The Eiffel Tower was evacuated last night, for the second time this month, on a bomb threat that turned out to be false
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Obama hits the road in hopes of firing up voters
President Barack Obama travels across the United States this week to try to regenerate enthusiasm among voters – particularly young ones – whose support Democrats desperately need if they hope to hold onto their majorities in the US Congress on November 2.
Starting today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later in Des Moines, Iowa, and Richmond, Virginia, Obama will hold more of the small backyard events staged recently to convince Americans that he and his party are deeply concerned about the economic plight of the middle-class.
Starting today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later in Des Moines, Iowa, and Richmond, Virginia, Obama will hold more of the small backyard events staged recently to convince Americans that he and his party are deeply concerned about the economic plight of the middle-class.
India court to rule on mosque row on Thursday
An Indian court will rule on Thursday whether Hindus or Muslims own land around a demolished mosque in northern India, a judgement haunted by memories of a 1992 riot, some of the country’s worst violence since the partition.
The verdict could add to the security worries of the government, which already has its hands full dealing with the preparations for the Commonwealth Games that are bedeviled by concerns over filthy accommodation, health and security.
A trader waits for customers as he sells photos of Hindu Gods in the Indian town of Ayodhya September 22, 2010. A court will rule this Thursday whether Hindus or Muslims own land around a demolished mosque in Ayodhya, a judgement haunted by memories of a 1992 riot.
The verdict could add to the security worries of the government, which already has its hands full dealing with the preparations for the Commonwealth Games that are bedeviled by concerns over filthy accommodation, health and security.
A trader waits for customers as he sells photos of Hindu Gods in the Indian town of Ayodhya September 22, 2010. A court will rule this Thursday whether Hindus or Muslims own land around a demolished mosque in Ayodhya, a judgement haunted by memories of a 1992 riot.
Swedish police detain man on diverted bomb threat plane
Police have detained and are questioning the man said to be carrying explosives on board a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777, which was diverted to Sweden while en route to Pakistan from Canada.
The incident began after a woman called Canadian police after the plane had taken off and said a man on board had explosives with him.
An airport bus carries passengers away from a Pakistan Airlines jet which landed at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm following the bomb threat today, September 25, 2010.
The incident began after a woman called Canadian police after the plane had taken off and said a man on board had explosives with him.
An airport bus carries passengers away from a Pakistan Airlines jet which landed at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm following the bomb threat today, September 25, 2010.
US space crew lands in Kazakhstan
A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut back to Earth from the International Space Station landed safely in Kazakhstan today.
“The TMA module has landed,” an announcer at Mission Control outside Moscow said to applause from officials and relatives, relieved afer an initial attempt to return from the orbital outpost was foiled by an equipment problem yesterday.
Space officials said the capsule landed upright, on time and on target near Arkalyk on the central Kazakh steppe.
The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft is seen as it lands near the town of Arkalyk, northern Kazakhstan
“The TMA module has landed,” an announcer at Mission Control outside Moscow said to applause from officials and relatives, relieved afer an initial attempt to return from the orbital outpost was foiled by an equipment problem yesterday.
Space officials said the capsule landed upright, on time and on target near Arkalyk on the central Kazakh steppe.
Las Vegas hotel guests left with severe burns from 'death ray' caused by building's design
Guests at a new hotel in Las Vegas have complained of receiving severe burns from a 'death ray' of sunlight caused by the unique design of the building.
Due to the concave shape of the Vdara hotel, the strong Nevada sun reflects off its all-glass front and directly onto sections of the swimming pool area below.
The result has left some guests with burns from the powerful rays and even plastic bags have been recorded as melting in the heat.
Chicago attorney Bill Pintas felt the power of the dangerous ray first hand last week.
'It felt like I had a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine why my head was burning,' he said.
'Within 30 seconds, the back of my legs were burning. My first though was, 'Jesus, they destroyed the ozone layer!'
