116 Dead In Iraq Attacks

Two bombs killed nine people in Iraq late on Monday, police and hospital sources said, taking to 116 the death toll in a string of co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks against mostly Shia Muslim targets.A car bomb exploded near a cafe in the Shia district of Ameen in south-eastern Baghdad, killing six men and wounding 24 others as they sat smoking shisha water pipes and drinking tea.Three other people died when a roadside bomb went off near their minibus about 12 miles west of Baquba, a city north-east...

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German Appeals Court Bans Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Europe

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7 was banned in Europe by the Duesseldorf Higher Court on Tuesday because it found the tablet infringes on Apple's design rights and looks too much like the iPad.The appeals court also ruled that the altered Galaxy Tab 10.1N, does not infringe on Apple's designs, and will be allowed to be sold in Germany.The Galaxy Tab 7.7 infringed on Apple's community designs, unitary industrial design rights that protect the intellectual property of products sold in the European Union,...

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Colorado shooting suspect shows little emotion in court

The 24-year-old former graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 at a Colorado movie theatre last week has made a brief court appearance, looking sleepy and disoriented with dyed orange-red hair.James Holmes kept his eyes downcast and said nothing during the brief hearing. He is scheduled to be formally charged next Monday.Holmes was arrested outside a movie theatre in Aurora shortly after a mass shooting at a midnight Friday screening of the latest Batman film.He has been held in solitary confinement at a Denver-area county...

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Pakistan Explosion Kills Nine

A suicide bomb attack has killed at least nine people in north-western Pakistan, officials say.The blast went off at the entrance to an anti-Taliban commander's compound in Kurram, part of the tribal regions which border Afghanistan.The compound is used by a local militia and also contains residential units, reports the Reuters news agency.Pakistan's military has been carrying out operations against militant groups in the tribal regions for months.Three children were among the dead, tribal police officials told the Associated Press (AP). At least...

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Syria Crisis: Heavy Clashes In Second City Of Aleppo

There have been heavy clashes between security forces and rebels in Syria's second city of Aleppo, activists say.The fighting was centred on the Salah al-Din district, but had also spread to Sakhur and Haydariya, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.Aleppo has so far been spared the daily bloodshed seen in other cities since the uprising began in March 2011.The violence came a day after the UN Security Council voted to extend the UN observer mission for a "final" 30 days.A resolution...

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Aurora Batman Shootings: Police Prepare To Enter Flat

Police in the US state of Colorado are to make a second attempt to enter the flat of James Holmes, suspected of shooting dead 12 people and injuring 58 at a Batman film screeing on Friday. They spotted booby-traps and wires in an initial reconnaissance of his home. A man in a gas mask and body armour threw tear gas canisters at a midnight screening, then fired on the crowd in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. Mr Holmes, 24, was arrested outside the cinema, police said. FBI agents and police discovered...

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Colo. Shooting Suspect Not Cooperating

The suspect in a shooting that killed or wounded 71 people in suburban Denver is reportedly not talking to investigators. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that 24-year-old James Holmes has asked for a lawyer. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case. The person also says police found jars of chemicals in Holmes' booby trapped Aurora apartment with wires nearby. Source: AP...

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Thousands of refugees flee violence in Syria

Thousands of Syrian refugees are pouring into neighbouring countries as fighting between government forces and rebels intensifies.The UN refugee agency says up to 30,000 people are reported to have crossed into Lebanon over the past 48 hours.The UN Security Council agreed on Friday to extend its observer mission in Syria for a "final" 30 days.Meanwhile, clashes have continued in Damascus, with the military repelling a rebel assault in the Midan area.State media announced on Friday that Midan...

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China artist Ai Weiwei's tax evasion appeal rejected

A court in China has rejected an appeal by Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei against a tax evasion fine, his lawyer says.Police barred Mr Ai from attending court in Beijing's Chaoyang district to hear the verdict delivered.Tax authorities imposed a 15m yuan ($2.4m, £1.5m) fine on Mr Ai's firm for tax evasion in 2011.Supporters say the fine is politically motivated and Mr Ai wanted the court to overrule the penalty.''We will keep appealing, until the day comes when we have nothing to lose,''...

