, chairman of the People's Committee in Ba To district in Quang Ngai province, says patients first experience a rash on their hands and feet along with high fever, loss of appetite and eventually organ failure.

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano spews burning rock
The Popocatepetl volcano outside of Mexico City has been spewing glowing rock fragments as far as 1km (0.6 miles) down its slopes. Columns of ash have been shooting from more than 60 openings in the crust of the 5,450m (17,900-foot) volcano.

'Lebanon won't attack Israel in case of strike on Iran'
According a report published by the London-based Arabic newspaper on Saturday, Suleiman said, "No one has the right to act without the Lebanese government's authorization." He was apparently referring to the complicated relationship between the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah terror organization.

U.S. oil production is up, so why are gas prices so high?
Given America's new oil rush, it would seem the best of times for gas prices. But with $4-per-gallon sticker shock, it might feel like the worst of times.

Russian Warships Arrive in China for Joint Drills
A Russian naval task group arrived at the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Saturday for joint exercises with the Chinese navy, a captain said. A Russian naval task group arrived at the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Saturday for joint exercises with the Chinese navy, a captain said.

India's test of missile able to hit Beijing faces few critics, unlike North Korea's rocket
India's successful test of a powerful new missile that can carry nuclear weapons to Beijing caused barely a ripple — even in China — just days after North Korea was globally vilified for a failed rocket launch. The vastly different responses show the world has grown to accept India as a responsible and stable nuclear power, while shunning North Korea as a pariah.

Israel: Sinai militants plan attack on tourists
Israel's government is telling its citizens to immediately leave Egypt's Sinai desert peninsula, citing warnings of planned attacks against them. Spokesman Ofir Gendelman said Saturday that the country has "concrete information" that militants intend to attack Israeli tourists in coming days.

G20 doubles IMF's war chest amid fears on Europe
Leading world economies on Friday pledged $430 billion in new funding for the International Monetary Fund, more than doubling its lending power in a bid to protect the global economy from the euro-zone debt crisis.

Three more Secret Service Agents resign
The U.S. Secret Service said on Friday that three more of its employees have resigned, bringing to six the number that have left the agency in connection with alleged misconduct involving prostitutes in Colombia last week before President Barack Obama's trip there.

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"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"U.S. Israel ready to strike Iran, Lebanon, Gaza if ordered, says military chief
Israeli forces are carrying out more special operations beyond the country’s borders and will be ready to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, Gaza and Lebanon if ordered, the chief-of-staff said in an interview on Sunday. In an extract from an interview with the top-selling Yediot Aharanot daily, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said that 2012 would be a critical year in efforts to halt what Israel and much of the international community believe is an Iranian nuclear arms program.

Israelis told to leave Sinai over attack fears
Israeli authorities warned citizens on Saturday to leave Egypt's Sinai peninsula immediately because of a "critical and immediate threat" of a terrorist attack. "All Iraelis in the Sinai are called upon to leave the region and return to Israel," said a statement from the anti-terrorist bureau.

IMF urges eurozone to make bold reforms
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has told the eurozone it must make bold reforms to reassure financial markets. A statement from its governing council, says the 17-strong eurozone needs to make major structural reforms to boost confidence and growth.

Long-term tsunami risk rises after Indonesia quake
Last week's powerful earthquake off western Indonesia increased pressure on the source of the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people in and around the Indian Ocean, seismologists say. As a result, forces have been ratcheted up on a fault that could unleash another monster wave sometime in the next few decades.

‘Pregnant man’ Thomas Beatie splits from wife
Thomas Beatie, who made headlines in 2008 as the only legally recognized man known to have given birth, has separated from his wife of nine years, according to People magazine. Beatie, who has had three children with wife Nancy, announced the split during a taping of the CBS syndicated show "The Doctors."

U.N. council authorizes up to 300 Syria truce monitors
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a Russia-European drafted resolution on Saturday that authorizes an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to Syria for three months to help bolster a fragile week-old ceasefire.

Army chief: IDF prepared for Iran strike
hould Israel decide to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, the IDF will be prepared to carry out the mission, Chief of Staff Benny Gantz told Yedioth Ahronoth in remarks published Sunday. In respect to the Iranian threat, 2012 will be a critical year, Gantz said, adding that "the State of Israel believes that nuclear arms in Iran’s possession are a very bad thing, which the world should stop and Israel should stop."

