Japan's parliament elects Noda new prime minister

Japan's parliament elected former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as the new prime minister on Tuesday — the country's sixth leader in five years.

A fiscal conservative, Noda faces a host of daunting problems, including the post-tsunami recovery and nuclear crisis, and a sluggish economy and the yen's surge, which hurts Japan's exporters.

Noda, who was elected Monday to head the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, succeeds the unpopular Naoto Kan, who officially resigned earlier Tuesday with his Cabinet after nearly 15 months in office.

Noda, 54, must seek to unify the fractious ruling party and restore public confidence in politics amid widespread disgust over squabbling in parliament and perceived lack of leadership in the wake of the triple disaster.
He is a "moderate voice" in the ruling party, Sheila Smith, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, wrote in a comment. "He has a steady temperament and a reputation for fairness in a party where loyalties have been severely tested of late."
Given the pressing problems at home, Noda will likely focus on the disaster reconstruction and other domestic matters.

A staunch supporter of the U.S.-Japan security alliance, Noda has angered China and South Korea for comments about convicted wartime leaders revered at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where the souls of all Japan's war dead are enshrined.

Earlier this month, he reiterated his claim that the wartime leaders had paid their debts and should no longer be seen as war criminals. He made similar comments in 2005.

for more detail visit cbc.ca

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Rooney scores hat-trick as United hit eight past Arsenal

Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick as champions Manchester United retained their 100% English Premier League record this season with a remarkable 8-2 thumping of injury-hit Arsenal at Old Trafford.

United dominated the Gunners who suffered their worst ever Premier League defeat.

With Manchester City winning 5-1 at Tottenham also on Sunday, it proved a superb day for the two Manchester clubs, who are level at the top with a maximum nine points from their three games.

for more detail visit cnnnews

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Facebook hits 1 trillion page views? Nope.

The news stormed across blogs and headlines this week: Facebook had become the first website to rack up a mind-boggling 1 trillion monthly page views.

for more detail visit cnnnews

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35 killed in series of attacks across Iraq

A series of bomb attacks throughout Iraq left 35 people dead and scores injured, officials with Iraq's Interior Ministry and police said Sunday.

At least 28 people were killed in a suicide bombing attack in a Sunni mosque in the Ghazaliya neighborhood in western Baghdad late Sunday, an Interior Ministry official said. At least 37 others were wounded in the attack. A Sunni member of Parliament, Khalid al-Fahdawi, was among the dead.

In Tarmiyah, about 40 kilometers north of Baghdad, two people were killed and five were wounded after a bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque as worshippers finished up a nightly prayer for the celebrations of Ramadan, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Also Sunday, an bomb explosion killed two people in the Baghdad's Shiite-majority neighborhood of Jadriya, the spokesman said.

In Mosul, six roadside bombs exploded in the town's center, wounding five police officers and two civilians.
Also, on the highway that connects Mosul to Syria, a roadside bomb exploded on an Iraqi army convoy, leaving two wounded.

In a separate incident, one man was killed after being attacked by gunmen. Two people were killed in Fallujah, officials said.

Some of the attacks appeared to target policemen, the spokesman said.
According to intelligence analysts with SITE, the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) vowed to step up attacks in the country to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden.
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Car bombing in Nigeria kills 18 at UN base

Nigeria - A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle packed with explosives into the UN headquarters yesterday, destroying several floors in a thunderous blast that killed at least 18 people, witnesses and officials said.

Boko Haram, a shadowy Nigerian Islamist insurgency group with possible links to Al Qaeda’s affiliates in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the BBC. If confirmed, it would signal a significant leap in the scope of Boko Haram’s focus, which until now had taken aim exclusively at domestic targets as part of an ill-defined aim to establish strict Islamic law in the country’s north.

The Nigerian government has come under repeated attack by Boko Haram in the north and by militants in the south. Foreign oil companies and their workers have also been a common target of southern insurgents, who demand a greater share in the nation’s oil profits. But the deadly strike on the United Nations, the first on its offices in Nigeria, was a surprising turn.

