China rejects artist's lawsuit against tax office

China rejects artist's lawsuit against tax office


China rejects artist's lawsuit against tax office

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:50 PM PDT

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei, center, speaks to journalists after a verdict was announced in his lawsuit against the Beijing tax authorities in Beijing, China, Friday, July 20, 2012. A Beijing court on Friday rejected an appeal by artist and government critic Ai against a more than $2 million fine for tax evasion, which he says is part of an intimidation campaign to stop him from criticizing the government. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)A Beijing court on Friday rejected artist Ai Weiwei's lawsuit against an agency that imposed a more than $2 million fine on his company for tax evasion, a case he says is part of an intimidation campaign to stop him from criticizing the government.



Chinese court rejects artist Ai Weiwei appeal

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:09 PM PDT

Artist says the $2.4m tax evasion charge is part of an intimidation campaign to stop him from criticising government.


Froning & Thorisdottir Repeat CrossFit Titles as Games Growth Continues While Eyeing Greater Media Distribution

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 06:20 PM PDT

I've always known that being in great shape can pay off in so many ways, but Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir have truly taken this concept to the bank. Last Sunday, for the 2nd consecutive year, Mr. Froning and Ms. Thorisdottir took home 1st prize winnings of $250,000 each from winning the [...]


Ouya Gets Its First Exclusive Game: Episodic Prequels For 'Human Element'

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 05:36 PM PDT

VideoOuya finally gets a game: an episodic series of 'Human Element' prequel games from Robert Bowling and Robotoki. I've been skeptical about Ouya - and remain so - but at least we finally have news that a real flesh-and-blood game is going to be made for the Android-based console. Robert Bowling of [...]


Mongolia coalition takes shape, fans fears of resource nationalism

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:30 PM PDT

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolia's Democratic Party (DP), which failed to win enough seats in last month's elections to govern alone, has agreed to form a coalition with populist fringe parties in a move that could worry foreign investors, local media said. The broadly free-market DP won 31 of the 76 seats available in the June 28 poll, eight short of an overall majority, causing concern among foreign investors that the party would be forced to make concessions to the growing number of "resource nationalists" in the country's parliament. ...


Beijing court rejects appeal from artist Ai Weiwei

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:09 PM PDT

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei, center, speaks to journalists after a verdict was announced in his lawsuit against the Beijing tax authorities in Beijing, China, Friday, July 20, 2012. A Beijing court on Friday rejected an appeal by artist and government critic Ai against a more than $2 million fine for tax evasion, which he says is part of an intimidation campaign to stop him from criticizing the government. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)A Beijing court on Friday rejected artist Ai Weiwei's appeal of a more than $2 million fine for tax evasion, a case he says is part of an intimidation campaign to stop him from criticizing the government.



Israel frees senior Hamas official

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:55 PM PDT

Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian Parliament, was held without charge since January.


Microsoft posts first loss as public company

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:18 PM PDT

The world's largest software company has not suffered a quarterly loss since going public in 1986.


GE Gambles on Green Meters for Better Buildings

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 04:14 PM PDT

Perhaps the most common characteristic of large buildings in commercial real-estate markets like New York City or Boston is the lack of commonality. The primary mechanical systems in these buildings are typically patchworks that encompass decades of technological change. To make matters still more complex, the degree of customization that [...]


VIDEO: Iraqis flee violence in Syria

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:34 PM PDT

Iraq's government has said its citizens are leaving Syria in large numbers because of the violence there.


Mideast nations declare Friday start of Ramadan

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 04:29 PM PDT

A Bahraini man searches the sky over the Persian Gulf for the crescent moon in the western village of Karzakan, Bahrain, on Thursday, July 19, 2012. The new moon heralds the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, prayer and charitable giving for Muslims worldwide. Bahrain announced Ramadan officially begins Friday in the kingdom. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)Religious authorities in most Middle Eastern countries declared that Friday will be the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a period devoted to dawn-to-dusk fasting, prayers and good deeds.



Mongolia coalition takes shape, fans fears of resource nationalism

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:30 PM PDT

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolia's Democratic Party (DP), which failed to win enough seats in last month's elections to govern alone, has agreed to form a coalition with populist fringe parties in a move that could worry foreign investors, local media said.


The 3 Fs of Office Giving

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:55 PM PDT

One of the best ways for companies to increase employee engagement while improving their communities is through workplace giving programs.  And the most effective workplace giving happens when companies lead their staff in campaigns that have a little pizazz. Yes, believe it or not, giving campaigns can be cool.  But how [...]


10 Reasons Why Your Brain Hates Long Business Meetings

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:55 PM PDT

Christopher Robbins/Getty Images 1.  Crammed agendas inspire adults to act like kids waiting for recess. Conventional agendas usually look like someone is trying to cram as many topics as possible in a one or two day period, because that's exactly what someone is trying to do. This approach hamstrings productivity from the [...]