Muslim mob torches Khartoum church
A Muslim mob has set ablaze a Catholic church frequented by Southern Sudanese in the capital Khartoum, witnesses and media reports said on Sunday. The church in Khartoum's Al-Jiraif district was built on a disputed plot of land but the Saturday night incident appeared to be part of the fallout from ongoing hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan

Iran says is building copy of captured US drone
Iran claimed Sunday that it had reverse-engineered an American spy drone captured by its armed forces last year and has begun building a copy. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the aerospace division of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, related what he said were details of the aircraft's operational history to prove his claim that Tehran's military experts had extracted data from the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel captured in December in eastern Iran, state television reported.

Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official
The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

Watergate Figure, Christian Leader Chuck Colson Dies
Chuck Colson, a Watergate-era "hatchet man" for President Richard Nixon who became an influential evangelical leader after serving time in prison, died Saturday afternoon, according to his website. He was 80.

France votes in first round of presidential poll
Polls have opened in France's presidential election, taking place amid widespread concern over the eurozone crisis and high unemployment. Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking re-election, saying only he can preserve a "strong France".


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Scott Walker to Newsmax: Obama's Machine Spending $60 Million to Defeat Me
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says President Barack Obama’s political machine is pulling out all the stops to defeat him in the pivotal June 5 recall election — a race that could determine the future of many efforts around the country to curb runaway government spending.

Africa: Israel Predicts Rocket Attacks On Sinai
The Israeli Bureau of Counterterrorism issued an alert on Saturday morning, summoning any Israelis currently holidaying in the Sinai peninsula to return. There was a "critical and imminent threat" of rockets being launched from Gaza, it said.

Top Palestinian leaders Abbas, Fayyad reportedly cut all contact with each other
Discord apparently erupted after Fayyad refused to deliver a letter from Abbas to Netanyahu listing Palestinian demands.

Left-wing Catholic nuns 'stunned' by Vatican slap
In a stinging report on Wednesday, the Vatican said the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had been "silent on the right to life" and had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank in its agenda.

Is Middle East trying to explode?
A top Damascus official has told WND the Turkish military has begun calling up reserves for a potential armed confrontation with Syria. The claim could not be immediately independently verified by U.S., French or Egyptian sources, but the purported move comes at the same time a United Nations resolution calls for unspecific “swift and meaningful consequences” if Syria continues to flout a U.N.-brokered truce with protesters.

Homes abandoned amid riot warnings in Chicago
FOX Chicago News reported the people living in the 17-floor Library Tower building at 520 South State Street were warned in a letter from condo management that “we are STRONGLY recommending that all residents find places to stay during the conference from May 18 through May 21.” The letter specifically warned of riots:

Meteor causes loud boom and shake in California, Nevada, and Oregon Sunday morning
Switchboards lit up on Sunday morning as people heard and felt something similar to a sonic boom. Agencies are confirming a possible meteor strike.

China-Russia naval drills begin in Yellow Sea
China and Russia launched joint naval exercises Sunday that highlight warming ties between their militaries and growing cooperation in international affairs. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the six days of drills feature simulated anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and search-and-rescue operations, including electronic countermeasures and other sensitive technologies.

Muslim Fun and Games Part of Eid Celebrations
Recently two Muslim men were accused in a British court of abducting two teen age girls and repeatedly raping them and then passing them around to their friends. In their defense they claimed that the girls enjoyed it and that they were entitled by their culture to rape non-Muslims especially during Eid celebrations.

Israel intercepts Gaza-bound ship for security check
Israeli naval forces intercepted on Sunday a Liberian-flagged cargo ship that was headed to Gaza. Commandoes boarded the vessel for a "security check," military sources said. The ship was intercepted outside Israel's territorial waters due to suspicions it was carrying weapons designated for terror organizations in Gaza. The captain authorized the subsequent search of the vessel by Shayetet 13 soldiers.

Aging workforce strains Social Security, Medicare
An aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound are straining the long-term finances of Social Security and Medicare, the government's two largest benefit programs. Those problems are getting new attention Monday as the trustees who oversee the massive programs release their annual financial reports.

Syria forces open fire on refugees crossing into Jordan
Syrian forces have opened fire on civilians fleeing to neighboring Jordan, killing at least one refugee and injuring dozens, activists and relief workers said on Sunday. A Jordanian security source confirmed that Syrian soldiers opened fire on hundreds of civilians attempting to cross the border on Saturday.

