Sharp Decline In India Economy

India's economy grew by less than expected in the last three months of 2008, official figures have shown...

Read more decline in india..

Source: bbc news

United States to boycott U.N. conference on racism

The Obama administration said Friday that the United States will boycott an upcoming U.N. conference on racism unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion.

At the same time, it said the U.S. would participate as an observer in meetings of the U.N. Human Rights Council, a body that was shunned by the Bush administration for anti-Israel statements and failing to act on abuses in Sudan and other states...

Read more boycott of united nations racism conference..

Source: breitbart

Fed staff in big trouble,

It’s not just U.S. stocks that are on a roller coaster ride in reaction to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other top officials.

Fed staff stock plunged on Wednesday when they put their boss in an awkward position during Bernanke’s testimony before Congress on the financial bailout and efforts to stabilize the swooning economy….

Read more Fed staff in trouble, but cited for raise, too


Source: reuters

City look's like 'Ice Age', dumping truckloads of snow in sea'

There is so much snow in Oslo, where I live, that the city authorities are resorting to dumping truckloads of it in the sea because the usual storage sites on land are full.

That is angering environmentalists who say the snow is far too dirty – scraped up from polluted roads — to be added to the fjord. The story even made it to the front page of the local paper (’Dumpes i sjøen’: ‘Dumped in the sea’)...

Read more ice age city...

Source: reuters

Global Warming: “what we're talking about is extended world war,

If we don't deal with climate change decisively, "what we're talking about then is extended world war," the eminent economist said. His audience Saturday, small and...

Read more Expert: Climate Change Could Mean 'Extended World War'

Source: world news

GM contaminated corn - New Study

Genes from genetically-engineered corn have been found in traditional crop strains in Mexico, according to a new study likely to reignite a bitter controversy over biotech maize.

The paper, by scientists from Mexico, the United States and the Netherlands...

Read more GM contamination of corn

Source: world news

Too drunk to jump: Sporting types who didn't have a leg to stand on

It is fair to say that the Russian high jumper Ivan Ukhov is feeling on top of the world as he prepares to compete in the grand prix meeting at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham today.

It was very different when the 22-year-old Muscovite took part in the Athletissima Grand Prix event in the Swiss town of Lausanne on 2 September last year.

Read more to drunk to jump...

Source: independent.co.uk

More women pawn their jewels in tarnished economy

"There's definitely been a great many more first timers coming in," Joseph Grunberg of Lombard Mutual Pawnbrokers & Jewelers said. "There are a lot more women then men, but that's because more women have more jewelry."..

Read more women pawn their jewels..

Source: reuters

LAPD Launches Probe Into Leaked Rihanna Picture

Hours after the photo was posted, the Los Angeles Police Department launched an internal investigation and asked for the public's help in finding the person who leaked it.

A police news release said the image "has the appearance" of one taken during a domestic violence investigation, and classified its release as a case of serious misconduct that could result in termination.

Read more LAPD launches inquiry into leaked pic...

Source: ap news

Trump Entertainment files for bankruptcy

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc, the casino operator named for Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as recession and declining gambling revenues battered the company and its rivals....

Read more Trump Entertainment files for bankruptcy

Source: reuters

Asian stocks track US slide as bailout hopes fade

Asian stock markets dropped early Wednesday as U.S. markets plummeted toward last year's lows and investors began losing hope that governments can rescue the world's economies from slipping deeper into recession.

It marked the region's third day of declines, and followed a sell-off overnight on Wall Street that sent the major benchmarks to within a hair's breadth of their lowest close in more than five years.

Read more Asian stocks track US slide

Source: denver post

As Data Collecting Grows, Privacy Erodes

There are plenty of people who can muster outrage at Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees third baseman who is the latest example of win-at-any-cost athletes. But I’d prefer to see him as at the cutting edge of another scourge — the growing encroachment on privacy...

Read more your privacy erodes

Source: ny times

Accused arsonist angry at girlfriend's rejection

A 39-year-old man accused of lighting a bushfire that killed at least 21 people in Victoria had recently been rejected by a girlfriend, according to his MySpace internet page...

Read more accused arsonist angry at girlfriend...

Source: nzherald.co.nz

10 million females illegally aborted in India

By conservative estimates, sex-selective abortion in India accounts for the termination of about 10 million females over the past 20 years.
"This is the world's biggest genocide ever," Chetan Sharma, a campaigner against female feticide, told the Daily Mail of London..

