Senate votes down McCain amendment to the START treaty

Washington-- Senate Democrats defeated a Republican amendment Saturday that would have taken out language that recognizes a relationship between offensive and defensive weapons from the preamble of the New START treaty, the proposed nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

The vote was 59-37 against the amendment, which was put forward by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona. He had argued the language would constrain American plans for missile defense.

The vote against the amendment helps to clear the way for the Senate to debate ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty -- known as New START -- though it is unclear when a final vote might take place.

If the amendment had passed, Democrats had said the United States would have been required to go back to Russia and renegotiate the treaty.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted for ratification of the accord in September. A vote from the full Senate has yet to occur.

The treaty would resume mutual inspections of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, while limiting both nations to 1,550 warheads and 700 launchers each.

Senate votes down McCain amendment to the START treaty - CNN.com

Obama's $858 billion tax-cut plan heads to House | Reuters

"(Reuters) - A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth moves to the House of Representatives for passage as early as Thursday.

Many of Obama's fellow Democrats in that chamber strongly oppose the measure as favoring the wealthy, and are still angry with him for cutting the deal with Republicans without them.

'We have a situation where we have a proposal before us that gives 6,600 families in America $25 billion and holds the rest of the provisions in the bill, (such as) low-income tax cuts, hostage to that blackmail,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday, referring to a provision on the estate tax.

Still, most analysts believe the deal, which has already received overwhelming bipartisan approval in the Senate, will pass the House with substantial backing from Republicans and some Democrats.

The legislation would extend for two years income tax cuts enacted under Republican former President George W. Bush, with Democrats backing off their earlier fervent opposition to extending the cuts for the richest Americans. The Bush-era cuts are due to expire at the end of 2010 unless Congress acts."

Obama's $858 billion tax-cut plan heads to House | Reuters:

Warming temps in South, but winter storm hammers upper Plains

Atlanta, Georgia Temperatures were slowing warming Thursday across the South, where freezing rain glazed roads with ice, but a sprawling winter storm system remained in place across the upper Plains states.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and advisories for more than a dozen states. The brunt of the system is poised to hit Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, but several inches of snow are forecast for portions of Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and North Carolina, as well as Minnesota and the Dakotas. Winter weather advisories stretched into Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In Kentucky, up to a quarter-inch of ice could accumulate on roadways, the weather service warned, in addition to previously fallen snow. Three to six inches of snow were forecast for eastern Virginia.

The low pressure system laid down an icy path across northern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi on Wednesday. Scores of traffic accidents were reported Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Warming temps in South, but winter storm hammers upper Plains - CNN.com

WikiLeaks' Assange granted bail

"London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange was granted bail by a London court Thursday, meaning he is free to leave jail until his next scheduled court hearing in January.
He must stay at the mansion of a supporter outside London, report to the police daily, wear an electronic tag to monitor his location, and put up 200,000 pounds (about $310,000) in bail money, plus two further 20,000-pound sureties (about $31,500 each), the judge ruled.
Judge Duncan Ouseley said he did not regard Assange as a fugitive and there was no concrete evidence to believe he'd abscond.
Assange 'clearly has some desire to clear his name,' the judge said, adding that if he failed to appear in court, the 'charges would always be hanging over his head.'"

WikiLeaks' Assange granted bail - CNN.com:

Housing starts rise in November, but permits drop | Reuters

"(Reuters) - Housing starts rose slightly more than expected in November, but a surprise drop in permits for future home construction to a 1-1/2 year low indicated continued weakness in the housing market even as the economic recovery gains traction.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday housing starts rose 3.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 555,000 units. October's starts were revised up to a 534,000-unit pace from the previously reported 1-1/2 year low rate of 519,000 units.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected housing starts to rise to a 550,000-unit rate.

Despite last month's pick-up in residential construction, housing remains weak as a 9.8 percent unemployment rate weighs on demand and homeowners' ability to hang on to their properties, lagging an acceleration in broader economic activity."

Housing starts rise in November, but permits drop | Reuters:

Nepal’s former crown prince freed on bail - Arab News

"KATMANDU, Nepal: Nepal’s former crown prince was freed on bail Thursday after being detained for firing a gun into the air after an argument, officials said.

