Global announcement&Announcement & Sticky [0]

Haiti seeking $3.8 billion to rebuild country

UNITED NATIONS – The Haitian government will be seeking about $3.8 billion at a donors conference this week to start rebuilding the country after January's devastating earthquake.

Edmond Mulet, the top U.N. official in Haiti, on Monday urged donor nations to respond generously so that the Western hemisphere's poorest nation can reconstruct hospitals, schools, government buildings, roads and ports.

In addition, he said, Haiti needs to "rebuild and redesign the country...

A ton of medical equipment, surplus OJ 2010, sent to Haiti

Haiti: Nearly a ton of medical and dental supplies, surpluses of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be sent to Haiti to help victims of the earthquake of January 12, announced Friday the Organizing Committee of Olympic Games.

"Our work is now finished and as health professionals, our first thoughts are always those who need help. We are therefore pleased to support our medical colleagues who are working hard in Haiti," said in a statement the chief physician of the Olympic Games and Paralympic...

Haiti: Ban Ki-moon calls for rebuilding a "total"

Haiti: The Secretary General of UN, Ban Ki-moon, called on the international community to promote a "total national renewal" in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of January 12.
"As we move from relief to reconstruction in the longer term, we must recognize that we can not content ourselves with the ordinary," Mr. Ban wrote in an article published by The Washington...

Women suicide bombers suspected in Moscow blasts

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Female suicide bombers detonated explosions that rocked two subway stations in central Moscow during rush hour on Monday morning, killing at least 35 people, officials said.
"It was a terrorist act carried out by the female suicide bombers," said Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, citing Russia's intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service. "They were specifically...

Source says Christian militia targeted in Midwest raids

(CNN) -- Federal authorities plan to unseal charges Monday against several people arrested in a series of weekend raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, prosecutors in Detroit said Sunday.
At least seven people were arrested on charges that were under seal over the weekend, a law enforcement source said Sunday.

Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S attorney's office in Detroit, said those...

10 ways health care reform will affect you

The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act, more commonly referred to as the "healthcare bill", has taken over a year to craft
and has been a lightning rod for political debate because it effectively reshapes major facets of the country's healthcare industry.

Here are 10 things you need to know about how the new law may affect you:

1. Your Kids are Covered

Obama slips into Afghanistan to voice US resolve

KABUL – Under elaborate secrecy, President Barack Obama slipped into Afghanistan on Sunday near the front lines of the increasingly bloody 8-year-old war
he is expanding and affirmed America's commitment to destroying al-Qaida and its extremist allies in the land where the 9-11 plot was hatched.

Obama's six-hour visit was conducted entirely under the shroud of nightfall, after Air Force...

Rebels kill, kidnap hundreds in remote Congo area

(CNN) -- A December rampage that killed hundreds in the Democratic Republic of Congo went largely unreported because of lack of communications in the remote area, a United Nations official said Sunday.
The Lord's Resistance Army carried out the brutal campaign in northeastern Congo over four days, killing at least 321, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Rebels also abducted 250...

321 civilians killed in 2009 massacre in Congo

DAKAR, Senegal – At least 321 civilians were killed in a previously unreported massacre in Congo in late 2009
while villagers that escaped their rebel captors were sent back with their lips and ears cut off as a warning to others of what would happen if they tried to talk, according to an investigation by a human rights group.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said in its report released...

5 key things to remember about health care reform

(CNN) -- What? Really? You don't understand the new health care reform legislation? You find yourself confused?
If you haven't mastered the minutiae on all 2,309 pages of the health care reform bill signed earlier this week by President Obama, there's nothing wrong with you -- even experts are having a hard time getting a grip on all the details.

So we've done the work for you. If you're...

Obama's health insurance rule — it was a GOP idea

WASHINGTON – Republicans were for President Barack Obama's requirement that Americans get health insurance before they were against it.
The obligation in the new health care law is a Republican idea that's been around at least two decades. It was once trumpeted as an alternative to Bill and Hillary Clinton's failed health care overhaul in the 1990s. These days, Republicans call it government...

Obama to nominate ex-Army general to head TSA, sources say

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama has tapped a former Army general to lead the Transportation Security Administration, sources have told CNN.
Obama plans to nominate Robert A. Harding, a retired major general with 33 years in the Army, to become the TSA administrator, sources said. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will announce the nomination Monday with Harding by...

