Indonesia probes Bali tattoo HIV infection report

A local artist tattoos the back of a foreigner (L) during a tattoo festival at Legian Kuta on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. An investigation is being launched into an alleged case of an Australian tourist contracting HIV while getting a tattoo on the island.


Indonesia is investigating the case of an Australian who is believed to have been infected with HIV while getting a tattoo on the resort island of Bali, an official said today.

“We received a report about this case from the health ministry yesterday and officials will be visiting tattoo parlours today to verify this claim,” Bali health department chief Nyoman Sutedja said.

“At this point, we are still investigating. We can’t say for sure if the patient caught the virus from getting a tattoo or sexual contact,” he added.

There are currently 4,200 HIV/AIDS cases on Bali, Sutedja said.

Iran threatens to stop Gulf oil if sanctions widened

Iran’s Navy Commander Habibulah Sayari holds a news conference in Tehran, December 22, 2011, on its war games.


Iran threatened yesterday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.

Western tensions with Iran have increased since a November 8 report by the UN nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Argentine president diagnosed with thyroid cancer

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at a ceremony outside the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires in this December 10, 2011, file photo.


Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery next month, a government spokesman said yesterday, adding that the cancerous cells had not spread.

Fernandez, 58, was easily re-elected to a second four-year term in October and her new government was sworn in earlier this month.

Fernandez was diagnosed with a papillary carcinoma that has not metastasised, said her spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro. The operation is scheduled to take place on January 4 and she is expected to take a leave of absence until January 24.

“If everything is as they said officially, she shouldn’t have any other problem. The sickness hasn’t spread,” said Buenos Aires-based oncologist Mario Bruno.

Globe and Mail Challenges Emerge as Arab League Observers Begin Work in a Syrian City

A team of observers from the Arab League traveled to the embattled Syrian city of Homs on Tuesday in a visit that quieted days of fierce violence but also provided hints of the potential challenges of a group trying to monitor a ...

UK’s Prince Philip leaves hospital after heart op

Britain’s Prince Philip is driven away from Papworth Hospital in southern England December 27, 2011. Queen Elizabeth’s 90-year-old husband spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day in a hospital bed after successful surgery to clear a blocked heart artery, missing the royal family’s celebrations at its rural Sandringham estate in eastern England.

Queen Elizabeth’s 90-year-old husband Prince Philip left a British hospital today after undergoing successful surgery to clear a blocked heart artery.

Putin ejects Kremlin ‘puppet master’ after protests

Vladislav Surkov (right) in this February 6, 2007, file photo with then President Vladimir Putin.


The architect of Vladimir Putin’s tightly controlled political system became one of its most senior victims yesterday when he was shunted out of the Kremlin in the wake of the biggest opposition protests of Putin’s 12-year rule.

The sacrifice of Vladislav Surkov, branded the Kremlin’s “puppet master” by enemies and friends alike, is also a rare admission of failure for Russia’s “alpha dog” leader: Surkov’s system was Putin’s system.

North Korean Mourners Line Streets for Kim Jong-il's Funeral

Kim Jong-un, the designated successor to the socialist throne in Pyongyang, North Korea, bid farewell on Wednesday to his deceased father, Kim Jong-il, walking along his hearse through snow-covered downtown Pyongyang in an ...

Funeral for North Korean leader starts

North Korea's military staged a huge funeral procession on Wednesday in the snowy streets of the capital Pyongyang for its deceased "dear leader," Kim Jong-il, readying a transition to his son, Kim Jong-un.North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un cries as his father, North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, lies in state during the run-up to his funeral in Pyongyang in this still image taken from video broadcast on December 27, 2011.



Pictures from state television showed a funeral cortege led by a limousine carrying a huge picture of the 69-year old, who died on December 17, passing serried ranks of olive green-clad soldiers whose heads were bowed.

