Welcome to the police state--US of A Topic: tsa (travel security administrat
Dear Biodun Iginla,
John Tyner had two options when he got to the airport:
Go through TSA's expensive new "porno scanners" unprotected, which the Airline Pilots Association tells pilots to refuse.1
Get an aggressive groping by a TSA agent that one woman described as being "sexually assaulted by a government official."2
Tyner chose the latter option. But when he objected to the TSA's plan to fondle his genitals, the agents refused to let him board his flight. Tyner recorded the incident in a now-famous video in which he told the TSA to "don't touch my junk."3
Now the TSA says they are "investigating" Tyner, threatening him with prosecution and $11,000 in civil penalties.4 It should be obvious why the TSA is investigating Tyner: to intimidate the rest of us.
These new aggressive "pat downs" started on November 1, to punish people like Tyner who refuse to go through the scanners. Neither the scanners nor the aggressive pat-downs make us any safer.
Experts call it "security theater," to insure the market for this new, expensive boondoggle doesn't dry up when the public refuses to participate.
The House of Representatives voted against funding the scanners because they are incredibly invasive and don't keep us safe.5 So the Department of Homeland Security flipped them the middle finger and used $25 million in stimulus funds to buy machines anyway - creating just one job in the process.6
Now the TSA is further abusing its power, threatening a citizen's most basic rights to intimidate the rest of us.
There should be no question: the only thing the TSA's new "groping" policy is meant to impact is people's willingness to go through these machines, which render images of people's naked bodies so graphic one mother called it "child pornography."7
And the TSA's decision to prosecute Tyner is nothing but an attempt to intimidate the public from following his lead and resisting this outrageous invasion of their personal freedoms. They want us to give up our rights for their latest abuses of power.
This has nothing to do with keeping us "safe." It's the product of outrageous government corruption and an invasion of our most basic ideas of privacy.
1. "President's Message." US Airline Pilot Association (USAPA), 11/8/10 2. "TSA - Sexual Assault." Our Little Chatterboxes, 11/12/10 3. "TSA Encounter at SAN." Johnny Edge, 11/13/10 4. "TSA May Prosecute 'Don't Touch My Junk' Guy." Firedoglake, 11/16/10 5. "TSA to the White House on Whole-Body Scanners: Shove It." Consumer Traveler, 10/2/09 6. "Project Summary: Rapiscan Systems, INC." Recovery.gov. 7. "TSA Child Porn or Protection?" WMAR ABC2 News, 7/22/10
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BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Dow Drops 179 Points to 11,023.50 After Global Worries Topic: dow jones, judith stein, bbc new by Judith Stein and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and The Economist Tue, November 16, 2010 -- 4:18 PM ET -----
The Dow Jones industrial average briefly fell below 11,000 for the first time since early October.
Stocks were down for the seventh consecutive day after worries about Europe's debt crisis and possible moves by authorities in Asia to slow fast-paced growth there swept the world's markets on Tuesday.
This year the BBC African Footballer of the Year nominees are Asamoah Gyan, Andre 'Dede' Ayew, Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba. You've watched them all year, now vote for your champion.
Heavy smoking during pregnancy could increase the chances of your child committing crimes in later life, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Angela Paradis led the research.
"One of the problems has been trying to do a Silicon Valley thing with a Singapore kind of mentality." Can this small city-state ever become a hub for innovative entrepreneurs? Peter Day explores the island's attitude to local business.
There is growing concern over the debt problems that have engulfed Portugal and Ireland, raising fears they may need emergency bail-outs from the European Union. Ireland has insisted it does not need EU help. The BBC's Jonty Bloom reports from Dublin.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged. We'll get your reaction to the day's most popular story. And we hear how your life has been affected by the finan...
Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged. We'll get your reaction to the day's most popular story. And we hear how your life has been affected by the financial crisis.