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12 Dead, Dozens Injured In Movie-theatre Shooting

One man has been arrested following a mass shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado left 12 people dead and 50 injured.A suspected gunman opened fire in a packed theatre about 16 kilometres outside of Denver during a midnight screening of the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” early Friday morning.Police have identified the 24-year-old suspect as James Holmes. The FBI said Holmes is not connected with any terrorist groups.Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said witnesses reported that...

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Next iPhone To Slim Down

Apple Inc.'s AAPL -0.05% next iPhone, currently being manufactured by Asian component makers, will use a new technology that makes the smartphone's screen thinner, people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. technology giant strives to improve technological features amid intensifying competition from Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -1.20% and other rivals. Japanese liquid-crystal-display makers Sharp Corp. 6753.TO +0.32% and Japan Display Inc.—a new company that combined three Japanese...

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Train Derails In Egyptian Capital Cairo

A train has derailed south of Egypt's capital Cairo, injuring at least 15 passengers, officials have said.There are differing reports on what caused the crash, and on the number of people hurt.One passenger said that some people had been killed, although a health ministry spokesman said no-one had died.The train was heading into Cairo from the province of Suhag when it came off the line in the Badrashin area of Giza."Three wagons of train number 990 came off the tracks without any loss of life,"...

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Indonesia Seeks To Mend SE Asia Rift Over South China Sea

Indonesia's top diplomat began a Southeast Asian tour on Wednesday to try to patch up an internal rift within the ASEAN group over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, saying the split represented a critical moment for the regional bloc. The 10-nation group could not agree a concluding joint statement at a ministerial meeting last week, riven with discord over how to address China's increasingly assertive role in the strategic waters of the South China Sea. It was the first time in almost...

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Blast Kills Core Syrian Security Officials

President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law and Syria’s defense minister were killed on Wednesday when a suicide bomber attacked a crisis group of senior ministers and security chiefs meeting in central Damascus, according to state television and activists. The assassinations were the first of such high-ranking members of the power elite in the 17-month revolt against Mr. Assad’s rule, and could represent a turning point in the conflict, analysts said. The nature and target of the attack, they...

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Scores Dead Or Missing In Japan Deluge

At least 17 people have died, 20 are missing and 50,000 have been ordered to evacuate as the heaviest rainfall on record pounded the south-western Japanese island of Kyushu.Emergency workers in Kumamoto prefecture responded to multiple reports of mudslides swallowing houses and people being trapped, with access roads blocked by mud or gushing water, officials said.Troops have been deployed with nearly 100 millimetres of rain falling in an hour in some areas.''Particularly in Kumamoto and Oita...

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9 Die As Gunmen Attack Compound Housing Policemen In Pakistan

Taliban gunmen opened fire on a compound housing policemen in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing nine of them, officials said.The police who were targeted in the city of Lahore were training to become prison guards, said Habibur Rehman, the chief of police in Punjab province, where Lahore is the capital.Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for the police torture of their fighters in prison. He spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.The police...

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South Africa Train Crash Kills 20

Twenty people were killed in South Africa on Friday when a goods train ploughed into a truck carrying farm workers at a level crossing, an official said. The train transporting coal to Mozambique collided with a four-tonne truck and dragged it down the tracks, leaving dismembered bodies in its wake in what rescue officials described as a gruesome scene. The accident occurred shortly before 7:30 am (0530GMT) near the town of Malelane in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, south of the famed...

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Woman Weighed 55 Lbs At Time Of Death

A 70-year-old Illinois man has been charged following the 2011 death of his wife, accused of neglecting to care for her.When health officials went to the home of Mary Jane and Joseph Duffy in August 2011, they found the 61-year-old woman weighed just 55 lbs. Mary Jane had been suffering dementia, and when police arrived on Aug. 23, they discovered she had multiple ulcers covering her body, severe bruising, multiple fractured bones and missing teeth, was blind and did not move from the fetal position.When...

