The United States on Thursday released photographs of what it said was a Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, in an effort to pressure Pyongyang to fully disclose its nuclear activities. Israel destroyed the reactor in a September 6 air strike that was initially shrouded in secrecy.
The top United States government communications official said on Tuesday his agency has all the authority it needs to prevent internet service providers from discriminating against web surfers and that new legislation is unnecessary — this at a time when the issue of ”network neutrality” has heated up.
The United States government said this week it wants airlines and cruise liners to take biometric data from foreigners leaving the country under new plans aimed at fighting terrorism and illegal immigration. The US-Visit programme is open to consultation for the next two months.
United States authorities arrested an American engineer on Tuesday on suspicion of giving secrets on nuclear weapons to Israel during the 1980s, the Justice Department said. Ben-Ami Kadish was suspected of reporting to the same Israeli government handler as Jonathan Jay Pollard, who is serving a life term on a charge of spying for Israel.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran on Tuesday that if she were president, the United States could ”totally obliterate” Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel. Clinton said she wanted to make clear to Tehran what she was prepared to do as president in hopes that this warning would deter any Iranian attack.
The United Nations special envoy for Somalia was in Washington on Friday to press for more attention on efforts to stabilise the country. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says that the West needs to exert leverage on power brokers in Somalia who have bank accounts abroad. Western countries can also help mobilise Somali expatriate communities to support peace talks.
It was a murder plot on slow burn. The two women, both in their 70s, would befriend the homeless in Hollywood, put them up and insure their lives for millions. Then the women would cash in, dispatching their victims in staged hit-and-run accidents in dark alleys.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday night set the seal on a new phase in Britain’s special relationship with the United States when he won ringing endorsements from the present and future generations of American leaders. US President George Bush hailed Brown as a ”good friend”.
Pope Benedict, celebrating a stadium Mass for 45 000 people, acknowledged on Thursday that the United States paedophile priests scandal caused ”indescribable pain and harm” to victims but asked Catholics to love their pastors. ”No words of mine can describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,” he said.
The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a challenge to the lethal three-drug cocktail used in most US executions during the past 30 years. By a 7-2 vote, the court rejected a challenge by two Kentucky death-row inmates, who argued the current lethal injection method violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
South African President Thabo Mbeki had intended to lead a summit on Wednesday at the United Nations in New York that would focus on the increasing peacekeeping chores of African Union troops. But on Tuesday, it became clear that Mbeki would not be able to dodge the ongoing election crisis in Zimbabwe.
Making a Windows-based computer truly personal takes both time and money. Not only do you have to buy the computer, but you also spend many hours setting it up just the way you like it. That’s why it’s frustrating when, over time, your well-tuned Windows box starts to get sluggish or unreliable.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton blasted rival Barack Obama during a debate on Sunday, accusing him of being ”elitist” and ”patronising”. Clinton again seized on a controversy sparked off by Obama’s comments about working-class voters. Obama, she said, was ”elitist, out of touch, and frankly patronising”.
A doubling of food prices over the past three years could push 100-million people in poorer developing countries further into poverty and governments must step in to tackle the issue, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Sunday at the end of the World Bank spring meeting in Washington, DC.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on Saturday for ”strong action” and ”close cooperation” to combat the financial crisis that is battering the world economy. The IMF, wrapping up a meeting in Washington, DC, stressed ”the challenges facing the world economy are of a global nature”.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) holds its spring meeting in Washington, DC, on Saturday amid what officials describe as the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Depression and as the global economy weakens. The 185-member IMF warned on Wednesday that the economic outlook was increasingly grim.
On one floor is a bullet-scarred car used by American journalists in the Balkans. On another is the phone Rupert Murdoch used to make multibillion-dollar media deals. And in between there is one of the biggest remaining chunks of the Berlin Wall and the mangled remains of a communication tower from the 9/11 attack.
A vast study of the plants and animals unique to Madagascar was published on Thursday in a bid to protect thousands of rare species found only on the large African island. The island is home to 2% of the Earth’s total biodiversity, and only in Madagascar can one find wild lemurs, among many other unique species.
American Airlines has cancelled about 570 flights scheduled for Friday, raising to more than 3 000 the number this week it has grounded to reinspect the wiring on its MD-80 fleet for a second time. The disruption has affected more than 300 000 passengers, including Friday’s schedule cuts.
Hillary Clinton hit out at Democratic White House rival Barack Obama over Iraq on Wednesday, as a report by war commander General David Petraeus ignited new campaign brush fires. The New York senator questioned whether Obama could live up to his pledge to bring United States troops home and lashed out at Republican nominee John McCain.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday it was time to remove former South African president Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) from a US blacklist drawn up during the apartheid era. ”I really do hope that we can remove these restrictions on the ANC,” Rice told a Senate committee.
The global economic outlook is becoming increasingly grim as the United States appears unable to escape recession from a housing meltdown, the effects of which are still spreading, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. Global expansion is set to slow to 3,7% in 2008 amid an unfolding crisis that began in the United States, the IMF said.
The top United States commander in Iraq told Congress on Tuesday he plans to stop US troop withdrawals in July due to fragile security gains and heard appeals for quicker action to find a way to end the war. Appearances by General David Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, drew US presidential candidates.
The top United States general and diplomat in Iraq testify in politically charged hearings in Congress on Tuesday, and face a grilling from three senators vying to inherit the war as the next US president. General David Petraeus and ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker will appear to update progress in the war.
United States internet company Yahoo! on Monday rejected software giant Microsoft’s three-week ultimatum to accept a takeover offer, but left the door open to a higher bid. "We continue to believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders," it said in a letter to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.
Tax returns released by former first couple Hillary and Bill Clinton revealed they earned -million over eight years, and questions were raised on Saturday about the sources of much of their wealth. Analysts and media focused on the -million Bill Clinton earned for speaking engagements.
United States authorities removed 52 girls from a polygamous sect’s compound in western Texas on Friday, and questioned the remaining members of the breakaway Mormon church, officials said. Those removed were aged from six months to 17 years old, according to the Child Protective Services in Schleicher County.
United States employers cut a surprisingly large 80 000 jobs in March, marking the biggest decline in employment in five years, a government report showed on Friday. The mounting job losses swelled the national unemployment rate to 5,1% last month, compared with 4,8% in February.
A newly declassified 2003 Justice Department memo gave United States military interrogators broad authority to use extreme methods in questioning al-Qaeda detainees, US media said on Wednesday. The memo argued that the US president’s wartime authority exempted them from laws banning cruel treatment.
Food prices are soaring, a wealthier Asia is demanding better food and farmers can’t keep up. In short, the world faces a food crisis and in some places it is already boiling over. Around the globe, people are protesting and governments are responding with often counterproductive controls on prices and exports.
The head of the main United States spy agency has warned that al-Qaeda is training operatives who ”look Western” and could enter the United States undetected to conduct terrorist attacks. Central Intelligence Agency Director General Michael Hayden said the terror network has shed its operational reliance on mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have vowed the Democratic Party will heal its wounds, whoever wins their toxic White House race, and unite to thwart Republican John McCain. The bitter rivals spoke up amid mounting concern among party leaders that the fiercely contested battle could scupper a golden chance to grab back the White House.