No image available
/ 13 January 2007
An order from United States President George Bush authorised a series of US raids against Iranians in Iraq as part of a broad military offensive, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday. Also on Friday, US officials said there was no immediate plan to strike targets in Iran.
No image available
/ 13 January 2007
Each day, millions of people around the world gaze at their computer screens to explore a dangerous fantasy world of treasure-filled dungeons and flame-breathing dragons. It’s the <i>World of Warcraft</i>, the most successful online game to date, and it is a world about to get a whole lot bigger.
No image available
/ 11 January 2007
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates called on Thursday for a permanent boost in the size of the army and marine corps, the military branches most strained by Iraq, at a likely cost of -billion a year. Gates recommended that President George Bush add 92Â 000 troops to the two services over five years.
No image available
/ 11 January 2007
As he recovers at home from hip-replacement surgery last week, former United States president George Bush is already thinking about jumping out of an airplane again. Bush Snr plans to mark his 85th birthday in June 2009 by skydiving like he did when he turned 80.
No image available
/ 11 January 2007
Detainees at a United States military prison camp in Guantánamo Bay need to be charged or released and the jail shut down, human rights groups said on Wednesday ahead of the fifth anniversary of the camp’s opening in Cuba. Global vigils have been planned by Amnesty International to mark the anniversary on Thursday and urge closure of prison.
No image available
/ 11 January 2007
Cisco Systems on Wednesday sued Apple over its use of the iPhone trademark, a day after Apple shook up the cellphone market by unveiling its sleek mobile phone using the name claimed by Cisco. Shares of Apple, which are volatile, initially fell 1,3% in after-hours trade following the announcement and then pared the loss to less than half a percent.
No image available
/ 11 January 2007
President George Bush told sceptical Americans on Wednesday he was sending about 21Â 500 extra US troops to Iraq and, in a rare admission, said he made a mistake by not deploying more forces sooner. ”The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people, and it is unacceptable to me,” Bush said in a televised White House address.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
Japanese-American animator Iwao Takamoto, who created the beloved Scooby-Doo character, has died in Los Angeles from heart failure. He was 81. Takamoto was behind the design of a slew of cartoon characters in the late 1960s while working at the Hanna-Barbera animation studio.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
The United States Olympic Committee wants to host the 2016 Summer Games and later this year plans to nominate either Chicago or Los Angeles as its contender in the competition to host the event, the organisation said on Tuesday. The organisation has been considering an attempt to host the games for 18 months and decided a US bid would be competitive internationally.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
Political stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would benefit the whole Central African region where conflicts have disrupted peace and development schemes, the United Nations said on Tuesday. ”Congo is the natural, yet still developing, pole of stability in the troubled region of Central Africa,” said UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
Thousands of movie goers who saw the film Night at the Museum are spending the day there, too. The American Museum of Natural History has experienced a 20% boost in attendance during the holiday season this year, and museum officials attribute some of the increase to the family film that stars Ben Stiller.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
Unbowed by public doubts, United States President George Bush plans to announce on Wednesday that he will send about 20 000 more US troops to Iraq as part of a long-delayed shift in strategy in the unpopular war. Bush’s plan may represent his last best chance to salvage the US mission in Iraq and turn around frustration with his handling of the war.
No image available
/ 10 January 2007
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is concerned that United States bombing in southern Somalia could escalate hostilities and harm civilians who are reported to have been killed in the airstrikes, the UN spokesperson said. Ban said that the rout of the Islamic movement offered ”a new opportunity” for the government to establish full authority throughout the country for the first time.
United States President George Bush has begun a major campaign to gain public support for his plan to increase US troops in Iraq, US news media reported on Tuesday. Bush met with more than 30 Republican Party senators, several of whom confirmed reports that the president plans to increase the number of US troops in Iraq by at least 20 000 to help pacify Baghdad.
It is the California earthquake hardly anyone has heard of — strong enough to rip 362km of the San Andreas Fault and make rivers run backward, but leaving nothing like the cultural scar inflicted by the San Francisco quake of 1906. Tuesday marks the 150th anniversary of the 7,9-magnitude Fort Tejon quake.
Verizon Wireless customers in the United States will soon be able to watch live television over a network constructed by Qualcomm. Many of the channels on the V Cast service will be live feeds from major broadcast partners, including NBC, CBS and Fox. Recorded full-length programmes will also be offered, such as episodes of late-night talk shows.
