North Korea digs in on U.S. peace talks demand

North Korea digs in on U.S. peace talks demand


North Korea digs in on U.S. peace talks demand

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 11:13 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea will not return to nuclear disarmament negotiations unless the United States agrees to peace treaty talks and lifts sanctions, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Tuesday, leaving little room for compromise.


Tibet governor tenders resignation at policy meeting

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 11:13 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - The governor of Tibet has tendered his resignation, Chinese state-owned media said on Tuesday, as Beijing convened a meeting to spur economic growth and quell dissatisfaction in the region.


Tehran bomb blast kills university professor - TV

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 11:13 PM PST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A bomb blast has killed a university professor in Tehran, Iranian state television reported on Tuesday.


US Afghan buildup 'showing success'

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:46 PM PST

US commander says troop reinforcements helping 'turn the tide against Taliban'.


Blair spokesman to face UK Iraq inquiry

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:41 PM PST

Tony Blair's former spokesman Alastair Campbell will become the most prominent figure yet to give his evidence to the Iraq Inquiry.


Blair spokesman to face UK Iraq inquiry

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:41 PM PST

Tony Blair's former spokesman Alastair Campbell will become the most prominent figure yet to give his evidence to the Iraq Inquiry.


Yale alum's gift stirs reaction in China

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 09:23 PM PST

A Chinese millionaire's $8,888,888 gift to Yale University has impressed and provoked his countrymen.


Venezuelan stores face punishment after devaluation

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 06:46 PM PST

Venezuelan inspectors, aided by the military, shut down 70 stores Monday as a sanction for allegedly adjusting prices in the wake of a currency devaluation last week, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported, citing the inspection agency.


Report: 20 percent of released detainees returning to terrorism

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 05:53 PM PST

The number of former detainees once held by the U.S. in Cuba but now returning to terrorism activity has risen from 14 percent to 20 percent, according to a senior Defense official.


NASA moves forward with Mars exploration plan

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 12:56 PM PST

NASA has big plans for its Mars Exploration Program.


2 Navy SEAL cases moved to Iraq

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 12:07 PM PST

Two of three Navy SEALs accused in the alleged assault of an Iraqi suspected of orchestrating the 2004 killing and mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Falluja will have their cases heard in Iraq, a judge ruled Monday.


5 Western troops killed in Afghanistan (AP)

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:24 PM PST

U.S. Marines from India Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, walk as they go for a mission from base Delaram in Nimroz province, southern Afghanistan January 11, 2010. REUTERS/Marko DjuricaAP - Five NATO service members, including three Americans, were killed in Afghanistan on Monday, underscoring fears that casualties will rise as more foreign troops stream into the country.



SKorea, US dismiss NKorea's peace talks proposal (AP)

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:16 PM PST

South Korean Army's  Blackhawk UH-60 helicopters land during a military exercise to prepare for possible aggression by North Korea at Eumseong, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010.   North Korea appears to have launched a uranium enrichment program as a new way of building atomic bombs soon after its 1994 deal with the U.S. to dismantle its existing plutonium nuclear weapons program, South Korea said Wednesday.  (AP Photo/Yonhap, Lim Hun-jung)  -- KOREA OUT --AP - South Korea and the U.S. rejected North Korea's proposal to start peace talks to formally end the Korean War, with Seoul saying Tuesday that can happen only after the North rejoins disarmament talks and reports progress in denuclearization.



Woman who saved Anne Frank's diary dead at 100: website (AFP)

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:21 PM PST

Miep Gies, who helped hide and feed Anne Frank and her family for two years in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in the 1940s, is pictured in 2006, in a photo released by the Anne Frank House. It has been announced that Gies died on Monday after a brief illness, at the age of 100.(AFP/HO/File/Anne Frank House)AFP - The woman who saved Anne Frank's diary from the Nazis, Miep Gies, died after a brief illness, her website announced. She was 100 years old.



Pakistan terrorists target more civilians in 2009 (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 02:04 PM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - Pakistan suffered its worst year of terrorist violence last year, with more than 3,000 people killed, as Islamic insurgents, some of them allied with Al Qaeda, targeted civilians and destabilized the country, according to a new report.


North Korea digs in on U.S. peace talks demand

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 10:31 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea will not return to nuclear disarmament negotiations unless the United States agrees to peace treaty talks and lifts sanctions, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Tuesday, leaving little room for compromise.


Doc in plastic op gone wrong probed

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 06:30 PM PST

SINGAPORE A doctor at the cosmetic surgery clinic where Franklin Heng received treatment on the day he died confirmed that he is helping in investigations.

franklinhengDr Jim Wong, 34,

Read more...


China says successfully tests missile system

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 05:13 PM PST

BEIJING - China has successfully intercepted a missile in mid-flight, state media said on Tuesday, in a test of its advanced air defence capabilities amid tensions over US arms sales to Taiwan.

Read more...


US concern after UAE leader's brother acquitted

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 11:41 AM PST

WASHINGTON - US officials denounced the acquittal of the brother of the UAE president who had been tried on charges of torturing an Afghan trader in 2004.

Read more...


More Gurkhas to go to UK after court defeat: veterans

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 06:07 AM PST

LONDON - Former Gurkha soldiers from Nepal could feel under pressure to settle in Britain instead of staying in their homeland after losing a test case on pension rights, a veterans group has said.

Read more...