2 Divided Ukraine votes in tense presidential polls
by Alexander Osipovich, AFP
1 hr 19 mins ago
| KIEV (AFP) - Ukrainians voted Sunday in a tense presidential election after a bruising race between two bitter rivals that inflamed tensions and sparked warnings of a repeat of the 2004 Orange Revolution protests.
The dour pro-Russia opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich has been seen as the frontrunner after beating his more charismatic challenger, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, by a 10 percent margin in first-round elections in January.
But with opinion polls banned since the first round, it remained unclear who would win the presidency of this former Soviet republic of 46 million people, strategically situated between the European Union and Russia. |
3 Poor weather delays US shuttle launch
by Jean-Louis Santini, AFP
Sun Feb 7, 6:20 am ET
| CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) - The launch of the US space shuttle Endeavour was delayed by 24 hours early Sunday due to bad weather over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials said.
The delay was caused by heavy cloud cover over Cape Canaveral, officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.
"We tried really, really hard to work the weather, but it's just too dynamic," explained NASA's launch director Mike Leinbach. "We are just not comfortable to launch the shuttle tonight. So, we have a 24-hour scrub." |
4 Toyota to announce Prius recall this week: report
by Harumi Ozawa, AFP
1 hr 50 mins ago
| TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota will recall 300,000 Prius hybrid vehicles because of brake flaws, newspapers reported Sunday, in the latest blow to the Japanese car giant reeling from safety woes that have sullied its reputation.
The move will affect the latest model of the Prius, a car beloved of Hollywood stars and environmentalists, following scores of complaints about malfunctioning brake systems.
The Prius problems have dealt a new blow to Toyota, after it had to recall eight million cars around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals. |
5 US 'cavemen' seek raw truth
by Sebastian Smith, AFP
17 mins ago
| NEW YORK (AFP) - Vlad Averbukh says he'll need a napkin at lunch. "It could be bloody." What he doesn't require is a fork.
A follower of America's "paleo diet," or simply "the caveman lifestyle," New Yorker Averbukh does things the old-fashioned way.
"A lot of folks might find this unpalatable. But to me it tastes good," he says, lifting an uncooked cut of beef the size of a book. |
6 Obama vows to beat 'blizzard' of opposition on health care
by Stephen Collinson, AFP
Sat Feb 6, 4:09 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed Saturday to salvage his health reform drive and crusade for change despite a "blizzard" of opposition, as he left a snow-buried White House to rally wavering Democrats.
Obama motorcaded through deserted Washington streets during a historic winter storm to fire up a party rocked by panic and disaffection after the president's reform drive hit a roadblock ahead of mid-term polls in November.
"(It's) good to be among friends. So committed to the future of this party and this country ... a blizzard ... Snowmageddon here in DC!" Obama told Democratic National Committee members hunkered down in a Washington hotel. |
7 G7 vows to continue stimulus until global economy on track
by Michel Comte, AFP
Sat Feb 6, 6:05 pm ET
| IQALUIT, Canada (AFP) - Finance ministers from leading industrial nations wrapped up two-day talks Saturday in northern Canada by vowing to continue massive public spending to bolster a shaky global recovery.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a closing press conference that he and his G7 counterparts "need to continue to deliver the stimulus to which we are mutually committed, and look ahead to exit strategies."
Measures to shore up the global economic footing have proved costly, and while the world's richest nations have promoted diverging economic and financial policies, the ministers agreed that investing in their economies remained vital in order to avoid backsliding. |
8 NATO chief seeks broader ties with China, India
by Lorne Cook, AFP
Sun Feb 7, 8:18 am ET
| MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - The head of NATO said Sunday its troubles in Afghanistan showed it was vital to boost ties with nations like China, India and Pakistan and transform the alliance into a global security hub.
Drawing from flaws exposed in Afghanistan, where NATO is struggling to hold off a Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgency, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the military alliance should become a forum for consultation on major hot spots.
