Two dead in murder-suicide in Las Vegas hotel – report

Two dead in murder-suicide in Las Vegas hotel – report


Two dead in murder-suicide in Las Vegas hotel – report

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 11:50 PM PST

LAS VEGAS, Dec 15 — Gunfire erupted in the lobby of the medieval-themed Excalibur Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip yesterday, killing two people in an apparent murder-suicide, Las Vegas media reported. Police identified the dead as a woman who had worked as a concierge and a man who died from a self-inflicted wound, the Las Vegas ...


US gun rampage suspect used legally bought firearms, say police

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:15 PM PST

NEWTOWN, Dec 15 — Twenty schoolchildren were slaughtered by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a suburban elementary school in Connecticut yesterday, ultimately killing at least 27 people including himself in the one of the worst mass shootings in US history. The 20-year-old gunman, identified by law enforcement sources as Adam Lanza, fired ...

Opposition's candidate for PM's post can only be finalised after nomination

Posted: 15 Dec 2012 12:09 AM PST

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali today said that the opposition's candidate for the Prime Minister's post can only be finalised after the nomination process of the 13th general election.

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The perfect workout mix for women: endurance and resistance training

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 11:28 PM PST

According to data, women are falling short on physicial fitness, with women in the US at least not getting the minimally required 2.5 hours of exercise a week compared to men. But for women confused as to what exercises to squeeze into a busy life, experts spell it out: endurance and resistance training.

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Philippine police shoot dead Malaysian carrying bomb

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 11:12 PM PST

A man with alleged ties to Islamic militants was shot dead in the Philippines after he threatened to set off a backpack bomb in a stand-off with local police, an official said Saturday.

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Zoo Christmas

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:40 PM PST

Giraffes enjoying treats in the shape of a Christmas tree at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. In the lead up to Christmas, a selection of the zoo animals were challenged with Christmas-themed environmental enrichment activities.

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Polls open in Egypt's constitution referendum

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:28 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians voted on Saturday in a referendum on a new constitution shaped by Islamist allies of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and which his liberal rivals say deepens divisions in the nation.


Microsoft scores win with Santa Claus tracking

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:29 PM PST

In the battle for Christmas, Microsoft has scored a win over Google as the official maps partner for Santa and his reindeer.

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NASA releases end-of-the-world film early

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:25 PM PST

NASA has released a video highlighting why the doomsday interpretation of a Mayan prophecy is little more than a misunderstanding, but its premature release could be seen by some as support for the idea that December 21, 2012 will indeed be the world's last day.

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Next Samsung 'phablet' will have an even bigger screen

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:22 PM PST

At 6.3 inches, the Galaxy Note III will blur even more the lines between smartphone and tablet.

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US inventor of bar code dies at 91

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:20 PM PST

N. Joseph Woodland, inventor of the now ubiquitous bar code that revolutionized retail, has died at the age of 91, US media reported Friday.

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Smartphone device can test for food allergens

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:17 PM PST

A team of researchers from UCLA has developed a new lightweight device that can attach to your mobile phone to detect food allergens in your favorite packaged foods.

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Bedouins brave elements to attend bamboo school

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 09:59 PM PST

It takes a certain kind of dedication to be a pupil at the Jahalin primary school, where children often walk for hours across tough desert terrain just to get there.

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Sweden's ice hotel, a work of art for the here-and-now

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 09:51 PM PST

In a small Arctic town in Sweden, a construction crew bundled up in heavy parkas is bustling around a building site unlike any other: a massive ice hotel is taking shape.

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Connecticut school could not have prevented shooting, experts say

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 09:47 PM PST

NEWTON, Dec 15 — US school districts have spent millions of dollars on metal detectors, security cameras and elaborate emergency-response plans since the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, but almost nothing could have prevented yesterday's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, security experts say. A 20-year-old, heavily armed gunman ...