Read more females illegally aborted in India

Source: wnd.com

Shocked by Toronto police murder video?

“In this day and age, it is a way of gaining the attention of the people who may have been present at the event,” said Detective John Biggerstaff, from Toronto police’s homicide squad, said at a news conference.

Read more Shocked by Toronto police murder video..

Source: network.national.com

Plea deal offered To Arizona boy, 9, who killed Dad

A 9-year-old charged with killing his father and another man has been offered a plea deal that would spare him any jail time, his attorney said Thursday. "We aren't going to sign him up for prison," defense attorney Benjamin Brewer said. "We would never do that."

Read more Ariz. boy, 9, offered plea deal

Source: breitbart

Obama Warns of 'Lost Decade'

President Barack Obama, saying the U.S. faces a "profound economic emergency," prosecuted the case for his economic stimulus plan and left the door open for the government to spend billions more on a controversial bank-bailout plan during a prime-time news conference Monday...

Read more ...Warns of 'Lost Decade'

Source: wsj online

Failure of L.A. County safeguards let convicted rapist work at clinic

A breakdown in county procedures meant to protect patients and ensure standards for health professionals allowed a temporary employment agency to send a convicted rapist to work at a large East Los Angeles clinic, according to the head of Los Angeles County's health department….

Read more Failure of L.A. County safeguards

Source: la times

U.S. war on drugs has failed, report says

The United States' war on drugs has failed and will continue to do so as long as it emphasizes law enforcement and neglects the problem of consumption, a Washington think tank says in a report co-chaired by a former president of Mexico...

Read more U.S. war on drugs has failed, report says

Source: la times

Treasury to approve insurers for TARP funds

Some insurance companies recently received approval to acquire banks, paving the way for them to participate in the government's $250 billion capital injection program, which is part of the larger bailout fund…

Read more insurers approved for TARP funds

Source: breitbart

Murdoch Writes Down Half the Value of Wall Street Journal

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate said cost-savings measures that Dow Jones has made include outsourcing some jobs, consolidating office space and integrating Dow Jones' corporate functions with those of News Corp...

Read more writes down half the value of wall street journal

Source: reuters

After a fortnight in the job, Barack is already fading to grey

FIFTEEN days into his new gig as president of the United States of America and there are tiny signs that the burdens of office - the responsibility of a plunging economy, the golden cage of security and the seemingly endless hiccups in confirming his cabinet - are having an impact on Barack Obama….

Read more Barack already fading to grey

Source: smh.com.au

U.S. Blew It: Must Now Spend TRILLIONS to Avoid Depression

“This economy needs support from the government, a check from the government in the trillions,” Gross said today in a Bloomberg Television interview from Pimco’s headquarters in Newport Beach, California. “There is a potential catastrophe if the U.S. government continues to focus on billions of dollars.”...

Read more U.S. must now spend trillions to avoid...

Source: bloomberg

Debate on 'Buy American' clause

The US Senate is debating a "Buy American" clause of an economic stimulus bill estimated at nearly $888 billion that has worried international trade partners of the United States...

Read more 'Buy American' clause

Source: business inquirer net

US stocks end high on positive housing data

US stocks closed solidly higher on Tuesday as investors weighed a positive report on the troubled housing market, a mixed batch of corporate earnings and progress on the...

Read more stocks end high on positive housing data

Source: the economic times

Dubai Court Fines Man For Cross Dressing

According to the paper, the man was arrested by a police officer in civilian clothes in the Mall of the Emirates in what the police described as a glittering outfit, a bra, mascara, women's perfume and a wig...

Read more court fines man for cross-dressing

Source: jpost.com

World’s Gloomiest Countries

After a dismal 2008, there's nowhere to go but up, right? That's not the view in Hong Kong. As the Chinese prepare to usher in the Year of the Ox, which starts on Monday, Jan. 26, gloom has descended on the special administrative zone of China.

According to a recent survey by accounting firm Grant Thornton, Hong Kong business executives had the biggest drop in optimism about the economy….

Read more Gloomiest Countries

Source: business week

Obama's lethal game of beggar-thy-neighbour

The ‘Buy America' policy, proposed by the most protectionist Congress in memory, is a piece of disastrous economic folly

The talk at Davos is grimmer this year than last - grimmer, but also better focused. The causes and extent of the financial crisis are better understood, though the hunt is still on for ways to stop the rot penetrating the global economy. It helps, too, that some fancy theories have bitten the dust….

Read more Obama's lethal game

Source: times online