Pensioner conman posed as Deng Xiaoping relative (AFP)

Pensioner conman posed as Deng Xiaoping relative (AFP)


Pensioner conman posed as Deng Xiaoping relative (AFP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:55 PM PST

The late Deng Xiaoping seen in Beijing in September 1988. An 82-year-old man has been arrested in Taiwan for allegedly conning people out of thousands of dollars by posing as a relative of Deng, police have said.(AFP/File/John Giannini)AFP - An 82-year-old man was arrested in Taiwan for allegedly conning people out of thousands of dollars by posing as a relative of the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, police said Wednesday.



Shuttle Endeavour docks with space station

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:04 PM PST

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, carrying the station's last two main components.


Greece 'to ban early retirement'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:43 PM PST

Greece's government intends to raise the national pension age and ban early retirement as it tries to tackle its huge budget deficit.


Solar observatory set for launch

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:32 PM PST

The US space agency (Nasa) will attempt to launch its latest Sun probe on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.


Greece 'to ban early retirement'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:43 PM PST

Greece's government intends to raise the national pension age and ban early retirement as it tries to tackle its huge budget deficit.


Solar observatory set for launch

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:32 PM PST

The US space agency (Nasa) will attempt to launch its latest Sun probe on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.


Sudan and Chad to end hostilities

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:26 PM PST

Sudan says it is ready for a full normalisation of relations with neighbouring Chad, raising hopes of an end to the conflict in Darfur.


Sudan and Chad to end hostilities

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:26 PM PST

Sudan says it is ready for a full normalisation of relations with neighbouring Chad, raising hopes of an end to the conflict in Darfur.


Carragher confident as Liverpool recover mean streak (AFP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:59 PM PST

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher (pictured in 2009) is confident his side's rediscovered meanness can help them close the gap on faltering Arsenal. Wednesday night's fixture at the Emirates Stadium sees the team in third place in the Premier League table host the team in fourth.(AFP/File/Paul Ellis)AFP - Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is confident his side's rediscovered meanness can help them close the gap on faltering Arsenal.



Suspect on trial in Indonesia hotel bombings (AP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:57 PM PST

Alleged Islamic militant Amir Abdillah, center, is escorted by plain-clothed police officers after his first trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. Abdillah went on trial Wednesday on charges of harboring terrorists behind twin suicide hotel bombings in the Indonesian capital that killed seven and wounded more than 50 last year. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)AP - An alleged Islamist militant being tried on charges of harboring terrorists behind deadly twin hotel bombings in the Indonesian capital claimed Wednesday that he had helped craft a plot to assassinate the president.



Q+A - Where does China stand on Iran sanctions?

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:34 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Western powers are seeking new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its expanding nuclear programme, putting pressure on China which has long resisted tougher steps against the big oil supplier.


Second big snowstorm slams U.S. East Coast

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:34 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The second major snowstorm in less than a week slammed the U.S. East Coast from Washington to New York on Tuesday, forcing the United Nations to close and the U.S. Congress to curtail legislative action.


Parliament dissolved in Sri Lanka

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:48 PM PST

President's move comes hours after decision to court martial his former army chief.


US poised to seize Afghan town as Taliban dig in (AP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 04:09 PM PST

A U.S. Army flight medic looks through the window of a Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter, during a mission in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Tuesday Feb. 9, 2010. The Talon MEDEVAC in Helmand is one of several army aero-medical units positioned around southern Afghanistan by the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, known as Task Force Pegasus. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)AP - U.S. and Afghan forces pushed Tuesday to the edge of the southern Afghan town of Marjah, poised to seize the major Taliban supply and drug-smuggling stronghold in hopes of building public support by providing aid and services once the insurgents are gone.



India name squad for second South Africa Test (AFP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:38 PM PST

Batsmen Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik were named in India's squad for the crucial second and final Test against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on February 14.(AFP/File/Lakruwan Wanniarachchi)AFP - Batsmen Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik were on Tuesday named in India's squad for the crucial second and final Test against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on February 14.



China high court stresses 'mercy' in death penalty (AP)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:38 PM PST

AP - China's highest court has issued new guidelines on the death penalty that instruct lower courts to limit its use to a small number of "extremely serious" cases.


Efforts to curb Afghan opium crop fail this year - U.N.

