Gaddafi fights to regain control

Gaddafi fights to regain control

Gaddafi fights to regain control

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 11:21 PM PST

Embattled Libyan leader launches military and diplomatic offensive in a bid to cling to power as rebels close in on him.


Arsenal back on track says striker Bendtner (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:43 PM PST

Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner scores a penalty during their FA Cup fifth round replay match against Leyton Orient at the Emirates Stadium in London, on March 2. Bendtner is convinced Arsenal's season is back on track after the League Cup final defeat and believes the Gunners are now ready to increase the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United.(AFP/File/Glyn Kirk)AFP - Nicklas Bendtner is convinced Arsenal's season is back on track after the League Cup final defeat and believes the Gunners are now ready to increase the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United.

High turnout for Samoa election (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 11:19 PM PST

This file photo shows traffic clogging a street of Samoa's capital Apia. Samoans went to the polls in a general election with newly united opposition parties posing a strong challenge to the Human Rights Protection Party which has ruled for the past 28 years.(AFP/File/Drina Thurston)AFP - Samoans went to the polls in a general election with newly united opposition parties posing a strong challenge to the Human Rights Protection Party which has ruled for the past 28 years.

No one killed by quake in New Zealand cathedral (AP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 11:00 PM PST

A crane removes one side of the wall of the Christchurch Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 4, 2011, to allow Urban Search and Rescue teams to recover bodies of people still believed to be inside the building. Christchurch was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Feb. 22, causing loss of life and major damage to the central city and surrounding suburbs. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Sarah Ivey) Australia Out, New Zealand OutAP - Searchers declared Saturday that no one had died in the rubble of Christchurch's well-known cathedral — a rare piece of good news in the final days of a grim recovery operation following an earthquake that devastated New Zealand's second-largest city and killed at least 165 people.

Frankfurt suspect's 'gun jammed'

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:52 PM PST

Suspect who killed two US airmen could have shot more had it not been a stuck bullet casing, German presecutor says.


Man City's 'Fab Four' can wait, says Mancini (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:11 PM PST

Roberto Mancini (pictured) says any hopes of fielding his dream strike force at Manchester City will have to be put on hold until his injury worries clear up. The City manager has been reluctant to start his AFP - Roberto Mancini says any hopes of fielding his dream strike force at Manchester City will have to be put on hold until his injury worries clear up.

Trial of US contractor enters 2nd day in Cuba (AP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:40 PM PST

Judy Gross, left, wife of U.S. government contractor Alan Gross, and U.S. lawyer Peter J. Kahn arrive to the courthouse where Alan Gross, accused of 'acts against the integrity and independence' of Cuba, attends a trial in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 4, 2011. Gross, a 61-year-old Maryland native, was working for the Bethesda-based Development Associates International on a USAID-program that promotes democracy when he was arrested in December 2009. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)AP - The trial of a U.S. government contractor detained more than a year on charges he sought to undermine Cuba's government enters its second day Saturday in a case that has worsened relations between the longtime enemies.

Bomb kills NATO service member in Afghanistan (AP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 10:36 PM PST

Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Battocletti closes a transfer vehicle holding transfer cases containing the remains of Army Staff Sgt. Chauncy Ryan Mays, Army Sgt. Kristopher James Gould and Army Spc. Christopher Glenn Stark Friday, March 4, 2011 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Mays, 25, of Cookville, Texas, and Stark, 22, of Monett, Mo., died Feb. 28, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked thier unit with an improvised explosive device and Gould, of Saginaw, Mich. also died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)AP - NATO says a bombing in southern Afghanistan has killed one of its service members.

LSE director quits over Libya links

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:58 PM PST

Head of London School of Economics resigns after university's financial ties to the ruling Gaddafi family were exposed


Mexico police chief's status in question

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 05:19 PM PST

Authorities on Friday denied published reports that Marisol Valles Garcia -- the 20-year-old criminology student who made headlines when she became the police chief in the town of Praxedis G. Guerrero, Mexico -- had left the country for the United States and was seeking asylum.

Minister says unrest can double oil prices (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:31 PM PST

The price of a barrel of crude could double if the unrest in the Arab world deteriorates, oil trader turned international development minister Alan Duncan warned Saturday.(AFP/File/Philippe Huguen)AFP - The price of a barrel of crude could double if the unrest in the Arab world deteriorates, oil trader turned international development minister Alan Duncan warned Saturday.

South Korean websites come under further attack (AP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:55 PM PST

AP - Unidentified attackers targeted more than two dozen South Korean government and private websites Saturday, but officials reported no serious damage a day after a pair of similar assaults.


Hong Kong picks Foster for $2.8 billion arts hub (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:10 PM PST

British architect Norman Foster (pictured in 2010) has won the contract to design Hong Kong's HK$21.6 billion ($2.8 billion) arts hub, nine years after triumphing with an earlier plan that was later scrapped. Foster and Partners' AFP - British architect Norman Foster has won the contract to design Hong Kong's HK$21.6 billion ($2.8 billion) arts hub, nine years after triumphing with an earlier plan that was later scrapped.

