United States auto makers were on the defensive at the Detroit Auto Show this week as Asian rival Honda captured the prestigious car and truck of the year awards and disgruntled auto workers protested outside. "We can’t buy what we build with a 60% pay cut," said Michele Carriere (46), who works for auto-parts supplier Delphi.
Iran said that inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency would remove seals from some nuclear facilities by Monday, opening the way for Tehran to resume research on fuel production. The development on Sunday heightened concerns in the West that Iran was moving toward building atomic weapons.
Giant windmills — on scenic mountain ridges, prairie grass and even an Indian reservation — are spinning an unusual debate that is dividing leading environmentalists. Wind power grew rapidly in 2005, becoming more competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil prices reached record highs in the United States
Ethiopia’s version of Pop Idol is a far cry from the glamour and glitz of its British and United States inspirations. Yellowed satin sheets and signs taped to the walls provide the backdrop. Frequent power cuts, feedback from poor sound equipment and even the ringing of cellphones compete with the singers.
The New Zealand rugby union on Monday rejected allegations it offered inducements to other rugby unions to help it win the hosting rights for the the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The International Rugby Board said there would be no new vote for the 2011 hosting rights following threats of legal action by the Asian Rugby Football Union, of which beaten bidder Japan is a member.
Hundreds of pieces of Elvis Presley memorabilia were auctioned off over the weekend by a longtime collector trying to win back his girlfriend after she warned him, ”You leave the Elvis clothes or I’ll leave you.” Items auctioned in Beverly Hills included three Elvis concert suits, two of which sold for 000 and 000.
Ariel Sharon’s doctors plan to start bringing the Israeli prime minister out of his medically induced coma on Monday morning to assess the extent of the damage to his brain caused by a stroke last week. Doctors say the damage could range from some impairment to physical and mental functioning, to spending the rest of his life in a permanent vegetative state.
The doctor kneels on the concrete floor and prods at the young woman’s spine with a gloved finger. ”It’s going to be difficult,” he mutters, then pushes the needle into her skin. She gives a low moan as the needle slides in and out. The young woman has meningitis. Draining some of her cerebrospinal fluid, the clear liquid which flows through the backbone and around her brain, will relieve her pain.
The births of up to 10-million girls in India may have been prevented by selective abortion in the past 20 years, researchers say on Monday. Half a million babies are aborted every year because they are girls, even though termination on the grounds of gender was outlawed in India in 1994, according to a study published online by the Lancet medical journal.
China City, behind Ellis Park in Johannesburg, resembles a flea market, though the goods on sale are new. This sprawling maze of traders, selling low-priced and largely fashion-challenged clothes and shoes, as well as sunglasses, toys, leatherwear, electronic goods and food, is open seven days a week, shunting thousands of boxes of goods, mainly imported from China.