LAST MONTH, Gulliver told you all about how America's Transportation Security Administration is "enhancing" its pat-down airport security searches in an effort to force more people to go through the controversial full-body backscatter scanners that have been installed at many US airports. As it turns out, the backlash to the "enhanced" pat-downs was just beginning—and the TSA's response has been typically inept. BoingBoing, which has been all over the story*, notes that the TSA's "Blogger Bob" is denying the very existence of any "groping" incidents. Ah, public relations:
You know those outraged, desperate first-person reports of travellers being inappropriately groped by the TSA at American airports? The TSA's official blogger, Blogger Bob, says they don't exist: "there is no fondling, squeezing, groping, or any sort of sexual assault taking place at airports. You have a professional workforce carrying out procedures they were trained to perform to keep aviation security safe."
Whatever Blogger Bob may think, Americans' discomfort with the "enhanced" pat-down (which, as Jeff Goldberg pointed out, isn't even effective) is growing. Over at Democracy in America, a colleague reflects on having to choose between a peep show and a near-fondling:
The Transportation Security Administration, America's second-most loathed bureaucracy, has used its stimulus bucks to stock up on fancy ritual-humiliation scanners that electronically disrobe air-travellers..... [I]f you are unwilling to surrender your dignity to a low-level security-state functionary in this way, you always have the option to surrender your dignity to a low-level security-state functionary in an "enhanced pat-down". The enhancement is that the TSA agent now gets right in there and gropes nearer the possibly ne'er-do-well passengers' tender bits.... I'm flying to Boston tomorrow. If forced to make a choice, I'll opt for the nudeoscope (I've been working out), but if resentment could be weaponised, I'd be a dangerous man. It's an outrage we're forced to live like this.
Indeed. That "weaponised resentment" seems to be the impetus behind "National Opt-Out Day," a campaign that aims to draw attention to the controversy by encouraging Americans to "opt-out" of the full-body scanner on Wednesday, November 24. That's the day before American Thanksgiving—perhaps the busiest travel day of the year in this country—so a side effect of "Opt-Out Day" will be to make everyone—TSA employees and travellers alike—miserable. I won't be flying on that day (praise the Lord), so I don't have to worry to much about the inconvenience personally. But if the campaign is at all effective, it will mean massively longer lines and an even more difficult Thanksgiving travel season. For some people, trying to force the TSA to change its policies could be worth the inconvenience. For most of us, I suspect it won't. What do you think?
*BoingBoing has also been posting links to some hilarious TSA t-shirts: "TSA: We're making air travel a touching experience" and "TSA: Your naked photos are safe with us" are two great examples.
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Rangel Violated Numerous House Ethics Rules, Panel Finds Topic: charlie rangel, bbc news
by Melissa Gruz, BBC News US Desk, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla
Tue, November 16, 2010 -- 11:58 AM ET
----- A House ethics panel has found that Representative Charles B. Rangel committed multiple ethical violations. He had been accused of bringing dishonor to Congress by accepting rent-stabilized apartments from a Manhattan developer, failing to pay taxes on a rental income from his Dominican villa and raising charitable donations from companies and corporate executives who had business before the committee he led.
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Bill Clinton Films Cameo in ‘Hangover 2’ Topic: bill clinton, Earth day, biodun
by Suzanne Gould, BBC News Cultural and News Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla
Maybe he reckons that if it was good enough for Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s good enough for Bill Clinton.
The former U.S. president is reported to have put in a cameo appearancein the upcoming comedy "The Hangover 2," a sequel to last year's hit about a group of men who wake up after a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night's wild events.
The sequel is currently shooting in Bangkok, Thailand, and scheduled for release next year. On Monday, People magazine, citing an unnamed Clinton source, reported that the movie's makers had the ex-president appear in front of their cameras.
Clinton will play himself, but no other details were reported by People, which said Clinton was in Bangkok because he was making a speech on clean energy.
Representatives for Clinton and the Warner Bros. film studio, which is behind the "Hangover" movies, did not return e-mails seeking comment.