Due to the concave shape of the Vdara hotel, the strong Nevada sun reflects off its all-glass front and directly onto sections of the swimming pool area below.
The result has left some guests with burns from the powerful rays and even plastic bags have been recorded as melting in the heat.
Chicago attorney Bill Pintas felt the power of the dangerous ray first hand last week.
'It felt like I had a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine why my head was burning,' he said.
'Within 30 seconds, the back of my legs were burning. My first though was, 'Jesus, they destroyed the ozone layer!'
Terror on campus: Students dive for cover as gunman carrying AK47 opens fire in library of University of Texas
A man wearing a ski mask opened fire with an AK-47 inside a University of Texas library yesterday morning, then fatally shot himself, police said.
Colton Tooley, a 19-year-old maths sophomore wearing a ski mask and a dark suit, began shooting near a fountain in front of the UT Tower.
The site is infamous for being the site of one of America's deadliest shooting rampages more than four decades ago, when a gunman ascended the clock tower and fired down on dozens of people.
He then turned the gun on himself. No one else was killed or injured - despite there being many people around.
The nearly 50,000-student campus was put on lockdown while officers with bomb-sniffing dogs carried out a building-by-building manhunt for a possible second suspect.
Colton Tooley, a 19-year-old maths sophomore wearing a ski mask and a dark suit, began shooting near a fountain in front of the UT Tower.
The site is infamous for being the site of one of America's deadliest shooting rampages more than four decades ago, when a gunman ascended the clock tower and fired down on dozens of people.
He then turned the gun on himself. No one else was killed or injured - despite there being many people around.
The nearly 50,000-student campus was put on lockdown while officers with bomb-sniffing dogs carried out a building-by-building manhunt for a possible second suspect.
Mexico No confirm Death yet in Giant Mudslide
Pounded by incessant rain, a hillside in the state of Oaxaca collapsed onto a village early Tuesday, burying houses in mud and stones and possibly trapping hundreds of people as they slept, state authorities said.
Kremlin Fires Defiant Moscow Mayor Luzhkov
Long-time Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov accused President Dmitry Medvedev of leading the country back into Stalinism a day before he was sacked, a letter in a Russian magazine showed Wednesday.
Kim Jong Il youngest son Kim Jong Un promoted to 4 star general set to take over North Korea Presidential.
Many North Korean defectors living in South Korea said they are not surprised that a son of leader Kim Jong Il has been appointed to prominent party posts, a move thought to signal the start of a leadership succession.
Europe terror threat still active
European security officials said Wednesday a terror plot to wage Mumbai-style shooting sprees in Britain, France and Germany is still active and that sites in Pakistan — where the threat was intercepted two weeks ago — are being scoured for al-Qaida operatives.
The plot was still in its early stages and not considered serious enough to raise the current terror threat level, officials said. Still, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was briefly evacuated Tuesday, the second time in the past week because of an unspecified threat, and police were on alert in Britain and France.
Undated file photo of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten headquarters in Åarhus Denmark . Three terror suspects who were arrested in an alleged al-Qaida plot in Norway were likely planning an attack against the Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, Norwegian and Danish police said Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010.
The plot was still in its early stages and not considered serious enough to raise the current terror threat level, officials said. Still, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was briefly evacuated Tuesday, the second time in the past week because of an unspecified threat, and police were on alert in Britain and France.
Undated file photo of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten headquarters in Åarhus Denmark . Three terror suspects who were arrested in an alleged al-Qaida plot in Norway were likely planning an attack against the Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, Norwegian and Danish police said Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010.
Scores of people killed after heavy rain triggers landslides across Central and South America
Eleven people are missing after a massive landslide buried 300 homes in a remote area of southwestern Mexico.
Rescuers initially feared that hundreds of people could have been buried alive as they slept in their beds in Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec.
But officials are speculating that four people may now have been killed, based on a calculation of how many houses were on the slope when the landslide occurred.