Paras Shah had been held by police since Tuesday after firing his gun into the air following a weekend argument with two guests at a restaurant in a jungle resort in Chitwan, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the capital, Katmandu.

Chitwan’s chief government administrator, Basanta Raj Gautam, said Shah was released on bail and flown out on a helicopter. He did not give details about the conditions of the release.

Shah, the only son of deposed King Gyanendra, has admitted firing his gun after the argument Saturday but defended his action, saying he could not bear to hear insults against his family and country.

He said in a statement earlier this week that the two guests had made “baseless and provocative remarks against his role and the institution he represented.” Shah said he left the restaurant, returned half an hour later and fired his gun into the air once, without harming anyone or causing damage."

Nepal’s former crown prince freed on bail - Arab News:

Official: Bomb hits Afghan minibus, killing 14

KABUL, Afghanistan: A roadside bomb destroyed a crowded minibus Thursday in western Afghanistan, killing 14 passengers who were all members of an extended family, a provincial official said.

Violence has been on the rise across much of Afghanistan, even as the White House released a generally positive review of its military strategy here.

Rafi Behrozan, the spokesman for the Herat governor, said four others were wounded in the powerful morning blast in the Kushk Kuhna district of Herat province. Two additional bombs were found nearby on the same road but were defused by Afghan policemen, he added.

“The explosion was very strong and the vehicle was destroyed. The majority of these aboard were killed,” Behrozan said.

The US government review released Thursday said that President Barack Obama’s expansion of the war in Afghanistan has eroded the power of the Al-Qaeda terrorists who attacked America in 2001 and the resurgent Taleban militants who gave them cover.

But the picture on the ground is more complicated.

There have been numerous successes with rounding up those seen as ringleaders, but violence and insecurity have also increased in areas outside of the Taleban heartland in the south.

The international Red Cross said Wednesday that it saw the country deteriorating into a much more violent state overall, with a proliferation of armed groups that made it difficult for the organization to get aid out.

Official: Bomb hits Afghan minibus, killing 14 - Arab News

U.S. Sues BP and Other Companies Over Gulf Spill

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday suedBP and eight other companies in the Gulf oil spill disaster in an effort to recover billions of dollars from the largest offshore spill in U.S. history.

The Obama administration's lawsuit asks that the companies be held liable without limitation under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the oil spill, including damages to natural resources. The lawsuit also seeks civil penalties under the Clean Water Act.

"We intend to prove these violations caused or contributed to the massive oil spill," Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference.

The amount of damages and the extent of injuries sustained by the United States as a result of the Deepwater Horizon Spill are not yet fully known, the lawsuit states.

An explosion that killed 11 workers at BP's Macondo well last April led to oil spewing from the company's undersea well — more than 200 million gallons in all by the government's estimate. BP disputes the figure.

The department filed the suit in federal court in New Orleans.

The other defendants in the case are Anadarko Exploration & Production LP andAnadarko Petroleum Corp.; MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC; Triton Asset Leasing GMBH;Transocean Holdings LLC and Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. and Transocean Deepwater Inc.; and BP's insurer, QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd's Syndicate 1036.

Anadarko and MOEX are minority owners of the well that blew out. Transocean owned the rig that BP was leasing.

U.S. Sues BP and Other Companies Over Gulf Spill - NYTimes.com

Color E-Readers Open Way for Picture Books

Millions of consumers have embraced black-and-white e-readers like the Kindle for reading simple novels or nonfiction — but books with color illustrations have generally remained better read in print.

Some of the most popular children’s picture books of all time will be available, including some of the “Olivia” picture books, published by Simon & Schuster. Other titles are “Ad Hoc at Home,” a lavish cookbook by the chefThomas Keller; “Beginnings,” by the photographer Anne Geddes and “In the National Parks,” a photograph collection by Ansel AdamsNow publishers are making headway in converting their enormous libraries of illustrated titles to e-books, hoping to capitalize on the growing popularity of the Apple iPad and the Nook Color and their ability to showcase books with color photographs and illustrations.

Apple said Tuesday that it was set to make a major push into illustrated books on Wednesday, introducing more than 100 titles to its iBookstore, an assortment of children’s books, photography books and cookbooks.