Kadhafi regime demands UN suspend sanctions (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:06 PM PST

A Libyan rebel fighter holds up rocket a propelled grenade (RPG) launcher. Moamer Kadhafi's regime on Friday demanded that the UN Security Council suspend sanctions taken against the Libyan leader over his crackdown on opposition protests.(AFP/Roberto Schmidt)AFP - Moamer Kadhafi's regime demanded that the UN Security Council suspend sanctions taken against the Libyan leader over his crackdown on opposition protests.

S downgrades Toyota due to 'weak profitability'

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 08:33 PM PST

TOKYO: Ratings agency Standard and Poor's on Friday said it had downgraded Japanese auto giant Toyota by one notch to AA- from AA because its profitability was weak and only improving at a slow pace. Toyota's profitability has been recovering, but it is still weak and is improving at a slower pace than the profitability of its Japanese peers, Standard and Poor's said in a statement. The agency said it had lowered its long-term ratings on Toyota based on our view that Toyota's profitability in the next one to two years is unlikely to recover to a level appropriate for the rating. It added that Toyota's profitability might remain under pressure from higher raw material prices and gasoline prices as well as the strong yen. - AFP


Ford probing allegations of China worker abuse

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 08:32 PM PST

NEW YORK: The US Ford Motor Company on Friday was looking into a graphic report by a human rights group alleging abuse of workers at a Chinese factory. The accusations came in a report by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights entitled Dirty Parts: Where Lost Fingers Come Cheap with a picture on the cover of a mangled hand missing three fingers. The report accuses the Yuwei Plastics and Hardware Product Company in Dongguan of paying its workers 80 cents per hour and of making them work 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, making auto parts. It cited employees as saying that 80 per cent of the parts are sold to Ford. It said the disfigured hand belonged to a 21-year-old worker who got it trapped in a heavy stamping machine after his employer told him to turn an infrared safety device off in order to be able to work faster. The worker received a total compensation payment of just US$7,430 for the loss of three fingers, leaving his hand basically inoperative, it said. In the US, Workers Compensation for a similar injury would result in a US$144,292 payment. The report said there had been four serious injuries -- involving maimed hands and fingers -- over the last several years and minor injuries every one to two months. We take these allegations seriously and are investigating the situation, Ford said in a statement. Ford has a strong commitment to human rights and workplace safety, and we expect our suppliers to comply with local laws and our Code of Basic Working Conditions. A spokesperson said the company was trying to determine if the factory was one its 1,500 direct suppliers or one of thousands of indirect suppliers around the world. - AFP


Lego profits soar, ranks world's 4th toy firm

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 08:36 PM PST

COPENHAGEN: Europe's biggest traditional toy maker, Lego said Thursday now counted fourth in the global rankings after soaring sales of its colourful building bricks in 2010, especially in the US, Britain and Eastern Europe. Last year, Lego sales jumped 37 per cent to 16.01 billion kroner (2.15 billion euros, US$2.98 billion), with net profit soaring 69 per cent to 3.72 billion kroner. The result is extremely satisfactory and is due in part to vigorous growth in markets such as the USA, UK, Russia and Eastern Europe -- all identified as growth markets for the company, Lego chief Joergen Vig Knudstorp said in a statement. The Danish company, which in 2009 ranked fifth worldwide, said its global market share rose to 5.9 per cent from 4.8 per cent and it was now the world's fourth-largest toy manufacturer. Lego said it was growing much faster than the overall market, which was experiencing only a slow recovery. The group has been capturing market share in all its markets and although Europe is the part of the world in which consumers already own most Lego bricks, growth has been double-digit in most European countries too, it said. The family-owned company, based in the western Danish town of Billund, has seen several years of strong growth after a deep crisis in 2003-2004, since when it has been rapidly expanding its factories in the Czech Republic and Mexico. At the end of 2010, the company counted 8,365 employees, an increase of 1,079 from a year earlier. The global toy market is headed by world-leader Mattel and runner-up Hasbro. -AFP


China state media warn against protest calls in capital (Reuters)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 08:11 PM PST

A security officer keeps watch inside the Great Hall of the People during the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 5, 2011. REUTERS/Jason LeeReuters - China told its people on Saturday not to heed calls to emulate protests that have rocked the Middle East, warning that any threats to Communist Party-led stability could bring "disaster."

EU conservatives want strong euro, open on Irish rates (AFP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 07:51 PM PST

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) meets with Finland's Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen (R) in Helsinki. Merkel said on Friday that the European Union's conservative heads of state and government were committed to hashing out a proposal they hope will strengthen the euro.(AFP/LEHTIKUVA/Martti Kainulainen)AFP - The European Union's conservative leaders said Friday they were set on strict rules to beef up the eurozone's stability and competitiveness, as Ireland sought relief from a massive bailout package.

13 Mexican troops charged with transporting drugs (AP)

Posted: 04 Mar 2011 07:52 PM PST

Serapio Gutierrez is taken into custody by Interpol agents after arriving from the United States on a deportation flight in Guatemala City March 4, 2011. Gutierrez, a suspected drug trafficker, is wanted by Mexican authorities who accuse him of participating in a gunfight in Taumalipas, Mexico. REUTERS/Saul Martinez (GUATEMALA - Tags: CRIME LAW)AP - The Mexican army has ordered three junior officers and 10 soldiers to stand trial on drug trafficking and organized crime charges after they were allegedly caught with more than a ton of methamphetamines and 66 pounds (30 kilograms) of cocaine.
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