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Cop Allegedly Threatened To Shoot Michelle Obama

A Washington police officer who worked as a motorcycle escort for White House officials and other dignitaries was moved to administrative duty Wednesday after he allegedly was overheard making threatening comments toward Michelle Obama, according to several police officials. The police department’s Internal Affairs Division is investigating the alleged comments and notified the U.S. Secret Service Wednesday, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized...

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Israeli Military Strikes Gaza, Kills 1 Militant

A Palestinian militant was killed and four people were wounded in Israeli air and artillery attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a Gaza health official said.The Israeli military confirmed a combined air and artillery attack, which Gaza health official Dr. Ashraf al-Kidra said wounded three Palestinians, including one critically.Al-Kidra said a second airstrike later Thursday morning killed the militant and wounded another. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that report.The Palestinians had no information on the identities of the...

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Nigerians Die In Fuel Tanker Fire

More than 100 people have died in southern Nigeria after a tanker carrying petrol crashed.The authorities say the vehicle did not immediately burst into flames so nearby villagers rushed to collect the fuel.But the tanker then exploded, burning many of them to death.Journalist Emeka Idika said a mass burial for those burnt beyond recognition would take place in Rivers state and about 35 people had been taken to hospital.He said the death toll might be higher as some people from the nearby village...

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French Alps Avalanche: Nine killed Near Chamonix

Nine climbers have been killed in an avalanche near the French Alpine ski resort of Chamonix and four others are missing, officials say.Those killed were reported to be from Spain, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Nine other climbers were injured.Local authorities deployed rescue teams in helicopters and said it was the deadliest avalanche in recent memory.The alarm was sounded at 05:25 local time (03:25 GMT) by one of the injured on the slopes of Mont Maudit.The route is popular with summer...

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"It's A Boson:" Higgs Quest Bears New Particle

Scientists at Europe's CERN research center have found a new subatomic particle, a basic building block of the universe, which appears to be the boson imagined and named half a century ago by theoretical physicist Peter Higgs."We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature," CERN director general Rolf Heuer told a gathering of scientists and the world's media near Geneva on Wednesday."The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson opens the way to more detailed studies,...

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Holmes Faces Cruise, Scientology In Fight For Suri

Actress Katie Holmes faces two strong adversaries in her legal fight for sole custody of 6-year-old daughter, Suri, as she battles estranged husband Tom Cruise and his Scientology religion, experts said on Monday.The "Dawson's Creek" actress, 33, made headlines last week when she filed for divorce from "Mission: Impossible" actor Cruise after nearly six years of marriage and one child.While Holmes, Cruise and representatives for both have remained quiet about the reasons for the high-profile...

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Russian Wikipedia Closes Site To Protest Internet Law

The Russian version of online encyclopedia Wikipedia closed its site on Tuesday in a one-day protest against what it said were plans by President Vladimir Putin to create his own version of the "Great Chinese Firewall" to block dissent on the Internet.Supporters of amendments to Russia's information law, which were proposed by the ruling United Russia party and will be discussed in parliament on Wednesday, say changes are needed to protect children from harmful sites.But leaders of anti-Putin...

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Congolese Warlord Gets 14 Years For Using Child Soldiers

The International Criminal Court handed down its first sentence Tuesday, imprisoning for 14 years a Congolese warlord convicted of using child soldiers.Thomas Lubanga was convicted in March of recruiting and using children in his Union of Congolese Patriots militia, sending them to kill and be killed during fighting in Congo's eastern Ituri region in 2002-2003.Presiding Judge Adrian Fulford said the sentence reflected the need to protect children in wartime."The vulnerability of children means...

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Kofi Annan Says Iran Can Help End Syria Crisis

U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan said Tuesday that “Iran can play a positive role” in ending a bloody 17-month standoff between Syrian rebels and the government of President Bashar al-Assad, and declared that Iran should be “part of the solution in the Syrian crisis.”Emphasizing that he was speaking only for himself, Annan, a former U.N. secretary general, held a news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi after a meeting in which they discussed how Iran — a stalwart ally of Assad’s...

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