Bahrain launches new round of national dialogue

Bahrain launches new round of national dialogue


Bahrain launches new round of national dialogue

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:55 PM PST

Government-sponsored talks come just ahead of the two-year anniversary of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain.

Our Solar System

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:39 PM PST

Curiosity Drills A Hole On Mars

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:39 PM PST

Curiosity drilled a hole in Mars to collect a sample of its surface, which is the first time any rover has drilled such a hole on the Red Planet.

Higher Tax Rates But Lower Collections?

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 07:22 PM PST

How higher tax rates can yield lower collections is a good question. It's one the governments of England, France and even Greece should be asking. We could soon be asking it at home too. In Greece, large tax hikes were imposed as part of the austerity measures demanded by foreign lenders. Yet the Greek Finance Ministry has reported a 16% decrease from a year earlier, a loss of loss of 775 million euros, or $1.05 billion in one month. See Tax Hikes Backfire, Greece's Revenues Plummet.

Millions gather for holy Indian festival

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:35 PM PST

Tens of millions of Hindus have gathered in Allahabad to, among other rituals, take a dip in the holy Ganges river.

Bahrain crisis talks to begin amid mistrust

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:32 PM PST

A Bahraini boy walks by a wall with signs in English and Arabic objecting to a government-mediated dialogue scheduled for Sunday between opponents and supporters of the Bahraini monarchy in Sitra, Bahrain, on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. Bilingual posters on the wall are honoring those who have died in recent unrest, condemning U.S. President Barak Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, and promoting the street demonstration plans of the Feb. 14 youth group on the upcoming second anniversary of Bahrain's pro-democracy uprising. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — After nearly two years of nonstop unrest, opposing factions in Bahrain are set to open talks to ease an Arab Spring conflict that has run longer than Syria's rebellion and is playing out on the doorstep of the U.S. military's main naval base in the Persian Gulf.


U.N., U.S. condemn attack on Iran dissidents in Iraq

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 09:56 PM PST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. secretary-general and the U.S. government condemned a deadly attack on an Iranian dissident camp in the Iraqi capital early on Saturday and urged Iraqi authorities to carry out a full investigation.

Israel's Lieberman scoffs at Palestinian deal

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 08:48 PM PST

Ex-foreign minister calls peace "impossible", saying the conflict between Palestinians and Israel can only be "managed".

Sports Illustrated Clotheslines God, Christians and Football

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 08:58 PM PST

Mark Oppenheimer may be a champion debater from his days at Yale. But he and Sports Illustrated did a great disservice to polemics with their cover story leading up to the Big Game last week, "Does God Care Who Wins the Super Bowl?"

Why Sitting Increases Your Risk of Dying Sooner

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 07:20 PM PST

The next time you are on a subway or bus and are standing up holding onto a pole or railing lamenting the fact another person just got your seat, you may want to consider that standing up may actually be healthier for you, and could potentially increase your lifespan.

Possible 'Legacy Of Kain' Domain Registered By Square Enix

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 07:13 PM PST

A new domain registered by Square Enix points to a possible Legacy of Kain reboot.

The Highest State And Local Income Taxes On A $1 Million Income: Post Election 2012

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 01:14 PM PST

Torrential rain causes flooding in Peru

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:27 PM PST

At least six dead and hundreds of homes inundated after torrential rains lash southern city of Arequipa.

VIDEO: Your face, made of chocolate

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 06:54 PM PST

3D scanning and printing techniques have been used in Japan to create miniature chocolate sculptures of people's own faces for them to eat.

India's Kumbh Mela readies for holiest day

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 07:05 PM PST

About 30 million devotees expected to take dip at Ganges River on Sunday, when water is considered to be holiest.

US general urges Taliban to renounce violence

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 09:29 PM PST

Outgoing NATO chief in Afghanistan asks Taliban to respect women's rights if it wants to play part in country's future.

Is The U.S. Postal Service The World's Most Efficient?

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 06:34 PM PST

The news the USPS will stop delivering mail on saturdays has prompted some post office naval gazing, and with it has come a claim I have seen made before: that the U.S. Postal Service is the most efficient in the world. The proof given is a study by economists Chong, La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, and Shleifer from 2012. What they did was mail letters to 10 fake addresses in 159 countries and see how long it took them to be returned, and what percentage of them are returned.

NASA Curiosity rover drills into Martian rock

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 06:00 PM PST

Robotic arm of Curiosity rover bores into bedrock for first time to collect sample for study, NASA says.

New urgency to cross along tougher U.S. border

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 06:05 PM PST

It does not matter much, when you are on this side of the fence, whether there will be a path to citizenship or something short of it.