Governor Ulises Ruiz said: 'So far no one is confirmed dead, only 11 missing who we hope... will be found.'
Rescuers initially feared that hundreds of people could have been buried alive as they slept in their beds in Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec.
But officials are speculating that four people may now have been killed, based on a calculation of how many houses were on the slope when the landslide occurred.
Governor Ulises Ruiz said: 'So far no one is confirmed dead, only 11 missing who we hope... will be found.'
Amazing images of rare pink hippopotamus captured in Masai Mara
Wading through the muddy waters this rare pink-o-pottamus stands out from the crowd.
British brothers and wildlife photographers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas captured these images of the brightly coloured hippo in the Masai Mara, Kenya, last week.
Visiting the African country on the hunt to photograph the legendary wildebeest migration the Londoners were in for a treat when rumours of a pink hippo surfaced.
British brothers and wildlife photographers Will and Matt Burrard-Lucas captured these images of the brightly coloured hippo in the Masai Mara, Kenya, last week.
Visiting the African country on the hunt to photograph the legendary wildebeest migration the Londoners were in for a treat when rumours of a pink hippo surfaced.
Could most modern art be done by an 8-year-old? This child prodigy proves that it can!
She hasn't even started secondary school, let alone art school, but this pocket-sized genius has already been acclaimed by art critics and collectors alike.
Meet Autumn de Forest who at just eight years old is the world's youngest conceptual artist.
She has been compared to past masters such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso and is talked about as one of the world's only authentic artistic child geniuses.
Offering up her work for auction since February of this year, Autumn has already raked in $200,000 and she has only been painting since she was five.
Meet Autumn de Forest who at just eight years old is the world's youngest conceptual artist.
She has been compared to past masters such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso and is talked about as one of the world's only authentic artistic child geniuses.
Offering up her work for auction since February of this year, Autumn has already raked in $200,000 and she has only been painting since she was five.
A tale of two games exposes China-India gulf
The emerging Asian giants of China and India may be locked in a battle for economic supremacy, but on the sporting front at least, China has sprinted well ahead of its southern rival.
In an illustration of some of their relative strengths and weaknesses in tackling complex infrastructure and policy-making challenges for big events, China’s slick preparations for the Asian Games in Guangzhou have contrasted sharply with India’s chaotic Commonwealth Games preparations in New Delhi.
Children of labourers play on a roadside in front of a poster promoting the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi September 27, 2010.
In an illustration of some of their relative strengths and weaknesses in tackling complex infrastructure and policy-making challenges for big events, China’s slick preparations for the Asian Games in Guangzhou have contrasted sharply with India’s chaotic Commonwealth Games preparations in New Delhi.
Japan urges resolution on nationals held in China
Japan urged China today to quickly settle the case of four detained Japanese and said Beijing would also suffer from a worsening of ties in a bitter territorial feud between Asia’s two biggest economies.
Tokyo and Beijing have been bickering over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing boat skipper whose trawler collided this month with two Japan Coast Guard ships near uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that both sides claim.
Tokyo and Beijing have been bickering over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing boat skipper whose trawler collided this month with two Japan Coast Guard ships near uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that both sides claim.
Rockers blasted over Indonesia tobacco deal
Australian, British and US rock bands including The Smashing Pumpkins and Stereophonics have been urged to withdraw from a music festival in Indonesia because of its tobacco sponsorship.
Anti-tobacco activists and health experts from Australia, the United States and Wales have expressed their concern that the bands' actions will encourage youths to smoke in a country with high and rising addiction rates.
The country of some 240 million people is one of the last lightly-regulated major tobacco markets in the world and is paying the price in terms of growing rates of addiction, especially among women and children.
Cigarette consumption in Indonesia soared 47 percent in the 1990s, according to the World Health Organisation
Anti-tobacco activists and health experts from Australia, the United States and Wales have expressed their concern that the bands' actions will encourage youths to smoke in a country with high and rising addiction rates.
