Israel, Jordan, Palestinians sign ‘historic’ water agreement

Israel, Palestinians and Jordan signed on Monday an agreement to support the management of scarce water resources and the joint development and use of new water resources through sea water desalination.
The project includes the development of a desalination plant in Aqaba at the head of the Red Sea, where the water produced will be shared between Israel and Jordan; increased releases of water by Israel from Lake Tiberias for use in Jordan; and the sale of about 20-30 million m3/year of desalinated water from Mekorot (the Israeli water utility) to the Palestinian Water Authority for use in the West Bank.

French forces deploy outside C. African Republic capital

The Central Africa Republic’s shaky interim authorities on Saturday ordered all forces except foreign peacekeepers and the presidential guard off the streets of Bangui, where gunfire has eased but attacks on civilians have continued.
A senior U.N. aid official said French and African peacekeepers must push into neighborhoods where “senseless” Muslim-Christian killings are rife, not just control the main roads of the capital.

Poll: Majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana

The poll found that 58 percent of those surveyed favored marijuana legalization, up from 50 percent two years ago.
When Gallup first asked the question in 1969, only 12 percent favored allowing the drug.
Washington state and Colorado became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational adult use by approving separate ballot measures in November 2012. Some 20 states and the District of Columbia allow the drug to be used for medical purposes.
The poll, which drew on a random sample of 1,028 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, found support for legalization was strongest among 18- to 29-year-old adults, 67 percent of whom were in favor.

NASA: Ancient lake on Mars may have supported life

NASA's Curiosity rover has uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars that may have teemed with tiny organisms for tens of millions of years, far longer than scientists had imagined, new research suggests.
The watering hole near the Martian equator existed about 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists say it was neither salty nor acidic, and contained nutrients — a perfect spot to support microbes.
"This just looks like a pretty darn ordinary Earth-like lake in terms of its chemistry," said project scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology. "If you were desperate, you could have a drink of this stuff."

NSA reportedly snooped on online gaming communities

 

British and American intelligence agencies infiltrated online gaming communities, searching for what they thought could be terrorist and criminal groups lurking in the digital realm of orcs, elves and player-created avatars.
According to documents provided by whisteblower Edward Snowden, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) analysts in 2007 became convinced that online communities like the World of Warcraft and Second Life had become hubs for the secret transfer of information and money between wanted organizations, according to reports published Monday

Mandela sought balance between capitalism and socialism

Nelson Mandela was the pivotal, indispensable architect of one of the greatest political miracles of the 20th century, the abolition of apartheid in South Africa and the establishment of a multiracial democracy, achieved through tough negotiation rather than the catastrophic civil war that many observers had predicted.
Yet the second half of the revolution he sought for South Africa — freedom from poverty, establishment of genuine equality of opportunity and a fair share of national wealth — has yet to be achieved. Poverty was a central theme of Mandela’s famous 1964 speech at the Rivonia trial, in which 10 African National Congress leaders were prosecuted for sabotage, just as poverty was a central theme of the 1955 Freedom Charter, which articulated the ANC’s ambitions for a democratic society.

18 LA sheriff's deputies face charges

Federal officials on Monday unsealed five criminal cases filed against 18 current and former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies as part of an FBI investigation into allegations of civil rights abuses and corruption in the nation's largest jail system.
The charges were announced at a press conference after 16 of 18 defendants were arrested earlier in the day. They were expected to be arraigned later in U.S. District Court.

China withholds visas for NYT, Bloomberg reporters

Chinese authorities have been withholding residence visas for reporters working for The New York Times and Bloomberg in apparent retaliation for the agencies’ investigative stories on wealth accumulated by leaders’ families.

The move marks an intensifying of pressure on foreign journalists by the Chinese government and threatens to effectively shut down the two organizations’ newsgathering operations in the country.

Hollywood immortalizes U.S. disaster in Afghanistan

Hollywood has immortalized for post-Christmas release one of the deadliest incidents of the Afghan war: a Navy SEAL operation targeting an Islamist fighter that left 19 American soldiers dead.

“Lone Survivor,” starring Mark Wahlberg and portraying one of the worst military disasters of the 12-year war, is based on a book written by the only Navy SEAL commando to survive the raid.