"This is a key lesson we are learning in Afghanistan today ... we need an entirely new compact between all the actors on the security stage," he said at a major security conference in Munich, southern Germany. |
9 Olympics organisers desperate for climate change
by Dave James, AFP
Sun Feb 7, 3:19 am ET
| VANCOUVER (AFP) - Winter Olympics chiefs will not sanction a desperate last-minute venue switch despite unseasonably warm temperatures continuing to curse Cypress Mountain, the host of the freestyle events at the Games which begin on Friday.
The host city enjoyed highs of 11 degrees again on Saturday while meteorological officials said that the warm weather, which has led to 300 dumper trucks and even helicopters being used to transport snow from higher elevations, will continue right up to the opening ceremony on February 12.
The imported snow has been piled high on wood and hay which have been laid to form the bumps which test the freestyle skiiers at Cypress Mountain. |
10 Activists, Japanese whalers clash in Antarctic waters
by Madeleine Coorey, AFP
Sun Feb 7, 2:42 am ET
| SYDNEY (AFP) - Anti-whaling activists and Japanese harpoonists have blamed each other for a collision between their ships in Antarctic waters, as the environmentalists warned Sunday of more clashes to come.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has accused the harpoon ship Yushin Maru No.3 of intentionally slamming into its vessel the Bob Barker on Saturday. The Japanese say they were rammed as they tried to avoid a collision.
"We expect that there will be further collisions because they are going to try and whale and we're not going to move," Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd mission, told AFP on Sunday. |
11 Afghans flee ahead of major anti-Taliban offensive
by Nasrat Shoib, AFP
Sat Feb 6, 10:29 pm ET
| KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Thousands of people are leaving their homes on the Marjah plain in southern Afghanistan ahead of a massive military operation to clear Taliban militants from their last stronghold.
A huge force of US Marines leading NATO and Afghan soldiers is expected to launch the operation -- which commanders say will be the largest assault against the militants since the war began -- within days.
"The government of Afghanistan will reclaim Marjah as one of its own," said the British commander of the operation, General Nick Carter. |
12 G7 reassures on Greece, talks tough on banks
By Janet Guttsman and Glenn Somerville, Reuters
Sat Feb 6, 11:45 pm ET
| IQALUIT, Canada (Reuters) - Reassurances about debt-strapped Greece and agreement that banks should pay for future rescue funds capped an international meeting in Canada's Arctic, as European policymakers sought to convince jittery markets that they have things under control.
Ministers and central bank governors said economies were recovering from recession but stuck to their view that it was too early to withdraw government help.
In a statement issued on Saturday after two days of talks by the Group of Seven rich industrialized countries, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he believed Greece would meet tough new targets to rein in its budget gap. |
13 NATO should be global security forum: Rasmussen
By David Brunnstrom and Mark Trevelyan, Reuters
Sun Feb 7, 7:26 am ET
| MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - NATO should develop closer ties with China, India, Pakistan and Russia and become the forum for consultation on global security, the alliance's head said on Sunday, but a senior Russian politician reacted with skepticism.
The four countries all had interests in stability in Afghanistan and could do more to help develop and assist the country, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
"What would be the harm if countries such as China, India, Pakistan and others were to develop closer ties with NATO? I think, in fact, there would only be a benefit, in terms of trust, confidence and cooperation," he said. |
14 NATO allies to shuffle Afghan pledges to add training
By Adam Entous and David Brunnstrom, Reuters
Sat Feb 6, 3:58 pm ET
| ANKARA/MUNICH (Reuters) - NATO allies plan to reshuffle rather than expand existing troop commitments to Afghanistan, sending more military trainers in place of combat forces to ready the Afghan army and police to take control, senior U.S. and NATO officials said on Saturday.
The decision of some NATO member states to increase the proportion of trainers within existing troop pledges underscores the difficulty NATO and Washington have faced convincing European and other states to make new troop commitments.
A senior U.S. official said before a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Istanbul this week that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would urge allies to provide more than 4,000 trainers and mentors. |
15 Haitian lawyer for jailed US missionaries fired
By FRANK BAJAK and MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Writers
Sun Feb 7, 7:18 am ET
| PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The Haitian lawyer for 10 U.S. Baptists charged with child kidnapping tried to bribe the missionaries' way out of jail and has been fired, the attorney who hired him said Saturday night.
