Surge in SA Rhino poaching

Surge in SA Rhino poaching


Surge in SA Rhino poaching

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 01:20 PM PST

Figures from the South African government indicate that poaching for rhinoceros has increased markedly in the last year.

China's new leader - harbinger of reform or another conservative?

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 01:04 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - When Xi Jinping became the new leader of China's Communist Party two months ago, hopes were high for reform in the giant nation. But despite what appears to be sensitive handling of a strike by journalists and a challenge to Beijing's tight control of the press, signs of change seem tentative.

Kremlin says Russia-U.S. adoption deal still in effect

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:58 PM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Thursday that a bilateral agreement with United States regulating adoptions will remain in effect for another year despite a new Russian law banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

Afghan mission in 'last chapter'

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:50 PM PST

The US and Afghanistan have reached the "last chapter" in an effort to make Afghanistan secure and sovereign, the US defence secretary says.

Blasts in Pakistan Kill at Least 115 and Raise Fears Over Elections

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:32 PM PST

The bombings in Quetta and the Swat Valley offered harrowing evidence of how Pakistan's myriad internal conflicts may destabilize the country as elections approach.

Syria calls joint envoy Brahimi 'biased'

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:42 PM PST

A day after UN-Arab League emissary says Assad is dispensable, foreign ministry in Damascus replies with accusations.

Blasts in Pakistan Kill at Least 88 and Raise Fears Over Elections

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:32 PM PST

The bombings in Quetta and the Swat Valley, which wounded more than 270 people, offered harrowing evidence of how Pakistan's myriad internal conflicts may destabilize the country as elections approach.

Lives collapsing, again

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 11:56 AM PST

First their houses were destroyed by regime forces -- now Syrian refugees are battling to save their tents from icy floodwaters in hideous conditions.

Bombings in Pakistan Kill Over 100

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:33 PM PST

A series of bombings in different parts of Pakistan killed 115 people, including 81 who died in a sectarian attack on a billiard hall in the southwest city of Quetta.

Venezuela Celebrates Chávez---Without Him

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:52 PM PST

A throng of Hugo Chávez supporters flooded the streets of downtown Caracas, as his allies turned Mr. Chávez's inauguration ceremony into a massive demonstration of support for the absent, cancer-stricken leader.

Kurdish Activists Shot Dead in Paris

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:28 PM PST

Three Kurdish women, including a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party were shot dead in Paris in execution-style killings.

Japan and Philippines to Bolster Maritime Cooperation

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST

The foreign ministers of Japan and the Philippines proclaimed their nations to be strategic partners that would collaborate more in resolving their separate territorial disputes with China.

Mom yanks python off child

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 08:21 AM PST

A toddler in Australia is attacked by a huge python while she sleeps, and her mom springs into action.

Saudi Arabia executes woman by beheading

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 06:07 AM PST

A young Sri Lankan woman has been executed with a sword in a small, dusty town in Saudi Arabia, thousands of miles from the lush jungles and idyllic beaches of the country where she grew up.

China's one child policy analysed

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:03 PM PST

Children growing up under China's one child policy are less trusting, risk averse and pessimistic, a study in the journal Science concludes.

Greek police beat up another 'illegal immigrant' who's actually a tourist

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 11:40 AM PST

Even after Greek police handcuffed him without giving cause, took his passport and beat him on three separate occasions as they dragged him to the station, South Korean tourist Hyun Young Jung insisted on being sympathetic. "I can understand them asking me for ID and I even understand that there may have been a case to justify them hitting me in the first instance," he told BBC News. "But why did they continue beating me after I was handcuffed?"

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Should more Africans be allowed to move abroad?

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 11:27 AM PST

On Thursday, Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Salopek announced he would walk from Ethiopia to Patagonia over the course of seven years, filing multimedia reports along the way in the hopes of capturing the "major global stories of our time."

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After Hurricane Sandy, Cleaning Up Sand and Returning It to Beaches

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 01:09 PM PST

As part of a 24-hour operation in the Rockaways, truckloads of sand washed away by Hurricane Sandy are being poured through super-size versions of children's toy sifters.

VIDEO: Google boss visits North Korea

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 11:41 AM PST

The chairman of internet giant Google urges North Korea to allow its citizens to use the internet following a visit to the secretive regime's capital.

Analysis: Hollande policy gaffes endanger French reform drive

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:04 PM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - On the campaign trail, Francois Hollande pleased working-class voters with promises of a super-tax on millionaires and sought to reassure foreign investors with commitments to restore public finances and revive French industry.