.Color E-Readers Open Way for Picture Books - NYTimes.com

Rival Accepts Deal, Clearing Path for Maliki to Rule in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Ayad Allawi, who years ago fought off ax-wielding assassins dispatched to London by Saddam Hussein’s secret police, is not a man to concede defeat easily. And he still would not — exactly — on Wednesday.Mr. Allawi did so grudgingly and with conditions, warning that an agreement brokered by the United States to form a broad power-sharing coalition government under Mr. Maliki’s leadership could still unravel.Defeat has come nevertheless, and so has acceptance, perhaps inevitably.

More than nine months after Iraq’s election propelled him to the brink of toppling his main political rival, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, and a month after he vowed he would not join Mr. Maliki’s new government, Mr. Allawi indicated on Wednesday that he would join it after all. That appeared to remove the last major obstacle to Mr. Maliki’s formation of a new government, something he must do by law before Dec. 25.

Rival Accepts Deal, Clearing Path for Maliki to Rule in Iraq - NYTimes.com

'King's Speech' scores 7 Golden Globe nods

"(CNN) -- The critically acclaimed film 'The King's Speech' led the 68th Annual Golden Globe nominations Tuesday morning.
The film starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush scored seven nominations including best film -- drama, best performance by an actor in a motion picture -- drama for Firth, best supporting actress in a motion picture for Carter and best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture for Rush.
'I'm truly grateful to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press for this film, and euphoric to be in the company of so many of my colleagues,' Firth said.
'The Social Network' and 'The Fighter' followed with six nominations each, including best film -- drama, joining 'Inception' and 'Black Swan.'
Actors Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood joined Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk on Tuesday to announce the nominations."

'King's Speech' scores 7 Golden Globe nods - CNN.com:

Assange granted bail at London court hearing

London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted bail Tuesday after a hearing at Westminster Magistrate's Court in London.

The 39-year-old Australian handed himself over to London police last week to answer a European arrest warrant over alleged sex crimes in Sweden.

Assange is facing accusations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal use of force in separate incidents in August in Stockholm. He could be sentenced to two years in prison if convicted. His lawyers deny the allegations and have vowed to fight any attempts at extradition.

The magistrate agreed to grant bail Tuesday after Assange's team of attorneys reported that Vaughan Smith, a former British army officer who founded London's Frontline Club, had offered his mansion in Suffolk to Assange.

Smith will keep Assange "if not under house arrest, at least under mansion arrest," said defense attorney Geoffrey Robinson. At that, Assange, dressed in a white shirt and a blue jacket and sitting in a glassed-in corner of the court with three security guards, smiled wryly.

Assange granted bail at London court hearing - CNN.com

Ben Franklin’s Nation - NYT

"After you read this column, go to YouTube and search “Hans Rosling and 200 countries.” You’ll see a Swedish professor describe the growth of global wealth and well-being over the past 200 years."

He presents an animated time-lapse chart. It starts in 1810, when the nations of the world were clumped on the bottom left-hand side of the chart because they had low income and low life expectancy. Then the industrial revolution kicks in and the nations of the West surge upward and to the right as they get richer and healthier. By 1948, it’s like a race, with the United States out front and the other nations of the world stretched in a long tail behind.

Then, over the last few decades, the social structure of the world changes. The Asian and Latin American countries begin to catch up. With the exception of the African nations, living standards start to converge. Now most countries are clumped toward the top end of the chart, thanks to the incredible reductions in global poverty and improvements in health.

Ben Franklin’s Nation - NYTimes.com:

Central Provision of Health Care Law Is Ruled Unconstitutional -NYT

A federal judge in Virginia ruled on Monday that the keystone provision in the Obama health care law is unconstitutional, becoming the first judge to invalidate any part of the sprawling act and ensuring that appellate courts will receive contradictory opinions from below.

The judge, Henry E. Hudson of Federal District Court in Richmond, said the law’s requirement that most Americans obtain insurance exceeded the regulatory authority granted to Congress under the Commerce Clause.

Judge Hudson, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, declined the plaintiff’s request to suspend the act’s implementation pending appeal, meaning there should be no immediate effect on its rollout.