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:04 PM PST

KABUL (Reuters) - Efforts to persuade Afghanistan's farmers to stop growing illegal opium have failed in the past year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, predicting as much land will be under poppy cultivation this year as in 2009.


Robot gets into the acts

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:08 PM PST

SEOUL A South Korean-developed robot that played to acclaim in "Robot Princess and the Seven Dwarfs" is set for more leading theatre roles this year, a scientist said today.

EveR-3 (Eve Robot 3) starred in various dramas last year including the government-funded "Dwarfs" which attracted a full house,

Read more...


Anwar defence accuses Malaysia trial judge of lies

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 08:01 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR -The judge hearing Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial was accused of lying Wednesday, in a blistering attack as the defence sought to disqualify him from the case.

Read more...


N.Korea food crisis to worsen after poor harvest

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:33 PM PST

SEOUL -North Korea's severe food shortages are expected to worsen this year after a poor grain harvest in 2009, South Korean officials said Wednesday.

Read more...


Chechen Leader Drops Libel Suits

Chechen Leader Drops Libel Suits


Chechen Leader Drops Libel Suits

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:30 PM PST

Ramzan A. Kadyrov, backed down from a conflict with human rights defenders and journalists on Tuesday, withdrawing several libel suits at the request, aides said, of his mother.


A warmer world will be more fragrant, researchers say

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 01:49 AM PST

Climate change will make the world more fragrant, as warming temperatures make plants release more chemicals, according to a major scientific review.


New Google social network

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:56 AM PST

Google takes the wraps off its latest social network - known as Buzz - pitting it directly against rival sites such as Facebook and Twitter.


Philippine massacre charges filed

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:30 AM PST

Clan leader faces 57 murder charges over election-related killings.


Obama Urges Setting Aside 'Petty Politics'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:47 AM PST

The president stopped into the White House briefing room to talk about his meetings with leaders of both parties.


Season shifts 'alter food chains'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:32 AM PST

The earlier arrival of spring in the UK appears to be throwing food chains out of synchronisation, a study suggests.


Wife outraged by Fonseka's arrest

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:20 AM PST

Sri Lanka accused of treating defeated presidential candidate "like an animal".


Philippine massacre charges filed

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:30 AM PST

Clan leader faces 57 murder charges over election-related killings.


Iran Unleashes Wave of Arrests of Dissidents, Analysts Say

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:19 AM PST

Iranian security officials were believed to have arrested as many as 1,000 people in the past two months, a rights group said.


Nigeria Votes to Transfer Power

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:17 AM PST

Lawmakers moved Tuesday to end the political stalemate created by an absentee president and hand the job to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, who so far has shown no outward sign of wanting to run the troubled oil-rich African nation.


Obama steps up pressure on Iran

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:00 PM PST

US President Barack Obama says the US and allies are developing "significant sanctions" against Iran over its nuclear programme.


UK soldiers killed in blast named

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:22 PM PST

Two British soldiers killed by an explosion in Afghanistan on Sunday are named by the Ministry of Defence.


Live - Tuesday football

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:59 AM PST

Man City entertain Bolton at Eastlands in one of four Premier League games and there are a whole host of Football League fixtures too.


Man killed in Tenerife 'robbery'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:05 AM PST

A 71-year-old man from East Yorkshire dies in a suspected bungled robbery on the island of Tenerife.


Iran Is Said to Begin Nuclear Enrichment

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 11:05 AM PST

Brushing aside international threats of stricter sanctions, Iran reportedly began enriching its uranium on Tuesday.


Nigerian VP chosen to take over for ailing president

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:09 AM PST

Nigeria's vice president has been tapped to serve as head of state until ailing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua recovers enough to resume his duties.


Sri Lanka Leader Calls Early Vote

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 12:46 PM PST

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolved the country's parliament Tuesday, making way for a national election two months earlier than scheduled.


EU Approves New Commission

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:41 AM PST

The European Parliament voted a new European Commission into office into office amid a spreading crisis of confidence in the ability of some euro-zone nations to curtail their runaway deficits and debt.


Malawi gays 'must be more open'

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:25 AM PST

Malawian gay-rights activists must be more open, say officials, even though homosexuality is illegal in the country.


Snowboard Videos: Send Us Your Tricks

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:22 AM PST

Contribute your videos to the New York Times' snowboard Trick Library by uploading onto YouTube.