Report: Iran plans Hormuz Strait naval maneuvers

Iran is planning naval maneuvers in international waters near strategic Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of world oil supply passes, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.The report quoted Iran's navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the maneuvers will begin Friday from the Strait of Hormuz to the northern part of Indian Ocean in an area of about 1 million square kilometers (400,000...

Read More..

In Egypt Islamists' bastion, discontent creeps up

When election-time rolls around, this impoverished province of farmlands south of Cairo has proven one of the most die-hard bastions of support for Islamists in Egypt, producing lopsided victories for the Muslim Brotherhood and its ultraconservative allies.Last weekend's referendum that approved Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution was no exception. According to final results released Tuesday, nearly...

Read More..

Israel to build 942 more homes in east Jerusalem

 Israel has advanced the process of building 942 more settler homes in east Jerusalem under a new fast-track plan to tighten its grip on the territory, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.A government planning committee on Monday moved the project to the advanced stage of asking contractors to submit bids to build them, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. Once a bid...

Read More..

Israel revisits ban on female prayer at holy site

 Israel's prime minister has instructed a quasi-governmental Jewish organization to find a solution for non-Orthodox Jewish female groups wishing to pray at one of Judaism's holiest sites.An official said Tuesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency, to look into the matter. The official spoke anonymously according to government regulations.Last...

Read More..

Pope decries slaughter of 'defenseless' Syrians

 Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate and encouraging China's new leaders to allow more religious freedom.Delivering the Vatican's traditional Christmas day message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict also encouraged Arab spring...

Read More..

Soccer-English FA Cup 2nd round fixture

Dec 25 (Infostrada Sports) - Fixture from the English FA Cup 2nd Round replay match on Tuesday2nd Round, replaySaturday, December 29 (GMT)Macclesfield Town(V) v Barrow(V) (15...

Read More..

Soccer-Belgian championship fixtures

Dec 25 (Infostrada Sports) - Fixtures from the Belgian championship matches on TuesdayWednesday, December 26 (GMT)Charleroi v Mons-Bergen (1330)Mechelen v Ghent (1330)Lokeren v Cercle Bruges (1330)Waasland-Beveren v Racing Genk (1330)Zulte Waregem v OH Leuven (1330)Club Bruges v Kortrijk (1700)Thursday, December 27 (GMT)Standard Liege v Beerschot (1700)Anderlecht v Lierse (19...

Read More..

Soccer-Del Piero dismisses Sydney exit talk

Alessandro Del Piero's uncertain future in Australia could be close to being resolved, with the former Italy striker pledging his support for struggling Sydney FC.The 38-year-old former World Cup winner arrived at the club to much fanfare this season but has failed to prevent Sydney's plummet to the foot of the A-League.But with negotiations to take up the option to extend his lucrative one-year deal...

Read More..

Soccer-Liverpool's Sterling commits to England over Jamaica

 Liverpool's teenage winger Raheem Sterling has pledged his international future to England, despite still being eligible for his place of birth, Jamaica.The 18-year-old, who recently signed a five-year contract extension with Liverpool, won his first senior England cap last month in the 4-2 friendly defeat by Sweden."It was a dream come true," Sterling told the British media of playing for England...

Read More..

Liverpool's Sterling commits to England over Jamaica

 Liverpool's teenage winger Raheem Sterling has pledged his international future to England, despite still being eligible for his place of birth, Jamaica.The 18-year-old, who recently signed a five-year contract extension with Liverpool, won his first senior England cap last month in the 4-2 friendly defeat by Sweden."It was a dream come true," Sterling told the British media of playing for England...

Read More..

U.N. approves new debate on arms treaty opposed by U.S. gun lobby

The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Monday to restart negotiations on a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms, a pact the powerful U.S. National Rifle Association has been lobbying hard against.U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because U.S. President Barack Obama feared attacks...

Read More..

Japan's Abe to pick MP Kishida as foreign minister: Kyodo

 Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will appoint lower house lawmaker Fumio Kishida to the key post of foreign minister, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, as the government seeks to balance a bolder diplomatic stance with the need to repair frayed ties with China and South Korea.The hawkish Abe must balance the need to stabilize relations with key trade partner Beijing and U.S....

Read More..

Lawmakers play waiting game with 'fiscal cliff' deadline in sight

 With only a week left before a deadline for the United States to go over a "fiscal cliff," lawmakers played a waiting game on Monday in the hope that someone will produce a plan to avoid harsh budget cuts and higher taxes for most Americans from New Year's Day.Though Republicans and Democrats have spent the better part of a year describing a plunge off the cliff as a looming catastrophe, the...

Read More..

U.N. General Assembly voices concern for Myanmar's Muslims

 The U.N. General Assembly expressed serious concern on Monday over violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and called upon its government to address reports of human rights abuses by some authorities.The 193-nation General Assembly approved by consensus a non-binding resolution, which Myanmar said last month contained a "litany of sweeping allegations, accuracies of which...

Read More..

Venezuela's Chavez improving after surgery: officials

 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is improving after a cancer operation in Cuba and has started exercising, officials said on Monday, amid doubts over whether the former soldier is in good enough health to continue governing.Vice President Nicolas Maduro said he had spoken by phone with Chavez, who was walking and doing exercises as part of his treatment."We've gotten the best present we could...

Read More..

Sberbank to buy Yandex online payments service: source

Sberbank, Russia's top lender, plans to buy Yandex.Dengi, an online payment service owned by Russian search engine Yandex, a source familiar with the matter said. Sberbank declined to comment. Yandex, which was not available to comment, was expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday. Sberbank, which accounts for a third of overall lending in Russia, has been expanding in the consumer credit market...