While Clinton has never formally acted in a major studio movie, he certainly has ties to Tinseltown owing to his days as president when key backers included TV producers Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, among others.
"The Hangover" proved to be a surprise hit at box offices last year with more than $467 million in global ticket sales. "Hangover 2" already has made headlines in the casting arena: Mel Gibson was replaced by Liam Neeson following colleagues’ complaints about Gibson's participation.
Schwarzenegger, of course, is the erstwhile Hollywood star of action flicks such as "The Terminator" who is now the governor of California. His term ends in January and already there is speculation about a return to Hollywood. He made a cameo in the recent action movie "The Expendables."
BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Dolan Is Surprise Choice to Lead U.S. Bishops' Group Topic: timothy dolan, bbc news by Suzanne Gould, BBC News Analyst, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla Tue, November 16, 2010 -- 10:28 AM ET -----
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York was elected president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at a meeting in Baltimoreon Tuesday, defeating the conference's sitting vice president, Gerlad KIcanas of Tucson. It was the first time since the 1960s that a vice president was on the ballot for president and lost, the Associated Press reported. Archbishop Dolan, who was notably omitted from a list of newly elevated cardinals last month, won 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Bishop Kicanas in the third round of voting.
AP – Chinese motorists pass by an apartment building in the background, which was damaged by fire in the downtown …
by Xian Wan, BBC NewSoutheast Asia Desk, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla– 59 mins ago
SHANGHAI – Police detained unlicensed welders Tuesday on suspicion of accidentally starting a fire that engulfed a high-rise apartment building under renovation in China's business capital, killing at least 53 people, as public anger grew over the government's handling of the disaster.
A preliminary investigation showed four welders improperly operated their equipment, sparking Monday's blaze in Shanghai, the city government said on its website. Police investigating the disaster said eight people had been detained, but did not identify them.
Shanghai's fire chief said the fire started on the 10th floor and spread quickly to scaffolding and nylon nets covering the 28-story building. The inferno sent black smoke billowing across the city's skyline.
In addition to the 53 fatalities, the city government said Tuesday that more than 70 other people had been rushed to hospitals. Fifteen were in serious condition, most elderly and suffering from smoke inhalation, the deputy director of the Shanghai Health Bureau, Li Weiping, said.
Frustration grew Tuesday among relatives seeking answers to how such a tragedy could happen in a wealthy city that is one of the country's best-run urban centers.
"It is hard to believe the government now. The drills on TV are successful, but when a fire truly happens, it's just useless. We feel helpless," said a woman who gave only her surname, Liu. She said her mother lived on the ninth floor of the building and died in the fire.
"There must be something illegal in the construction materials, though we don't know. I am waiting for the government's explanation," Liu said. The renovations were intended to improve the building's energy efficiency.
At one temporary facility for residents of the building, one middle-aged man was shouting that he was being stopped from going to a funeral home to identify his wife.
"I couldn't sleep last night, and have been waiting hours and hours. Why don't they tell me the truth, why don't they let me go?" said the man, who refused to give his name.
Survivors were taken to nine Shanghai hospitals, where relatives searched for their loved ones. Local authorities have tried to determine the number of residents in the building when the fire broke out and how many remain missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Chen Jiulong, Shanghai's deputy police chief, said eight people had been detained. He did not say if all were workers.
"This fire is a manmade disaster involving heavy responsibility and we must pursue those who are legally responsible for it," he said.
Shanghai Fire Chief Chen Fei told the same news conference that 200 firefighters went into the burning building and rescued 107 people. He said once the scaffolding and nylon nets caught fire the flames spread quickly, especially because it was a windy day.
Asked if there could still be people inside, Chen would only say firefighters entered the building after the blaze was largely put out Monday evening and were carrying out "an extremely thorough search."
Shanghai, a city of 20 million and the venue of the recently concluded World Expo, has witnessed a construction frenzy in recent years, ranging from high rises that dot its skyline to new subway lines, highways and airport upgrades. But unsafe building work remains a chronic problem in China.