The Haitian lawyer, Edwin Coq, denied the allegation. He said the $60,000 he requested from the Americans' families was his fee.
Jorge Puello, the attorney in the neighboring Dominican Republic retained by relatives of the 10 American missionaries after their arrest last week, told The Associated Press that he fired Coq on Friday night. He had hired Coq to represent the detainees at Haitian legal proceedings. |
16 Toyota to announce action soon for Prius hybrids
By KELLY OLSEN, AP Business Writer
17 mins ago
| TOKYO - Toyota said Sunday that it will soon announce plans to deal with braking problems in its prized Prius hybrid amid reports it has decided to issue a recall for the latest model in Japan, a possible new embarrassment for the world's biggest automaker.
Toyota Motor Corp. has already had to recall more than 7 million other cars in the U.S., Europe and China over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal. Those problems and criticism of Toyota's response to them have sullied the stellar reputation for quality long enjoyed by one of Japan's corporate icons.
Separately, the company has told dealers in the United States it is preparing to repair the brakes on thousands of Prius vehicles there, according to an e-mail sent by a company executive. It was unclear whether Toyota planned a formal U.S. recall. |
17 Toyota drivers pull in for repair; Prius fix looms
By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer
Sat Feb 6, 6:47 pm ET
| DETROIT - Responding to two recalls and facing the prospect of another one, Toyota dealers across the country were repairing thousands of cars Saturday, the first weekend day that many drivers had a chance to take action.
Although many dealers expected a long line of customers, most drivers seemed far from panicked.
Delwyn Wright, a 51-year-old truck driver, had heard about Toyota's troubles on the news but got the accelerator on his wife's Camry fixed Saturday after it was suggested by a dealer in Columbia, S.C., where Wright had taken the car for an oil change. |
18 Obama adviser: Stop criticizing anti-terror effort
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 19 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - An exasperated White House newly committed to preaching partisan peace slammed Republicans for playing politics on national security and making ignorant allegations about the investigation into the Christmas airliner plot.
Deputy national security adviser John Brennan complained Sunday that politicians, many of them Republicans, were unfairly criticizing the administration for partisan purposes and second-guessing the case with a "500-mile screwdriver" that reaches from Washington to the scene of the abortive attack in Detroit.
"Quite frankly, I'm tiring of politicians using national security issues such as terrorism as a political football," Brennan said. "They are going out there. They're unknowing of the facts. And they're making charges and allegations that are not anchored in reality." |
19 Sarah Palin assails Obama at 'tea party' gathering
By LIZ "Sprinkles" SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer
Sun Feb 7, 7:17 am ET
| NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sarah Palin, in a speech that was short on ideas but big on enthusiasm, took aim at President Barack Obama and the Democrats, telling a gathering of "tea party" activists that America is ripe for another revolution.
Noting his party's dismal showing in elections since Obama moved into the White House a year ago with talk of hope and promises of change, Palin asked the gathering: "How's that hope-y, change-y stuff workin' out for you?"
Her audience waved flags and erupted in cheers during multiple standing ovations as the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee gave the keynote address Saturday at the first national convention of the "tea party" coalition. It's an antiestablishment, grass-roots network motivated by anger over the growth of government, budget-busting spending and Obama's policies. |
20 Finance officials work to stress economic unity
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
Sun Feb 7, 7:22 am ET
| IQALUIT, Nunavut - Top international finance officials renewed their commitments to keep spending to support a global rebound while playing down differences over new U.S. approaches on bank reform.
Finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of Seven major industrial economies normally seek to strike a united front at their meetings to avoid upsetting financial markets.
But that imperative seemed even more urgent at their two days of talks Friday and Saturday given the bad week experienced by global markets, which were thrown into a tailspin by new worries over rising debt levels in Greece, Portugal and Spain. |
21 Whalers, activists clash again off Antarctica
By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Feb 6, 11:55 pm ET
| SYDNEY - Anti-whaling ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided in icy Antarctic waters in the second major clash this year in increasingly aggressive confrontations between conservationists and the whaling fleet.