An $8 billion trick?
Call it President Obama’s Committee for the Re-Election of the President — a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department. ...the administration’s devised a way to postpone the pain one more year, getting Obama past his last election; it plans to spend $8 billion to temporarily restore Medicare Advantage funds so that seniors in key markets don’t lose their trusted insurance program in the middle of Obama’s re-election bid.

Destructive Snowstorm Targets Interior Northeast
The snow season "that largely wasn't" in the Northeast will be "bookended" by two destructive winter storms. A heavy, wet snowstorm in 2011 downed trees and powerlines, knocking out power to over 3 million customers in the Northeast just before Halloweeen 2011, in a storm dubbed "Snowtober".

Afghanistan and US agree deal on strategic partnership
US and Afghan negotiators have finalised a partnership agreement for the US role in Afghanistan after its forces withdraw at the end of 2014. The draft agreement on their long-term relationship was signed in the Afghan capital Kabul after months of talks. No details were released, with the deal to be reviewed by both presidents.

FM downplays Egypt's decision to cancel gas deal
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman downplayed on Monday Egypt's decision to terminate a long-term natural gas deal with Israel, saying that he hoped the dispute could be solved like any business dispute, Israel Radio reported. Israel has every desire to uphold the peace accords with Egypt, the foreign minister said. Egyptians share that interest, he added.

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Could a Newly Discovered Viral Genome Change What We Thought We Knew About Virus Evolution?
...entirely new virus types may emerge via recombination of functional and structural modules between vastly different viruses, using mechanisms that are as-yet unknown.

Losing the jihadists' war on America: lslamist propaganda is slowly blinding us to the enemy within
In addition to the threat of violent jihad, America faces another, even more toxic danger - a stealthy and pre-violent form of warfare aimed at destroying our constitutional form of democratic government and free society. The Muslim Brotherhood is the prime mover behind this seditious campaign, which it calls "civilization jihad."

Deaths of 877 Dolphins Washed Ashore in Peru Shrouded in Mystery
Authorities concluded that the dolphins' deaths were not caused by lack of food, biotoxin poisoning, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides or contamination by heavy metals. The mass death of dolphins in Peru marks the third set of strandings in about two months. In February, 179 dolphins washed ashore in Cape Cod,

Palestinian Sentenced to Death for Selling a Home to Jews
Former Palestinian intelligence official Muhammad Abu Shahala has reportedly been sentenced to death by the Palestinian Authority for selling a Hebron home to Jews. In response, Jewish officials from the community in Hebron are calling for international officials now to get involved—in order to save Abu Shahala’s life.

Iranian oil infrastructure reportedly targeted by cyberattack
Iran's oil ministry, national oil company and a number of other companies affiliated with the ministry were hit by a cyberattack on Sunday, according to semiofficial news agency Mehr. Mehr said an export terminal in Kharg Island and other oil facilities came under attack from malware and hackers, but continued their work as usual.

Hackers claim credit for CIA website going offline
This is not the first time the CIA website has been attacked by hackers. Last month the site went offline temporarily around the same time, 3pm on a Friday afternoon, with Anonymous claiming credit for the attack.

Mexico preps shelters as volcano roars, spews ash
Even a large eruption of the 17,886-foot (5,450-meter) cone of Popocatepetl is unlikely to do more than dump ash on one of the world's largest metropolitan areas. But the grit could play havoc with Mexico City's busy airport, and tens of thousands of people in the farming villages on its flanks could be forced to flee.

Pyongyang threatens a fast, ‘peculiar’ attack
North Korea yesterday threatened the South, saying they would stage “a special action by revolutionary forces” against the Blue House and local media.

Spring nor'easter cuts power to 75,000; around foot of snow in places
A powerful spring storm dumped snow across parts of the Northeast overnight -- including around a foot in at least three places -- and cut power to more than 75,000 customers in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, with more snow expected overnight. "Winter storm warnings are in effect from the higher elevations of West Virginia northward to western New York," the National Weather Service stated.

Israel authorises three West Bank settlement outposts
Israel has decided to make legal under Israeli law three settlement outposts in the West Bank, the prime minister's office has said in a statement. It said that a ministerial committee had decided to "formalise the status" of Bruchin and Rechelim, in the north, and Sansana, near Hebron in the south. The Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the decision.

Rising Syria deaths question UN monitoring mission
A sharp rise in the number of deaths in the Syrian uprising is casting fresh doubt on the success of a UN peace plan, and testing a ceasefire deal. Activists said nearly 70 people were killed on Monday, most in a government crackdown in the city of Hama. The US said the UN monitoring mission was "risky and dangerous".