How To Run A Meeting

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 03:55 PM PDT


Apple's New Campus

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:33 PM PDT

Apple wants to build a new campus in Cupertino, California.


VIDEO: Wildfires burn across southern Europe

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:27 PM PDT

Wildfires have struck in Greece, Spain and Portugal, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.


Spain police clash with austerity protesters

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:29 PM PDT

Police use rubber bullets and arrests several people in Madrid as protesters take to the streets across the country.


VIDEO: Wildfires burn across southern Europe

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 07:27 PM PDT

Wildfires have struck in Greece, Spain and Portugal, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes.


Greeks Brace for Pain on Wages

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:24 PM PDT

Lacking a national currency that can depreciate to make its goods cheaper in foreign markets, Greece must embark on a grinding "internal devaluation," pushing down its wages and prices.


Spain erupts with new anti-austerity rallies

Spain erupts with new anti-austerity rallies


Spain erupts with new anti-austerity rallies

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:32 PM PDT

Tens of thousands of public workers, trade unionists and others march in 80 cites to protest latest austerity cutbacks.


Spain Approves Austerity Plan as Bond Yields Soar

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:18 PM PDT

Spanish lawmakers approved tough austerity legislation after the country's borrowing costs neared a new record high and its budget minister warned the government is running out of cash to pay its bills.


VIDEO: Dozens held after factory riot in India

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:12 AM PDT

At least 90 people have been arrested after violent clashes between workers and managers at a Maruti Suzuki factory near the Indian capital, Delhi.


Ruling party joins money laundering charges in Mexico vote

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:08 PM PDT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling conservatives on Thursday lent their support to accusations that President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto benefited from laundered money in his campaign, piling more pressure on the country's next leader.


Judge sets date for Hariri murder trial

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 01:13 PM PDT

UN-backed court investigating 2005 assassination of Lebanon's ex-PM Rafik Hariri scheduled to start March 25, 2013.


Mali hostage release 'was swap'

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:26 PM PDT

A prisoner exchange enabled Wednesday's release of three European aid workers held hostage in Mali, negotiators reveal.


Cook ton puts England in control

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 10:52 AM PDT

Alastair Cook's 20th Test hundred helps England dominate the opening day of the series against South Africa.


Scott matches record to lead Open

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:32 PM PDT

Australian Adam Scott equals the course record to take a one-shot lead after the first round at Royal Lytham & St Annes.


Analysis: Egyptian leader looks abroad to win influence at home

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:28 PM PDT

CAIRO (Reuters) - An early diplomatic offensive by Egypt's new Islamist president makes it harder for an army-led establishment to portray him on the international stage as a threat to foreign powers.


Police chief: No plans for more Olympics officers

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:30 AM PDT

London's Metropolitan Police is not planning to boost the number of officers covering the Olympic Games, commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said Thursday, amid a security fiasco that is forcing the government to call in thousands of troops to make up for a contractor's failure to supply enough guards for the Games.


Bronx River Now Flows by Parks

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:18 PM PDT

The yearslong process of cleaning up the Bronx River and the land along its banks continues, with some notable, even miraculous, successes.


Exclusive: Brazil's Rousseff in talks with Boeing for new jet

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 12:15 PM PDT

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is shopping for a new presidential jet and is talking to Boeing about buying one, four sources told Reuters, signaling greater inroads by the U.S. aircraft-maker into one of the world's top emerging markets.


Tunisia's Ben Ali sentenced to life in jail

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:58 AM PDT

Exiled ex-president sentenced in absentia for "complicity" in murders of 43 protesters during country's 2011 uprising.


VIDEO: Prices rise before Ramadan in Pakistan

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:50 AM PDT

As Ramadan approaches, many Pakistanis fear that soaring prices of food as well as power shortages will prevent them celebrating the month in the usual manner.


China, Russia veto Syria sanctions

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:45 AM PDT

Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday that would have imposed new sanctions on Syria.


At War Blog: For Iran and the U.S., an Author Sees the Danger of a 'War of Miscalculation'

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:12 AM PDT

After two decades studying the dismal history of the relationship between the United States and Iran, author David Crist regards the current escalating tension with particular alarm.


Saudi Arabia replaces intelligence head with ex-envoy to U.S.

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:43 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has replaced intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz with its former ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday, citing a royal decree.


Vienna monument yields Nazi text

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 11:28 AM PDT

A pro-Nazi text is found under a statue at a war memorial in the Austrian capital Vienna, officials say.


Father was 'last to see Shafilea'

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 08:57 AM PDT

Shafilea Ahmed's mother tells a court her husband was the last to see the teenager alive.


No plans for more Olympics officers

Posted: 19 Jul 2012 09:30 AM PDT

London's Metropolitan Police is not planning to boost the number of officers covering the Olympic Games, commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said Thursday, amid a security fiasco that is forcing the government to call in thousands of troops to make up for a contractor's failure to supply enough guards for the Games.