A hearse carrying the coffin was led by a weeping Kim Jong-un, accompanied Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and a key power-broker in the transition, and Ri Yong-ho, the army chief of staff.

Kim Jong-un will become the third member of the family to run the isolated and unpredictable Asian country.

The coming year was supposed to mark North Korea's self-proclaimed transformation into a "strong and prosperous" nation, but it faces a dangerous transition to a young, untested leader at a time when dictatorships across the world have tumbled.

It would seem however that little is set to change in a country that has staged what many analysts have dubbed a "Great March Backwards" over the last 20 years.

Strong it may be - North Korea is backed by neighbouring China, has conducted two nuclear tests and has ambitions to become a nuclear power and boasts a 1.2 million-strong armed forces - but prosperous it is not.

On average, North Koreans die three-and-a-half years earlier than they did when "Eternal President" Kim Il-sung died, according to U.N. data.

Japan getting ready for unexpected after Kim’s death

Portraits of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung (left) and his son Kim Jong-il at the People’s Palace of Culture in Pyongyang


Japan scurried to prepare for the unexpected today after news that Kim Jong-il, the leader of its unpredictable neighbour North Korea, had died of a heart attack.

“We hope this sudden event does not have an adverse effect on the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference after a hastily called ministerial meeting on security.

U.N.'s Ban condemns excessive force in Cairo clashes

A protester shouts during clashes with riot police near cabinet offices near Tahrir Square in Cairo December 18, 2011

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned excessive use of force by Egypt's security forces as hundreds of demonstrators demanding an end to military rule clashed with police in Cairo for a fourth day.


Police and soldiers using batons drove stone-throwing protesters out of Cairo's Tahrir Square, hub of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February, early Monday, a Reuters witness said.

Protesters fled down sidestreets, away from sensitive areas where parliament, the cabinet offices and Interior Ministry are located. Security forces have previously cleared the square briefly only to pull back when protesters return in force.

At least 10 people have died in the past three days of clashes as protesters demand that the generals who took charge after Mubarak's overthrow quit power. The violence broke out just after the second stage of elections that Egyptians hope will bring stability and civilian rule.

"Down with Tantawi," protesters chanted late Sunday, referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi who heads the army council and was Mubarak's defense minister.

Youths had earlier hurled rocks and petrol bombs at lines of security forces. Riot police appeared to have moved to the front line instead of soldiers.

Last Convoy of American Troops Leaves Iraq

An American soldier walked last week through Contingency Operating Base Adder, where the last convoy of the military withdrawal left early Sunday under cover of darkness.

Crew fled with life vests as packed Indonesian boat sank

Most of the survivors are believed to be economic migrants from countries including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.Surviving asylum seekers said the boat that was heading for Australia broke apart in stormy seas about 90km off the coast of Java.

The crew and captain of an Indonesian boat packed with illegal immigrants grabbed life vests and swam away as it sank during a heavy storm, leaving more than 200 passengers missing, Australian media reported today.

Surviving asylum seekers said terrified passengers on the boat that was heading for Australia were left to drown as it broke apart in stormy seas about 90km off the coast of Java, Indonesia.

Philippines mulls mass graves after typhoon kills hundreds

An aerial view shows shanties damaged by flash floods brought by Typhoon Washi (Sendong) in Cagayan De Oro city, southern Philippines December 18, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer

Disaster agencies Monday rushed to deliver body bags, food, water, and medicine to crowded evacuation centres in the southern Philippines as officials considered digging mass graves for hundreds killed in weekend flash floods.


The national disaster agency said 533 died and 309 remain missing, while the local Red Cross put the toll at 652 killed and more than 800 missing.

Casualties from the flashfloods exceeded the more than 450 people killed in 2009 when a tropical storm dumped heavy rains on the main Luzon island, inundating nearly the entire capital Manila.

Kim Jong Il: Revered at home; remembered outside as repressive

North Korea's longtime leader Kim Jong Il, the embodiment of the reclusive state where his cult of personality is deeply entrenched, has died.

