U.N. Security Council discusses possible new Syria resolution

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ― Key U.N. Security Council members began discussing a possible new resolution Tuesday that demands an end to the violence in Syria, first by government forces and then by opposition fighters, in hopes of overcoming opposition from Russia and China.Russia and China have vetoed two previous council resolutions, saying they were unbalanced and only demanded that the government stop attacks, not the opposition. Moscow, which has taken the lead, accused Western powers of fueling

March 7, 2012

Obama: Diplomacy can stop Iran from getting bomb

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that diplomacy can still resolve the crisis over Iran’s possible pursuit of nuclear weapons, and he accused his Republican critics of “beating the drums of war.”“Those folks don’t have a lot of responsibilities,” Obama said. “They are not commander in chief.”Tension with Iran, and Obama’s preference for restraint, dominated his first full news conference of the year, held on the same day that Republican candidates for his job were contest

March 7, 2012

Principal killed in Florida school shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AFP) ― A gunman shot and killed a Florida high school principal Tuesday, before turning the weapon on himself in an apparent murder-suicide, officials and sources said.The Episcopal High School in Jacksonville said it was “deeply saddened” that head of school Dale Regan had been killed on Tuesday afternoon.“Our deepest sympathies are with her family and we ask for your support and prayers at this time,” the school said in a statement.Sources at the school said the shooter

March 7, 2012

Police: Twins died long before being found

Patricia and Joan Miller were identical twins who pursued their dreams together. As a team, the Miller sisters met Bing Crosby, appeared on a TV show in the 1950s and purchased a house in California's picturesque South Lake Tahoe.Their shared life ended in a mysterious double death at their home. On

March 7, 2012

Romney wins 3 states; Gingrich wins Georgia

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Mitt Romney has won the Republican presidential primaries in Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia. Newt Gingrich has won in his home state of Georgia.Voters across 10 states are choosing among the Republican candidates on Super Tuesday. Romney and Rick Santorum are in a close contes

March 7, 2012

Obama to host G8 summit in May

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama will host leaders of the G8 club of rich nations on May 18-19 at his Camp David retreat instead of in his hometown of Chicago, the White House said Monday.Obama still plans to host NATO leaders and partners in Chicago on May 20-21 for a summit that is shaping up as crucial to plans to transition international forces out of Afghanistan.The White House said in a statement that it had been decided to move the G8 summit to Camp David, which features plu

March 6, 2012

Report raises alarm over Laos monkey farms

Thousands of monkeys are being held in overcrowded and barren farms in Laos and sold for international laboratory research, according to a report from a British animal protection group.    Laos has exported nearly 35,000 long-tailed macaques since 2004 as part of a fast-growing trade in

March 6, 2012

Egyptian lawmaker out by a nose

A lawmaker from Egypt‘s most conservative Islamist party resigned from parliament after he was caught lying to cover up a nose job, claiming the injuries to his heavily bandaged face were from a carjacking and beating.Parliament member Anwar al-Balkimy represented the Al-Nour party, whose members known as Salafis follow a strict interpretation of Islam that forbids cosmetic surgery as meddling in God’s work.The party said Monday that he had resigned and Al-Nour was forced to issue an embarrassin

March 6, 2012

Record to die for: man kills self in attempt for burial-alive record

A man who buried himself trying to break a local record for longest time spent being buried alive has died, BBC and other sources reported Sunday.According to police, 24-year-old Sri Lankan Janaka Basnayake voluntarily walked into his three-meter-deep “grave” sealed with wood and oil with the help o

March 6, 2012

Seaweed seen as alternate fuel source

With much valuable farmland being used to produce bioethanol, the search for biofuel should turn to the world's oceans and to seaweed, Israeli researchers say.Scientists at Tel Aviv University said marine macroalgae, common seaweed, can be grown more quickly than land-based crops and harvested as fu

March 6, 2012

Ex-Iceland P.M. on trial for role in banking crisis

Former premier Geir Haarde said Monday he could not be held responsible for the collapse of Iceland‘s banks in 2008 as he became the first politician to be tried in connection with the global financial crisis.“I reject all accusations, and believe there is no basis for them,” Haarde, 60, told the court in a calm and confident voice as he took the stand.Haarde, who headed the right-leaning Independence Party and was prime minister from mid-2006 to early 2009 when his coalition was ousted amid pub

March 6, 2012

Libya buries 170 bodies found in mass grave

Thousands of mourners gathered Monday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to bury 155 bodies unearthed from a mass grave of people were killed during last year‘s civil war.It was the largest grave yet to be discovered from the conflict that began as a popular uprising and ended with the capture and killing of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last October.It illustrated how Libya is struggling to recover from the 10-month civil war that left the nation with weak governing institutions, squabbling

March 6, 2012

2 found dead after fire on SKorea boat in Uruguay

Uruguayan firefighters say they have found the bodies of two people who died when a South Korean fishing vessel caught fire. Fire department spokesman Leandro Palomeque says the bodies were found near the machine room of the Jung Woo 3. The vessel caught fire Saturday morning and firefighters w

March 6, 2012

IAEA seeks fresh ideas in Iran stalemate

VIENNA (AFP) ― The U.N. atomic agency’s board will be looking for a way out of its impasse with Iran after two fruitless visits probing Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive, in a meeting starting Monday.In a report sent to International Atomic Energy Agency member states on Feb. 24, watchdog chief Yukiya Amano said that after the two trips, on Jan. 29-31 and Feb. 20-21, “major differences” with Tehran remained.The Islamic republic denied access to the Parchin military site near Tehran where

March 5, 2012

Indonesia zoo giraffe dies with plastic in stomach

An aging giraffe at Indonesia's largest zoo has died with a large lump of plastic found in his stomach, causing concern among zoo officials.Anthan Warsito, the spokesman for the Surabaya Zoo in East Java's capital, says the 30-year-old giraffe _ named ``Kliwon'' _ was sick for several days before dy

March 5, 2012

Quake researchers warn of Tokyo‘s ’Big One‘

TOKYO (AFP) -- A year on from one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history, Japanese scientists are warning anew that Tokyo could soon be hit by a quake that will kill thousands and cause untold damage.Greater Tokyo, home to 35 million tightly packed people, has seen a three-fold increase in tectonic activity since the magnitude 9.0 undersea quake that unleashed a killer tsunami last March.Every day, an average of nearly 1.5 quakes are recorded in and around the city, one of the most popul

March 5, 2012

Resolution gives rights to sperm

Human sperm would have equal protection under the law under a resolution passed by the Wilmington, Del., City Council last week, its sponsor said.The resolution would confer the "rights of personhood" on every human sperm and would forbid men from destroying their semen, the Philadelphia Inquirer re

March 5, 2012