China pledges North Korea ties amid rocket tensions
China's president pledged strong ties with North Korea, amid serious tensions between the two Koreas in the wake of Pyongyang's failed rocket launch. Hu Jintao's promise came at a meeting with a top Workers' Party delegation leader in Beijing on Monday. It came as North Korea threatened "unprecedented action" against Seoul.

PM: Egypt's Sinai turning into a 'Wild West'
Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has turned into a "kind of Wild West," which terrorist organizations use to smuggle weapons with Iranian assistance and initiate attacks on Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Israel Radio on Tuesday. The open desert border between Israel and Egypt has been relatively quiet since the 1979 peace treaty.

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Obama’s Incompetence May Fuel Racial Violence
Newsweek reported this month that: “Whites are especially critical of Obama’s approach: a majority (51 percent) actually believe he’s been unhelpful in bridging the country’s racial divide. Even blacks have concluded, by a 20-point margin, that race relations have not improved on Obama’s watch.”

Pentagon confirms plan to create new spy agency
The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that it is carving out a brand new spy agency expected to include several hundred officers focused on intelligence gathering around the world. At a time of budget cutbacks, particularly in the military, it's unclear how the Defense Department has been able to move around the money to afford a new agency.

Drones hovering over your neighborhood?
There are at least 63 active drone sites around the U.S, federal authorities have been forced to reveal following a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit. The unmanned planes – some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects – are being launched from locations in 20 states.

Hitler's Mein Kampf Returns to German Schools
German authorities announced on Tuesday that when the copyright to Adolf Hilter’s notorious Mein Kampf expires in three years’ time, an ‘annotated’ version will be made available to students across the country. The state of Bavaria, which became the beneficiary of Hitler’s works, property and money following the dictator’s suicide in 1945, said it was important for Germany to publish versions for children with expert analysis and comments from historians that refute his ideology.

Pakistan tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile
Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said, less than a week after rival India tested a missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads as far as Beijing and Eastern Europe.

1st Private Spaceship to Visit Space Station Aims for May 7 Launch
The new launch date, which is a full week later than an earlier April 30 target, comes a day after the commercial spaceflight company SpaceX announced a flight delay to allow extra time for spacecraft software tests. SpaceX plans to launch its unmanned Dragon capsule atop the firm's Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Israeli prime minister Netanyahu says sanctions on Iran 'better work soon'
The sanctions "are certainly taking a bite out of the Iranian economy," Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on CNN's "OutFront." But "they haven't rolled back the Iranian program -- or even stopped it -- by one iota," he added.

Fourth U.S. case of mad cow confirmed
U.S. Agriculture Department officials confirmed the fourth case of mad cow disease, but the infected California dairy cow was never a risk to the food supply. "As part of our targeted surveillance system, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the nation's fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy," John Clifford, USDA chief veterinary officer, said in a statement.

Department of Homeland Security buying up enough ammo to wage seven-year war against the American people
...the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an agency that says its main purpose now is to thwart "homegrown terrorism," has awarded a contract to ammunition manufacturer ATK for acquiring 450 million rounds of .40 caliber hollow point ammo. You can view the announcement of the ammunition purchase at this press release: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/atk-secures-40-caliber-ammunition-co...

Is America Embracing the 10 Tenets of the Communist Manifesto?
Writing for The Blaze, Tiffany Gabbay recently produced a thoughtful exposé entitled “Are We Headed Toward the Constitution or the Communist Manifesto?” that breaks down the 10 tenets of Marx and Engels’ infamous 1848 publication and describes how those 10 steps or “planks” to establish communism are slowly being woven into American society.

Russia, U.S. to Hold Joint Anti-Terror Drills
A detachment from the Russian Airborne Assault Forces will go to the United States in May for a joint anti-terror exercise, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexander Kucherenko said on Thursday. The exercise will take place between May 24 and 31 at Fort Carson, Colo.

Pakistan tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile
The exact range of the missile was not revealed, but retired General Talat Masood, a defence analyst, told AFP intermediate range ballistic missiles could reach targets up to 2,500 to 3,000 kilometres (1,550 to 1,850 miles) away – which would put almost all of arch-rival India within reach. On Thursday India test fired its long range Agni V missile, which can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in China.

Mitt Romney sweeps to victory vowing end to Obama presidency
Speaking before a few hundred cheering supporters in New Hampshire, the swing state where he launched his campaign nearly a year ago, Mr Romney offered himself as a rescuer of the US economy and its workers and vowed that "a better America begins tonight". "To all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I’ve met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance, to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer," he said.