Dear Leader Kim Jong-il dead at 69

A file photo shows a national meeting held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s start of work at the central committee of the Worker’s Party of Korea in Pyongyang June 18, 2004. Father and son together in later life. Kim Jong-il is seen in this combination of file photographs from 2004 to 2009.



orth Korean leader Kim Jong-il, revered at home by a propaganda machine that turned him into a demi-god and vilified in the West as a temperamental tyrant with a nuclear arsenal, has died, North Korean state television reported today.

Kim, who was 69 years old, died early on Saturday of a heart attack while on a train journey, it said.

Steve Jobs Named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person Of 2011

When it comes to end-of-the-year honors, being named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person isn't exactly Time's Man of the Year-- or even Entertainment Weekly's Entertainer of the Year-- but it's definitely a fitting tribute for this year's honoree, ...

Syrian troops storm Hama to break anti-Assad strike

Syrian troops swept into the city of Hama to break a three-day strike by opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, killing at least 10 people but running into resistance from armed insurgents who destroyed two armoured vehicles, activists said.

Outside Hama, army deserters attacked a convoy of military jeeps, killing eight soldiers, they said, adding to a death toll of at least 30 people across the country on Wednesday.

The assault in Hama was the first armoured incursion there since a tank offensive in August crushed huge protests in the city. Activists said troops fired machineguns and ransacked and burnt shops which had closed to observe a mass, open-ended “Strike for Dignity” called by the opposition.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have died in Assad’s crackdown on protests that erupted in the southern city of Deraa in March, inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere.

Amnesty says Saudi beheading for sorcery ‘shocking’

An Israeli child signs an Amnesty International banner calling for the improvement of human rights in China during an event in Tel Aviv in this file photo from June 2008. Amnesty described as ‘deeply shocking’ Saudi Arabia’s beheading of a woman convicted on charges of ‘sorcery and witchcraft’ on December 12, 2011


Rights group Amnesty International has described as “deeply shocking” Saudi Arabia’s beheading of a woman convicted on charges of “sorcery and witchcraft”, saying it underlined the urgent need to end executions in the kingdom.

Saudi national Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser was executed yesterday in the northern province of al-Jawf after being tried and convicted for practising sorcery, the interior ministry said, without giving details of the charges.

Let's pray together: The heart-breaking plea by kidnapped college student to her captors - just minutes before they executed her

Eve Carson, the University of North Carolina student president brutally murdered by two thugs in 2008, pleaded for her life and even asked them to pray with her, startling court testimony has revealed.

The 20-year-old was kidnapped as she left the university library on March 5, 2008 and forced to take out money from an ATM before she was shot five times.

Jayson McNeil, of Durham, an acquaintance of the two men accused of killing Miss Carson, said in court yesterday that he was told what happened.

Victim: Eve Carson was kidnapped in March 2008 and forced to withdraw money from an ATM before being shot dead.Suspects: Demario James Atwater, right, has already pleaded guilty, while Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr, left, is on trial for kidnapping and killing Ms Carson

Woman dies after 16-year anorexia battle in 'worst case' that doctors had ever seen

* 31-year-old weighed 4.7 stone
* So thin organs had ‘died’ through lack of blood supply
* Developed symptoms aged twelve and spent rest of life in specialist units
* 'Suffered an extremely severe illness which eventually took her life'


A young woman who died after battling a 16-year eating disorder had one of 'the worst' cases of anorexia doctors had ever seen, an inquest heard today.

Kate Chilver, 31, weighed 4.7 stone and was so thin that parts of her stomach and bowel had ‘died’ through lack of blood supply.

She developed symptoms of the disease aged twelve and spent the rest of her life in specialist medical units until eventually dying from anorexia nervosa.

Doctors revealed that for almost two decades Miss Chilver from Ealing, west London, was dangerously underweight.

