Mahmoud Abbas In the whirr of diplomacy taking place at the United Nations, the case for and against statehood recognition for the Palestinians has become almost an afterthought. Rather, two countries, the United States and Israel, are going to great lengths to avert the embarrassing consequences of an expected application. Great pressure is being placed on the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas,... 

35 dead bodies were dumped on the street in Mexican state of Veracruz Gunmen have blocked a busy road in the Mexican state of Veracruz in rush hour to abandon two trucks with 35 bodies inside. In the latest disturbing sign of Mexico’s ongoing gang problems, suspected drug traffickers dumped dead bodies of 23 men and 12 women under a busy overpass in downtown Boca del Rio on Tuesday afternoon,... 

A Frenchwoman who wears an Islamic face veil, in defiance of the nationwide ban implemented since April, is aiming to run for president in the upcoming elections next year. Kenza Drider is part of a group of women challenging the law, asserting that it violates fundamental rights, and seeking to defend the rights of all French women. The controversial law banning Muslim face veils on the streets of... 

An influential nationalist leader urged his followers on Wednesday to throw their support behind Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, telling them that they will no longer have to shiver at street demonstrations because the Kremlin will grant them access to executive and legislative power. The leader of the Rodina party (Motherland), Dmitry Rogozin, who is Russia’s envoy to NATO, was speaking about... 

A screen shot shows how the Foldit program posed the monkey-virus molecular puzzle. Video-game players have solved a molecular puzzle that stumped scientists for years, and those scientists say the accomplishment could point the way to crowdsourced cures for AIDS and other diseases. “This is one small piece of the puzzle in being able to help with AIDS,” Firas Khatib, a biochemist at the... 

Ivar Giaever The global warming theory left him out in the cold. Dr. Ivar Giaever, a former professor with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the 1973 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday, Sept. 13, from the premier physics society in disgust over its officially stated policy that “global warming is occurring.” The official position of the American... 

China on Tuesday said it backs Palestine’s efforts to seek recognition by the United Nations. “China understands, respects and supports Palestine’s bid for UN membership,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday. Hong’s comments came after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that he will formally apply... 

GMO products have appeared no more than 10 years ago. Immediately they turned from a subject of research into the area of political speculation and manipulation of public opinion. They became “horror stories” for the consumer. Why did it happen, which myths about GM foods are true and which are false? Professor Yakov Alexeyev, head of the Laboratory of Genetically Modified Organisms with... 

Operation: Ms Ruphard claims she did not get proper attention in hospital because it was Thanksgiving. A woman who weighed 278 pounds (19st 12lbs) lost both her legs after she had weight loss surgery. Mary Beth Ruphard is suing the hospital in Joliet, Illinois, where she had the operation after she had both her legs amputated when she developed blood clots. She said she went under the knife because... 

Dollar exchange rate continues to rise, despite the enormous national debt and virtually pre-default state of the USA. Why? 
Mikhail Fedorov, analyst of “RIC-Finance”:
 “Today, because of the debt crisis the Eurozone and the U.S. became competitors in terms of their attractiveness to outside investment, and therefore their ability to fund their own public loans. In fact, they... 

Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili A senior Iranian Army commander says the Islamic Republic is building a more sophisticated version of Russia’s S-300 missile defense system at home. “The flaws and defects of the (Russian) S-300 system have been corrected in the indigenous version of the system and its conceptual designing has been... 

Controversial space: The buildings that are to become the Park51 mosque and cultural centre, just two blocks from where the twin towers stood before the 9/11 terror attacks. The first part of Park51, the controversial Lower Manhattan Islamic community centre, is opening on Wednesday with an art exhibition featuring photographs of children. Just a few blocks away from the site where the Twin Towers... 

A 24-year-old Nigerian rapist has successfully avoided deportation from the UK after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that expelling him would violate his right to family life. Despite not having a partner or children, the court ordered the British government to allow him to stay and cover £3,500 of his legal bills. The rapist, identified only as AA, had been convicted at the age of... 

Sneaky Samsung is supposedly preparing a patent suit against Apple that should ban the next-gen iPhone sales in Korea. This was shared by a senior Samsung executive, wishing to remain anonymous, with The Korea Times. The soon-to-be patent suit will involve Samsung’s wireless technology patents, which will supposedly be used by Apple in the iPhone 5 (or 4S). Apparently the Korean manufacturer... 

European stock markets fall as Greece seeks to convince EU and IMF officials it can avoid a default, 2011-09-19. European stock markets have plunged once again amid fresh fears of Greece defaulting and more signs of economic weakness in the region. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index fell by 3.20 percent, while in Paris the CAC 40 dived 2.73 percents on Monday, AFP reported. The London FTSE 100 index plunged...