Iran invites UN inspectors to controversial Arak nuclear facility

Concern over reactor stems from West's fear that it could produce plutonium for bombs, which Iran has repeatedly denied

Iran has invited U.N. inspectors to visit its Arak heavy-water production plant on Dec. 8, the first concrete step under a cooperation agreement to clarify concerns about Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Hundreds of thousands protest government in Ukraine

Ukraine's opposition leaders told hundreds of thousands of pro-Europe protesters at a rally on Sunday to pressure President Viktor Yanukovich to sack his own government and drop plans for closer ties with Russia.

Detroit-owned art worth up to $866M, auction house says

Bankrupt city may seek to monetize some of nearly 3,000 works housed in Detroit Institute of Arts collection

The auction house Christie's put a price tag on one of Detroit's highest-profile city assets, its share of the Detroit Institute of Arts collection, stating that nearly 3,000 works controlled by the city are worth between $452 million and $866 million.

Using a cartoon and humor to fight violence against women

Earlier this week, Boston firefighter Billy Vraibel watched a zippy 30-second animation while buying skates for his three sons at Pure Hockey, a sports store in the center of the working-class city of Medford, Mass. The eye-catching animated spot showed fans at a NASCAR race. As a female beer vendor walks by, a man raises his hand to slap her bottom. After his buddy grabs his hand and shakes his head, bystanders and race car drivers applaud.

California health exchange shares patient data without consent

The California health insurance exchange has been giving the names and contact information of tens of thousands of consumers to insurance agents without their permission or knowledge in an effort to make deadlines for coverage, raising concerns about privacy,

Mandela memorial set for Tuesday in Johannesburg

South Africa expects overwhelming crowds and a number of world leaders to attend services for the late Mandela, but officials said on Saturday that they could not yet offer many details about the ceremonies scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
Across the country, South Africans have already begun honoring Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95. Officials expect tens of thousands to participate in the official services in the coming week.
In their first comments since his death on Thursday evening, members of Mandela's family on Saturday issued a statement thanking South Africa and the wider world for their support. They said they had "lost a great man" – just as they had when South Africa's former apartheid government imprisoned him for decades.

More London sold to Kuwaiti’s St Martins for 1.7 billion pounds

London Bridge Holdings has sold More London, a premier real estate asset in London, to Kuwaiti firm St Martins Property Group for approximately 1.7 billion British pounds, according to people familiar with the deal.
London Bridge Holdings had originally planned to refinance More London by next summer but decided to sell the asset due to the attractive offer made by St Martins, which already owns property in London.
“This transaction underscores the success of London Bridge Holdings in transforming a blighted, brown field site into a vibrant and vital global business centre,” the firm said in a statement.
London Bridge Holdings bought the brown field site in 1998 and developed More London, which is adjacent to Tower Bridge and opposite The Tower of London.

NYC Council debates ban on electronic cigarettes in public spaces

Public health officials and electronic cigarettes supporters vigorously debated whether New York City should add nicotine inhalers to the Indoor Clean Air Act — now 12 years old — which bans smoking in public spaces, during a public hearing at City Hall in Manhattan on Wednesday.

North Korea releases US war vet detained since October

North Korea freed an 85-year-old U.S. veteran of the Korean War Saturday after detention that lasted more than a month. Merrill Newman's release ended the saga in which he attempted to visit the North as a tourist six decades after he oversaw a group of South Korean wartime guerrillas still loathed by Pyongyang.

Judge says Denver bakery must sell wedding cakes to gay couples

A Colorado bakery owner illegally discriminated against a gay couple when he refused to make a wedding cake for the pair last year because of his Christian religious beliefs, a judge ruled Friday.

Twitter to be available on mobile phones without Internet

Twitter is tying up with a Singapore-based startup to make its 140-character messaging service available to users in emerging markets who have entry-level mobile phones which cannot access the Internet.

US teens show little improvement on global exam

 Asian countries dominate international test, while Americans fail to reach top 20 in math, science or reading

  The test, known as the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, is given every three years to 15-year-olds in 65 countries. It is designed to assess how students use what they've learned inside and outside the classroom to solve problems.

Microsoft announces plan to combat government spying

Microsoft has referred to government surveillance of online activity as an "advanced persistent threat," comparing it to malware, and said the company is introducing comprehensive measures to strengthen online security.
In a blog post late Thursday, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith accused "some governments" of circumventing online security measures and legal protections, undermining confidence in the security and privacy of online communications.

Microsoft leads disruption of largest infected global PC network

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had disrupted the largest network of compromised personal computers, involving some 2 million machines around the world, since it stepped up its battle against organized online criminals three years ago.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant filed a lawsuit in Texas and won a judge's order directing Internet service providers to block all traffic to 18 Internet addresses that were used to direct fraudulent activity to the infected machines.

