While many Anabaptist groups struggle to grow, the Amish continue their steady rise in numbers, bolstered by new settlements beyond traditional population centers. From 2009 to 2011, the Amish population increased by about 10 percent, to 261,150, according to a new study. For years, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have been home to almost two-thirds of the Amish. But the number of Amish in other states... 

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he supports calls for Russia to merge with its western neighbor Belarus. Belarus has been an independent state since the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991. Speaking at a Kremlin youth camp, Putin said Monday the return to Soviet-style unity is “possible, desirable and wholly dependent on the will of the Belarusian people.” Russia and Belarus already have... 

In a new twist to the TSA saga to which we can only say, “We told ya so,” the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that reveal TSA employees are reporting “cancer clusters” among their own employees who work near radiation body scanners. At the same time, DHS refuses to issue dosimeters to TSA employees... 

Nearly half of all Western European men are related to the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, British media report, citing a team of geneticists in Switzerland. Scientists at a Zurich-based DNA genealogy center, reconstructed the DNA profile of the boy Pharaoh, who ascended the throne at the age of nine more than 3,000 years ago. The results showed that King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group to... 

In this game, the house always wins. Bipartisan complicity stacked the deck against millions of working households, needing to know that political Washington is scamming them. The end result is the banana republicanization of America. American writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter: 1862 – 1910) coined the term (his fictional Republic of Anchuria) in his book, “Cabbages and Kings.” It refers... 

African immigrants have gone on the rampage in Bari, Italy, blocking roads and a railway line, setting things on fire and attacking police and passers-by with iron bars. The Africans were being housed at an immigration center in the town, which has now been set on fire. They are demanding that they be recognized as refugees and given legal status. Although some of the rioters waved the Tunisian flag,... 

UN Security Council UN Security Council member Germany on Sunday formally requested emergency consultations by the 15-nation body on the Syrian government’s deadly offensive against demonstrators, a spokesman said. A meeting could be held on Monday. But the move is likely to reopen bitter divisions within the Security Council, which has not yet been able to agree even a statement on President... 

The first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus has been discovered, according to American researchers. Experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an “emergency treatment.” It has already been suggested that some people who had swine flu may develop ‘super immunity’ to other infections. As a result,... 

The scientist who claimed polar bears were drowning because of melting ice caps is being investigated for ‘scientific misconduct’. Dr Charles Monnett, an Alaskan wildlife biologist working for the U.S. government, stunned the world after spotting four polar bear bodies floating in the sea miles from shore. He suggested the high winds and waves of a recent storm had exhausted the predators,... 

Rabbi Yosef Feldman ONE of the state’s most high profile Jewish leaders is fighting off calls for his resignation after he urged rabbis not to report allegations of child abuse to the police. Rabbi Yosef Feldman, president of the Rabbinical Council of NSW and based at the Southern Sydney Synagogue, has sparked outrage in a series of emails to other rabbis when he said it should be up to them... 

When it comes to the dating game in Russia, it really is a man’s world. There are 10 million more women than men in the country, forcing some to turn to unconventional methods to find love. Even if that means a sharing and compromise. Andrey is a father of three. And a husband of three. Eleven years ago, Andrey got married. Two years on he proposed again. And then again. His reasoning is simple:... 

A 7-month-old severely malnourished Somalia child undergoes treatment at the Hagadera refugee camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, July 30, 2011. Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) will dispatch a 120-ton humanitarian aid convoy to Somalia to help the impoverished people in the crisis-hit East African country. IRCS Secretary General Zaher Rostami said the convoy consists of tents, food,... 

US Air Force chief scientist Mark Mayberry briefed the AirVenture symposium on the future of electric flight this morning, allowing your blogger the pleasure of one of our favorite games: Spot the funny-looking aircraft on the AFRL briefing slides! Hey, it’s one way to survive death-by-PowerPoint. 1. F-X is the new name for the USAF’s very preliminary programme (see this story) to replace... 

There is no doubt that in the massive wave of popular outrage against NATO’s support for terrorists in Libya, a spontaneous international movement of decent people from all walks of life from the four corners of the Earth, the people of Serbia have opened their hearts speaking out in the name of justice. It is time for us to do the same for Serbia. Twelve years ago I had the honour to speak... 

US politicians do not conceal fact that missile defense system will be aimed against Russia. The US-sponsored European missile defense system will be aimed at Russia, and some American politicians openly state that, the Russian permanent representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, has said. The diplomat’s comments were made to Interfax news agency in regards to the outcome of his recent trip to Washington,...