Obama announces new Iran, Syria technology sanctions
United States President Barack Obama on Monday announced new sanctions on people and entities in Iran and Syria who have deemed to use technology to target citizens and erode their human rights. Speaking at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. before a crowd of Holocaust survivors, administration officials, members of Congress, and leaders of Jewish organizations, Obama commented on the situation in Syria and Iran.

US home prices drop for 6th straight month
Home prices dropped in February in most major U.S. cities for a sixth straight month, a sign that modest sales gains haven't been enough to boost prices. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index shows that prices dropped in February from January in 16 of the 20 cities it tracks.

Iran undecided on nuclear bomb - Israel military chief
The head of the Israeli military has said he does not think Iran will develop nuclear weapons. Chief of Staff Lt Gen Benny Gantz made the statement in an interview with the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. He said Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had not yet made the final decision whether to build a nuclear bomb.

UK economy in double-dip recession
The UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012. A sharp fall in construction output was behind the surprise contraction, the Office for National Statistics said. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

US Supreme Court to weigh Arizona immigration law
The US Supreme Court is preparing to consider yet another highly politically charged case - this time over a controversial immigration law. A month after hearing a case on the Obama administration's healthcare reform, the top court will weigh the legality of Arizona's SB1070. It requires officials to check the immigration status of those they believe to be in the country illegally.

Two major South Korean retailers halt sales of US beef
Two of South Korea's biggest retailers have halted sales of US beef after the discovery of a case of "mad cow" disease in the US. Lotte Mart and Home Plus have temporarily suspended sales at their stores after a dairy cow in California was found infected with the disease. Meanwhile, South Korean authorities said they will step up checks on beef imports from the US.

Greek central bank chief warns of euro exit
Greece's central bank governor said his country would have to leave the eurozone if politicians do not stick to the austerity programme after elections due to take place on 6 May. ...Greece has signed up to a second, €130 billion loan paid mainly by other eurozone countries to reduce the country's debt and recapitalise its banks, along with a major debt restructuring agreed with private lenders.

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Did Nasa satellite capture giant UFO surfing the hellish surface of the sun?
The unidentified flying object, which bears no resemblance to anything ever spotted near the Sun, somehow manages to withstand the blazing heat thrown off by solar flare activity and the incredibly high temperatures emanating from nuclear fusion generated on the surface of the star. What is it?' asked the site.

TV’s 60 Minutes slammed over segment on Christians in Israel
Thousands of Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel have bombarded CBS executives with complaints about a “60 Minutes” segment that blamed Israel for the exodus of Christians from the West Bank and Jerusalem. In the segment that aired Sunday, correspondent Bob Simon, Palestinian Christian leaders and others blame Israel and the settlements for Christians leaving cities such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Pastor Joel Osteen: Romney & Obama Are Christians & I See Mormons as ‘Brothers In Christ’
Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, spoke out about Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. Unlike a small number of evangelical preachers who have sought to place a divisive wedge between Romney’s beliefs and those of traditional evangelicals, Osteen reiterated a position he has advanced before — that the top GOP contender is, in fact, a Christian.

Flooding in Dominican Republic forces 11,000 from homes
Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste of Haiti's Civil Protection Office said nine people died in the southern and western parts of the country. The deaths included a 6-year-old child and a woman killed by landslides in the capital of Port-au-Prince and four who drowned in rivers outside the city, she said. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs gave a lower toll from three days of heavy storms at the start of the rainy season.

EPA Official on Non-Compliant Companies: ‘Hit Them as Hard as You Can’ & ‘Make Examples Out of Them,’ Cites Crucifixion
Are you familiar with a certain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official named Al Armendariz? Chances are you’ve never heard of him. We suspect most Americans haven’t. However, with the recent unearthing of the video below, that could change very soon. Thanks to a little digging by the staff of Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), attention has been brought to a 2010 video that seems to confirm what many conservatives have long suspected: that the EPA is at war with the oil and gas industries. the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.

Rubio Praises U.N., World Bank, IMF for Not Asserting ‘Narrow American Interests’
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was elected to his first term with help from the Tea Party in 2010 and who is sometimes cited as a potential GOP vice presidential pick, lauded the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for following their respective visions instead of asserting “narrow American interests” in a speech today on U.S. foreign policy.