“This act provides a new dimension to threats on the domestic front,’’ said Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s ambassador to the United Nations, who called the attack a “transnational crime’’ and urged renewed efforts to fight terrorism in her country.

If indeed the work of Boko Haram, the attack lends substance to new concerns of officials and analysts that an inward-looking organization is increasingly adopting the methods and aims of global terrorists. The bombing, capping months of small-scale explosions and assassinations, mostly in the country’s north, is the most brazen attack yet.

“The logic of Boko Haram has been essentially inward looking,’’ said Chidi Anselm Odinkalu of the Open Society Justice Initiative, in Abuja. “To now seek to attack the UN entirely departs from the narrative they have so far constructed. That’s the most worrying thing about this. It makes Boko Haram an international threat.’’
for more detail visit boston.com

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GANG ATTACKS AND SETS FIRE TO A CASINO IN MEXICO, 53 KILLED

Two dozen gunmen burst into a casino in northern Mexico on Thursday, doused it with gasoline and started a fire that trapped gamblers inside, killing at least 45 people and injuring a dozen more, authorities said.

The fire at the Casino Royale in Monterrey, a city that has seen a surge in drug cartel—related violence, represented one of the deadliest attacks on an entertainment center in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels in late 2006.

“This is a night of sadness for Mexico,” federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire said in a televised address. “These unspeakable acts of terror will not go unpunished.”

Calderon tweeted that the attack was “an abhorrent act of terror and barbarism” that requires “all of us to persevere in the fight against these unscrupulous criminal bands.”

Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said the number late Thursday had risen to at least 45.

“But we could find more,” said state Attorney General Leon Adrian de la Garza, adding that a drug cartel was apparently responsible for the attack. Cartels often extort casinos and other businesses, threatening to attack them or burn them to the ground if they refuse to pay.

State police officials quoted survivors as saying armed men burst into the casino, apparently to rob it, and began dousing the premises with fuel from tanks they brought with them. The officials were not authorized to be quoted by name for security reasons. De la Garza said the liquid appeared to be gasoline.

With shouts and profanities, the attackers told the customers and employees to get out. But many terrified customers and employees fled further inside the building, where they died trapped amid the flames and thick smoke that soon billowed out of the building.

Workers continuing to remove bodies well into the night.

Monterrey Mayor Fernando Larrazabal said many of the bodies were found inside the casino’s bathrooms, where employees and customers had locked themselves to escape the gunmen.

In an act of desperation, authorities commandeered backhoes from a nearby construction site to break into the casino’s walls to try to reach the people trapped inside.

Maria Tomas Navarro, 42, stood weeping at the edge of the police tape stretched in front of the smoke—stained casino building. She was hoping for word of her brother, 25—year—old Genaro Navarro Vega, who had worked in the casino’s bingo area.

for more detail visit thehindu.com

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Gaddafi wanted dead or alive

Fighting raged Wednesday as Muammar Gaddafi's troops fought back at his Tripoli compound a day after it was captured, while rebels offered a $1.7 million reward for the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

Washington for its part said Libya's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction had been secured and that it was confident the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) could set up governing structures after overrunning Tripoli.

A group of mostly foreign journalists who had been confined to Tripoli's Rixos Hotel by pro-Gaddafi hardliners were freed but other loyalists kidnapped four Italian journalists near the capital, and two French journalists were wounded by stray gunfire at the compound but were recovering.
The rebels also made key diplomatic gains when two of Gaddafi's staunchest African allies - Chad and Burkina Faso - said they recognise the NTC as the sole representative of the Libyan people.
During the afternoon, thick smoke hung over the Bab al-Aziziya complex, where rebels and Gaddafi forces fought with light arms, heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars.

Fighting also spread to the nearby Abu Slim area, where loyalists were on the attack, a day after they fled as rebels overran Bab al-Aziziya.