Young man returns to US elementary school as mass killer

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 09:21 PM PST

NEWTON, Dec 15 —  In the aftermath of yesterday's elementary school shooting, a shattered New England town searched for clues to why a young man would commit so heinous an act. The life of Adam Lanza will be dissected, analysed and re-analysed in the days to come as investigators dig into the background of the 20-year-old, who law enforcement ...


Defiant leader of Cayman Islands under pressure to resign

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:59 PM PST

GEORGE TOWN (Cayman Islands), Dec 15 — Embattled Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush faced growing pressure to resign yesterday after his arrest on suspicion of theft and corruption in the offshore Caribbean financial centre. A defiant Bush, who has blamed his troubles on the governor of the British overseas territory, has said since his detention ...


Guinea to give government employees 50 per cent pay rise

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:30 PM PST

CONAKRY, Dec 15 — The government of Guinea reached an agreement with trade unions yesterday to grant state employees a 50 per cent salary increase, ending a four-month stand-off, according to the text of the deal read on state television. "The different parties agreed to an increase...of 50 per cent in three phases — 10 per cent from Oct. 1, 2012, ...


Another school massacre pressures Obama on US gun control

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:32 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 — The mass killing yesterday at a Connecticut school put renewed pressure on US President Barack Obama and other Democrats to reverse their years of caution about gun control laws and address the easy availability of firearms. The scenes from Sandy Hook Elementary — of children running from a school where a lone gunman killed at ...


Our hearts are broken — Obama

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 — Choking up and wiping away tears, President Barack Obama said yesterday "our hearts are broken" for the victims of a deadly shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school and called for "meaningful action" to prevent such violence. "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years," Obama said during a ...


Basic facts on Egypt's constitution referendum

Basic facts on Egypt's constitution referendum


Basic facts on Egypt's constitution referendum

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:29 PM PST

Egyptians vote Saturday in a highly contentious referendum on a new constitution to replace the one suspended after the 2011 revolution. Here are some basic facts and figures on the vote.

Polls open in Egypt's constitution referendum

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:27 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians voted on Saturday in a referendum on a new constitution shaped by Islamist allies of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and which his liberal rivals say deepens divisions in the nation.

Divided Egypt votes on draft constitution

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 11:02 PM PST

Charter backed by supporters of President Mohamed Morsi but rejected by secular opposition who say it is "too Islamist".

Polls open in Egypt's constitution referendum

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:27 PM PST

Soldier stands guard as women queue outside a polling center to vote in referendum on Egypt's new constitution in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians voted on Saturday in a referendum on a new constitution shaped by Islamist allies of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and which his liberal rivals say deepens divisions in the nation. Soldiers joined police outside polling stations to secure the vote after deadly protests. Demonstrations erupted last month after Mursi issued a decree expanding his powers and then fast-tracked the draft constitution through an assembly dominated by his Muslim Brotherhood and its allies. ...


Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:15 PM PST

Egyptians are voting on a proposed constitution that has polarized their nation, with President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters backing the charter, while liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians oppose it.

Sympathy over US school shooting stretches globe

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 09:57 PM PST

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2012 photo, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard talks to media in Bali, Indonesia. Leaders of two of the closest longtime allies of the United States have been quick to express sympathy over a shooting rampage that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, at a Connecticut elementary school. Gillard said in a statement Saturday that her country shares America's shock at what she called "this senseless and incomprehensible act of evil." (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)Shock and sympathy were the initial reactions from around the world to a shooting rampage in Connecticut that left 28 people dead, including 20 children at an elementary school. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the attack as a "senseless and incomprehensible act of evil."


Sympathy for US school shooting stretches globe

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 07:47 PM PST

Leaders of two of the closest longtime allies of the United States have been quick to express sympathy over a shooting rampage that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, at a Connecticut elementary school.

