A rapidly expanding US Pentagon program is equipping police forces, many in small towns, with second-hand battlefield-grade weaponry. The US Department of Defense distributed USD 500 million worth of used military gear to police forces in 2011, through the “1033 program”, The Daily reported. The dramatically growing figure sets a new record for the program, in comparison with distributions worth... 

Planet Earth viewed from space The search for Earth-like planets has finally borne fruit. Or at least that is what NASA claims, raising hopes among inhabitants of an exhausted Earth of a back-up planet for humanity. ­Space and extra-terrestrial life have always been a source of wild flights of imagination and inspiration for humanity. Now there is a fresh reason to be excited. NASA says it has discovered... 

An American RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned reconnaissance aircraft US officials have confirmed that the reconnaissance drone which was downed by Iran’s Army in the eastern part of the country was on a CIA recon mission. On Sunday December 4, the Iranian Army’s electronic warfare unit downed a RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft after it crossed into Iran’s airspace over the border with neighboring... 

Police officers investigate wrecked luxury cars at the site of a traffic accident on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki. Altogether 14 cars, among them eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes Benz, have collided in Japan’s most expensive car crash ever. ­Sports Nippon newspaper estimates the value of the vehicles to be about $4 million. Unfortunately some of the owners will have to part... 

A day after Australia’s ruling Labor reversed its policy of not selling uranium to India, China on Monday gave a guarded response to the move, saying all countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy. “China always believes countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy and at the same time they should fulfill the international obligations of nuclear non-proliferation,”... 

Putin compares US funded NGOs to Judas the betrayer. What would Americans say if they found their polling stations and certain political parties entirely infiltrated by Chinese money, Chinese observers, and Chinese-backed candidates promoting China’s interests in an AMERICAN election? The answer ranges from incarceration, to trials featuring charges ranging from fraud, to sedition and even treason... 

Former U.S. President George W. Bush is accused of having authorized torture methods in the United States under the slogan of the “war on terror” in 2000. The human rights organization Amnesty International asked three African countries to detain George W. Bush during his next visit, accusing him of “crimes” and “torture.” Bush will travel December 1-5 to Zambia,... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Russia has down-scaled the level of diplomatic relations with Qatar following an incident with the Russian ambassador to the country, who was physically attacked by Qatari customs and security officers. ­Ambassador Vladimir Titorenko suffered an assault at Doha Airport on November 29, on his return from a mission to Jordan. While passing through customs control... 

A general view of Piazza Duomo during the FIOM CGIL and Students National Strike on January 28, 2011 in Milan, Italy. Italian trade unions have called for a strike to protest the recent government austerity measures aimed at resolving the eurozone debt crisis. Two of Italy’s three biggest trade unions said they would hold a two-hour strike on December 12, AFP reported on Monday The Cisl and Uil... 

A new poll out of Iowa suggests that the only GOP candidate to stand a chance of beating Obama one on one in 2012 is Congressman Ron Paul. The NBC News/Marist Poll places Paul in third place with 17%, just 1% behind Mitt Romney, and well within the margin of error of second place. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich tops the poll with 26%. Over the past few weeks Paul has consistently polled... 

An American RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned reconnaissance aircraft A senior Iranian military official says Iran’s Army has downed a remote-controlled reconnaissance drone operated by the US military in the eastern part of the country. The informed source said on Sunday that the Iranian Army’s electronic warfare unit successfully targeted the US-built RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft after it... 

A lot has been said about Carrier IQ in the past few days. For those who are not aware, Carrier IQ is a company based in Mountain View, California and provides mobile analytic services for smartphones to the wireless industry. So why is it the news suddenly? A few days ago, Android security researcher Trevor Eckhart discovered Carrier IQ software in one of the HTC devices he was using. He discovered... 

Kenyan military soldiers Kenyan fighter jets have bombarded a civilian refugee camp in southern Somalia, killing and wounding dozens of people, Press TV reports. The airstrikes targeted the civilian refugee camp in Gedo region of Ceel Ade village on Friday afternoon, a Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday. Mohamed Abdi Kalil, the head of Gedo region, confirmed the attacks and the casualties. Kenya... 

Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, asserted that the former president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, (2002-2010) planned to “make Colombia into the Israel of South America.” According to Chávez, the Uribe administration distanced his country from other nations in the region, “He nearly caused a war with Ecuador and broke relations with Venezuela, and neighboring countries.” The... 

Iran's Police Chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam Iran’s Police Chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam says 12 students were arrested during the recent protest rally in front of the British Embassy in Tehran. “After students entered the British Embassy and Qolhak Garden, 12 [students] were arrested…they have been turned over to judicial authorities,” Ahmadi-Moqaddam...