A healthy BMI (body mass index) is between 20 and 25 while a reading of less than 15 signals severe anorexia, but hers remained less than 12 and at one stage at fell to just nine.

Dr Frances Connan, a consultant psychologist who treated her at Vincent Square Clinic in south west London, said: 'I’d known Kate since her referral to our service in 2004.

'She had onset anorexia from the age of about 12, her first admission just before she was 15.

'She had the most severe illness of patient I have ever come across.

'At times her BMI went down as low as 9. It’s extremely rare to see a BMI of less than 10.'

Doctors fed her through a tube in a bid to boost her health but all attempts failed.



Doctors said that Kate Chilver had one of 'the worst' cases of anorexia they had ever seen

Bootleg liquor containing toxic methanol kills 143 people in east India;

Bootleg liquor containing toxic methanol killed 143 people and sickened dozens more who drank the cheap, illicit brew bought at small shops in eastern India, officials said Thursday.

Church launches controversial advert campaign in time for Christmas - Virgin Mary and the positive pregnancy test

A controversial New Zealand church has rolled out a publicity stunt in time for Christmas - with a billboard showing the Virgin Mary holding a positive pregnancy test.

Auckland's St Matthews in the City Church launched its festive advertising campaign to 'avoid the sentimental and trite' and 'spark thought and conversation'.

Vicar Glynn Cardy said: 'It's real. Christmas is real. It's about a real pregnancy, a real mother and a real child. It's about real anxiety, courage and hope.

Earlier work: The Church's first ad campaign in 2009 saw Joseph in bed with Mary.Controversial: St Matthew in the City Church in Auckland, New Zealand, has launched this billboard depicting Virgin Mary and a positive pregnancy test, on its building

Israel approves steps to rein in settler violence

Netanyahu speaks during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 11, 2011.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday approved steps to crack down on violent ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers after a rampage at a West Bank military base and torching of a mosque’s facade stirred public outrage.

Radical settlers are bent on foiling government efforts to shut down unauthorised outposts they have set up in occupied West Bank territory where Palestinians seek a state, although Israel has continued to expand larger official settlements.

Among the measures approved by Netanyahu were administrative detention of suspects, trials of some suspects in military rather than civil courts, and ejection from the West Bank of settlers suspected of inciting violence.

French court convicts ex-President Chirac guilty of corruption in party ...

A French court found former President Jacques Chirac guilty of embezzling public funds to illegally finance the conservative party he long led, in a historic verdict Thursday with repercussions for his legacy and France's political elite.

Russia’s Putin deflects calls for election rerun

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin listens during a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow December 15, 2011. Putin on Thursday deflected opposition allegations that fraud helped his ruling party win a parliamentary election, saying the result reflected the views of the population.



Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today dismissed opposition allegations that fraud had helped his ruling party win a parliamentary election and signalled he would not bow to calls at mass protests for the poll to be rerun.

In his annual televised call-in question-and-answer session he tried to shrug off the significance of the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule. Initial reaction on social media suggested many Russians see him as out of touch with his people.

Putin, dressed in a suit and tie behind a desk as he took questions by phone and from a studio audience, looked less at ease than in previous years in an appearance intended to help rebuild his authority before a presidential election in March.

“From my point of view, the result of the (Dec. 4) election undoubtedly reflects public opinion in the country,” Putin said in a show broadcast live to the nation.

“As for the fact that the ruling force, United Russia, lost some ground, there is also nothing unusual about this. Listen, we have gone through a very difficult period of crisis, and look at what is happening in other countries.”

US War in Iraq Declared Officially Over

American troops in Iraq before the ceremonies marking the end of their mission on Thursday. More Photos » By THOM SHANKER and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT BAGHDAD - The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as ...

Bad batch of moonshine kills at least 125 in India

An adulterated batch of bootleg liquor has killed at least 125 drinkers in eastern India, with dozens more arriving at a cramped rural hospital with poisoning symptoms.