But the ruling seemed likely to create confusion among the public and to further destabilize political support for a law that is under fierce attack from Republicans in Congress and in many statehouses. Party leaders, including the incoming House speaker, Representative John A. Boehnerof Ohio, quickly used the opinion to reiterate their call for repealing the law.

Central Provision of Health Care Law Is Ruled Unconstitutional - NYTimes.com

Party defection threatens Pakistan government

"ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling coalition was severely undermined Tuesday after a key member said it was joining the opposition because one of its ministers was fired over a corruption scandal.

The announcement by the Islamist party Jamiat Ulema Islam leaves the coalition with just a small majority in the National Assembly and threatens the stability of the weak civilian government whose cooperation is critical to America’s efforts in neighboring Afghanistan.

JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party was leaving because one of its ministers was fired after a scandal involving government organized pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.

“JUI is leaving the government from today ... our decision is final,” Rehman said.

That will leave President Asif Ali Zardari’s government with less leverage to push through key legislation. The JUI, for instance, said it will oppose a plan to pass a new sales tax that the government says would bring much needed revenue to the cash-strapped nation.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani fired two members of the Cabinet on Tuesday over the pilgrimage scandal. One was the religious affairs minister and the other, a member of JUI heading the ministry for science and technology."

Party defection threatens Pakistan government - Arab News

Kingdom praises Palestine’s recognition

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Monday praised the recognition of Palestine by Brazil and Argentina as an important development in international support for the legitimate rights of Palestinians.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, also denounced the Israeli move to Judaize Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque’s surroundings. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay recognized Palestine recently as an independent state based on 1967 borders before the six-day war in which Israel seized Gaza and the West Bank. The Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh urged the Arab and Islamic Ummah to take a decisive stand to prevent Israel’s flagrant violations that would destabilize the region and the entire world.

The Cabinet reviewed the outcome of last week’s GCC summit in Abu Dhabi, saying the resolutions taken by the two-day conference reflected the hopes and aspirations of the GCC countries and people.

The Cabinet thanked summit leaders for the brotherly feelings they expressed about Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who is recuperating at a US hospital following back surgery.

Kingdom praises Palestine’s recognition - Arab News

10 injured, 1 seriously, in NY school bus accident

NEW YORK: Officials say an adult was seriously hurt and nine children suffered lesser injuries when a yellow school bus jumped a curb and crashed into the front of a New York City bank.

A spokesman for the fire department says the accident happened Tuesday morning in Brooklyn.

All those injured have been transferred to hospitals.

The spokesman did not know what caused the accident.

- Arab News

Bomb hits school bus in Pakistan

"PESHAWAR: A bomb hit a school bus in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, killing a passerby and wounding two young girl students and two others, officials said.

Senior city administration official Siraj Ahmed said the bomb was placed in a dustbin on a roadside.

“When I saw the smoke, I ran toward my teachers at the back (of the bus). The teachers said ‘come, come’. So we got off the bus,” 6-year-old Eman, one of the wounded, said from a hospital where she was lying on a bed with her head bandaged.

The driver of the bus, who was also wounded said the bomb went off shortly after some of the teachers stepped off: “There was a sudden explosion. After that, I did not have my senses. I fell.”

Ahmed said one passerby was killed and the driver, two girl students and another passerby were wounded."

Bomb hits school bus in Pakistan - Arab News

Storms, snow, rains lash Mideast; Madinah valley being evacuated

JEDDAH/BEIRUT: Heavy rain, snow and fierce winds pummeled countries across the Middle East on Sunday for a second day, killing at least four people and wreaking havoc as a months-long drought came to a sudden, drastic end.

Saudi Arabia too braced for inclement weather as the Met office forecast heavy rains and thunderstorms in parts of the Kingdom.

Farm workers and company employees in Jazal Valley in Madinah’s Al-Ula principality have been asked to vacate the area immediately to ensure their safety following heavy rains there.

The Civil Defense gave the warning on Sunday after water levels rose at Jazal Dam. The Presidency for Meteorology and Environment (PME) predicted the possibility of heavy downpours, accompanied by lightning in many parts of the Kingdom on Monday, especially in the southwestern areas of Abha and Baha.

Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for PME, said low temperatures were expected in the eastern and northern parts of the Kingdom, adding that surface winds in these areas would reduce visibility to less than three km, especially in areas between Hafr Al-Baten, Qassim and Rafha.