The country of some 240 million people is one of the last lightly-regulated major tobacco markets in the world and is paying the price in terms of growing rates of addiction, especially among women and children.
Cigarette consumption in Indonesia soared 47 percent in the 1990s, according to the World Health Organisation
Al Qaeda plotters at large in UK after 'Mumbai-style' massacre across Europe is foiled
Islamic extremists who plotted to launch murderous Mumbai-style attacks in British cities remain at large in the UK, it emerged today.
Intelligence sources have revealed that militants based in Pakistan, thought to be linked to al Qaeda, were planning simultaneous strikes on London and other European cities.
The attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 innocent people, sources said.
Sources indicated today that the plot had been 'credible', and that surveillance of suspects was continuing in Britain and elsewhere in a bid to prevent them carrying out any future attack.
* Militants planning commando-style raids on London
* Intelligence sources: 'Plot advanced but not imminent'
* Drone attacks on militants in Pakistan 'foil attack'
* Current terror threat level in Britain remains at severe
* But security services have made no arrests
Intelligence sources have revealed that militants based in Pakistan, thought to be linked to al Qaeda, were planning simultaneous strikes on London and other European cities.
The attacks would have been similar to the commando-style raids carried out in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 166 innocent people, sources said.
Sources indicated today that the plot had been 'credible', and that surveillance of suspects was continuing in Britain and elsewhere in a bid to prevent them carrying out any future attack.
* Militants planning commando-style raids on London
* Intelligence sources: 'Plot advanced but not imminent'
* Drone attacks on militants in Pakistan 'foil attack'
* Current terror threat level in Britain remains at severe
* But security services have made no arrests
Mumbai was at the centre of a terror siege in November 2008 when gunmen launched ten simultaneous attacks at popular landmarks including the Taj hotel, cafes, a train terminal and a Jewish centre
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Chavez: Venezuela studying nuclear energy program
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Monday that his government is carrying out initial studies into starting a nuclear energy program.
Chavez brought up the issue during a news conference, saying the South American country needs an atomic energy program.
"We're taking on the project of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and they aren't going to stop us," Chavez said. "We need it and we're carrying out the first studies."
Chavez is a close ally of Iran and has defended the Iranian nuclear program, saying he is sure Iran is not making atomic weapons in spite of U.S. and European suspicions.
Chavez brought up the issue during a news conference, saying the South American country needs an atomic energy program.
"We're taking on the project of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and they aren't going to stop us," Chavez said. "We need it and we're carrying out the first studies."
Chavez is a close ally of Iran and has defended the Iranian nuclear program, saying he is sure Iran is not making atomic weapons in spite of U.S. and European suspicions.
Gloria Stuart, actress in 'Titanic,' dies at 100
Glamorous 1930s star returned to Hollywood in her 80s to play the older Kate Winslet character in the blockbuster movie. She was 100.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Kremlin fires iconic Moscow mayor after 18 years
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday fired Yury Luzhkov, ending the 18-year rule of the Moscow mayor who gave the crumbling metropolis a glamorous facelift but was maligned for outdated values and bellicose posturing.
Medvedev signed a decree relieving the 74-year-old mayor of his duties due to the president's "loss of confidence" in him, according to the Kremlin website.
After a series of minor scandals, speculation over the future of the flat-cap-wearing mayor swirled, forcing him to declare on Monday that he wouldn't quit. The next day he was removed by the president. Russian news agencies cited Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying the Kremlin gave Luzhkov the chance to step down voluntarily.
Medvedev signed a decree relieving the 74-year-old mayor of his duties due to the president's "loss of confidence" in him, according to the Kremlin website.
After a series of minor scandals, speculation over the future of the flat-cap-wearing mayor swirled, forcing him to declare on Monday that he wouldn't quit. The next day he was removed by the president. Russian news agencies cited Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying the Kremlin gave Luzhkov the chance to step down voluntarily.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
