New Year firecrackers injure nearly 500 Filipinos (AP)

New Year firecrackers injure nearly 500 Filipinos (AP)


New Year firecrackers injure nearly 500 Filipinos (AP)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:33 PM PST

A Filipino boy looks at his injured hands following his treatment after sustaining injuries from firecrackers at New Year at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday Jan. 1, 2012. More than 200 people have been injured by illegal firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the Philippines despite a government scare campaign against reckless New Year revelries, officials recently said. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)AP - Despite a government scare campaign, firecrackers and gunfire injured nearly 500 people in the Philippines as revelers welcomed the new year in one of the world's most raucous and dangerous celebrations.



Strong earthquake jolts Japan, no tsunami warning

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:43 PM PST

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 jolted eastern and northeastern Japan on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages and no tsunami warning was issued.


North Korea Praises Kim Jong Il in New Message

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:07 PM PST

The annual New Year's message of North Korea's government, released Sunday, praised Kim Jong Il far more than it did when he was alive and broke form by not including a message from its current leader, who is now Mr. Kim's son Kim Jong Eun.


Magnitude 7.0 quake his Japan, no tsunami warning (AP)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 09:54 PM PST

AP - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 earthquake hit off the shores of Japan's southern Pacific island.


Libya's Army Tries to Reassert Itself in Face of Militias (Time.com)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 09:30 PM PST

Time.com - The warriors of the various regional brigades that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi seem to have the run of Libya. The army and police, however, try to do their duty


Japan cult member nabbed after 17 years on the run (AP)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 09:33 PM PST

AP - A member of the doomsday cult behind a deadly Tokyo subway gas attack and other crimes turned himself in to police after 17 years on the run, an official said Sunday.


VIDEO: Nigeria's president declares emergency

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:47 PM PST

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in areas targeted by Islamist militants, who killed dozens on Christmas Day.


Alcatraz:Nice Place To Visit,But???

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:52 PM PST

It?s easy to think, after listening to "Folsom Prison Blues" or "I Fought The Law, " that you're kindred spirits with guys who've done time in the can. But nothing can prepare you for a visit to San Francisco?s Alcatraz. After 2 and ?? hours spent behind its walls, you'll never look at a blue ...


For Colombia ex-fighters, few jobs and crime pays (AP)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 09:01 PM PST

In this Oct. 28, 2011 photo, Sabas Duque, a former rebel from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), speaks during an interview in Bogota, Colombia. Duque, who uses a wheelchair because he was partially paralyzed in a shooting, now helps run a Bogota workshop that teaches craft-making with papier-mâché and fabric. But he knows plenty of other ex-fighters who have left their jobs and drifted back to gunslinging. Thousands of former combatants in Colombia's long-running conflict who surrendered their weapons to the government have since discovered the downside to civilian life: unemployment. From both sides of the old battle lines, former right-wing militiamen and leftist rebels are being lured into jobs for emerging crime rings - a new security threat that ranks among the biggest challenges confronting President Juan Manuel Santos' government. (AP Photo/Nestor Silva)AP - Thousands of former combatants in Colombia's long-running conflict who surrendered their weapons to the government have since discovered the downside to civilian life: unemployment.



Chile arrests Israeli over forest fire

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 10:30 PM PST

Prosecutor says tourist has acknowledged negligently allowing fire to start, burning 11,000 hectares of national park.


VIDEO: Obama signs Iran sanctions bill into law

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:47 PM PST

US President Barack Obama has signed into law a major defence bill including tough new sanctions against Iran.


US president signs controversial defence bill

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:44 PM PST

Barack Obama signs into law new provisions regarding counterterrorism and fresh sanctions against Iran.


New Year's Resolutions in the Age of Metrification

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:20 PM PST

We are being measured.?? We are measuring ourselves. But are we measuring the right things? On New Year?s Eve 2011, late in the day ? yep, just a few hours ago ? I sat in front of my laptop to do what?s become an annual ritual:?? a spreadsheet of objectives, goals, and metrics for the ...


Bubbly Battle: Will Prosecco Edge Out Champagne on New Year's Eve? (Time.com)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 09:30 PM PST

Time.com - Early export stats suggest that so far this year, Italy's Prosecco variety of sparkling wine is outselling Champagne, its better known -- and generally more expensive -- French counterpart


Tip For 2012: Buy Gold In Euros

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 08:00 PM PST

New Years eve has never been one of my favorite holidays. However, New Years is a great excuse to ruminate about the year ahead. So, for next year I plan to keep on reporting in a three to four minute format almost every business day that what to me is most important. I do appreciate ...


2012: Another Bad Year for Store Closings

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 07:19 PM PST

Michael Weiner, president of Excess Space Retail Service, estimates that there will be between 6,000 to 9,000 store closing in 2012 among national and regional retailers, outside of bankruptcies.


Russian protesters arrested in Moscow rally (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 07:29 PM PST

Reuters - Russian police detained about 60 protesters during an anti-government demonstration on Saturday in Moscow, hours after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered a conciliatory message to the opposition in a televised New Year's Eve address.


NATO: 1 dead in noncombat incident in Afghanistan (AP)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 07:15 PM PST

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2011 file photo, members of the Marine Honor Guard carry the remains of Lance Cpl. Frankie Watson to a hearse from Biereley-Hale Funeral Home during a ceremony at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Blount County, Tenn. Watson was killed Sept. 24 while serving in Afghanistan. A decade of fighting has claimed the lives of more than 130 service men and women who called Tennessee home, and the loss has felt especially keen in the state’s smaller communities. (AP Photo/The Knoxville News Sentinel, Adam Brimer, File)AP - NATO says one of its service members has died in an incident that did not involve combat.



Russian protesters arrested in Moscow rally

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 07:29 PM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained about 60 protesters during an anti-government demonstration on Saturday in Moscow, hours after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered a conciliatory message to the opposition in a televised New Year's Eve address.


N.Korea rallies for successor, no mention of nuclear arms (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Dec 2011 06:59 PM PST

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (C) and ministers of the country walk after paying tribute at the National Cemetery in Seoul before resuming office business after the New Year recess January 1, 2012. North Korea in a policy-setting message for New Year called on its people to rally behind anointed successor Kim Jong-un by becoming Reuters - North Korea in a policy-setting message for New Year called on its people to rally behind anointed successor Kim Jong-un by becoming "human shields" but made no mention of its nuclear arms program, the key source of regional security concern during his deceased father's reign.