The path that matters is the one up and over the canyons and ridges of "La Rumorosa," the Whisper Trail, one of the last places left along the California border where someone with no money and a little desert smarts has a decent shot of getting back in.

Read full article >>

Microsoft Introduces the Surface Tablet

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 05:27 PM PST

Russia expects Olympics to retool its image

Russia expects Olympics to retool its image


Russia expects Olympics to retool its image

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:08 PM PST

SOCHI, Russia — Fellow Americans, here's what President Vladimir Putin's main man wants you to know about Russia with the one-year countdown to the Sochi Winter Olympics just underway: Get over the stereotypes already.

Read full article >>

Samba for vast crowd at Rio carnival

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:56 PM PST

As Rio de Janeiro's carnival gets under way, its oldest street parade draws an estimated 1.5m revellers to the city's business district.

Exiting U.S. general says Afghan women's rights are key

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:40 PM PST

KABUL (Reuters) - Advancing women's rights in Afghanistan is key to preventing the Taliban from reimposing a radical form of Islam once most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces said on Saturday.

China denies radar-lock on Japan ship

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:17 AM PST

China on Friday denied accusations by Japan that a Chinese navy vessel had put a radar-lock on a Japanese warship near a group of disputed islands at the heart of a bitter feud between the two Asian nations.

Meat industry under scrutiny as horsemeat scandal spreads

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:03 PM PST

A frozen food producer caught up in a scandal over horsemeat found in beef products in the United Kingdom, Sweden and France said Saturday it will sue the Romanian producer it blames for the problem.

Sperm smuggling alleged at terror prison

Posted: 08 Feb 2013 08:21 AM PST

Dalal al-Ziben holds her son and kisses his head. Al-Ziben never thought she would have another baby considering her husband has been inside an Israeli prison for 16 years and will likely never get out.

Attack kills 5 at Iranian exile camp in Iraq

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:05 PM PST

A camp housing Iranian dissidents in Iraq was attacked Saturday morning, leaving at least five dead and 40 wounded, Iraqi police said.

Inmate's belly rings; X-ray explains why

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:33 PM PST

When 58-year-old G. Siripala, a Sri Lankan prisoner serving a 10-year sentence for theft, was escorted by armed prison officials to Colombo's National Hospital with severe back pain, doctors rushed him for an X-ray.

Tunisian PM: If caretaker government fails, I'll step down

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:28 PM PST

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said Saturday he would step down if the caretaker government he is forming fails to win approval from Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly.

Teen gang-raped, mutilated in South Africa

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:29 PM PST

A dog would have been treated better than Anene Booyson, her neighbors said.

Bus carrying soccer fans crashes, killing 12

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:24 PM PST

At least 12 people were killed early Saturday when a bus carrying fans of one of Chile's top soccer teams careened off the side of the road south of the capital city of Santiago, Chile, authorities said.

Syrian army in Homs is showing strains of war

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:13 AM PST

Government soldiers in Homs are showing the strain of war against opposition forces the government refers to as "terrorists."

China denies putting radar-lock on Japanese warship

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 10:17 AM PST

China on Friday denied accusations by Japan that a Chinese navy vessel had put a radar-lock on a Japanese warship near a group of disputed islands at the heart of a bitter feud between the two Asian nations.

Dutch Put Electric Cars to the Test

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 08:48 AM PST

The Netherlands, with its small size and $8.50-a-gallon gas, may be the ultimate feasibility test for electric vehicles.

Lebanon's Christian Patriarch prays for peace in Syria

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:20 PM PST

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of Lebanon's Maronite Catholic church, Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, prayed in an old Damascus church on Saturday for an end to Syria's civil war.

Southampton 3-1 Man City

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 11:49 AM PST

Manchester City's title defence suffers a huge blow as they gift Southampton victory with a series of defensive errors.

France 6-16 Wales

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 11:48 AM PST

Wales end a run of eight straight defeats as George North's spectacular finish helps them beat France in the Six Nations.

Barclays shuts 'tax avoidance' unit

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 12:14 PM PST

Barclays is to close down a part of its business which helped clients avoid tax, the BBC understands.

Strong quake hits Colombia: 6 hurt, but no major damage

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 11:21 AM PST

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake rocked southwestern Colombia on Saturday, damaging more than 100 homes and causing minor injuries to six people, but sparing serious damage to roads and bridges, authorities said.

Israel's Lieberman says Palestinian peace accord impossible

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 11:15 AM PST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has no chance of signing a permanent peace accord with the Palestinians and should instead seek a long-term interim deal, the most powerful political partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.