The deaths come just days after a hospital fire killed 93 people in the same state of West Bengal. Both disasters highlight lax health and safety standards as the nation of 1.2 billion people rapidly modernises.

Residents of Mograhat, a town about 50km south of West Bengal’s capital Kolkata, fell severely ill after drinking liquor from several illegal shops. Ambulances brought more patients from villages to the town every few minutes today.

“He drank the alcohol late in the afternoon yesterday...we didn’t realise his health was deteriorating,” Zamir Sardar said about his 32-year-old uncle Jahangir Sardar, a leather cutter, who passed away today.

Hezbollah head says building up weapons, backs Syria

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah greets his supporters during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Beirut’s suburbs, December 6, 2011.

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, whose backers Syria and Iran are at the centre of heightened regional tension, made a rare public appearance today marking the Shi’ite Muslim festival of Ashura and said his group was building up its arsenal.

Surrounded by armed bodyguards, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah walked through a crowd of Shi’ites in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Hezbollah’s stronghold, and greeted tens of thousands of supporters from the podium before disappearing for a few minutes to give his speech via a giant screen.

Blasts across Afghanistan target Shi’ites, 59 dead

Men stand near clothes and shoes belonging to victims of a suicide attack, outside a hospital in Kabul December 6, 2011. A suicide bomber attacked a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Kabul on Tuesday killing at least 48 people in unprecedented sectarian violence a day after Afghanistan's Western allies pledged long-term support once their troops leave.

A suicide attack killed dozens of Shi’ite Muslims at a crowded Kabul shrine yesterday, and four others died in a smaller blast in a key northern city, in the worst sectarian violence Afghanistan has seen since the fall of the Taliban.

The Kabul bomb was the deadliest in the capital since 2008, and punctured any lingering sense of optimism from a conference on Monday where Western allies made firm but not specific promises to support Afghanistan after troops leave in 2014.

Shiite Muslims mark day of Ashura

Ashura is the peak of 10-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Muhammad, who was killed in battle in the 7th century.

Belgium's soon-to-be PM to be sworn in after 541 days without a government

According to AP, it reported, Belgium's soon-to-be Prime Minister arranged a slimmed-down coalition Monday with one of the final steps before his team formally ends the record 541 days the country has gone without a government.

Iran Blocks New US 'Virtual Embassy'

The US launched a "virtual embassy" for Tehran in a bid to reach out to ordinary Iranians isolated by strict censorship -- but it was promptly blocked by the Islamic regime.

Russian police crack down on anti-Putin protests

Policemen detain an activist during a rally to protest against the results of the parliamentary elections and the policies conducted by Russian authorities in Moscow December 6, 2011.


Hundreds of people took to the streets of Moscow for a second successive day yesterday to demand an end to Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule, defying a crackdown by tens of thousands of police reinforced by crack Interior Ministry troops.

Police said they had detained about 250 people in central Moscow when they tried to stage an unapproved rally and held about 200 more in St Petersburg, where opposition forces have also been emboldened by the prime minister’s worst election setback since he took power in 1999.

After permitting the biggest opposition rally in Moscow for years on Monday evening, the police were out in large numbers. The Interior ministry said about 2,000 special troops were supporting almost 50,000 police, and some moved through the city centre in armoured vehicles in a show of force.

Israeli former president begins jail term for rape

Moshe Katsav: “The truth will come out.”

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav today began serving a seven-year prison term for rape, professing his innocence and saying he was being “buried alive”.

The case has captivated the country for more than five years and marked the first time a former Israeli head of state has been jailed. Officials say it proves no one is above the law.

US says opposition must build ‘free, tolerant’ Syria

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with a small group of expatriate Syrian opposition members at a hotel in Geneva December 6, 2011


The United States has called for a new regime of tolerance and freedom in Syria as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad battled fighters infiltrating the country to join the growing rebel army trying to overthrow him.

