General News
Hamas Should Stop
With multiple diplomatic efforts to stop the violence in Gaza urgently under way, Hamas could greatly speed and aid those efforts by ceasing the rocket attacks on Israeli towns. The international community has long sought reform of Israeli military and social policy towards Palestinian lands. While it is true that some Israelis are resistant to any reform that would empower Palestinian residents, such reform would become inexorable absent deliberate provocation of Israel's military wrath.
Obama's Justice Nominees Signal End of Bush Terror Tactics
Washington - In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counterterrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects.
India Delivers Diplomatic Ultimatum to Pakistan
New Delhi - India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday that his government has delivered a dossier to Pakistan containing evidence of the involvement of Pakistanis in the Mumbai massacre - an act that strategic experts say amounts to an ultimatum to bring the perpetrators to Indian justice.
Signalling that India is not prepared to accept further vacillation by Pakistan on its demand to extradite the terrorist masterminds responsible for the terrorist strike, Mukherjee said: "We have today handed
Al Franken: "I Work for You Now"
Acknowledging the legal wrangling isn't over, Democrat Al Franken said today he was humbled and proud to be "the next senator from Minnesota."
In a five-minute statement given to two dozen reporters outside his Minneapolis home, Franken said: "I'm ready to go to Washington and get to work just as soon as possible."
US Auto Sales Plunge Whopping 36 Percent in December
Detroit - Huge rebates and zero-percent loans couldn't overcome economic uncertainty as U.S. auto sales plunged 36 percent in December, capping a dismal year that saw sales free-fall by 2.9 million vehicles from 2007.
Congress Demands SEC Speed Madoff Inquiry to Improve Oversight
U.S. lawmakers, critical of the Securities and Exchange Commission's failure to uncover Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, demanded the agency speed up an internal investigation of its missteps to help in their overhaul of market regulations.
Obama Picks Former Clinton Aide Panetta for CIA
Former Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta has been nominated to serve as director of CIA under Obama. (Photo: The New York Observer)
Burris to Go to DC as His Fate Remains in Question
Chicago - Illinois U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris is leaving for Washington Monday afternoon for a high-stakes showdown on Capitol Hill about whether he'll succeed President-elect Barack Obama in Congress.
Burris, appointed by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was leaving a day after dozens of black leaders and ministers organized by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush gave him a rousing send-off at New Covenant Church on Chicago's South Side.
Israel Seizes High-Rises, Attacks Tunnels in Gaza
Reporting from Gaza City and Jerusalem - Israel continued to tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip today, as world leaders pushed for an end to the fighting that entered its 10th day.
After effectively bisecting the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the Israeli military announced that it had seized high-rise buildings and attacked tunnels at the edge of Gaza City. Further advances by the Israeli military would bring it into the heart of the Gaza's major city.
Fed Officials Back "Big Stimulus" to Fight Recession
Federal Reserve officials, after taking the historic step of cutting the benchmark interest rate to as low as zero, are calling for greater government spending to help revive the U.S. economy.
San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said yesterday at an economics conference in San Francisco that "it's worth pulling out all the stops" with an economic recovery package.
Gaza City Residents Hunker Down
Damage to a home caused by a Hamas rocket in the Israeli border town of
Sderot. Israel says it will continue the current military operation in
Gaza until the rocket attacks on Israel stop. (Photo: Rina Castelnuovo
/ The New York Times)
Woman Suicide Bomber Kills 35 Near Baghdad Shrine
Baghdad - A female suicide bomber blew herself up near a Shiite holy shrine in north Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 35 people including women, children and Iranian pilgrims, a security official said.
The woman carried out the attack at a checkpoint as pilgrims participating in Muharram ceremonies converged on the mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in Kadhimiyah neighbourhood, the most important religious site in Baghdad for Shiite Muslims, the official said.
Curbs May Be Eased on Paving in Forests
Los Angeles - The Bush administration appears poised to push through a change in U.S. Forest Service agreements that would make it far easier for mountain forests to be converted to housing subdivisions.
Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. As a candidate, Obama campaigned against the measure in Montana,
Commerce Pick Richardson Withdraws, Citing New Mexico Probe
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration yesterday, citing an ongoing federal "pay-to-play" investigation involving one of his political donors as a significant obstacle to his confirmation.
US Installed Iraqi Ex-Prime Minister Says Bush "Utter Failure"
Baghdad - Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an "utter failure" that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.
In an interview published on Saturday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Allawi found fault with American management of Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 as well as the government of present Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Why Obama's Green Jobs Plan Might Work
Hemlock, Michigan - While Detroit's automakers struggle to rebuild their sputtering operations, the key to jump-starting Michigan's economy may lie 80 miles northwest of the Motor City.
Israeli Forces Bisect Gaza, Surround Biggest City
A Palestinian man shouts as he inspects a destroyed Mosque. Israel has invaded Gaza on the ground and surrounded its largest city. (Photo: Abid Katib / Getty Images)
Chrysler Gets $4 Billion US Government Loan
New York - Chrysler LLC on Friday received an initial $4 billion emergency loan from the U.S. government, two days after the government completed a parallel payout to its larger rival General Motors Corp.
"This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring," Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said in a statement.
U.S.
Vigilance After the Bangladesh Verdict
Voters can defy conventional wisdom, but can they have the last word in the post-election period?
The question, being raised in the US of President-elect Barack Obama, is equally if not even more relevant in South Asia. Pundits and ordinary people are posing the question now in and about Bangladesh of Prime Minister-designate Sheikh Hasina Wajed as well.
The voters proved even veteran psephologists seriously wrong in Pakistan and Nepal in February and April 2008 respectively.
Obama Sketches Out Recovery Plan
President-elect says he wants to double renewable energy production, rebuild roads and schools and cut taxes.