“We expect the speed of surface winds in the northern and central parts of Red Sea to reach 50 km an hour and waves to reach more than two meters high. It will be the same conditions in the northern part of Arabian Gulf,” the spokesman said.

Security authorities in the northern parts of the Kingdom have taken precautionary measures in anticipation of any incidents due to heavy rains and duststorms. Poor visibility is expected in Tabuk, Al-Jouf, Hail, and Northern Border Province as well as in the Kingdom’s northern, western, central and eastern parts, Al-Qahtani said.

Storms, snow, rains lash Mideast; Madinah valley being evacuated - Arab News

Summer weather for a winter festival

"A blinding winter sun and clear blue skies melted five-decade-old records around Los Angeles on Sunday, driving people to beaches and parks to soak up a winter heat wave that pushed temperatures into the upper 80s.

Thermometers at Los Angeles International Airport and UCLA broke records set in 1952. Long Beach, Burbank, Oxnard and Camarillo broke record highs set in the 1980s. In downtown Los Angeles, temperatures scraped a 115-year-old high of 86, but fell a degree short.

Revelers at the annual Winter Holiday Festival in downtown's Pershing Square were in blissful denial as scores of children lined up to sled down a 12-foot, 100-ton hill of snow, albeit the man-made version."

Summer weather for a winter festival - latimes.com

In Tax Benefits to the Middle, Political Lift for Obama

WASHINGTON — With the Senate poised to hold a key vote on Monday on the tax cut deal between President Obama and Republicans, the political jousting has focused on what the agreement does for the wealthy by extending all of the Bush-era tax rates, and for the unemployed, by continuing jobless aid.

But a hefty portion of the $858 billion tax package will benefit middle- and upper-middle-income Americans — precisely the demographic that felt neglected the last two years as the White House and Congress focused on the major health care law and on helping the unemployed and people facing foreclosure.

These new tax breaks are in addition to the cuts Mr. Obama had always planned to maintain on all but the highest incomes, and they could pay big political dividends to Mr. Obama and other Democrats in 2012 — a point that the president and some senior advisers are counting on, and one reason that they were willing to give in to Republican demands to extend all Bush-era tax rates.

In Tax Benefits to the Middle, Political Lift for Obama - NYTimes.com

I have got records, I did speak to Karkare: Digvijay

GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who created a flutter by stating that slain Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare was under threat from right-wing groups, today insisted that he has spoken to the police officer a few hours before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008 and he has proof of this.

"I have got records for that. Absolutely, I am firm on this. I did speak to him and I have stated that already," he told reporters in Guwahati.

"I am sure those who are saying that I did not talk to Karkare would be proved wrong," he later said.

Digvijay's remarks came following a media report which said that call records of Karkare's cell phone showed that he had neither called nor received a call from the Congress general secretary during that period.

As he came under fire, Digvijay had yesterday stuck to his stand that Karkare had spoken about threats from right-wing groups during the telephonic conversation with him.

I have got records, I did speak to Karkare: Digvijay - The Times of India

Fifa-South Africa

Johannesburg - Following a meeting with President Jacob Zuma, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter presented the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust at Soccer City in Johannesburg. This trust will support a wide range of public benefit initiatives in the areas of football development, education, health and humanitarian activities in South Africa. The trust forms part of FIFA’s 2010 FIFA World Cup related legacy programmes and delivers on FIFA’s pledge to ensure that South Africans will continue to benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The trust amounts to USD 100 million, USD 80 million of which is being allocated directly to social community projects. The remaining USD 20 million was already provided to the South African Football Association (SAFA) in the build-up to the event for preparations and for the construction of SAFA House. As a first project financed by the trust, FIFA purchased 35 of the team buses and a fleet of 52 cars, which were handed over to SAFA today for transport of their regional teams.

The trust will be administered by international auditing company Ernst and Young while the trustees, consisting of a representative each from FIFA, SAFA, the government and the private sector, will evaluate into which public-benefit projects the money is invested. All projects must be submitted to the trustees for review with one of the decisive conditions being that they must be for public benefit only.