Speaking after meeting members of the opposition Syrian National Council in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syrians must not only remove Assad but also advance towards the rule of law.

“A democratic transition includes more than removing the Assad regime,” Clinton said. “It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law and protecting the universal rights of all citizens, regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender.”

What began nearly nine months ago as a peaceful protest against Assad, inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, is creeping closer to civil war as armed opposition groups organize and move into some city districts.

Rumors of 'silent coup' as Pakistan President Zardari heads to hospital

Aides to President Zardari rubbish the rumors, which have quickly gained credibility among the Pakistani public because of the perception that this government is on its last legs.

Afghan bombs kill 78 in two days, Karzai cancels UK visit

 
President Hamid Karzai during his visit to his German counterpart Christian Wulff at the presidential Bellevue palace in Berlin December 6, 2011.



A roadside mine killed 19 civilians and injured another five when it exploded in the southern Afghan province of Helmand today, the provincial government said.

The blast came a day after rare sectarian attacks in three Afghan cities killed 59 people, and refocused attention on the fragile Afghan security situation.

Karzai to confront Pakistan over Kabul attack

Afghan President Hamid Karzai reacts during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Dec. 6, 2011.

Al-Assad Says He Didn't Order Crackdown on Syria Protesters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied ordering the military to crack down on civilians and said that most of the people who have been killed in protests and fighting since March were ...

Pakistan president in Dubai for heart treatment, condition stable

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is in Dubai for treatment for a heart condition, the government said today, with one source saying he had suffered a minor heart attack and fuelling speculation that the unpopular leader may resign.

The statement from the prime minister’s office said Zardari went to a Dubai hospital at the insistence of his children, who live there. It contradicted earlier reports from Zardari’s own office that the tests were scheduled and routine.

Australian given 500 lashes for blasphemy in Saudi Arabia

An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in prison in Saudi Arabia for breaking the country’s strict blasphemy laws during a Haj pilgrimage last month.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it was very concerned about the well-being of the man, named in media reports as Mansor Almaribe, a 45-year-old father of five.

“The Australian Government has a universal policy of condemning the use of corporal punishment amounting to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement.

Australia’s ambassador had contacted the Saudi government, seeking leniency, she added.

Jeremy Clarkson comments 'disgraceful and disgusting', says Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband has called on Jeremy Clarkson to apologise for his "absolutely disgraceful and disgusting" claim that striking public sector workers should be "shot".

Two condemned to death for Belarus metro bombing

Belarus, the only European country still to carry out state executions, on Wednesday sentenced two men to death for a bomb attack at a metro station in Minsk which killed 15 people and ...

Norway divided after mass killer declared insane

Prosecutors Svein Holden (right) and Inga Bejer Engh comment the psychiatric evaluation of Anders Behring Breivik at a news conference at Oslo Police station on November 29, 2011

A report declaring mass killer Anders Behring Breivik insane, meaning he will most likely end up in a psychiatric institution rather than jail, has divided Norwegians who are still traumatised by the July massacre.

From disbelief and anger to acceptance that this may be the best way forward, Norwegians reacted strongly to the conclusions of a mental health assessment released yesterday about the man who committed the country’s worst ever attacks since World War Two.

Breivik killed 77 people on July 22 when he planted a car bomb that killed eight people at an Oslo government building, then went on to shoot dead 69 more, most of them teenagers, at an island summer camp of the ruling Labour Party’s youth wing.

Police move in to enforce Occupy LA eviction order

A Los Angeles police officer (L) points his weapon at a protester up on a tree at the Occupy LA encampment outside City Hall in Los Angeles on November 30

Police in riot gear closed in on anti-Wall Street activists in Los Angeles early today to enforce the mayor’s order to evict protesters who have camped outside City Hall for the past eight weeks.

Hundreds of Occupy LA activists, joined by supporters streaming into the area in a show of solidarity, crowded the lawn, sidewalks and streets around City Hall as helmeted officers moved into the encampment.

