07 Nov 09
Large Hadron Collider Halted By Bird Crumbs
The massive machine at the center of the world's biggest scientific experiment has malfunctioned again - derailed by a bit of bread dropped by a bird.
...the difficulties faced by those working on the project have prompted some members of the scientific community to speculate, in all seriousness, that the machine is sabotaging itself - from the future.
Computers, Hard Drives Seized at ACORN's New Orleans Office
Investigators for the Louisiana Attorney General executed a search warrant Friday at ACORN's New Orleans office in connections to allegations of embezzlement and tax fraud.
Spokeswoman Tammi Arender Herring said the search warrant was executed shortly after 9 a.m. and resulted in the seizure of computers, hard drives and documents.
Many California jobs 'saved' by stimulus funds weren't in jeopardy
California State University officials ...In a required state report to the federal government, the university system said the $268.5 million it received in stimulus funding through October allowed it to retain 26,156 employees.
That total represents more than half of CSU's statewide work force. However, university officials confirmed Thursday that half their workers were not going to be laid off without the stimulus dollars.
EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.
...Sgt. Robert David Gordon, 22, from River Falls, Ala., died Sept. 16 from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick.
PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain "acceptable health insurance coverage" and who choose not to pay the bill's new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
Brown urges new banks 'contract'
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a new "social contract" with the world's banks to make them more responsible to society.
Mr Brown told a G20 meeting in Scotland it was not acceptable that banking success was reaped by the few but failure was "borne by all of us".
He called for a fund for future bank bailouts to be considered, possibly paid for by a tax on transactions.
Texas killer reportedly of Palestinian descent
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a US military psychiatrist suspected of going on a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 30 in a US army base in Texas, is believed to be of Palestinian origin.
...Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire, the base commander said Friday.
Lebanon: Factions agree on unity gov't
Lebanon's Syrian-backed factions finally agreed on a unity government proposed by their pro-Western rivals on Saturday, ending a four-month deadlock in the deeply divided country.
The announcement by the opposition coalition dominated by Hizbullah came after a meeting late Friday night between the groups' leaders including Hassan Nasrallah. Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Sa'ad Hariri was informed the next day.
Iran MPs: 'Shipment of uranium abroad out of the question'
Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Teheran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the UN-backed plan altogether.
Prominent conservative lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iran will not ship its low enriched uranium abroad in a single batch or in several shipments, a compromise suggested by some government officials, under any circumstances.
06 Nov 09
US Generals Flood Israel for Exercise against ‘Specific Threats'
One senior IDF source told BBC magazine, “I've never seen so many American generals.” It is one of the largest-ever joint training drills and is fueling speculation that the United States is preparing for the worst while hoping for the best concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
United Nations General Assembly Endorses the Goldstone Report
The UN General Assembly approved on Thursday an Arab-backed resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, paving the way for the matter to be sent to the Security Council. A total of 114 nations voted in favor of the resolution and 18 voted against it, with 44 members abstaining.-"Rather than confronting terrorism, the General Assembly chose again to detach itself from reality," said Israel's top UN official, Gabriela Shalev. "Today's debate is anything but genuine and candid.
"Rather than discuss how to better stop terrorist groups who deliberately target civilians, this body launches yet another campaign against the victims of terrorism, the people of Israel," she said.
Syria-Turkey ink cooperation oil, gas agreements
The Syrian Oil Minister Sufiyan Al-Alaw unveiled here on Friday three cooperation agreements inked with Turkey in the fields of oil and gas which will be ratified in the near future.
The first agreement aims at establishing a joint Turkish-Syrian venture for excavation, discovery, and development of oil and gas fields located near the border areas.
The second agreement is to buy a pre-approved gas quantity from Turkey for a five year renewable agreement by the two sides.
The third agreement is to tie the gas networks between the two countries and convene the works by the end of 2011 which will enable the gas to be transferred from Turkey and the neighboring countries such as Azerbaijan, Iran to Syria and other Arab countries.
Syria's statement at UN General Assembly debate on goldstone report
Syria's permanent envoy to the United Nations Bashar al-Ja'afari said that the Syrian delegation has voted in favor of the decision adopted by the UN General Assembly today on holding the Israeli occupation authorities responsible for the crimes they perpetrated during the latest aggression on Gaza.
"Syria sees that the member countries' voting for that decision as a criterion of their credibility towards one of the important aspects in the work of the international organization,"-It urged the UN member countries to support that decision and bring the Israelis who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity to international justice.