Read More..

Tubular raises $2.5 million to serve burgeoning YouTube industry

 Tubular, a small San Francisco start-up that provides analytics for YouTube content creators, has raised $2.5 million in venture capital in the latest sign of how far the business ecosystem has evolved around the Google-owned video repository.YouTube was once known as Wild West of online video, but over the past two years Google has focused on raising the quality of YouTube content through a...

Read More..

Instagram tests new limits in user privacy

 Instagram, which spurred suspicions this week that it would sell user photos after revising its terms of service, has sparked renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.In forcefully establishing a new set of usage terms, Instagram, the massively popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, has...

Read More..

FTC tightens rules protecting children's online privacy

 The government announced tighter rules on Wednesday to protect children's online privacy by restricting the collection of data, like the child's location, unless parents consent.The actions by the Federal Trade Commission mark an update to rules that were based on the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, developed when most computers were big beige boxes sitting under office desks...

Read More..

Vatican takes first spot in Internet domain name draw

The Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings.ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the...

Read More..

Highlights from Egypt's draft constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's draft constitution, which is being voted on in a referendum Saturday, is made up of an introduction, an 11-part preamble and 236 articles. Critics have raised concerns over issues including Islamic law and women's rights:— Shariah (Islamic) lawLike a previous constitution, the draft states, "Principles of Islamic Shariah are the principal source of legislation." For the first...

Read More..

Oman holds first municipal elections

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Oman says more than 1,400 candidates are competing in the Gulf nation's first municipal elections, a concession following Arab Spring-linked unrest.Oman has seen sporadic protests demanding more job opportunities and a greater public voice in the tightly run sultanate.The official Omani News Agency says the candidates, including 46 women, are vying Saturday for 192 seats on local...

Read More..

Egyptians vote on disputed constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following...

Read More..

Correction: Bahrain-Security Summit story

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — In a story Dec. 8 about a security summit in Bahrain, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah said in a speech that Gulf states should quash any Arab Spring-inspired unrest. Prince Abdulaziz said, "Tampering with the stability and security of any Gulf Arab state is considered as tampering with the security...

Read More..

Yemen court sentences 3 militants to up to 6 years

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's state security court has sentenced three al-Qaida militants to up to six years in prison for planning attacks on security forces, foreign diplomatic missions and state institutions.The court on Saturday gave the three militants between two and six years each. They have the right to appeal.The judge also accused the three of running a training camp for al-Qaida in the southern...

Read More..

Existing home sales rise to fastest pace in three years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales rose sharply in November to their fastest pace in three years, a sign the recovery in the housing market is gaining steam.The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales climbed 5.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million units.That was the fastest since November 2009, when a federal tax credit for...

Read More..

New York City should hike taxes on big business-comptroller

(Reuters) - New York City's top financial officer and possible contender for mayor in 2013, John Liu, proposed on Thursday tax hikes for big businesses and an end to Madison Square Garden's $15 million annual property tax exemption.The proposals by New York City Comptroller John Liu include tax hikes on private equity firms, which would help offset his plan for $500 million in tax breaks and lowered...

Read More..

Republicans push own "fiscal cliff" plan; talks frozen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Congress pushed ahead on Thursday with a "fiscal cliff" plan that stands no chance of becoming law as time runs short to reach a deal with President Barack Obama to avert a Washington-induced economic recession.House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's "Plan B" to limit income-tax increases to the wealthiest sliver of the population appeared likely...

Read More..

Canada's seven-month budget gap narrows to C$10.6 billion

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's federal budget deficit narrowed in the first seven months of the fiscal year to C$10.57 billion ($10.68 billion) from C$13.90 billion in the same period last year as personal and corporate income tax revenues rose and debt charges were lower.The monthly shortfall in October was C$1.68 billion, compared with a gap of C$2.13 billion a year earlier, the Department of Finance...

Read More..

"Fiscal cliff" creates waiting game for payrolls firms

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - At payroll processing businesses across the United States, the "fiscal cliff" stalemate in Washington means uncertainty over tax-withholding tables just days before the start of 2013.The U.S. Internal Revenue Service still has not issued the tables for next year that show how much money employers should hold back from workers' paychecks to cover federal income taxes.Payroll...

Read More..

The longest war: The shooting at a Connecticut school shows, once again, that there’s no end in sight to our lethal way of life

Sometime between the shootings in Columbine in 1999 and at a Tucson supermarket with Gabby Giffords in early 2011, Americans stopped uttering the pieties about “Never again.” Now we are heartsick, but somehow never completely surprised, when we hear the latest gruesome news bulletins from a movie theater in Aurora or a quiet elementary school in Newtown.We are a nation of 311 million people and roughly...

Read More..

The daily gossip: Kristen Stewart apologizes to everyone, and more

5 pieces of celebrity gossip — from Kate Middleton's stereotypically English pregnancy cravings to Kim Kardashian's slightly altered hairdo1. Kristen Stewart apologizes to everyone for whatever they're mad at her aboutIf Kristen Stewart actually wronged you over the past year — we're talking to you, Robert Pattinson — you already got your apology back in June. But if you're one of the billions of...

Read More..

WHEN SCIENCE DOESN'T COUNT

When the press reported that Adam Lanza had Asperger's syndrome (part of the autism spectrum disorders) and other unspecified personality problems, the autism community swung into action in a way that is totally understandable. The Associated Press' headline: "Experts: No Link Between Asperger's, Violence."The vast majority of autistic people are not violent. Autistics like Temple Grandin, the professor...

Read More..