Rival Koreas fail to agree over factory park

Rival Koreas fail to agree over factory park


Rival Koreas fail to agree over factory park

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:40 PM PST

SEOUL (Reuters) - Talks between North and South Korea over the operations of a lucrative joint industrial project have ended without agreement, compounding Pyongyang's economic woes and increasing tension on the troubled peninsula.


Rescue teams pull back as Haiti aid flows in

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:40 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The search for survivors of Haiti's killer earthquake has started to wind down as international rescue teams begin pulling back and aid, though more plentiful, is still not enough for the tens of thousands left homeless and injured.


FEATURE - Hugo Chavez tries to show he's serious about drugs

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:40 PM PST

RIO CARIBE, Venezuela (Reuters) - Powering through Caribbean swell in a heavy grey patrol boat and toting new Kalashnikov guns, soldiers scouring the craggy coves of Paria peninsula for cocaine smugglers look like they mean business.


Dutch General in Afghanistan slams critics (AFP)

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:24 PM PST

An Afghan boy cycles through a market place of Mirwais in the southern province of Uruzgan on January 20. The Netherlands Royal Army leads the NATO/ISAF joint task force in Uruzgan where they follow the AFP - Brigadier General Marc van Uhm has a blunt response for critics who say Dutch troops have avoided fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province.



Prince William meets Australian wildfire survivors (AP)

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:22 PM PST

Prince William, center, talks with Richard and Diane Fox, left, who survived 2009 Victorian bushfire as Christine Nixon, chair of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, right, listens in Whittlesea, outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. The Prince is visiting communities that were badly effected by last year's bushfires in Victoria on his final day of his unofficial Australian visit. (AP Photo/Luis Enrique Ascui, Pool)AP - A somber Prince William met Thursday with emotional survivors of last year's deadly wildfires in southern Australia, doling out comforting words and occasional kisses to those who turned up to greet the prince.



Impossible to separate Afghan, Pakistan Taliban - U.S.

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:13 PM PST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Making a distinction between Pakistani Taliban and their Afghan allies is counterproductive and pressure on Taliban havens on both sides of the border is necessary, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.


Gates warns of militant threat to India-Pakistan (AFP)

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:39 PM PST

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates poses in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra. Gates has warned that South Asian militant groups were seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger a war between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.(AFP/Prakash Singh)AFP - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned that South Asian militant groups were seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger a war between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.



At least 23 dead in prison riot in Mexico

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 07:58 PM PST

DURANGO, Mexico -Rival gangs clashed inside a notorious prison in the Mexican state of Durango, leaving at least 23 inmates dead, officials said.

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US asks EU to install body scanners at airports

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 05:41 PM PST

TOLEDO, Spain -Washington will try to convince the EU to install body scanners at its main airports for use by US-bound passengers at talks in Spain on Thursday but European officials are seeking privacy safeguards before agreeing to the measure.

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Muslim anger over US military 'Jesus' scopes

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 05:40 PM PST

WASHINGTON -Muslim groups reacted angrily after it emerged that the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan were using rifle sights inscribed with coded Biblical references.

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Haiti quake rescuers keep hoping against hope

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 05:29 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE -Refusing to give up hope as they race against time and terrifying aftershocks, rescue teams scouring Haiti's earthquake-hit capital are rewarded with small miracles.

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Obama admits 'mistake' after shock election loss

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:00 PM PST

WASHINGTON -President Barack Obama has said he had mistakenly neglected his direct connection to the American people, after a stunning Republican election win shifted the balance of power in Washington.

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Zelaya says may leave Honduras at end of mandate

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:40 PM PST

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said on Wednesday he may leave the country under an agreement with the newly elected president, bringing an end to his state of political limbo after a June coup.


Study links thyroid disease to non-stick chemicals

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:40 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have linked a chemical used in consumer goods like non-stick pans and water-resistant fabrics with thyroid disease, raising questions about the potential health risks of exposure to the substance.


NZ army to remove bible quotes from weapon sights (AP)

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:20 PM PST

AP - New Zealand said Thursday that Biblical citations inscribed on U.S.-manufactured weapon sights used by New Zealand's troops in Afghanistan will be removed, saying they are inappropriate and could stoke religious tensions.