Click hear to read more

Inmates in Georgia Prisons Use Contraband Phones to Coordinate Protest - NYTimes.com

"Inmates in at least seven Georgia prisons have used contraband cellphones to coordinate a nonviolent strike this weekend, saying they want better living conditions and to be paid for work they do in the prisons.

Inmates said they would not perform chores, work for the Corrections Department’s industrial arm or shop at prison commissaries until a list of demands are addressed, including compensation for their work, more educational opportunities, better food and sentencing rules changes."

Inmates in Georgia Prisons Use Contraband Phones to Coordinate Protest - NYTimes.com:

Iran’s Foreign Minister Is Abruptly Fired While Abroad

"TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the country’s long-time foreign minister on Monday, a sudden move that caught many here by surprise and appeared to reflect a strengthening of the president’s power.
Enlarge This Image

Hasan Sarbakhshian/Associated Press
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran in 2008.
Mr. Ahmadinejad said in a presidential order that he had dismissed the minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who was currently traveling on an official trip in Senegal. The overseas location of Mr. Mottaki at the time of his dismissal made the announcement even more intriguing.

It has been well known that the Iranian leader had long sought to replace Mr. Mottaki but had been prevented from doing so until now by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in appointing the heads of several key ministries."

Iran’s Foreign Minister Is Abruptly Fired While Abroad - NYTimes.com:

End of Privacy: The Web knows Poppy Harlow's personal data

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Two simple pieces of data -- your name and e-mail address -- can unlock a shocking number of details about you, even if you consider yourself to be a very private person who carefully guards your online identity.

Just ask CNNMoney anchor Poppy Harlow. She doesn't have a personal Facebook profile. She doesn't have a LinkedIn account. She is on Twitter, but she typically limits her tweets to links for CNNMoney stories and videos."

End of Privacy: The Web knows Poppy Harlow's personal data - Dec. 13, 2010:

Twitter co-founder goes unrecognized

"Washington (CNN) -- He has approximately 1.6 million Twitter followers, but does that make Twitter co-founder Biz Stone a recognizable celebrity wherever he goes? Stone laughed when answering that question during an interview Sunday on CNN's 'Reliable Sources' with Howard Kurtz.
'No, no, I don't think internet dorks are necessarily the kind of people that get stopped in restaurants,' he said. 'They get me in little 140-character bursts of information.'
The Twitter co-founder also brushed off any notion that Twitter was stealing thunder from the popular social-networking site, Facebook.
'It doesn't feel like that for us, at least internally,' said Stone. 'I feel like we're adding to, you know, this sort of brave new world of information where we get what we need when we need it.'"

Twitter co-founder goes unrecognized - CNN.com

Snowstorm heads east after delaying travel and 'deflating' Metrodome

(CNN) -- A raging winter storm that dumped snow in parts of the Midwest over the weekend moved eastward Monday, bringing brutal wind chills, the possibility of even more snow and potential air travel delays.

In Cleveland, residents could see 5 to 9 inches of snowfall on Monday. By the end of this week, it could be covered in a few feet of snow, CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras said.

In Minneapolis, workers will continue trying to repair the roof of the massive Metrodome, which collapsed under the weight of snow. Meanwhile, school children there will get a day off. Minneapolis Public Schools called of classes for Monday as a result of heavy snows and dangerously cold temperatures.And airlines and passengers will continue to grapple with cancellations and delays as stranded travelers across the country become reluctant residents of airport terminals. High winds and snow in some locations will cause delays in some parts of the eastern United States.

Snowstorm heads east after delaying travel and 'deflating' Metrodome - CNN.com

Metrodome's dome collapses

(CNN) -- A powerful snowstorm barreled east through the Midwest on Sunday, bringing with it more precipitation and gusty winds and leaving behind a trail of significant damage, large snow drifts and subarctic temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.
Winter storm warnings and advisories Sunday extended as far west as Illinois, as far east as Pennsylvania, and as far south as northern Alabama and Georgia.
Meanwhile, residents of the upper Midwest who braved at-times blizzard conditions on Saturday faced the prospect Sunday night of wind chills dipping, in spots, as low as 30 degrees below zero. This comes after up to 23 inches of snow fell in parts of Minnesota and as many as 18.5 inches in Wisconsin since Friday.
"We could see wind chills (that are) obviously extremely dangerous for people, to have that kind of exposure for any length of time," said Tod Pritchard, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Emergency Management agency.