UK considering tough response to Iran embassy attack

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Common on November 30, 2011

Britain is considering taking “very tough action” after protesters stormed the country’s embassy in Iran, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.

Cameron said his main concern was ensuring the safety of British embassy staff.

“After that we will consider taking some very tough action in response to this completely appalling and disgraceful behaviour by the Iranians,” he told parliament.

US evangelist Billy Graham hospitalised

Billy Graham

Billy Graham, one of America’s best-known evangelists, is in a North Carolina hospital with possible pneumonia and is listed in stable condition, officials with the facility said yesterday.

Mission Hospital said in a statement the 93-year-old Graham was smiling and alert as he waved to staff when he was admitted to the facility in Asheville, North Carolina, for evaluation and treatment of his lungs.

Doctors treating Graham said he possibly had pneumonia but that his condition was stable.

Strauss-Kahn opens up in new book

Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn says his sexual encounter with a New York hotel maid was “consensual but stupid” and cost him his chance to be the next French president, according to a biography to be published today.

The book, written by Michel Taubmann who says Strauss-Kahn confided in him, covers sex scandals that have dogged the former French finance minister even after the US assault case ended his career as IMF head and wrecked his chances of running in France’s 2012 election.

Warren Buffett buys his hometown newspaper

Warren Buffett shouts the slogan “Never give up, Iwaki” in Japanese at the end of his news conference after the opening ceremony of Tungaloy Corp’s new plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture on November 21, 2011.


Billionaire investor Warren Buffett buys newspapers every day, including his hometown daily, but yesterday he dispensed with the single-issue price and bought the whole company instead.

Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway said it would buy the Omaha World-Herald Co, owner of the paper of the same name, six other dailies and a series of weekly papers in Nebraska and Iowa.

The World-Herald, which calls itself the last major employee-owned paper in the country, splashed the news across its website, with a picture of the paper’s publisher introducing Buffett to the staff. It is 80 per cent owned by employees and 20 per cent by the Peter Kiewit Foundation.

Philippine court orders Arroyo move to public hospital

Philippine Supreme Court justices (top) read documents to investigate former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on vote-fixing charges during the 2007 midterm elections, in Manila on November 29, 2011.


A Philippine court today ordered former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to be transferred to a public hospital after one of her doctors said she was well enough to move from the private hospital where she has been since her arrest last month.

Arroyo, president from 2001-2010 and a now a member of Congress, has been under heavy guard at the private Manila hospital since her arrest last month on charges of rigging results in elections in 2007.

Arroyo, 64, denies all charges against her and says she needs to travel overseas for treatment, but the government fears she wants to avoid investigation and prosecution.

Clinton offers Myanmar first rewards for political reform

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered Myanmar the first rewards for reform today, saying the United States would back more aid for the reclusive country and consider returning an ambassador after an absence of some two decades.

Clinton said she had “candid, productive” conversations with President Thein Sein and other Myanmar ministers, and told them Washington stood ready to support further reforms as the country seeks to emerge from decades of authoritarian military rule.

Clinton meets Aung San Suu Kyi on Myanmar visit

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is meeting with opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee) on a historic visit to Myanmar.

Security goes barefoot with Clinton in Myanmar

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours Shwedegon Pagoda in Yangon December 1, 2011. Clinton offered Myanmar the first rewards for reform on Thursday, saying the United States would back more aid for the reclusive country and consider returning an ambassador after an absence of some two decades

US security went barefoot today as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton toured one of Myanmar’s most revered shrines, a towering golden pagoda that is the symbol of a country seeking fresh rapprochement with the West.

Clinton arrived at the Shwedagon Pagoda shortly after arriving in Myanmar’s main commercial city, Yangon, and took off her shoes to follow respectful Buddhist tradition at a site rich with religious and patriotic significance for the country also known as Burma.