Cockpit-Door Defects Worry Officials

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

Airlines and aviation authorities around the globe are worried that cockpit-door locks installed on thousands of widely used jetliners to prevent intruders from accessing flight decks might be defective.


Mr. Europe Goes To Downing Street

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

The president of the E.U. pays a visit to Gordon Brown.


How Obama Can Get His Groove Back

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

Bring back the consensus builder and problem solver.


Europe's Troubled IMF Borrowers

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

Can Iceland, Latvia and Ukraine repay?


What Can (Scott) Brown Do For Us?

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:01 PM PST

Both parties should take heed of the Mass-acre's message.


Russian journalist dies after police beating

Russian journalist dies after police beating


Russian journalist dies after police beating

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:29 PM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian journalist died on Wednesday after being beaten in police custody, authorities and colleagues said, deepening concern about police abuses after a string of scandals involving violence and corruption.


U.S. troops smooth out logistics at Port-au-Prince airport

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:27 AM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- When Air Force Col. Ben McMullen first arrived at the airport here, there wasn't much to work with: a forklift, a few lift operators and truck drivers, a damaged air-traffic control tower and just one runway.


Darfur rebels say death sentences threaten peace talks

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:38 AM PST

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur rebels on Wednesday condemned a death sentence on two of its members by a Khartoum court, saying it endangered the peace process.


Republicans win crucial senate race

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:30 PM PST

Gain in Massachusetts puts fate of Democrats' healthcare-overhaul plan in the balance.


Bomb alert shuts Munich airport

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:23 AM PST

Traveller flees the scene after his laptop sets off explosives detector in Germany.


Higher food costs lift US prices

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:02 AM PST

US producer prices rose 0.2% in December, led by an increase in the cost of food products, official data shows.


'Segregation' mapped in schools

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:51 AM PST

Pockets of deep segregation are revealed in a mapping of the ethnic make-up of England's school.


Merkel Calls for Global Exit Strategy

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:06 AM PST

Chancellor Angela Merkel said exports will remain crucial for Germany's economy and warned that EU countries' efforts to return to sound finances needed to be coordinated with the U.S. and Japan.


Bank of America Posts Loss for Year and Quarter

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:41 AM PST

The bank said a $4 billion repayment to the Treasury of money from the government's bailout fund weighed on its results.


Morgan Stanley’s Quarter Falls Below Forecast

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:31 AM PST

The bank said it had net income of $617 million in the fourth quarter as it struggled to rebound from the financial crisis.


Gates, in India, Warns of Regional Militant Threat

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:18 PM PST

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned that a "syndicate of terrorist operators" on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was working to destabilize the region.


UK expands watch list, halts Yemen flights

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:03 AM PST

Britain is expanding its security watch list and has suspended all direct flights to Yemen as part of a series of new counterterrorism measures, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday.


Aide: Clinton to challenge Internet censorship in China

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 09:54 AM PST

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Thursday speech on Internet freedom will address the Google censorship fight in China, but won't stop there, a top adviser said Wednesday.


Live - Wednesday football

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:00 AM PST

Aston Villa and Blackburn meet for a place in the Carling Cup final, while Arsenal can go top of the Premier League by beating Bolton and Liverpool play Spurs.


Congo war deaths 'exaggerated'

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:51 AM PST

The number of people killed in a decade of war in DR Congo may be half of the accepted toll of 5.4m, a study suggests.


The Way We Live Now: The Great Unalignment

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 11:48 AM PST

How long can a Democratic majority last in our fast-paced, high-tech political culture?


Ant and Dec win double TV award

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:43 PM PST

Ant and Dec win the most popular entertainment presenter prize at the National TV Awards for the ninth year in a row.


Mammals 'floated to Madagascar'

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:34 AM PST

Ancestors of mammals found on the island of Madagascar could have been transported on floating vegetation from Africa, a study says.


Munich airport reopens after security breach

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 12:14 PM PST

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Munich international airport was re-opened on Wednesday after a three-hour shut down caused when a passenger left the security check even though his laptop computer set off an explosives detector, police said.


Spanish hairdressers campaign against tax on playing radio

Posted: 20 Jan 2010 10:03 AM PST

Hairdressers in Catalonia in Spain launch a campaign to avoid paying tax for playing the radio in their salons.