Syria gains new confidence on world stage
Emerging from international isolation with a flurry of high-level Western visitors and ties boosted with Turkey, Syria has gained in confidence to the point of holding out on an EU partnership.The European Union hoped to sign a partnership accord on October 26, after a freeze of several years by the EU side, but the Syrian side now insists it must review the terms to protect its interests.
Turkey to host Sudan, Iran leaders at summit
A summit of Islamic countries in Istanbul next week will boost Turkey's quest to deepen ties with the Muslim world, but some of its new friends are not to the taste of its traditional ally, Washington.
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has an international arrest warrant against him for war crimes, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, engaged in a standoff with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme, are among leaders who will attend an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting.
Military jihadists fill 'every branch'
"Muslims should stand up and fight the aggressor." That's what Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan said about America before he and possibly other Muslim soldiers at Fort Hood shot 43 fellow soldiers, killing 12, who were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood shooter
His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.
Threat of striking Iranian nuclear facilities not a bluff
Israel is not bluffing when it warns that all options are still on the table and that it may strike Iranian nuclear facilities, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said in an interview with the British Sky television channel on Friday.
China urges military cooperation ahead of Obama visit
China urged more contact with the U.S. military on Friday while President Hu Jintao said his nation's plans for space were peaceful, striking a conciliatory tone ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit.
Death toll from U.S. base shooting up to 13
The U.S.-born Muslim is the son of Palestinian immigrants and was raised in Virginia.
Cocaine's charge through Europe undiminished
Cocaine's relentless march through Europe's social order showed no sign of abating in 2009, an annual report into drug use and addiction showed on Thursday.
Senate blocks census US-citizenship question
Senate Democrats have blocked a GOP attempt to require next year's census forms to ask people whether they are a U.S. citizen.
The proposal by Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter was aimed at excluding immigrants from the population totals that are used to figure the number of congressional representatives for each state.
Report: US informed Israel of arms ship
The Iranian arms ship seized by the Israel Defense Forces was discovered thanks to American activity, the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Friday, quoting Israeli sources.
On Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi praised Mossad agents for helping obtain the intelligence which led to the vessel's capture.
Protesters Arrested at Lieberman's Office
It is protest day, for the Left and the Right, on Capitol Hill.
First out of the gate - 9 Protesters backing a universal health care system briefly occupied Sen. Joe Lieberman's office this morning.
Protesters were arrested, one by one, and dragged out of his office amid chants of "Everyone in and no one out, universal healthcare now!" and "Represent Connecticut, not AETNA!"
Republicans Rally Resistance to Health Care Bill, as House Vote Nears
As a crowd of protesters shouted "kill the bill," House Republicans on Thursday rallied opposition against the Democrats' health care legislation, even as President Obama touted two major endorsements from doctors and seniors groups.
The president interrupted the daily press briefing Thursday to note that the American Medical Association and AARP had just endorsed House Democrats' health care plan.
Pay problem parents not to breed - mayor
AN outspoken Kiwi politician has proposed a new solution to the country's child abuse problem - pay the "appalling underclass" not to breed.
Michael Laws - who stirred up controversy by calling the late Tongan King a "bloated brown slug" - has again hit the headlines.
Key Pakistan Taliban town 'falls'
Pakistani forces have captured the strategically important town of Ladha from the Taliban in ongoing clashes in South Waziristan, officials say.
According to the military, 28 militants and five soldiers have been killed in battles over the past 24 hours.
The army went on the offensive in South Waziristan on 17 October to root out militants behind a wave of bombings.
Saudi jets 'attack Yemen rebels'
The Saudi air force has attacked rebels in northern Yemen following Wednesday's killing of a Saudi security officer in a border area, reports have said.
Saudi F-15 and Tornado jets targeted strongholds of the Houthi rebels on the Yemeni side of border, spokesmen for the group and Arab media said.
US hits China pipes with tariffs
The US Commerce Department has imposed anti-dumping tariffs of up to 99% on imports of Chinese tubular goods.
The department alleged China had been selling its oil well pipes at prices that were much lower than normal.
The announcement is the latest in a series of trade disputes between the US and China, which called the move an "abuse of protectionist measures".
Serbia to apply for EU membership this year
Serbia plans to formally apply for EU membership by the end of this year and has pledged it will to apprehend war criminals as soon as possible, Belgrade's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic told European lawmakers on Thursday (5 November).
"The basic groundwork is there for Serbia to submit its official application for EU membership. We hope to do so by the end of this year," Mr Jeremic said in front of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee.