Last year, a nearly finished 13-story apartment building in Shanghai collapsed, killing one worker. Investigations showed that excavated dirt piled next to the building may have caused the collapse.
There have been no reports of serious apartment fires in China in recent years. The Shanghai fire is the worst since 53 people died in a supermarket fire in Jilin province in northeast China in 2003, according to the State Administration for Work Safety. It said 300 died in another supermarket fire in Henan province in central China in 2000.
The European Union is in a "survival crisis" over eurozone debt problems, the EU Council president has warned.
Speaking hours before eurozone ministers meet to address threats to the bloc's economic stability, Herman Van Rompuy said that if the euro failed, so too would the EU.
Members such as the Republic of Ireland and Portugal are under fresh scrutiny.
Questions have been raised over whether they can manage their debt without help from EU funds.
Mr Van Rompuy said he was "very confident" the problems could be overcome.
But he added: "We all have to work together in order to survive with the eurozone, because if we don't survive with the eurozone we will not survive with the European Union."
When Ireland explicitly guaranteed the Irish banking system just over two years ago, the finance minister, Brian Lenihan, said it was 'the cheapest bank bailout in the world'. It is turning out to be very expensive”
The Irish Republic has insisted it does not need EU help.
But there is intense speculation that both it and Portugal may be forced to use EU bail-out money.
Portugal's finance minister has said that investors believed that his country would be forced to seek emergency help, because of the worries spreading in the markets.
Fernando Teixeira dos Santos urged Dublin to do the right thing for the euro and accept a bail-out.
And the Spanish treasury secretary called on the Republic to act quickly to end market uncertainties.
On Tuesday, Spain held an auction of government bonds - a routine way for governments to raise funds.
However as Irish bail-out concerns hit other eurozone periphery countries, the rates it must pay on money borrowed - the bond yield - was higher than that faced earlier in the year.
Solidarity sought
The BBC's business editor Robert Peston said that much hinged on the stance of the European Central Bank (ECB) - which has propped up the Irish Republic's banking system with loans it could not get on the money markets.
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What went wrong in the Irish Republic
The 1990s were good for the Irish Republic's economy, with low unemployment, high economic growth and strong exports creating the Celtic Tiger economy. Lots of multi-national companies set up in the Republic to take advantage of low tax rates.
At the beginning of 1999, Ireland adopted the euro as its currency, which meant its interest rates were set by the European Central Bank and suddenly borrowing money became much cheaper.
Cheap and easy lending and rising immigration fuelled a construction and house price boom. The government began to rely more on property-related taxes while the banks borrowed from abroad to fund the housing boom.
All this left Ireland ill-equipped to deal with the credit crunch. The construction sector was hit hard, house prices collapsed, the banks had a desperate funding crisis and the government was receiving much too little tax revenue.
The economy has shrunk and the government has bailed out the banks. A series of cost-cutting budgets have cut spending, benefits and public sector wages and raised taxes. But there are still doubts about future government funding.
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"Without the financial support of the ECB, Ireland would be bust right now," he said.
"But if there is the faintest sign that the ECB wants to withdraw the succour it has provided to weak eurozone banks, Ireland will no longer have a choice, it will have to go cap in hand either to its EU partners or to the IMF."
The Irish Republic's Europe Minister, Dick Roche, admitted that there were major liquidity problems at the country's banks.
However, he said that his government had made major spending cuts which would be continued in its upcoming budget, and added that he hoped there would be "solidarity" from European colleagues at the Brussels meeting.
"I would hope after the meeting there would be more logic introduced into this," he told the BBC.
"There is no reason why we should trigger an IMF or an EU-type bail-out. There is a problem with liquidity in banks, there is no doubt about that. But I don't think that the appropriate response to that would be for the European finance ministers to panic."