Additional airports to get full-body scanners, feds say

(CNN) -- The federal government is starting to deploy full-body scanning machines to 11 airports across the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Friday.
Forty body-imaging machines already have been put into use at 19 airports nationwide as part of a field test, according the Department of Homeland Security. The Transportation Security Administration expects to deploy 450...

Airport worker warned over body scanner 'harassment'

London, England (CNN) -- An employee at London's Heathrow Airport has been given a police warning after allegedly making a lewd remark about a female colleague as she stood in a full body scanner by mistake.
The woman reported the incident to airport bosses and to police, according to the UK's Press Association.

"Police received an allegation regarding an incident that happened at...

Health care bill anger a sign of the times?

Washington (CNN) -- Americans have always exercised their Democratic rights under the U.S. Constitution to speak out against the government.
Amid the bitter fight over health care reform, a round of hate-filled messages and sometimes violent actions toward members of Congress has prompted calls to ease up on the rhetoric.

Experts say that although protests against social issues such as health care...

Police chief decapitated in northern Mexico town

MONTERREY, Mexico – The decapitated body of the police chief of a northern Mexico town and the body of his brother were found inside the chief's patrol truck Friday
authorities said. Hours earlier, gunmen killed a deputy police chief and his bodyguard in another part of Mexico's north.

The body of Heriberto Cerda, the police chief in Agualeguas, was found on the bed of a patrol pickup...

Kidnappers release Belgian taken in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Kidnappers have released a Belgian businessman who was grabbed as he drove through Haiti's capital, a U.N. police official said Friday.

Philippe Van Reybrouck, a longtime Haiti resident, had been in captivity for about 24 hours and was freed in good condition Thursday after a ransom was paid, said Michel Martin, the Canadian chief of the U.N.'s criminal intelligence unit in Haiti.

"The victim was released without any bodily harm," Martin said. "There...

Haiti's ambassador to Washington welcomes aid "generous" U.S.

Haiti: Haiti's ambassador to Washington, Raymond Joseph, on Thursday hailed the aid of 2.8 billion proposed by the U.S. administration after the devastating earthquake of January 12 last, calling it "generous".

"U.S. aid to 2.8 billion is what one calls for the end of this year to help develop. I think that's pretty generous on their part," said the diplomat in interview with AFP after a proposal made by the administration to Congress to approve a plan of assistance...

US, Russia sign 'reset' pact to cut nuclear arms

WASHINGTON – Climaxing months of hard negotiations, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
agreed on Friday to sharp cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both nations in the most comprehensive arms control treaty in two decades. "We have turned words into action," Obama declared.

Obama said the pact, to be signed April 8 in Prague, was part of his effort to...

Israel to continue building in east Jerusalem

JERUSALEM – Israel insisted Friday it would continue building in contested east Jerusalem, taking an uncompromising stance against U.S. pressure following a tense visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
The refusal to change long-standing Israeli policy signaled that a high-profile rift between the U.S. and Israel remained wide, with stalled Mideast peace talks caught in the middle.

SKorea navy ship sinking in waters near NKorea

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's military scrambled naval vessels to the western waters near the disputed maritime border with North Korea
late Friday after an explosion ripped a hole in the bottom of a military ship, officials and news reports said.

The ship — reported to have 104 crew on board — began sinking off the coast of South Korean-controlled Baengnyeong Island close...

Late dust storm covers Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria – The yellow haze descended across Nigeria, blotting out the sun, canceling airline flights and coating everything with a fine layer of dust.
The sudden storm sparked frightened text messages about supposedly killer acid rain, but meteorologists say the weather comes from the harmattan, a yearly trade wind that brings dust from the Sahara Desert through Nigeria and the rest of West Africa. This year,...

The United States have their eyes riveted on Haiti

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, two former presidents of the United States of America, just to make this Monday a short evaluation visit to Port-au-Prince, the devastated capital. This question is for those visitors contribute to the reconstruction of Haiti.
Haiti: In a place more or less relaxed, unlike President René Préval who wore a jacket that two former U.S. presidents have addressed the press after a meeting...

Private guards kill Somali pirate for first time

NAIROBI, Kenya – In the first killing of its kind, private security contractors shot dead a Somali pirate in a clash that left two skiffs riddled with bullet holes, officials said Wednesday.
The killing raises questions over who has jurisdiction over a growing army of armed guards on merchant ships flying flags from many nations.

There's currently no regulation of private security onboard...

Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea

NEW DELHI – For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's gone.
New Moore Island in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite...