Final campaign push a day before Japanese vote

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 10:24 PM PST

In this Dec. 4, 2012 photo, Japan Restoration Party acting leader Toru Hashimoto waves at his party supporters during his parliamentary elections campaign in Osaka, western Japan. The buzz over Japan's parliamentary elections this Sunday, Dec. 16, has been all about Candidates made final impassioned appeals Saturday to voters a day before Japanese parliamentary elections that are likely to hand power back to a conservative party that ruled the country for most of the post-war era.


Clashes in Egypt ahead of constitution vote

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 06:27 PM PST

Supporters of Mohamed Morsi and opposition activists clash in port city Alexandria hours before voting is set to begin.

Syrian Scuds 'land near Turkish border'

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 05:51 PM PST

Comments by NATO's senior military commander were first to confirm that the missiles have come "fairly close" to Turkey.

Egypt faces divisive choice over political future

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:34 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians decide on Saturday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation.

Venezuela furious at Obama's comments on ailing Chavez

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:29 PM PST

Military personnel attend a mass to pray for Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez in CaracasCARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government reacted with fury on Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama's criticism of ailing Hugo Chavez's "authoritarian" government at a time of national anxiety over his battle to recover from cancer surgery. In an interview with U.S. network Univision, Obama declined to speculate on the 58-year-old socialist president's health in Cuba, where he is in a delicate state after his fourth operation since mid-2011 for cancer in his pelvic region. But he did say U.S. policy was aimed at ensuring "freedom" in Venezuela. ...


Venezuela furious at Obama's comments on ailing Chavez

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 04:29 PM PST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government reacted with fury on Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama's criticism of ailing Hugo Chavez's "authoritarian" government at a time of national anxiety over his battle to recover from cancer surgery.

New nuclear talks with Iran may be possible in coming weeks, U.S. says

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:59 PM PST

The United States and five other world powers are hastily preparing for possible new talks with Iran amid signs that the country's leaders might be willing to meet as early as next week to discuss scaling back nuclear activities in return for future sanctions relief.

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NATO says Syrian Scuds hit "near" Turkey

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:26 PM PST

Demonstrators hold a placard during a protest in KafranbelBEIRUT (Reuters) - NATO accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of firing Scud missiles that landed near to the Turkish border, in explaining why it was sending anti-missile batteries and troops to the bloc's frontier. The Syrian government, which finds itself under attack from rebels in the capital Damascus and by a diplomatic alliance of Arab and Western powers, denies firing such long-range, Soviet-built rockets and had no immediate comment on the latest charge. ...


Venezuela furious at Obama's comments on ailing Chavez

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:44 PM PST

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government reacted with fury on Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama's criticism of ailing Hugo Chavez's "authoritarian" government at a time of national anxiety over his battle to recover from cancer surgery.

Venezuela furious at Obama's comments on ailing Chavez

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:29 PM PST

Military personnel attend a mass to pray for Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez in CaracasCARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government reacted with fury on Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama's criticism of ailing Hugo Chavez's "authoritarian" government at a time of national anxiety over his battle to recover from cancer surgery. In an interview with U.S. network Univision, Obama declined to speculate on the 58-year-old socialist president's health in Cuba, where he is in a delicate state after his fourth operation since mid-2011 for cancer in the pelvic region. But he did say U.S. policy was aimed at ensuring "freedom" in Venezuela. ...


Defiant leader of Cayman Islands under pressure to resign

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:02 PM PST

The entrance to the home of Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush, in GeorgetownGEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - Embattled Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush faced growing pressure to resign on Friday after his arrest on suspicion of theft and corruption in the offshore Caribbean financial center. A defiant Bush, who has blamed his troubles on the governor of the British overseas territory, has said since his detention that he did nothing wrong and has no plans to step down. ...


Refugee: 'I want people to feel our pain'

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 01:44 PM PST

It's raining on the camp, and water is seeping into the unheated tents.

Defiant leader of Cayman Islands under pressure to resign

Posted: 14 Dec 2012 03:02 PM PST

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - Embattled Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush faced growing pressure to resign on Friday after his arrest on suspicion of theft and corruption in the offshore Caribbean financial center.