There are a range of funds which troubled nations could access - including the European Financial stability facility - 440bn-euro (£372bn) pot of money set up to aid eurozone countries that run into debt difficulties.
And while the UK is not part of the eurozone, its taxpayers could end up footing some of the bill for any bail-outs.
For example, there is the European Financial Stability Mechanism - a 60bn-euro, EU-wide scheme, which countries can draw on and to which the UK contributes 12%.
Also, if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is asked to step in, the UK would fund 4.5% of any aid.
There would be a serious risk of a new credit crunch, and global recession, if the providers of that $1.5 trillion of credit to Ireland, Portugal and Greece were to lose confidence... and were to ask for their money back now”
The Republic of Ireland government has consistently stated its determination to restore stability to the public finances and stressed that it is "fully funded" until late 2011.
The banks have struggled since 2008, when the Irish Republic suffered a dramatic collapse of its property market.
House values have fallen between 50% and 60% and bad debts - mainly in the form of loans to developers - have built up in the country's main banks, bringing them to the verge of collapse.
Reports suggest the Republic will try to reassure markets by bringing forward details of its four-year financial plan to next week.
The proposals will be severe. It has said it will impose unprecedented spending cuts or tax rises totalling 6bn euros (£5bn) to try to bring its underlying budget deficit down from about 12% to between 9.5 and 9.75% next year.
While intended to boost confidence in the country's finances, investors fear the budget cuts could plunge the Republic back into recession, leading to further losses to the government via falling tax revenues and higher benefit payments.
Preliminary results show that Alpha Conde has been elected president of Guinea, winning 52.5 percent of the run-off vote against Cellou Dalein Diallo, the African nation's electoral commission said.
Shanghai residents voiced outrage on Tuesday over lax safety practices after an apartment fire killed at least 53 people a day earlier. Monday's fire has been blamed on unlicensed welders and four people have been detained, Xinhua news agency said.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss Ireland's debt crisis on Tuesday, a day after Dublin said it was in "official" talks with the EU but denied the negotiations involved a financial rescue package. Ireland says only its banks are struggling.
Accused arms trafficker Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death", was flown out of Bangkok on a special US jet after Thai authorities on Tuesday approved his extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.
Facebook has launched a new online messaging service that blends online chat, text messages, and other real-time conversation tools with traditional email. Founder Mark Zuckerberg said that regular email has become too slow for young Web users.
As finance ministers from the 16 countries that share the euro prepare for tense talks about eurozone stability on Tuesday, the financial woes of Ireland, Portugal and Greece remain a concern.
US President Barack Obama warned emerging economies like China against relying heavily on exports Saturday at the APEC forum in Japan, as the divisions between America and China on trade and currency issues re-emerged Saturday.
Facebook has launched a new online messaging service that blends online chat, text messages, and other real-time conversation tools with traditional email. Founder Mark Zuckerberg said that regular email has become too slow for young Web users.
After two days of intense negotiations at the G20 summit in Seoul, leaders of the world’s 20 major economies agreed to a set of guidelines to tackle protectionism and trade imbalances. But details were left to be discussed next year.
Rolls-Royce announced on Friday that the failure of a Qantas A380 engine last week was a flaw specific to its Trent 900 series of engines and only affected a specific component of the turbine engine that started an oil fire.
Germany’s Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) picked up the 2010 Formula One world champion title with a win at the season’s last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. At 23, Vettel is the youngest F1 driver to claim the title.
Sweden's Robin Soderling clinched the Paris Masters title with a 6-1, 7-6 win in the final over Frenchman Gael Monfils. Soderling becomes the first Swede to win a Masters 1000 tournament since Thomas Enqvist in 2000.
Frenchman Franck Cammas has won the ninth edition of the Route de Rhum, finishing the transatlantic solo sprint from Saint Malo in France to Guadeloupe's Pointe-à-Pitre in his giant trimaran Groupama 3 in nine days, three hours and 14 minutes.