Bowe Bergahl Appears In New Taliban Video - ABC News

"Looking gaunt and scared and with a cut on his face, Bowe Bergdahl appears in a newly released Taliban video, a sign that the captive Army soldier is still alive, but that his nearly 18-month ordeal has taken a toll.

In the Line of Fire
The 44-minute video, which was widely distributed on the web, shows a clean-shaven Bergdahl standing with the senior Taliban commander responsible for his capture near the Pakistani border in June 2009. Bergdahl is on-screen for about 15 seconds just over halfway through the video. Some of the footage of Bergdahl is recycled fromer earlier videos."

Bowe Bergahl Appears In New Taliban Video - ABC News:

Hanoi Happy Birthday

"HA NOI — Spending for the 10-day celebration of Thang Long-Ha Noi's 1,000th anniversary hit VND265 billion (US$13.25 million), VND85 billion ($4.25 million) less than the amount expected by authorities.
The figures were released by Hoang Manh Hien, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee in the 22nd meeting of the municipal People's Council on Wednesday.
Hien said that during the preparations for the ceremony, the city had been determined to fight waste, save costs and avoid wrongdoing.
The money was mainly spent on the welcoming ceremony, gifts for guests, communication program-mes and cultural activities, he said."

click on the link to read more:http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Social-Isssues/206531/Happy-birthday-present-for-Ha-Noi.html

Estonia passes 2011 budget

"TALLINN - Estonia's parliament has passed a budget for next year that will see a 2 percent increase in revenue.

The Riigikogu passed it with a vote of 55-32. the budget increases spending by 5 percent to 6 billion euros while increasing evenue to to 5.7 billion euros - a modest deficit of 1.6 percent."

Estonia passes 2011 budget

Israel draws global rebuke

"RAMALLAH, West Bank: The European Union, the United Nations and the Arab League have rebuked Israel after its refusal to halt settlement construction forced Washington to drop efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday stuck to his position that he won't negotiate without a freeze of Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — lands captured by Israel and sought by the Palestinians for their state. He spoke after meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. 'Without halt of settlements, there will be no talks,' Abbas said.

With the path to direct talks effectively blocked, it is not clear what the Obama administration will do next.

Israeli and Palestinian envoys were summoned to Washington for separate meetings with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She saw Israeli envoy Yitzhak Molcho on Thursday, to be followed by talks with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Friday. Molcho also met Obama envoy George Mitchell for three hours, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said."

Israel draws global rebuke - Arab News

Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive - Palin warns of new 'death panels'

"Death Panels" could be back, Sarah Palin says. But this time they are not the creation of the Obama administration. No, these are the handiwork of the bipartisan debt commission.

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the former Alaska governor takes aim at several of the controversial commission's recommendations, saying the cuts it proposes "implicitly endorses the use of 'death panel'-like rationing."

Palin highlights the commission's proposal for an Independent Payments Advisory Board, a committee, she says, that will make "bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare."

Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive - Palin warns of new 'death panels' « - CNN.com Blogs

Obama predicts success for tax deal - CNN.com

"Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday he's confident that Congress will pass a compromise tax package despite the objections of House Democrats.
'Nobody -- Democrat or Republican -- wants to see people's paychecks smaller on Jan. 1 because Congress didn't act,' Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio.
'And I think that the framework that we've put forward, which says not only that people's taxes don't go up on Jan. 1, but also that we extend unemployment insurance for a year, that we make sure that key provisions like the college tax credit, the child tax credit, the earned-income tax credit are included -- that that framework is going to serve as the basis for compromise.'"

Obama predicts success for tax deal - CNN.com:

Falcon 9 Takeoff

(CNN) -- Call it one small step for a cheese, one giant leap fromage-kind.

A wheel of Le Brouere cheese was the secret cargo aboard the SpaceX Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to be recovered from Earth orbit, the company revealed Thursday. SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk hinted at the cargo after the capsule's successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday afternoon, suggesting it had something to do with the British comedy troupe Monty Python.

The block of fermented curd was a nod to one of the group's best-known sketches, "Cheese Shop." The wheel, described only as "very big," was being towed back to California aboard a barge along with the spacecraft and "basking in the glow of being the first cheese to travel to orbit on a commercial spacecraft," company spokeswoman Kirstin Brost told CNN.