Iran readying hacker attacks on U.S. infrastructure, specialists say
Iran is recruiting a hacker army to target the U.S. power grid, water systems and other vital infrastructure for cyberattack in a future confrontation with the United States, security specialists will warn Congress Thursday. “Elements of the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] have openly sought to pull hackers into the fold” of a religiously motivated cyberarmy, according to Frank J. Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University.

Palestinians call on UN to stop Israeli settlement legalization
The Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour denounced on Wednesday Israel's legalization of three unsanctioned West Bank settler outposts as an illegal attempt to entrench "its massive network of illegal settlements." The Palestinian condemnation is only the last in a wave of criticism Israel received after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government would seek to legalize the outposts’ status.

Supreme Court casts doubt on Obama’s immigration law claim
Supreme Court justices took a dim view of the Obama administration’s claim that it can stop Arizona from enforcing immigration laws, telling government lawyers during oral argument Wednesday that the state appears to want to push federal officials, not conflict with them. ...“It seems to me the federal government just doesn’t want to know who’s here illegally,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said at one point.

Population and consumption key to future, report says
Over-consumption in rich countries and rapid population growth in the poorest both need to be tackled to put society on a sustainable path, a report says. An expert group convened by the Royal Society spent nearly two years reading evidence and writing their report. Firm recommendations include giving all women access to family planning, moving beyond GDP as the yardstick of economic health and reducing food waste.

Eurozone leaders push for growth
Eurozone leaders have urged governments to focus on growth amid fears about the negative impact of austerity measures. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called for a "growth compact", to go with the balanced-budget pact agreed last year. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French presidential candidate Francois Hollande echoed that Europe needs more economic growth.

US charges Taiwanese pair with 'China arms plot'
Two Taiwanese nationals have been charged with attempting to export US military technology to benefit the Chinese government. US undercover agents had been investigating the couple for suspected drugs trafficking since February 2011. But the pair allegedly went on to try to acquire and export arms technology, including a small drone plane.

Egypt ex-PM Ahmed Shafiq allowed back into poll
Egypt's election commission has reinstated former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as a candidate in the country's forthcoming presidential election. The commission had barred Mr Shafiq on Tuesday under a law that prevents senior officials from the era of President Hosni Mubarak from standing. However, on Wednesday the commission upheld Mr Shafiq's appeal.

Argentina Senate backs YPF oil nationalisation
Argentina's Senate has approved the controversial decision to nationalise the oil company YPF. The plan to strip the Spanish firm Repsol of its controlling stake in YPF was announced last week by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The move has been condemned by Spain, and the EU has said it may take the case to the World Trade Organization.

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U.S. Building a Domestic Population-Control Grid Based on Military Ops
The U.S. military has become expert at controlling urban populations in Iraq – but why is the Department of Homeland Security building similar capabilities here?

FBI Steps Up 'Internet Doomsday' Awareness Malware Campaign
PC users infected with a strain of malware called DNS Changer will face their own personal Internet doomsday in July unless they disinfect their computers, the FBI warns.

Strong activity continues at Indonesia’s Mount Lokon volcano
Lokon was shaken by another volcanic tremor in Tomohon, North Sulawesi. In addition, the volcano is stirred by 1 to 3 shallow tremors every 5 minutes. If activity continues to increase at the volcano, officials fear an eruption could be imminent.

Antarctic ice melting from below, reveals satellite
“Underwater volcanism is also sublimating portions of the Antarctica ice mass from underneath. In 2004, a research team led by Eugene Domack, aboard the research vessel Lawrence M. Gould, made a remarkable discovery of a massive underwater volcano off the coast of Antarctica using a deep water submersible vehicle equipped with a cadre of sensors and video cameras

New dangers and earthquake risks found in Washington
The faults Blakely and his colleagues found are reverse faults — a type of tectonic fault where one side is shoved up over the other side — and the team estimates they’re capable of triggering magnitude-6.0 to -6.5 earthquakes. “That’s big enough to cause damage and hurt people, but it’s not as severe as a magnitude-7 earthquake, such as the one that occurred on the Seattle fault

Sixty-Million Dollar Union Assault on Wisconsin Governor Walker
Tora! Tora! Tora! No, it's no sneak attack. Nationwide unions spearheaded by the public employee unions, teachers' unions in the vanguard, have Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in their cross hairs. They aim to shoot him down - figuratively, but of course! -- in June 5 recall elections. Led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)...