Irish bishop resigns, apologizes to abuse victims

DUBLIN – Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation Wednesday of Bishop John Magee, a former papal aide who stands accused of endangering children by failing to follow the Irish church's own rules on reporting suspected pedophile priests to police.
Magee apologized to victims of any pedophile priests who were kept in parish posts since he took charge of the southwest Irish diocese of Cloyne in...

Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili

GAUHATI, India – The Indian military has a new weapon against terrorism: the world's hottest chili.
After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in...

Obama signs health care reform bill, aims to promote it on the road

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday signed into law a sweeping health care reform bill, the nation's most substantial social legislation in four decades, achieving a top priority of his administration.
The jubilant signing ceremony capped a political victory for Obama that supporters hope could guarantee his place in history with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson...

Man fatally stabs 8 schoolchildren in China

Beijing, China (CNN) -- A man stabbed eight children to death and wounded five others at an elementary school in eastern China on Tuesday, local media said.
The attack took place shortly after 7 a.m. at the Experimental School in Nanping City, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The city, in Fujian province, is 1,486 kilometers (923 miles) from the nation's capital, Beijing.

The school,...

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton calling for solidarity in Haiti

Haiti: Former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton on Monday called for solidarity with Haiti, devastated by an earthquake January 12, as part of a humanitarian mission in the poorest country in the Americas.
"Our mission here is to remind the American people that there is still much suffering in Haiti and that much remains to be done," Bush said, which was the first...

Google's action angers China, divides Web users

BEIJING – Google Inc.'s partial withdrawal from the China market brought swift condemnation from the government Tuesday while leaving Chinese Web surfers to wonder whether they would be able to access a new offshore search engine site or be blocked by censors.
Google's decision to move most of its China-based search functions to Hong Kong opened a new phase in a two-month-long fracas pitting the...

Development bank forgives $479 million Haiti debt

CANCUN, Mexico – The Inter-American Development Bank said Monday it has agreed to forgive $479 million in debts owed by quake-ravaged Haiti.

Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno said the bank's board of governors voted to forgive the debt and will offer $2 billion in financing to the Caribbean nation over the next 10 years.

"This commitment is good news for all Haitians, and will help heal the wounds caused by the earthquake," Moreno said at the inauguration...

Bush, Clinton visit devastated Haitian capital

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton toured Haiti's rubble-filled capital Monday to raise aid and investment for a country still reeling from a devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.
It is the first joint visit to the impoverished Caribbean nation for the two former leaders, who were tasked by President Barack Obama with leading the U.S. fundraising effort.

House sends health care overhaul bill to Obama

WASHINGTON – A transformative health care bill is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature as Congress takes the final steps in Democrats' improbable and history-making push for near-universal medical coverage.
On the cusp of succeeding where numerous past congresses and administrations have failed, jubilant House Democrats voted 219-212 late Sunday to send legislation to Obama that would...

3 killed in quake collapse in northern Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A small earthquake struck northern Haiti early Sunday, collapsing an apartment building and killing at least three people, a U.N. spokesman said.

Residents said the tremor struck Haiti's second-largest city of Cap-Haitien shortly after midnight, collapsing the four-story building. Some nearby structures were damaged by the collapse but no other quake effects were reported.

Three survivors were pulled out of the rubble and taken to a hospital, U.N. spokesman Louicius Euguene...

Papal letter fails to calm anger over Irish abuses

DUBLIN – Pope Benedict XVI's unprecedented letter to Ireland apologizing for chronic child abuse within the Catholic Church failed Saturday to calm the anger of many victims, who accused the Vatican of ducking its own responsibility in promoting a worldwide culture of cover-up.
Benedict's message — the product of weeks of consultation with Irish bishops, who read it aloud at Masses across...

South Africa marks 50th anniversary of massacre

JOHANNESBURG – South Africans gathered in Sharpeville Sunday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the massacre that brought the country's black rights movement to the world's attention.

Survivors and families of victims met early Sunday morning at the Roman Catholic Church, a building with a strong history of struggle against the racist apartheid regime, to remember the events of March 21, 1960. At the cemetery, over a hundred people assembled to lay wreaths on gravestones of those killed...

Volcano erupts in southern Iceland

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Authorities evacuated hundreds of people after a volcano erupted beneath a glacier in southern Iceland, Iceland's civil protection agency said Sunday.
The eruption occurred around 11:30 p.m. Saturday (1930 EDT) beneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, the fifth largest glacier in Iceland.The volcano is covered by an ice cap.