Other pro-Gaddafi troops fired heavy Grad rockets in a bid to regain control of Tripoli's airport from a small group of rebels holding on.

But manager Arabi Mustafa said that once the security problems are resolved and water and electricity restored, the airport would be reopened.

A rebel military spokesman told Al-Jazeera television that "Libyan territory is 90 to 95% under the control of the rebellion."

for more detail visit hindustantimes.com

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Neil Armstrong urges return to the moon to train for Mars

NEIL Armstrong has urged a return to the moon to train for missions to Mars as the UN contemplates the future of its space program following the end of the shuttle era.

The first man to walk on the moon is due to address the US Congress on new directions for NASA in coming weeks.

He has previously criticised US President Barack Obama for being "poorly advised" on space matters and said it was "well known to all that the American space program is in some chaos at the present time, some disarray".
"There are multiple opinions on which goals should be the most important and the most pressing," he told a function in Sydney late Wednesday.
The US shuttle program came to an end last month with the Atlantis cruising home for a final time, 42 years after Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

Critics have assailed NASA for lacking focus, with no next-generation human space flight mission to replace the shuttle program.

Now 81, Armstrong said the agency had become a "shuttlecock" for the "war of words" between the executive, legislative and congressional arms of US government.

"It's my belief given time and careful thought and reasoning we will eventually reach the right goal, I just hope we do it fairly quickly," he said.

The normally private and reserved space veteran said Mars should be the next frontier for exploration but urged more missions to the moon as the vital next step.
"I do favour going to Mars but I believe it is both too difficult and too expensive with the technology we have available at the current time," he said.
for more detail theaustralian.com.au

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UK blood pressure diagnosis and treatment to change

The way blood pressure is diagnosed and treated is to be revolutionised due to new guidelines for the medical profession issued by NICE.

These guidelines, developed in conjunction with the British Hypertension Society, will mark the first time a change has been made in the way blood pressure is monitored by GPs in over a century.

One key aspect of the new instructions is the recommendation that high blood pressure should be diagnosed using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

This involves the patient wearing a monitor for 24 hours to gauge their level of blood pressure.

They are also simplify the treatment strategy for high blood pressure, focusing on the most effective treatments, offering specific guidance for how to combat the condition in people of different ages.

University of Leicester Professor Bryan Williams, chair of the NICE hypertension guideline, believes the new approach could mean that some 25 per cent of people currently being diagnosed as hypertensive in the doctor's clinic may not need treatment.
for more detail visit mediplacements.com

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Brangelina ranked third richest couple by Forbes

LOS ANGELES: They may not be as famous in Europe as Posh 'n' Becks, Brangelina or even Jay Z and Beyonce, but the richest couple in the world are supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her American football playing husband Tom Brady, according to Forbes magazine.

The pair earned a grand total of $76m between May 2010 and May 2011 says the magazine, and it seems that Gisele was the household's main breadwinner (if they do actually eat bread).
The Brazilian raked in $45m during the year and is apparently on course to become the world's first billionaire supermodel. Her husband only contributed a meagre $31m to the family finances. But even if they were to lose all their endorsement deals the couple would probably still be able to scrape by on Brady's $18m-a-year salary from the New England Patriots.
Mr and Mrs Bundchen may have taken the prize this year but they faced stiff competition from pop's premiere couple, Beyonce and her rap star husband Jay Z. The pair have extensive business interests, but it seems Jay was slightly more successful with his last year. He contributed $37m of the $72m that the couple earned, although Beyonce was not far behind with earnings of $35m.

In third place came Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. As with Gisele and Tom Brady it was the lady of the house who earned the most. Jolie was paid $30m last year, while Pitt pulled in rather less - just $20m, although it was a quiet year for the actor.

for more detail visit pakistantimes.net

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South Sudan clashes kill 600

The U.N. on Monday called for reconciliation in the newly-established Republic of South Sudan after fighting reportedly left at least 600 dead and at least 26,000 cattle stolen.

The Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General, Hilde F. Johnson urged restraint Monday after fighting between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities in Jonglei State, killed at least 600 and left more than 750 wounded.

Clashes broke out early Thursday morning and lasted through the day, South Sudan authorities reported. The U.N. on Friday dispatched an assessment and verification team to two of the conflict areas.
The team found 28 casualties at one site and 30 at another along with a number of huts burned to the ground, said Aleem Siddique, spokesman for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
The violence occurred when members of the Murle tribe attacked villages of the Lou Nuer, Siddique said.
Though the violence had largely stopped, reconciliation efforts were needed to maintain the peace, he said.

"Peaceful dialogue is the primary means for reconciliation, and the tribal leaders need to sit down and work out their differences."

Between January and the end of June 2011, nearly 2,400 people had died in 330 clashes across South Sudan, according to a July U.N. report. Most of these casualties resulted from cattle rustling incidents in Jonglei State's Pibor County
for more detail visit cnnnews

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Rebel forces took over Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya Compound

Libya: August 23 as it happened: Coverage of events in Libya on August 23 as rebel forces took over Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

for more detail visit telegraph.co.uk

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Earthquake in US: Quake sends US East Coast scrambling like 9/11

WASHINGTON: Thousands of people across the US East Coast raced frantically into the streets Tuesday as an earthquake sent shock waves of the kind last seen almost exactly a decade ago on September 11.

The US eastern seaboard has few larger earthquakes. Many workers were bewildered -- and feared the worst -- as their desks swayed violently and their ceilings and walls shook.

In a region days away from commemorating the trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks, many immediately suspected terrorism as they raced down stairways to parks and street corners.

Kacie Marano, who works at a think-tank two blocks away from the White House, said that she worried that the earthquake could be something more sinister as the alarms went off and her books fell on the floor.

"Initially, I wasn't sure it was an earthquake," she said as she waited in a downtown park. "When we're so close to the White House, you always have to think whether it's an earthquake or something else."

Kassandra Meholick, who works several blocks from the US Congress, said: "I thought for sure the Capitol was bombed."

Many people in parks asked one another where they were on September 11, 2001. But unlike 10 years ago, the mood was more festive as people learned that there was little major damage.

Several bars in Washington smelled a business opportunity and declared earthquake happy hours for residents who did not want to brave the commuter crowds -- or who were suddenly given the afternoon off.

"We have a lot of people who got half the day off and we've been busy all day," said Lauren Smith, a bartender at The Ugly Mug bar on Capitol Hill which was offering drink specials.
for more detail visit economictimes.indiatimes.com

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London police arrest 100 in riots

More than 100 people have been arrested after bouts of rioting and looting broke out across London.

Emergency services were deployed to respond to "copycat criminal activity" across the capital late on Sunday night and early Monday morning, after trouble flared in Tottenham, north London, Scotland Yard said.

Disturbances erupted in several boroughs in north, south and east London, with reports of trouble in Brixton, Enfield, Walthamstow and Islington.

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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said at least nine officers were injured, including three who were taken to hospital after being hit by a fast-moving vehicle at 12.45am local time. The officers had been in the process of making arrests in Chingford Mount, Waltham Forest, after a shop was looted by youths.

Police said 16 people have been charged with offences in relation to the disorder, including burglary, theft, and violent disorder.

Metropolitan Police Commander Christine Jones said officers were "shocked" at the level of violence directed towards them.

She said: "Officers responding to sporadic disorder in a number of boroughs made more than 100 arrests throughout last night and early this morning.
"This is in addition to the 61 arrests made on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"So far there have been 16 charges, 11 awaiting CPS advice, 17 bailed, one caution, one sectioned under the Mental Health Act and there are 15 ongoing inquiries.
"Officers are shocked at the outrageous level of violence directed against them. At least nine officers were injured overnight in addition to the 26 injured on Saturday night.
for more detail visit smh.com.au

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