Meningitis Claims 749 Lives in West, Central Africa
meningitis has claimed 749 lives in Central and West Africa this year. In a report issued on Friday, OCHA said Chad and Burkina Faso were the hardest hit nations. In Burkina Faso, 3,630 cases were recorded by OCHA since the start of the year, which represent about 40 percent of all reported cases in the region and out of which, a total of 400 people had succumbed to the disease by April 1.

Gun maker claims Bank of America dumped firm
Kelly McMillan, director of operations for McMillan Group International, LLC, claims that a Bank of America official told him April 20 the bank no longer wants the company’s business because it is a firearms manufacturer.

H5N1 Flu Virus Could be 'Engineered' to Put Hundreds of Millions at Risk, Scientist Tells Homeland Security Committee
“What happens if a mammalian transmissible H5N1 flu starts to spread?" Thomas Inglesby, CEO and director of the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, asked rhetorically in his testimony. "Seasonal flu affects 10 to 20 percent of the world every year--as much as a billion people or more," said Inglesby. "The case fatality rate of wild H5N1 in the WHO database is nearly 60 percent, as you indicated. So if a strain of H5N1 with that fatality rate were engineered to spread like seasonal flu, hundreds of millions of people’s lives would be at risk.

Huge green cloud over Moscow has terrified Russians tweeting for their lives
Because far from paranormal or the onset of war, according to officials in Moscow, it is nothing but pollen.

Milwaukee Red Cross Told To Prep For Chicago Evacuation During NATO Summit
CBS 2 News has obtained a copy of a Red Cross e-mail sent to volunteers in the Milwaukee area. It said the NATO summit “may create unrest or another national security incident. The American Red Cross in southeastern Wisconsin has been asked to place a number of shelters on standby in the event of evacuation of Chicago.” According to a chapter spokesperson, the evacuation plan is not theirs alone. “Our direction has come from the City of Chicago and the Secret Service,” she said.

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Obama Campaign Tries to Intimidate Romney Donors
Obama's re-election campaign is publicly identifying donors to Mitt Romney’s bid to unseat him in a move designed to intimidate, revealing the names on a website, Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel reported.

Iran could be allowed limited uranium enrichment plan
In a major dilution of its stance so far, Obama administration officials have hinted that the US could consider allowing Iran to continue with the development of a crucial element of its disputed nuclear program provided Tehran makes a commitment to curb its development of a nuclear bomb.

U.S. Congress voices concern over Iran cyber-threat
The cyber-attack by the Stuxnet worm against Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is designed to eventually produce nuclear weapons, was considered one of the most successful moves to date in the confrontation over the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions. This week, however, concerns were raised at the U.S. Congress that the cyber-attack may have been the "crossing of the Rubicon" for Iran, motivating it to engage in cyber-war against U.S. targets, including critical infrastructure.

Monuments destroyed to wipe out Iranian Christian heritage
Historic Christian monuments in Iran are being destroyed, or allowed to fall into disrepair in an attempt by the Islamic authorities to wipe out that country's Christian heritage. Pre-Islamic Churches and cemeteries are especially at risk, prompting Mohabat News to report that "Islamic Republic officials, unsuccessful in stopping the growth of Christianity among the people by pressuring them, arresting them and banning Christian converts from attending church services, want to destroy historical Christian monuments to totally wipe the Christian heritage from the face of Iran."

'Hezbollah boosting drone unit'
Hezbollah has been allocating increased resources towards bolstering its drone unit, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday. The Shiite terror groups reportedly plans to use its unmanned aerial vehicle to attack Israel in case it mounts a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat
...The House approved the bill after making a number of changes aimed at limiting the way the government could use the information that companies provide. CISPA would make it easier for companies to share information with the government about the threats facing their networks. Supporters — Republicans and Democrats alike — said the proposal is a reasonable compromise between the need for privacy and security.

US Economy Grows at Tepid 2.2% Pace; Misses Estimates
U.S. economic growth cooled in the first quarter as businesses cut back on investment and restocked shelves at a moderate pace, but stronger demand for automobiles softened the blow. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its advance estimate, moderating from the fourth quarter's 3 percent rate.

Obama lifts freeze on $192 million aid package to Palestinian Authority
US President Barack Obama has lifted a ban on financial aid to the Palestinian Authority. Obama stated that the aid was “important to the security interests of the United States.” The US Congress froze a $192 million aid package to the Palestinian Authority after its president, Mahmoud Abbas, defied US pressure and sought to attain UN endorsement of Palestinian statehood last September. The presidential waiver means that aid can now be delivered.