Brazil to open 2014 World Cup against Croatia

Host nation Brazil will kick off next year's soccer World Cup against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12, while holders Spain and 2010 runners-up Netherlands will meet again in the group stages following the draw on Friday.

Brazil were grouped with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon while Spain and the Dutch have a tough Group B which also contains Chile and Australia.

Mandela received his first military training in Algeria

While mourning the death of Nelson Mandela, an Algerian minister on Friday spoke of the African leader’s first military training in Algeria during 1960s.
“Mandela received his initial military training by the rebels of the National Liberation Front in Algeria in the early 1960s, when he decided to establish a military arm to the African National Congress,” Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra told journalists during a summit for Peace and Security in Africa which began Friday in Paris.
“Algeria was a strong supporter of the African National Congress, providing it with weapons, passports and other tools which contributed to the historic triumph against apartheid,” Lamamra added.
In his autobiography “The Long Walk to Freedom,” Mandela admits that he was inspired by the Algerian revolution, which he said was the closest to South Africa’s at the time, writing “the Algerian rebels had to face a big colony of white men who were governing the majority of the population.”
In 1961, Mandela visited the troops of the Algerian Liberation Army headquarters in the Moroccan city of Oujda, where arms were frequently smuggled in to the Algerian rebels.
“They were an army of guerillas who earned their stars by the battles they fought, and they were more passionate about war and military strategies than uniforms and parades,” Mandela wrote about the Algerian fighters.

France returns five ancient artifacts to Egypt

France has returned to Egypt five artifacts from the Ptolemaic dynasty (300 BC) that were smuggled out of the country after the 2011 uprising, an Egyptian official said Wednesday.

“The team in charge of monitoring sales of artifacts identified five pieces dating from the Ptolemaic dynasty on Internet websites, two of which were being auctioned in the city of Toulouse,” said Ali Ahmed, at the ministry of antiquities.

‘Fast and Furious’ actor dies before Abu Dhabi shoot

 Fans and fellow actors mourned Sunday the death of Paul Walker, best known as undercover agent Brian O’Connor in the “Fast and Furious” action movies, in a fiery car crash in California.

 

 

NSA tracking mobile phone locations worldwide

The National Security Agency can track the location of millions of cellphones around the world, and collects 5 billion pieces of cellphone data from outside the U.S. daily, including from cellphones belonging to Americans abroad

2 million passwords stolen and made public in massive hack

 

Nearly 2 million passwords have been stolen and posted online for websites including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter and payroll giant ADP, according to researchers working for the Trustwave security firm.
The massive hack is the latest incident in a string of account login thefts using a Pony botnet controller, a malware program that makes infected computers submit various forms of information over the Internet unbeknownst to the user.