The UCI international cycling authority said Monday it was asking the Spanish cycling federation to open disciplinary procedures against Tour de France champion Alberto Contador after it was revealed he had failed a drug test taken in July.
Bottom-placed Arles-Avignon beat Caen 3-2 on Saturday to pick up their first win of the season. Stade Rennes remain second after a draw against Lyon, one point behind Ligue 1 leaders Brest, who lost to Lille.
The Academy of Mostion Picture Arts and Science held their annual Governors Awards Saturday, bestowing honorary Oscars to four film veterans, including groundbreaking directors Jean-Luc Godard (pictured) and Francis Ford Coppola.
Dino De Laurentiis, the producer of Italian neo-realist masterpieces and of Hollywood hits including "Serpico" and “Blue Velvet”, has died in Los Angeles aged 91.
The best-selling author Michel Houellebecq, known for his blunt depictions of alienation and male angst, has won France's most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, for his new novel, a satire of the Paris art world.
Our guest today is Hanif Kureishi, writer and filmmaker. He was coined by the newspaper The Times as one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.
This week HEALTH explores several chronic conditions affecting the younger generation. We look at how 21st century kids are coping with juvenile diabetes, ADHD and a rare aversion to ultra-violet light. In particular, we show you the very latest technology and medicinal advances which are helping young patients to live as normal a life as possible.
This week Health has travelled to Chad for a special programme on the latest challenges facing the African country. Like several neighbouring states, Chad was hit by heavy flooding following an exceptional rainy season this year. Many areas in and around the capital are still underwater, months after the heavy rains. We investigate the health implications.
In today’s French press review, we focus on the five year anniversary of the riots that took place in the Parisian suburb of Clichy. The death of two boys chased by the police near a power transformer sparked extreme violence in the region. Also in the papers: medical assistance on the internet and the worst US campaign adverts, seven days before the mid-terms.
Finland has just become the first country in the world to make a law aiming to eradicate smoking entirely. The government has introduced a bill which aims to make Finland smoke-free by 2040. On October 1st, the first measures of the so-called Tobacco Act were introduced, making it harder for people under 18 to smoke, and restricting smoking outdoors. And tougher measures are to come. But can Europe follow the lead?
An accident at an Alumina factory in Hungary smothers three villages with a toxic sludge, leaving 9 dead and scores of others burned and badly injured. HEALTH meets those burned by the alkaline mud which ate deep into their skin. At Budapest’s hospitals doctors still rely on results from Greenpeace to see what metals or toxic materials are present in the mud.
A new French cabinet was appointed under Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Sunday. The reshuffle is being viewed as President Nicolas Sarkozy's last bid to reinvigorate his struggling administration ahead of the presidential election.
After a tumultuous year for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he is now embarking on a cabinet reshuffle that was first mooted in May after a humiliating defeat of his government in local elections.
A government reshuffle has bestowed the high-profile foreign affairs ministry to former justice minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who despite being a fixture of France's political class, remains relatively unknown to the rest of the world.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has reappointed François Fillon (pictured) as prime minister. The two politicians have had their differences in the past, so why has Sarkozy chosen to stick with his Prime Minister?
Seven people were killed and another four were critically injured when a fire ravaged a shelter for migrant workers in the eastern French city of Dijon early on Sunday. Another 130 people were injured, with most suffering from smoke inhalation.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss Ireland's debt crisis on Tuesday, a day after Dublin said it was in "official" talks with the EU but denied the negotiations involved a financial rescue package. Ireland says only its banks are struggling.
Four ministers have resigned from the right-wing cabinet of Italy's embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (pictured), calling for a change of government and raising the prospect of an alliance with centrist forces in the opposition.
Ireland conceded on Monday that it is in "official" talks with European Union governments about how to handle its debt crisis but denied reports that it is negotiating a financial rescue package.
Around 200 people protested in Russia on Sunday against the latest string of attacks on journalists. Some 200 reporters have been killed or wounded in the past decade, most notably Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot to death in 2006.