Australian cyclone shuts Rio Tinto ports

Australian cyclone shuts Rio Tinto ports


Australian cyclone shuts Rio Tinto ports

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:55 AM PST

SYDNEY, Jan 10 — Australia's first cyclone of the storm season is intensifying off the country's northwest, shutting key iron ore export terminals and disrupting coastal areas in mining powerhouse Western Australia state. Rio Tinto , the world's second-largest iron ore producer, has suspended ship loading at the ports of Dampier and Cape Lambert ...


VIDEO: Piers Morgan: US gun lobby 'stupid'

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 03:40 PM PST

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for the British TV host Piers Morgan to be deported after he criticised America's gun control laws.

Japan's Abe to visit Southeast Asia to boost economic ties

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:35 AM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will this month make his first overseas trip since winning office to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, aiming to strengthen ties with the growing Asian economies as relations with China stay tense.


Censors kept busy as strike-hit Chinese paper hits newsstands

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:26 AM PST

GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - A weekly Chinese newspaper at the centre of anti-censorship protests appeared on newsstands on Thursday as a newsroom strike ended amid fresh calls for the Communist Party leadership to loosen its grip on the media.


Three Kurdish women found shot dead in Paris - police

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:17 AM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - Three Kurdish women said to include a founding member of the PKK militant group were shot dead overnight in Paris in killings that appeared politically motivated, police and other sources said on Thursday.


Bomb halts Yemen Marib oil pipeline flows again - officials

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:06 AM PST

SANAA (Reuters) - Flows of oil through Yemen's main crude export pipeline have stopped again after it was blown up by unknown attackers on Thursday morning, government and oil industry officials said.


U.S.'s Richardson says didn't meet detained American on North Korea trip

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:05 AM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt failed to secure the release of a Korean-American held in North Korea during a controversial trip to the secretive state that ended on Thursday.


Three Kurdish women found shot dead in Paris - police

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:39 PM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - The bodies of three Kurdish women who appeared to have died from gunshots to the head were found early on Thursday at the Kurdish Institute in Paris, a police source said.


Cambodia pledges clemency for Thai 'spies'

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:49 AM PST

Cambodia said Thursday that it would grant clemency to two Thais convicted of spying in a disputed border area, to mark the cremation of its former king Norodom Sihanouk.

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Driverless car concept gains traction at CES

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:36 AM PST

Automakers and technology firms are jumping on the bandwagon of the driverless car, which remains a concept as well as a platform for new technologies to improve safety on the road.

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Wholesale and retail to contribute RM156bn to GDP by 2020

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:27 AM PST

The wholesale and retail sector which has 12 entry point projects (EPP) under the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) is expected to contribute RM156 billion to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create 454,190 job opportunities by 2020.

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Lawyer alleges police brutality in Delhi gang-rape case

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:26 AM PST

A defence lawyer accused Indian police Thursday of beating confessions out of five men charged with murdering and gang-raping a student in New Delhi, as they were due to appear in court again.

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Taiwan probes illegal money transfer for Macau casinos

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:23 AM PST

Taiwanese prosecutors said Thursday they were investigating a locally-based Hong Kong firm for allegedly carrying out huge money transfers for use in Macau casinos, circumventing strict forex rules.

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4 National Education Blueprint initiatives to be implemented this year

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:18 AM PST

The Education Ministry will focus on four initiatives under the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 in the first 100 days of this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today.

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Killer whales trapped in Canada ice, in danger

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:15 AM PST

Twelve killer whales could be in imminent danger after getting trapped by ice in the Hudson Bay off the shore of northern Quebec, the Canadian broadcaster reported Wednesday.

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Don't revert policy of levy payment: MTUC

Posted: 10 Jan 2013 12:13 AM PST

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today called on the government not to bow to the demands of employers to revert the policy of levy payment for foreign workers.

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Singapore hit by another train disruption

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:58 PM PST

A busy stretch of Singapore's metro system broke down for several hours Thursday due to a power fault, in the latest of a series of disruptions that have riled the public.

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Perkasa urges Malay rulers to intervene in use of 'Allah'

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:54 PM PST

Perkasa, the Malay right-wing group, has urged the institution of the Malay rulers to act in accordance with the principles of the law on the issue of the use of the word "Allah" in the Malay version of the Bible.

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Rare snowstorm paralyses Jerusalem area, northern Israel

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 11:51 PM PST

JERUSALEM, Jan 10 — The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem today and along the northern Israeli region bordering on Lebanon. Elisha Peleg, an official in charge of emergencies with Israel's municipality for Jerusalem, urged the city's residents to remain at home and stay off the streets, telling ...


US’s Richardson says didn’t meet detained American on North Korea trip

Posted: 09 Jan 2013 10:30 PM PST

BEIJING, Jan 10 — Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt failed to secure the release of a Korean-American held in North Korea since December during a controversial trip to the secretive state. Richardson told a media briefing at Beijing's airport today he was unable to meet Korean-American Kenneth ...