Russian TV sacks anchor for rude gesture after Obama mention

A top Russian TV network said Thursday it had sacked an award-winning news anchor who stunned viewers by inexplicably raising her middle finger after reading US President Barack Obama's name.The bizarre episode happened during a routine afternoon news programme hosted by private REN TV channel newsc

Nov. 25, 2011

Palestinian rivals to hold rare talks on reconciliation

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ― The upcoming meeting of President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, the rival Palestinian leaders, will signal whether they’re truly ready to share power or largely going through the motions for political gains.Thursday’s talks in Cairo will be their first serious sitdown since the Palestinians’ corrosive split of 2007, when the Islamic militant Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from Abbas, leaving him with only the West Bank. Repeated attempts at reconciliation

Nov. 24, 2011

Defiant Iran moves to expel British envoy

President refuses to give in to sanctions; Tehran adopts resolution on ties with BritainTEHRAN (AFP) ― A defiant Iran said on Wednesday that it will not back down despite newly announced Western sanctions over its atomic drive, as it took the first steps to hit back at the measures.“The Iranian nation will not back down an iota, and will not allow the slightest move to encroach on the nation’s rights” in terms of its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech aired on state

Nov. 24, 2011

New find sheds light on Jerusalem’s sacred site

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Newly found coins underneath Jerusalem‘s Western Wall could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world’s most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday.The man usually credited with building the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary is Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C. Herod‘s monumental compound replaced and expanded a much older Jewish temple complex on the same site.But a

Nov. 24, 2011

Russia may target U.S. missile shield

MOSCOW (AP) ― Russia has threatened to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans, a harsh warning that reflected deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” relations with the Kremlin.President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday said he still hopes for a deal with the U.S. on missile defense, but he strongly accused Washington and its NATO allies of ignoring Russia’s worries. He

Nov. 24, 2011

Japan and China eye ‘crisis’ plan to avoid sea disputes

BEIJING (AFP) ― Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba asked China’s Premier Wen Jiabao to agree to set up a “crisis management mechanism” aiming to avoid conflict over disputed waters, reports said Wednesday.China and Japan have often had strained relations, particularly over claims to East China Sea gas fields and disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese.Gemba ― on a one-day visit to Beijing ― also called for the resumption of negotiations towards a treaty

Nov. 24, 2011

S&P 'may be’ close to a Japan downgrade

Standard and Poor’s said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration hasn’t made progress in tackling the public debt burden, an indication it may be preparing to lower the nation’s sovereign grade. “Japan’s finances are getting worse and worse every day, every second,” Takahira Ogawa, d

Nov. 24, 2011

Turkish PM apologizes over 1930s killings of Kurds

 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey's prime minister has apologized for the first time for the killings of nearly 14,000 people in a bombing and strafing campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the 1930sRecep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday: ``If there is need for an apology on behalf of the state ...

Nov. 23, 2011

Medvedev: Russia may target missile defense sites

 MOSCOW (AP) _ President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will aim its missiles at the U.S. missile defense sites in Europe if Washington fails to address Russian concerns on its missile defense plans.Medvedev said that Russia will deploy missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region and other area

Nov. 23, 2011

Merkel sets conditions for Greek bailout loans

 BERLIN (AP) _ Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Wednesday that Greece can only receive its next vital batch of bailout loans if Greek lawmakers commit in writing to a separate international aid package, ensuring cross-party support for painful austerity measures tied to the money.  

Nov. 23, 2011

Strauss-Kahn sues media, Sarkozy aide

PARIS (AFP) ― Disgraced ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his heiress wife are suing a top aide of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and several papers for invasion of their privacy, their lawyers said Tuesday.Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair want 100,000 euros ($135,000) from Le Figaro over a story speculating Sinclair was upset by reports her husband had sex parties with prostitutes, according to a writ served on the daily. The paper also speculated that Sinclair, a celebrity television jou

Nov. 23, 2011

Berlusconi revives musical career with new CD

ROME (AP) ― Silvio Berlusconi is reviving his musical career, just a week out of office.The billionaire media mogul and three-time Italian premier released a new CD with his longtime musical collaborator Mariano Apicella on Tuesday.Berlusconi ― a one-time cruise ship crooner ― doesn’t sing on the new collection, titled “True Love,” but co-wrote all 11 songs.The album features love songs and jazz arrangements. It is the fourth CD that Berlusconi and Apicella, a Neapolitan guitarist and singer, ha

Nov. 23, 2011

NASA launches dream machine to explore Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) ― As big as a car and as well-equipped as a laboratory, NASA’s newest Mars rover blows away its predecessors in size and skill.Nicknamed Curiosity and scheduled for launch on Saturday, the rover has a 2-meter arm tipped with a jackhammer and a laser to break through the Martian red rock. What really makes it stand out: It can analyze rocks and soil with unprecedented accuracy.“This is a Mars scientist’s dream machine,” said NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Ashwin Vas

Nov. 23, 2011

Obama camp slams Romney ‘dishonesty’

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The White House accused Republican Mitt Romney’s camp of blatant dishonesty Tuesday after he savaged President Barack Obama’s jobs record in a testy preview of a possible 2012 election showdown.The row erupted after the Romney camp’s first television advertisement ripped an Obama quote out of context, making it appear the president feared that talking about the crisis-riddled economy could doom his reelection hopes.Republican candidates meanwhile, just over a month before thei

Nov. 23, 2011