Greece’s ruling Socialists emerged victorious on Monday in several local elections, including winning the mayoral race in Athens, providing Prime Minister George Papandreou (pictured) with a much-needed boost amid persistent economic woes.
Hajj pilgrims gather Tuesday for Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, and the symbolic "stoning of the devil" in Mina. More than two million assembled Monday at Mount Arafat and the surrounding plains on the peak day of the annual hajj gathering.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ask his Cabinet on Sunday to consider a US offer of security and diplomatic incentives in exchange for a 90-day moratorium on the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Labanese police arrested radical Islamic cleric Omar Bakri (pictured) Sunday, just days after he boasted that he would "not spend one day" behind bars for a life sentence he was handed by a Lebanese military court Thursday.
A series of bombings and mortar attacks targeting Christians killed at least three people and wounded dozens more in Baghdad on Wednesday. The attacks come 10 days after a brazen assault on a Catholic church killed 52.
Jordan has elected a parliament dominated by government loyalists after a boycott by opposition Islamists, according to official results released Wednesday. Islamist parties have disputed turnout figures, which the government estimates at 53 percent.
Preliminary results show that Alpha Conde has been elected president of Guinea, winning 52.5 percent of the run-off vote against Cellou Dalein Diallo, the African nation's electoral commission said.
The people of South Sudan have begun signing up to vote in a January referendum on independence that could herald a split between the mainly Muslim north and the majority Christian and animist south.
Paul and Rachel Chandler (pictured), a retired couple kidnapped last year near the Seychelles by Somali pirates, said they were "happy to be alive" Sunday after being released in exchange for a reported ransom of at least 750,000 dollars.
The foreign ministers of Spain and Britain have expressed concern over Morocco's deadly raid on a refugee camp in Western Sahara, as exiled Sahrawis claim police killed dozens more people than was originally reported.
Mali, like many African countries, has better mobile phone coverage than it does landline networks, and most people own a mobile phone. However, small villages have no electricity, leaving mobile phone owners to have to come up with ingenious makeshift ways to charge their phone batteries.
Demonstrators in Haiti who blame UN peacekeepers for the deadly cholera epidemic there rioted in two cities on Monday, throwing rocks and torching a police station. One protester was shot dead in the violence.
A suspected gas explosion killed five Canadian tourists and two Mexican staff at a hotel in Playa del Carmen near the Mexican resort city of Cancun on Sunday.
The death toll from Haiti's cholera outbreak soared to 917 Sunday, while health officials struggled to contain the growing epidemic nearly a month after the disease first appeared in the quake battered country.
The Cuban government freed Arnaldo Ramos late Saturday, one of 13 political prisoners who refused to accept exile in exchange for their freedom. The decision follows the July 7 talks on the issue with the Archbishop of Havana.
The US Supreme Court has rejected a bid to block enforcement of the Pentagon's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The ruling coincides with a request by the US Justice Department to let a Federal appeals court rule on the case first.
Shanghai residents voiced outrage on Tuesday over lax safety practices after an apartment fire killed at least 53 people a day earlier. Monday's fire has been blamed on unlicensed welders and four people have been detained, Xinhua news agency said.
Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged thousands of supporters on Sunday to seek a democracy that could keep the military government "in check", a day after her release from house arrest by Burma's ruling junta.
World leaders welcomed and celebrated the release of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Saturday, who has spent 15 of the last 21 years in detention, but expressed concern whether her ‘unconditional’ release would be honoured.
At least three people were killed and two injured by a suicide bomb at a lawmakers house in Doulatpur, Bangladesh, 155 miles from the country's capital Dhaka, Saturday. The lawmaker, who appears to have been the focus of the attack, escaped unhurt.
US President Barack Obama warned emerging economies like China against relying heavily on exports Saturday at the APEC forum in Japan, as the divisions between America and China on trade and currency issues re-emerged Saturday.
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In graphics: Eurozone in crisis
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