Swiss art challenges minarets ban

Swiss art challenges minarets ban


Swiss art challenges minarets ban

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:16 PM PST

Artists present their vision for Switzerland - six weeks after the country voted to ban building minarets.


Probe widens into Japan ruling party kingpin

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:50 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Tuesday widened their probe into a funding scandal embroiling the No. 2 executive in Japan's ruling Democratic Party that could threaten the party's chances of winning a mid-year election, media said.


Indonesia prosecutors seek death for ex-graftbuster

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 11:21 PM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian state prosecutors on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for the former head of the national anti-graft agency and two other men accused of ordering the murder of a wealthy businessman.


Probe into Japan ruling party leader scandal widens

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:50 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Tuesday widened their probe into a funding scandal embroiling the No. 2 executive in Japan's ruling Democratic Party that could threaten the party's chances of winning a mid-year election, media said.


Massachusetts votes in crucial election for Obama

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:50 PM PST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts voters head to the polls on Tuesday in a cliffhanger election for a new U.S. senator that could derail Democrats' dominance in Washington and scuttle their top priority of sweeping healthcare reform.


Haiti aid airdrops under way

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:28 PM PST

The US military begins airdrops of food and water into Haiti, as aid efforts gather pace a week after the devastating earthquake.


US takes in Haiti orphans

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:30 PM PST

The US re aiming to speed up the process to allow dozens of Haitian orphans to join adoptive families as quickly as possible.


Haiti aid picks up, doctors fear disease risk

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:22 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The pace of food and medical aid deliveries picked up in earthquake-shattered Haiti, providing some hope to desperate survivors, but doctors worried disease would be the next big challenge for the tens of thousands left injured and homeless a week ago.


China former senior judge jailed for graft

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:22 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court gave a life sentence to the most senior judge ever convicted in the country on corruption charges, state media agency reported on Tuesday.


Security concerns for Haiti

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 02:40 PM PST

Violence and looting has broken out in parts of Port-au-Prince, almost a week after the earthquake hit Haiti.


Massachusetts hosts key US vote

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 08:51 PM PST

US President Barack Obama has been on the campaign trail in Massachusetts ahead of a vote for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.


Prince William visits Australia as preferred future king

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 09:20 PM PST

Prince William, who is second in line to the British throne, arrived from New Zealand amid tight security in the second stage of his first official solo tour overseas to represent his grandmother Queen Elizabeth.


Probe into Japan ruling party No.2 scandal widens

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 07:22 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday widened their probe into a funding scandal embroiling the ruling party's powerful No.2, Ichiro Ozawa, and jolting the government ahead of a mid-year election, media reported.


U.S. and U.N. boost Haiti aid security as food drops in

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 06:49 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - U.S. troops protected aid handouts and the United Nations sought extra peacekeepers in earthquake-shattered Haiti on Monday as marauding looters emptied wrecked shops and desperate survivors began to receive medical care and air-dropped food.


TIMELINE - Quake devastates stricken Haiti's capital

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 06:27 PM PST

(Reuters) - World leaders have promised massive amounts of assistance to rebuild Haiti since Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude quake killed as many as 200,000 people and left Port-au-Prince in ruins.


Obama State of Union set for Jan 27, budget Feb 1

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 06:27 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address on Jan. 27 and his budget plan on Feb. 1, setting the tone for a second year in office marked by a long list of economic and foreign policy challenges.


"Toronto 18" mastermind gets life for bomb plot

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST

TORONTO (Reuters) - Zakaria Amara, considered the ringleader of the "Toronto 18" extremist Muslim group that planned al Qaeda-style bombings of Toronto landmarks in 2006, was given a life sentence on Monday, the stiffest penalty yet imposed under Canadian anti-terrorism laws.


UK army chief calls for defence spending overhaul

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's armed forces should adapt to new forms of warfare and tight budgets by giving priority to troops on the ground and spending less on expensive weapons systems, the head of the British army said on Monday.


Nigerian police say 4 expats freed in Niger Delta

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST

ABUJA (Reuters) - Kidnappers freed three British and one Colombian worker unharmed on Monday, a police official said, six days after they were seized near the oil hub Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta.


Chile shifts right as billionaire wins presidency

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Billionaire Sebastian Pinera was elected Chile's president on Sunday in a political shift to the right after 20 years of leftist rule and will try to build on policies that made the economy Latin America's most stable.


Haiti aid airdrops under way

Haiti aid airdrops under way


Haiti aid airdrops under way

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:28 PM PST

The US military begins airdrops of food and water into Haiti, as aid efforts gather pace a week after the devastating earthquake.


US takes in Haiti orphans

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:30 PM PST

The US re aiming to speed up the process to allow dozens of Haitian orphans to join adoptive families as quickly as possible.


Massachusetts hosts key US vote

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 08:51 PM PST

US President Barack Obama has been on the campaign trail in Massachusetts ahead of a vote for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.