Syria crisis: Damascus 'suicide bombing' kills 10
An explosion in the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus has killed at least 10 people and wounded 20 others, state media say. The reports said a "terrorist suicide bomber" caused the blast near a mosque in the Midan area, but opposition activists blamed the Syrian government. TV showed graphic images of the scene.

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Iran threatens American east coast
Iran's Navy has the ability to deploy its vessels three miles off the US east coast, a high-ranking Iranian Navy commander was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

UK food retailer boycotts settlement exports
The British Co-operative Group has become the first major European supermarket group to end trade with firms that export produce from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, The Guardian reported Sunday.

SEATTLE MAYOR WARNS OF POTENTIAL VIOLENCE AT ‘MAY DAY’ PROTEST
The Seattle Mayor’s Office issued a press release Friday warning of potential violence, property damage and intent to disrupt peaceful protest for this Tuesday’s “May Day” marches. The release stated the office had evidence “other people may be coming to Seattle” and cites some websites have been giving instruction for how to conceal weapons and target authorities.

One killed, 16 hurt in grenade attack at Kenyan church
A gunman detonated a grenade in a Nairobi church on Sunday, killing one worshipper and wounding 16 in the latest in a series of attacks in Kenya since it sent troops into Somalia to crush Islamist militants blamed for cross-border raids. Nairobi has said al Shabaab militants, who merged with al Qaeda earlier this year, are behind the surge in violence and kidnappings that has threatened tourism in east Africa's biggest economy and wider regional destabilization.

Hundreds of Syrian troops defect near Damascus, Latakia, as clashes flare
Hundreds of soldiers defected from the Syrian armed forces on Sunday in the outskirts of Damascus and in the port city of Latakia, where large explosions were heard near the presidential palace, the Syrian Media Center reported. Sima Malaki, spokesperson of the center, which represents the Syrian opposition, said dozens of soldiers defected from an army unit that was positioned near the presidential palace in Latakia.

Iran slams deployment of U.S. F-22 Raptors in UAE: lawmaker
A senior Iranian lawmaker slammed the recent deployment of the U.S. F-22 Raptors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday. The Rapporteur of Iranian Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali said that stockpiling weapons would threaten stability in the region.

State: All structures built on private Palestinian land will be removed
Just two days after the State said it was reassessing its policy mandating the demolition of unauthorized Jewish homes built on private Palestinian land the West Bank, the Prosecutor's Office told the High Court of Justice the policy has not changed and that all illegal Jewish structures would be removed.

Saudi Arabia recalls ambassador to Cairo, shuts embassy in Egypt
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had recalled its ambassador from Egypt "for consultations" and closed its embassy and consulates in the country for security reasons after protests against the kingdom's arrest of an Egyptian lawyer. It was the first public rupture between the two major Arab states since last year's popular uprising in Egypt that forced Hosni Mubarak, a close ally of Riyadh, from power.

Israeli, Egyptian officials in secret talks on gas deal crisis
Officially, the Israeli government has tried to minimize the diplomatic importance of last Sunday's announcement by Egypt's state-owned natural gas company that it was canceling its contract to Israel. Behind the scenes, however, the reality was somewhat different, belying the government's stance that the matter was simply a commercial dispute.

Protesters injured in Egypt clash
Scores of protesters staging a sit-in to demonstrate against the barring of a presidential candidate have been injured in the Egyptian capital. A total of 10 candidates have been barred from standing in the presidential poll in May. Hundreds of supporters of hardline Islamist candidate Hazem Abu Ismail had been protesting outside the defence ministry.

Lebanon holds ship 'carrying weapons for Syria rebels'
The Lebanese navy is holding a Sierra Leone-registered ship and says it has confiscated a large consignment of arms and ammunition it was carrying. The 11 crew members were detained after three shipping containers full of heavy and light weapons were found on the Lutfallah II. The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says it is believed the consignment was destined for the rebels in Syria.

Spanish unemployment hits record 5.64 million
Spanish unemployment has hit a new record high, official figures have shown. The number of unemployed people reached 5,639,500 at the end of March, with the unemployment rate hitting 24.4%, the national statistics agency said. The figures came hours after rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Spanish sovereign debt.

Chen Guangcheng's escape sparks China round-up
Chinese authorities have begun to round up relatives and associates of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled from house arrest last week, reports say. Several people involved in Mr Chen's escape have been detained or have disappeared in recent days, and fellow activist Hu Jia is being questioned. Mr Chen is believed to be sheltering at the US embassy in Beijing.

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