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Nepal Tourism Year-2011 promoted in India Travel Mart

Nepal promoted Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY-2011) in India International Travel Mart (IITM) in Hyderabad, India.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) along with other private travel trade companies participated in the travel mart from December 3 to 5, 2010 to promote NTY campaign.

During the event, Nepal promoted and distributed all tourism information. The event was fruitful for promotion of NTY-2011 as the visitors were interested and interacted with private tour companies and looked for special tour package, NTB said.

Most of the visitors were seen interested to visit Nepal for adventure, leisure and religious purposes.

Nepal Tourism Year-2011 promoted in India Travel Mart: "Nepal Tourism Year-2011 promoted in India Travel Mart"

On Sri Lanka, ICC Prosecution “Could Be an Option” for State Party Nationals -ICP

UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- With International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo at the UN on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked him about the killings in Sri Lanka and if and when the ICC could take action. Video here, from Minute 21:14.

Ocampo began with the obvious, that Sri Lanka is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. But as Inner City Press pointed out in its question, several of those suspected of war crimes in Sri Lanka have dual citizenship, some with countries that ARE members of the ICC.

Ocampo said that if there becomes “clarity that nationals of state parties committed crimes, that could be an option.” Videohere, from Minute 23:29.

Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations: "On Sri Lanka, ICC Prosecution “Could Be an Option” for State Party Nationals"

UN begins evacuating personnel out of Ivory Coast due to election outcome

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Hundreds of residents have fled Ivory Coast, United Nations officials said Tuesday, as the UN also began evacuating some 500 staffers after a contentious election that resulted in both candidates claiming the presidency.

UN Development Program country director Andre Carvalho said hundreds of people have fled to neighboring countries, and that officials feared more would leave if violence broke out.

“While there has not been any major violence, people have started fleeing into Ghana and Liberia,” he said.

The international community has recognized opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner of last week’s runoff vote. Both Ouattara and President Laurent Gbagbo claimed victory in the poll and took oaths of office, and Gbagbo has defied pressure from France, the US and the UN to step down.

Carvalho said the uncertainty over the poll has interrupted daily activities in the world’s largest cocoa-producing nation.

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begins evacuating personnel out of Ivory Coast - Arab News

China Bid for high-speed rail record

"BEIJING - China aims to break the high-speed rail world record in a trial run next year, industry sources said on Tuesday.

An experimental train - under development by CSR Corp Limited for test but not operational purposes - will 'try to break the 574.8-km/h record' set by France's TGV (Train Grande Vitesse, or high-speed train) in April 2007, CSR sources said at the 7th World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing on Tuesday.

On Dec 3, a high-speed passenger train manufactured by CSR set an operating speed record of 486.1 km/h on a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai line.

The sources did not elaborate on the exact date the test will be carried out.

As China's high-speed trains are running faster, its ambition to tap the world's high-speed railway market is also speeding up.

A railway linking Vientiane, capital of Laos, with the Laos-China border, which China will help to build, may see construction start in 2012, Somsavat Lengsavad, standing deputy prime minister of Laos, said on Tuesday."

Bid for high-speed rail record:

The Sarkozy's Syrian gamble leaves Americans skeptical

The policy of opening of Nicolas Sarkozy regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has generated much skepticism on the U.S. side. Washington would have preferred a less hurried and more clearly subject to conditions, considering that Damascus remains a major source of problems (arms transfers to Hezbollah of Lebanon, support for Hamas, interference in Iraq).

In telegrams obtained by Wikileaks U.S. and consulted by Le Monde , the French president's approach is described as "a big gamble" involving "risk" .Some cables express "dismay" at the attitude of the Elysee, and note the differences with the Quai d'Orsay , perceived as more strict towards Damascus.

"The French presidency has learned its lesson from its failed attempts last year to work with Syria" , written as an American diplomat in Paris in May 2008. Another telegram seems ironic, in June 2008, that "the emissaries of the Elysee consider their visit to Damascus as a success" .

To read more click on the link: The Sarkozy's Syrian gamble leaves Americans skeptical - LeMonde.fr