Probe into Japan ruling party leader scandal widens

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:50 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Tuesday widened their probe into a funding scandal embroiling the No. 2 executive in Japan's ruling Democratic Party that could threaten the party's chances of winning a mid-year election, media said.


Massachusetts votes in crucial election for Obama

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:50 PM PST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts voters head to the polls on Tuesday in a cliffhanger election for a new U.S. senator that could derail Democrats' dominance in Washington and scuttle their top priority of sweeping healthcare reform.


Man City have more to lose in derby semi: Ferguson (AFP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:10 PM PST

Manchester United's Scottish manager Sir Alex Ferguson leaves the pitch after an earlier game. Ferguson has tried to up the pressure on Manchester City by claiming their League Cup semi-final against Manchester United matters more to them than to his team.(AFP/Andrew Yates)AFP - Sir Alex Ferguson has tried to up the pressure on Manchester City by claiming their League Cup semi-final against Manchester United matters more to them than to his team.



Gunmen in northwestern Iran assassinate prosecutor (AP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:21 PM PST

Iranian opposition demonstrators run away from riot police during a protest in central Tehran on November 4, 2009. Seven months after a presidential poll that plunged Iran into a cycle of street protests and arrests, state television is opening the door a crack and giving the opposition precious air time before a nationwide audience.(AFP/File)AP - Iranian state media say gunmen have fatally shoot a local prosecutor outside his home in northwestern Iran.



S.Korean team crosses border for N.Korea talks (AFP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:27 PM PST

A North Korean border guard takes pictures at the truce village of Panmunjom. A South Korean team has crossed the border for talks with North Korea, despite last week's threats from Pyongyang of a possible attack on its neighbour.(AFP/File/Kim Jae-Hwan)AFP - A South Korean team crossed the border Tuesday for talks with North Korea, despite last week's threats from Pyongyang of a possible attack on its neighbour.



Prince William in Australia for second-ever visit (AFP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:10 PM PST

Britain's Prince William, pictured, has arrived in Australia for the first time in decades for a tour that will take in a poor inner-city Aboriginal community and towns devastated by wildfires.(AFP/Krystle Wright)AFP - Prince William on Tuesday began his first visit as an adult to Australia, kicking off a tour that will take in a poor inner-city Aboriginal community and towns devastated by deadly wildfires.



More aid pledged for Haiti

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:28 PM PST

The US military begins airdrops of food and water into Haiti, as aid efforts gather pace a week after the devastating earthquake.


US accepts Haiti's orphans

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:30 PM PST

The US re aiming to speed up the process to allow dozens of Haitian orphans to join adoptive families as quickly as possible.


Toronto 18 'bomb plot chief' jailed

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:42 PM PST

Alleged leader of failed plan to explode devices in Canada given life in prison.


Haiti aid picks up, doctors fear disease risk

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:22 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The pace of food and medical aid deliveries picked up in earthquake-shattered Haiti, providing some hope to desperate survivors, but doctors worried disease would be the next big challenge for the tens of thousands left injured and homeless a week ago.


China former senior judge jailed for graft

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:22 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court gave a life sentence to the most senior judge ever convicted in the country on corruption charges, state media agency reported on Tuesday.


Wales rugby coach tells England to give Johnson time (AFP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 09:38 PM PST

Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland (pictured last year) has said England must learn from their experience with World Cup winning supremo Clive Woodward and give Martin Johnson time to develop as their manager.(AFP/File/Glyn Kirk)AFP - Wales coach Warren Gatland has said England must learn from their experience with World Cup winning supremo Clive Woodward and give Martin Johnson time to develop as their manager.



Indian minister slams UN body on glacier research (AFP)

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:00 PM PST

A general view of Indian Himalayas shot onboard a flight in May, 2009. India's environment minister slammed the UN's top climate body in comments published Tuesday, claiming its doomsday warning about Himalayan glaciers was not based on AFP - India's environment minister slammed the UN's top climate body in comments published Tuesday, claiming its doomsday warning about Himalayan glaciers was not based on "scientific evidence."



U.S. drops food, water into Haiti

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 06:50 PM PST

Bypassing the gridlock of Haiti's main airport and congestion of roadways in the earthquake-ravaged country, the U.S. military delivered badly needed food and water on Monday by parachute.


Photo gallery: Capital city in ruins

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 03:38 PM PST


Haitians everywhere united by faith

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 03:00 PM PST

Given all their country and people have been through, between political upheavals, human rights abuses, hurricanes, abject poverty and last week's earthquake, "If Haitians were constantly questioning their faith, they would all be atheists."


Why does Haiti suffer so much?

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:49 AM PST

We are all sick at heart to witness the unfathomable suffering in Haiti. Why do bad things happen to innocent people? Why Haiti, again? Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, "It is biblical, the tragedy that continues to stalk Haiti and the Haitian people."