The smell of gas throughout much of Manhattan forced the evacuation of buildings and the suspension of a commuter train service on Monday, authorities and media reported. There were no immediate reports of injuries. ”We are getting several calls of a foul odour. Our units are responding. It’s in various parts of the city,” a police spokesperson said.
United States President George Bush will unveil his new strategy for Iraq in a prime-time speech to the nation on Wednesday at 9pm local time, the White House said on Monday. "The president will be addressing the nation on his plan for a way forward in Iraq and the global war on terror," spokesperson Tony Snow said.
Software giant Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a speech to mark the opening on Monday of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the networked digital home was no longer a vision, but a reality. ”Truly the digital decade is happening,” Gates told about 4Â 000 delegates late on Sunday. ”Over two billion digital photos were taken last year.”
Technophiles are eagerly waiting to learn whether the king of digital music can colonise an entirely new category of consumer electronics. Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computer, is expected to launch at least one revolutionary product on Tuesday at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.
The new Democratic majority in the United States Congress was poised on Sunday for the first major policy confrontation with President George Bush as it declared the nearly four-year war in Iraq ”intractable” and demanded its end. The demand came just days before Bush is scheduled to announce his new strategy for victory in the violence-torn country.
<i>YouTube.com</i> and Warner Music Group rang in the new year online despite a seemingly broken promise by the superstar video-sharing website to have an anti-piracy system in place by 2007. Warner music, messages from artists, and feeds of live performances at celebrations were featured at a YouTube New Year’s Eve festival.
United States President George Bush is embarking on a sweeping overhaul of the US diplomatic and military leadership in Iraq as he puts the finishing touches on a retooled war-fighting strategy. Bush, expected to unveil his new plan for Iraq in a speech as early as Wednesday, also filled a critical diplomatic vacancy in Washington and named a new US spy chief.
The United States warned Americans on Thursday to exercise caution when travelling in East Africa, citing terrorism threats against nationals, unrest in Somalia and maritime piracy. ”A number of al-Qaeda operatives and other extremists are believed to be operating in and around East Africa,” the State Department said in a statement.
United States President George Bush hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday for talks and a dinner to work out the kinks in transatlantic relations — but not any knots in her shoulders. "No back rubs," Bush joked, an apparent reference to the awkward scene when he briefly massaged her back at the July 2006 summit of the Group of Eight industrialised nations.
The White House on Thursday urged Iraq to handle the execution of two of Saddam Hussein’s henchmen ”with appropriate care” after the controversy over the ousted dictator’s hanging. ”We expect Iraqi officials to handle their business with appropriate care. I don’t think there’s anything more we can say,” spokesperson Tony Fratto said after Baghdad postponed carrying out the sentence.
Rapper Busta Rhymes was arrested after a man complained that the hip-hop star had beaten him up in a dispute over money, police said. Rhymes (34) turned himself in and was booked on a misdemeanour assault charge at a Manhattan police station on Wednesday night, police Lieutenant John Grimpel said.
United States President George Bush could send up to 40Â 000 more troops to Iraq when he unveils his revised Iraq policy, US media said on Thursday. Reports gave estimates of between 9Â 000 and 40Â 000 extra troops to be sent to Iraq, where military sources say there are currently some 130Â 000 US troops. The move could be controversial as the Iraq war is increasingly unpopular with the US public.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos is asking engineers to join his fledgling and secretive private aerospace business, breaking a long silence about his operation in a remote section of West Texas by posting photos and videos on the company’s website of a test launch of a reusable spacecraft.
Yahoo! and Dash Navigation announced plans on Wednesday to combine online searches for local businesses with global positioning satellite guidance systems for cars. The service will enable users to search for local services or businesses from their car seats and then be guided to chosen destinations.
LG Electronics says it plans to sell a DVD player that will play both warring high-definition DVD formats. The first dual-format high-definition player will play discs in the HD DVD format, which is backed by a consortium headed by Toshiba, as well as the rival Blu-ray format, backed by a group led by Sony.
The problem with hard-to-use software, says consultant David Platt, lies not with the user but with the programmers, who just don’t think like the people who use their products. Platt is the author of a new book called Why Software Sucks … and What You Can Do about It.