Five European tourists killed in attack in Ethiopia - The Guardian

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The foreigners who normally venture into the Afar region are researchers, aid workers and adventure tourists visiting geographical wonders such as the Danakil depression. Photograph: AlamyGunmen in northern Ethiopia have attacked a group of European tourists,...

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Iran says negotiations under way to hold new nuclear talks - Reuters

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ANKARA (Reuters) - Negotiations are under way to hold new talks between Western powers and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program and the most likely venue is Istanbul, but there is no date set, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday."Negotiations are going on about venue and date. We...

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Search suspended after stricken Italian cruise ship moves - CNN

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Giglio, Italy (CNN) -- With bitterly cold temperatures and frigid waters, the chances of finding more survivors appeared to dim early Wednesday as about two dozen people remain missing from the doomed Italian cruise ship.At least 11 people have died since...

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Suu Kyi registers for seat in Myanmar's Parliament - The Associated Press

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Suu Kyi registers for seat in Myanmar's ParliamentBy AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press – 1 hour ago  THANLYIN, Myanmar (AP) — Ecstatic cheers of "Long Live Aung San Suu Kyi!" echoed through the streets of this impoverished Yangon suburb Wednesday as she registered for elections, a sign of how vastly...

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Syria monitors' report awaited at UN Security Council - BBC News

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Arab League monitors' mission has been criticized as ineffective For the UN Security Council, much is at stake when it comes to the Arab League's monitors in Syria.There are two broad but opposing positions in the Council. Both have tied their policies...

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US calls on S. Africans to prevent Sudan crisis - CBS News

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

(AP)  PRETORIA, South Africa — A top U.S. envoy on Wednesday urged South Africa to use its influence to help prevent a humanitarian disaster in a violence-wracked region along the border between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan. Princeton Lyman, the special U.S. envoy on Sudan, said civilians...

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Russia: Western sanctions against Iran stifling

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

MOSCOW –  Russia's foreign minister has strongly criticized Western sanctions against Iran, saying they are "stifling" the Iranian economy and hurting the population.Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that the European Union's sanctions could stymie efforts to solve the Iranian nuclear standoff through...

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Israeli official says they are nowhere near deciding to attack Iran's nuke program

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

JERUSALEM –  Israel's defense minister says his country is "very far off" from deciding on whether to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear program.Ehud Barak did not specify when such a decision might be made, in his interview Wednesday with Army Radio.He also denied Israeli media speculation...

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British Airways flight mistakenly tells passengers plane will crash

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

LONDON –  Passengers flying over the Atlantic were terrified when it was announced twice that their plane could be about to crash.British Airways (BA) Flight 206 was at 35,000 feet, halfway from Miami to London's Heathrow Airport, when the taped message...

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Transcript: Cruise captain and Italian coast guard official

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Here is a translation of the transcript of the conversation between Capt. Francesco Schettino, commander of the grounded Costa Concordia, and Capt. Gregorio De Falco of the Italian coast guard in Livorno.In the conversation, De Falco repeatedly orders Schettino...

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Suspected mastermind behind Nigeria church bombings escapes in shootout

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ABUJA, Nigeria –  The suspected mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church in Nigeria escaped custody after being arrested in the country's capital, police acknowledged Tuesday -- an embarrassment for a nation struggling to contain increasingly bloody sectarian attacks by a radical...

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Syria 'absolutely rejects' calls for Arab troops

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BEIRUT -- Syria "absolutely rejects" any plans to send Arab troops into the country, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, even as the death toll mounts from the 10-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad.Assad has insisted there be no foreign intervention in Syria. He agreed under heavy regional...

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Israel: Nuclear Iran could deter military action

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

JERUSALEM -- A nuclear Iran could make it tougher for Israel to act against enemies closer to home, a senior Israeli military official said Tuesday, suggesting that regional fallout would be broad should Tehran achieve bomb making capabilities.Military planning division chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said...

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Indonesia tries to deter train 'surfers' -- again

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try to stop commuters from illegally riding the roofs of trains -- hosing down the scofflaws with red paint, threatening them with dogs and appealing for help from religious leaders.Now the authorities have an intimidating and possibly...

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China says government to be more open but strict control over web will remain

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BEIJING –  China will be more open about the often secretive workings of the government and ruling Communist Party in the coming year, although strict controls over the Internet would remain in place, a senior propaganda official said Wednesday.Officials will expand the use of government spokespeople,...

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Book quotes Kim Jong Il's son as saying he fears North Korea near collapse

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

TOKYO –  A new book claims that the eldest son of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong Il believes the impoverished regime is in danger of collapse and that his young half-brother, chosen to lead after Kim's death, is merely a figurehead.The book by Tokyo-based journalist Yoji Gomi went on sale Wednesday....

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Boston, Belfast spar over fate of secret IRA tapes

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

DUBLIN -- A trans-Atlantic legal showdown could determine whether Gerry Adams, the Irish republican chieftain long at the center of Belfast war and peace, faces trial over his IRA past.Police probing the Irish Republican Army's 1972 killing of a Belfast mother of 10 want to seize taped interviews with...

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Election of the president - BBC News

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

German social democrat Martin Schulz was elected as the new President of the European Parliament on 17 January 2012.He replaced outgoing president Jerzy Buzek, during the parliament's mid-term elections. Mr Schulz received 387 votes in the secret ballot, taking him over the 336 votes needed to secure...

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Iraq demands former UK soldier return piece of Saddam Hussein's buttock

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

More than five years after Saddam Hussein was executed, Iraq still wants a piece of its former president: his buttock, currently being held by an ex-UK soldier.Nigel Ely, 52, grabbed a 2-pound piece of Hussein’s bronze statue – that made up part of his rear-end -- when it was pulled down by Iraqis in...

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Ethiopia official says foreign tourists killed in attack

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia –  Austrian, Belgian, German, Hungarian and Italian nationals are among the foreign tourists attacked by gunmen in the country's north, an Ethiopian official said Wednesday.Bereket Simon, the country's communications minister, said officials could not yet say with certainty...

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Italian cruise captain committed 'mortal sin' by disembarking early, American Maritime Officers Union official says

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The captain of a capsized cruise ship made repeated excuses as an Italian coast guard official repeatedly ordered him to get back on the vessel potentially still packed with thousands of frightened passengers and crew, a recording released Tuesday reveals.Capt. Francesco Schettino can be heard on the...

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Mubarak trial encapsulates divisions in Egypt

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

CAIRO –  Hosni Mubarak, on trial for his life, is ferried to court by helicopter from a presidential hospital suite. His sons and co-defendants swagger in wearing designer track suits and no handcuffs. His security chief is treated with near reverence by police in the courtroom.For activists in...

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi registers as candidate for parliament seat - CNN

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi registers to run as a candidate in upcoming by-elections on the outskirts of Yangon on January 18, 2012.Suu Kyi will contest for a seat in Kawhmu Western governments have applauded the effortThe regime has pledged to pursue a peace dealThanlyin,...

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Falklands criticized over refusal to let ship dock

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina –  The Falkland Islands came under further criticism Tuesday for refusing to allow a cruise ship with an outbreak of stomach flu to dock, as passengers complained about their missed travel plans and an expert called the decision an overreaction.Tourists on the Star Princess...

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