Fearing flooding from the glacier melt, authorities evacuated...

With cheap food imports, Haiti can't feed itself

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The earthquake not only smashed markets, collapsed warehouses and left more than 2.5 million people without enough to eat. It may also have shaken up the way the developing world gets food.
Decades of inexpensive imports — especially rice from the U.S. — punctuated with abundant aid in various crises have destroyed local agriculture and left impoverished countries...

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Cuba on Saturday.

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- A 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook Cuba on Saturday.

The quake struck at 1:08 p.m. (2:08 p.m. ET) 22 kilometers (14 miles) below the surface and was centered 44 km (27 miles) south-southwest of Guantanamo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

"So far, there haven't been any reports of major damages or injuries," a civil defense official in Havana told CNN nearly an hour after the quake. "It's still early."

There were no immediate reports...

Catholic Churchs sex abuse scandal goes global

(CNN) -- As the Vatican announced Friday that Pope Benedict XVI has signed a pastoral letter about Ireland's abusive priests, it became increasingly clear that the church abuse crisis has entered a new international phase
with allegations spreading across a half dozen countries -- including the pope's native Germany.

"Now we have obvious confirmation that this is a global crisis,"...

Police: Arrest in NJ Walmart racial comment case

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Police say they have made an arrest in the case of a racial comment being made over the public-address system at a Walmart store in southern New Jersey.
The Washington Township Police Department said on its Web site early Saturday that an arrest has been made in a "bias incident" at the retail store. The posting says the police and Gloucester County Prosecutor's...

Haiti Corruption: Rene Preval ask for evidence

Returning from his trip to the United States and Dominica, the Chief of the Haitian state has rejected the findings of a report published last week by the U.S. State Department, Haiti ranked among the most corrupt countries.
René Préval told recognize the existence of corruption in the country, but he categorically states that it is not in government Bellerive. And it was not also the case for governments such as those...

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in Haiti next week

Haiti: Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will travel next week to Haiti to report on reconstruction efforts in the country whose capital has been devastated by the earthquake of January 12, it was learned Thursday.

"Presidents Clinton and Bush will attend the meeting of Haitians, the Haitian government and those who provide assistance to earthquake survivors in order to consolidate the efforts of recovery and reconstruction over the long term," said a statement.

The...

Obama making final health care pitch to House Dems

WASHINGTON – Claiming unstoppable momentum but still short of the goal line, President Barack Obama is heading to Capitol Hill to rally House Democrats for a final push on landmark health care legislation.
The battle tilted in Obama's direction Friday as more Democrats revealed their positions. But with a hardly a vote to spare, the divisive issue of how to keep federal funds from being used...

Insecurity in Haiti, the fear returns

The morgue of the Hospital of the State University of Haiti has received 50 people killed by gunfire during the month of February 2010. 54, 1 st to March 17. The "no man's land" are increasing in the rubble of the capital where we fly, viola, hound, kidnaps and murders. As far as replicas, fear of insecurity back ...

Haiti: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 9 am 49 am agents of the Haiti National Police searched vehicles, conducting random identity checks at La Saline Boulevard, where two of their brothers in arms,...

Thai protesters stage weekend march around capital

BANGKOK – Tens of thousands of protesters riding motorcycles and crammed into trucks and cars rolled through the streets of the Thai capital Saturday in a giant caravan to rally residents to their "class war" against the government.
The "Red Shirt" protesters plan to follow up the march with a giant painting made from their own blood on Sunday, the latest shock tactic in their...

Berlin, Germany (CNN) -- The archdiocese headed by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- who is now the pope -- ignored warnings in the 1980s to keep a molester in its ranks away from children, the doctor who issued those warnings said Friday.
Werner Huth, a psychoanalyst, told CNN that he specifically demanded the priest never be allowed to interact with kids again. But instead, Huth said, the church allowed the priest to return to work and even deal with children.

In...

Adviser to missionaries in Haiti kidnap case is arrested

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (CNN) -- A man who provided legal advice to 10 American Baptists accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children after the earthquake there was arrested Thursday night in the Dominican Republic
and accused of human trafficking, the country's anti-narcotics agency said Friday.

The man, identified as Jorge Torres-Puello, is linked to a network that trafficked...

The world's only immortal animal

The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish may be the only animal in the world to have truly discovered the fountain of youth.
Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature polyp stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life span. Scientists say the hydrozoan jellyfish is the only known animal that can repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its polyp state (its first stage of life).