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US Defense Secretary Holds Talks in Kandahar

Posted December 13th, 2012 at 2:45 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he will meet with military leaders and troops, as the U.S. mulls the scope of its presence in the country after the international combat mission ends in 2014. Panetta is holding talks, on Thursday, with Major General Robert Abrams, the head of the Regional […]

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Top Music Acts Hold Concert for Sandy Relief Efforts

Posted December 13th, 2012 at 1:30 am (UTC-5)
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The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Kanye West and many other musical acts performed in an hours-long concert aimed at raising money for the victims of the Atlantic superstorm Sandy in the New York and New Jersey region. Rock-and-roll legend Bruce Springsteen, a native of the hard-hit New Jersey shore, was the opening act at the […]

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EU Reaches Eurozone Bank Supervision Deal

Posted December 13th, 2012 at 1:25 am (UTC-5)
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European Union finance ministers have reached a deal to create a single supervisor for eurozone banks, in a bid to address a key component of the continent’s financial struggles. The agreement reached early Thursday gives the European Central Bank broad powers to oversee banks in the 17 nations that use the euro currency, as well […]

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Japan Scrambles F-15s After Chinese Plane Enters Disputed Territory

Posted December 13th, 2012 at 1:20 am (UTC-5)
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Japanese media reports say Tokyo has scrambled F-15 fighter jets after a Chinese plane entered disputed airspace near contested islands in the East China Sea. The reports quote Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura as saying the jets were sent in response to a Chinese Oceanic Administration airplane that was spotted near the islands on Thursday. […]

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Pakistani Military, Taliban, Blamed for Abuses in Northwest Region

Posted December 13th, 2012 at 12:50 am (UTC-5)
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An international rights group is blaming Pakistan’s armed forces and the Taliban for human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions, torture and unlawful killings, in the northwestern tribal region. In a report released Thursday, Amnesty International said millions of Pakistanis are affected by a “legal wilderness” in the region near the Afghan border. The rights group […]

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NASA’s Hubble Telescope Takes ‘Baby Pictures’ of Universe

Posted December 12th, 2012 at 7:45 pm (UTC-5)
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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has sent back images that scientists call “baby pictures” of the universe. The pictures released Wednesday show seven galaxies said to have been formed shortly after the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe more than 13 billion years ago. NASA says one of the seven galaxies may be the […]

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Former Russian Policeman Goes On Trial In Journalist’s Murder

Posted December 12th, 2012 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
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A former Russian police officer went on trial Wednesday on charges of involvement in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was critical of the government. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov has been charged with being a part of the criminal group that gunned down Politkovskaya in her apartment building. Prosecutors demanded a 12-year prison sentence […]

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Russia Extends Prison For Dissident Accused of Plotting Riots

Posted December 12th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
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A court in Russia has extended the detention of a Russian opposition activist who claims he was kidnapped and tortured in jail. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled Wednesday that Leonid Razvozzhayev should remain in jail until April for investigation on charges of plotting mass riots. Prosecutors have charged Razvozzhayev and two other dissidents ((Sergey Udaltsov […]

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US Military Judge Orders 9/11 Suspects’ Torture Testimony to Remain Secret

Posted December 12th, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
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The U.S. military judge in charge of the future trial of five September 11 terror suspects has ordered that testimony about their capture, imprisonment and alleged torture must remain secret. Judge James Pohl ruled Wednesday that making this information public could endanger U.S. national security. Pohl also ruled in favor of the so-called 40-second rule […]

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Cassini Probe Sees Nile-Like River on Saturn Moon

Posted December 12th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
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The international Cassini space probe, which has been orbiting Saturn and its moons since 2004, has sent detailed new images of a remarkable, Nile-like river valley on Saturn’s moon Titan. The river stretches more than 400 kilometers from its headwaters’ and flows into a large sea. It is the first time astronomers have seen a […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Science