No one was injured in the clash Saturday, which each side blamed on the other.
The U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd, which sends vessels to confront the Japanese fleet each year, accused the Japanese ship of deliberately rammed the Bob Barker - named after the U.S. game show host who donated millions of dollars for the anti-whaling group to buy it. |
22 Researchers target whales in herring loss study
By DAN JOLING, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 4 mins ago
| ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Something is holding down the herring population of Alaska's Prince William Sound, and marine scientists are tailing some rather large suspects: humpback whales.
Humpbacks, once hunted to near extinction, are thriving in waters fouled 21 years ago by the Exxon Valdez, the supertanker that ran aground and leaked nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil.
The herring population crashed after the spill but should have rebounded by now. One hypothesis is that humpbacks, traditionally summer residents in the sound, are taking a big bite out of vast herring schools that form in the deep water of the sound's fjords each autumn. |
23 Shiite militants kidnap American in Iraq
By CHELSEA J. CARTER and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers
Sat Feb 6, 3:20 pm ET
| BAGHDAD - A missing Iraqi-American contractor was kidnapped by Shiite militiamen who lured him into central Baghdad by promising to help him find distant relatives, an Iraqi defense official said Saturday.
A Shiite extremist group claimed responsibility for the Jan. 23 kidnapping and posted a video online that shows a man wearing military fatigues reading a list of demands that includes the release of militants, the prosecution of Blackwater guards and an immediate American troop withdrawal.
A high-ranking Iraqi defense official and an American intelligence official identified the man in the video as Issa T. Salomi, the missing contractor. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. |
24 Smith, Rice lead 7 new football Hall of Famers
By BARRY WILNER, AP Football Writer
Sat Feb 6, 7:08 pm ET
| FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Here's how you stop Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith: Put them in the Hall of Fame and watch them break down and cry.
The men who tore apart NFL defenses couldn't handle the emotions Saturday when they were elected to the shrine along with five others.
"They told me 'Don't cry,'" Rice said, his eyes wet with tears. "It meant the world to me, just like winning a Super Bowl. On draft day, I didn't take that for granted. I didn't take this for granted." |
25 Gibbons to deliver emergency State of State
By SANDRA CHEREB, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 36 mins ago
| CARSON CITY, Nev. - Nevada's budget is so far out of balance that by one account the state could lay off every worker paid from the general fund and still be $300 million in the red. The economic downturn has hit so hard that prisons may be closed, entire colleges shuttered and thousands left without jobs.
Against the backdrop of an imploding economy and an $881 million shortage, Gov. Jim Gibbons will try to explain the depth of the state's financial crisis and how fixing the gaping hole in the budget will change their lives.
It won't be pretty. |
26 Tribe marks massacre with burial ground gathering
By JESSIE L. BONNER, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 43 mins ago
| PRESTON, Idaho - Tribal members descend in late January each year to the burial ground near the Bear River where soldiers felled hundreds of their ancestors in one of American history's bloodiest_ but little remembered_ massacres.
Descendants of the Northwestern Shoshone who were decimated in their winter encampment in a surprise attack 147 years ago, they stamp their feet in the cold and offer songs and prayers to the dead.
Bodies from that distant morning were never officially counted, and the bones were long ago scattered to the surrounding hills. |
27 Ending 'don't ask, don't tell' seems inevitable. But not soon.
By Brad Knickerbocker, The Christian Science Monitor
Sat Feb 6, 3:14 pm ET
| The end of "don't ask, don't tell" in the US military seems inevitable. US society - especially among younger Americans - is moving in that direction. And almost all US allies accept soldiers without discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
But ending the policy of forcing openly gay men and women out of the armed services won't come soon, and it won't come without a major political fight. That was clear in the recent Senate hearing where Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen - both of whom favor ending DADT - took heat from Republican Senators.
With 41 Senators now, the GOP could block any legislative effort to overturn the policy, which became law in 1993 and therefore would take congressional action to change. And President Obama - focused on jobs and the economy, and with his congressional clout likely to wane even further with this fall's elections - is unlikely to spend any more political capital on the issue. |
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