Japan Spends Heavily to Keep Whaling Industry Afloat, Report Says

Japan Spends Heavily to Keep Whaling Industry Afloat, Report Says

Japan Spends Heavily to Keep Whaling Industry Afloat, Report Says

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:55 PM PST

The report challenges assertions by the Japanese government that whaling is a tradition with wide support among Japanese consumers.

Video: South Korean military stages a very elaborate, official Les Miserable parody

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:23 PM PST

Technically, this 14-minute video, produced by the South Korean air force media team and marching band, is a parody of Les Miserables. (To be more precise: a parody of the latest American film remake of the 1980 musical that's based on the 19th century French novel.) But the video is so polished and professional, not to mention enthusiastic in its embrace of the Les Miserable musical at its most melodramatic, that it's hard to know what to call it.

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King Richard III’s remains important to some, but eye-roll inducing to others

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:20 PM PST

Monday's announcement of the discovery of King Richard III's ancient remains has ignited a rivalry. According to the Associated Press:

The discovery of King Richard III under a parking lot in the English city of Leicester thrilled history buffs around the world. But the news meant a winter of discontent for the rival city of York, and now the two are doing battle over the royal bones.

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Iran's foreign minister thinks Syrian govt ready to talk to opposition: MENA

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:08 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - The foreign minister of Iran said on Wednesday he thought the Syrian government was ready to negotiate with the opposition and that the two sides would have to sit together for talks, the Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.

Satellite appears to show Syria building unscathed by Israel strike

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:26 PM PST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A research center that Syria said was hit by an Israeli strike last week remained unscathed in the attack, an Israeli television channel said satellite images it broadcast on Wednesday showed.

Slovenia, Croatia near solution for row blocking Croatia's EU bid

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:48 PM PST

OTOCEC, Slovenia (Reuters) - Slovenia and Croatia stepped closer to solving a 20-year old bank dispute on Wednesday and will now race to hammer it out in the coming weeks so that Croatia can join the European Union as planned on July 1.

Obama visit to Israel unlikely to spur talks

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:37 PM PST

US president to make his first official visit to Israel, possibly next month, but focus will be on Syria and Iran.

EU parliament pushes landmark fish reform

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:19 PM PST

Drastic reform seeks end to decades of overfishing that has vastly depleted fish stocks.

Maldives sets presidential poll for September 7, risking protests

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:41 AM PST

COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Maldives will hold presidential elections on September 7, officials said, spurning calls for an earlier vote and risking further protests by supporters of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed who says he was overthrown in a coup last year.

Fierce clashes reported in Syrian capital

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:16 AM PST

BEIRUT — Fierce clashes broke out in Damascus between rebel forces and the Syrian military Wednesday after a relative lull in fighting that had lasted several weeks.

Rebel fighters attacked forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Abbasseen Square in central Damascus as well as several neighborhoods surrounding the capital, according to opposition activists.

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6 concrete policy ideas for fixing America's drone dilemma

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:38 AM PST

For years, the U.S. debate around drones and targeted killing has gone something like this: Civil rights advocates and others warn that the program is ethically dubious or outright outrageous, not to mention strategically problematic and deeply unpopular with the same populations we're trying to deter from extremism. Counterterrorism and foreign policy analysts, whether or not they share those concerns (and many of them do), sometimes counter that the program is still necessary to fight terrorism and has produced some real successes, despite the trade-offs and risks. That conversation is resurfacing this week as John Brennan, who runs the drone program out of the White House, readies for confirmation hearings to take over the CIA.

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Mexico's president opposes legalizing marijuana, calls it 'a gateway drug'

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:22 AM PST

More than 12,000 people were murdered last year in the Mexican drug war, The Washington Post's Nick Miroff reported, a figure that's been largely unchanged over the past three years. Mexican President Enrique Pe a Nieto has vowed to cut down on the violence, and he recently talked with the German news magazine Der Spiegel about his priorities. Here are a few highlights, along with some context:

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Beyond secret drones: The roots of the awkward, improbable, contradictory U.S.-Saudi relationship

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:16 AM PST

Sometime around early 2011, as pro-democracy movements challenged the Arab dictatorships of old, often with public support from the United States, the Obama administration opened a secret drone base in one of the oldest. That September, an American drone took off from the base in Saudi Arabia and headed south to Yemen, where it struck and killed an American-born al-Qaeda official named Anwar al-Awlaki.

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China bans ‘gift’ ads in effort to curb corruption

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:13 AM PST

BEIJING — China has banned television advertisements touting expensive watches, gold coins and other luxury items as "gifts for leaders" because of concerns that they will undermine public faith in government.

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The surprising Chinese origins of common English phrases

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 08:31 AM PST

English derives the bulk of its vocabulary from French, German and an assortment of other world languages. But we don't often think of China — which is half a world away from England — as influencing our speech. Writing in the blog Tea Leaf Nation, Anzia Mayer pinpoints a few everyday words and phrases that most likely find their origins in the Middle Kingdom.

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VIDEO: Secret Saudi drone base revealed

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 12:03 PM PST

The US Central Intelligence Agency has been operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for the past two years, it has been revealed.

TV fees boost Time Warner profits

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:47 AM PST

Profits at US media and entertainment giant Time Warner are plumped up by rising TV subscription fees, as its magazine and film businesses lag.

Elephant poaching 'out of control'

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:46 AM PST

More than 11,000 elephants have been killed by ivory poachers in Gabon since 2004 according to new research

Two Parties Map Strategy on Automatic Budget Cuts

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:41 AM PST

With deep spending cuts set to take effect on March 1, Congressional Democrats said Wednesday they were nearing legislation to allow a reprieve, financed by a mix of spending reductions and tax loophole closings.

Canada eyes revoking citizenship of dual nationals tied to terror

Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:30 AM PST

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government is eyeing legislation that would let it revoke the citizenship of dual nationals involved in acts of terrorism following news that a Canadian-Lebanese man participated in an attack that killed Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.

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