Timeline of Nelson Mandela's life

1912
The South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later to become the African National Congress (ANC), is formed in Bloemfontein on Jan. 8.
1918    
Rolihlahla Mandela is born on July 18 in the village of Mvezo in the province of Transkei, South Africa. He acquires the Christian name Nelson from a teacher in primary school.
1944
Nelson Mandela joins the African National Congress. With Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Ashley Peter Mda, he forms the ANC Youth League.
1944    
Mandela marries his first wife, Evelyn Mase. They divorce in 1958 after having four children.
1948
Apartheid, as an official government segregation policy, is introduced by the National Party after it comes to power.
1952     
Mandela opens a law practice with Oliver Tambo.
1956  
Along with most of the ANC leaders, Mandela is arrested for treason. They are found not guilty five years later.
1958    
Mandela marries Winnie Madikizela.
1960  
The Sharpeville Massacre takes place on March 21. Sixty-nine people are killed when South African police open fire on demonstrators in the township.
1960    
South Africa declares a state of emergency prior to banning the ANC on April 8.
1961      
The military wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), is cofounded by Mandela in response to the Sharpeville Massacre.
1962    
Mandela is arrested and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labor.
1963    
Along with other leaders of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe, Mandela stands trial, charged with trying to overthrow the government. The young leader makes a statement from the dock that would become famous. The proceeding becomes known as the Rivonia Trial after the Johannesburg suburb where several of the defendants were arrested.
1964    
Mandela and seven others are sentenced to life imprisonment on June 12. He will spend 27 years behind bars. He is held at Robben Island Prison from 1964 to 1982, Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland from 1982 to 1988 and Victor Vester Prison in Paarl until his release in 1990.
1976
The Soweto uprising begins on June 16, as police fire on thousands of young black South Africans protesting a law that would make Afrikaans the main teaching language in schools. Although the government says 95 people are killed, more than 500 likely die. The event helps propel the anti-apartheid struggle to the world stage.
1985
Mandela rejects, through his daughter Zindzi, South African President P.W. Botha's offer to release him if he renounces violence.
1988  
The Free Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley Stadium in London is attended by 72,000 people. That same year, he is diagnosed with tuberculosis.
1989  
South African President F.W. de Klerk announces sweeping reforms at the opening session of parliament on Feb. 2. Changes include lifting the ban on the ANC and the unconditional release of Mandela.
1990    
Mandela is released from prison on Feb. 11.
1991    
The first national conference of the ANC is held inside South Africa since it was banned 31 years earlier. Mandela is elected president of the party.
1993      
De Klerk and Mandela win a shared Nobel Peace Prize.
1994    
South Africa holds its first free general election on April 27. Mandela votes for the first time in his life, and is elected president. The ANC picks up 62 percent of the vote, and wins seven of the country's nine provinces. The country's new leader is inaugurated on May 10.
1994    
His autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," is published.
1996
Mandela divorces his wife Winnie, having separated from her on suspicion of adultery. Two years later he marries his third wife, Graca Machel, the widow of the former president of Mozambique.
1999    
Steps down after one term as president and starts the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
2001
Mandela is diagnosed with prostate cancer.
2004 
Retires from public life, saying, "Don't call me, I'll call you."
2005 
Mandela's son Makgatho dies of AIDS.
2010    
Makes his last public appearance at the soccer World Cup in South Africa.
2013  
Mandela spends his 95th birthday in the hospital, and dies on Dec. 5 at home with his family. His death is announced to the world by President Jacob Zuma.

Nelson Mandela dies at the age of 95

 

 Former South African president and revolutionary anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95, "God bless his soul"

 

China to launch 'Jade Rabbit,' its first moon probe

China will launch its first ever moon rover early next month, Chinese state media reported Tuesday. The vehicle will be named "Jade Rabbit" in a nod to Chinese folklore.
The name derives from an ancient Chinese myth about a white rabbit that lives on the moon as the pet of Chang'e, a lunar goddess who swallowed an immortality pill.
The rocket carrying the probe will be launched in early December, China's official Xinhua news agency said, citing the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Study: Native Americans have West Eurasian origins

Native Americans have closer genetic ties to people in Eurasia, the Middle East and Europe than previously believed, according to new research on a 24,000-year-old human bone.
Genome sequencing on the arm bone of a 3-year-old Siberian boy known as the "Mal'ta Boy," the world's oldest known human genome, shows that Native Americans share up to one-third of their DNA with people from those regions, said Kelly Graf, a research assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University and a member of the international research team.

Scammed in the name of love: Seniors are targeted online

Neal Zipser's father is in love, but he isn't happy about his father's romance. That's because his dad, an 80-year-old who came into some considerable money in the 1980s, has spent over half a million dollars on his new girlfriend.
What's more, Zipser's father has never met his own girlfriend.
"It started when he got an email from a lady in Ghana. She sent a photo and said she was 37-year-old nurse who could take care of him in his old age, and they basically started an online dialogue," said Zipser, who works two jobs in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Archaeologists' discovery could put Buddha's birth centuries earlier

The discovery of a previously unknown wooden structure at Buddha's birthplace suggests the sage might have lived in the sixth century BC, centuries earlier than thought, archaeologists said.
"This is one of the very rare occasions when tradition, belief, archaeology and science come together," archaeologist Robin Coningham, the lead scientist on the dig, told Al Jazeera in an email.
The team of 40 archaeologists discovered what appears to have been an ancient timber shrine under a brick temple inside the sacred Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, and ancient place of worship considered to be the birthplace of Buddha located in southern Nepal near the Indian border.
The traces were scientifically tested and confirm dating to the sixth century, predating all known Buddhist sites by 300 years, archaeologists said Monday.
The project, supported by the National Geographic, sheds light on a long debate over when the Buddha was born and, in turn, when the faith that grew out of his teachings took root, said Conginham.

Healthcare.gov site improved, still not 100 percent, officials say

 

 Visitors to the government's health care website encounter fewer errors and the system now works most of the time, administration officials said Sunday in a progress report.

World AIDS Day: Has China's PM made strides in HIV prevention?

A decade after presiding over one of the greatest HIV/AIDS cover-up scandals in Chinese history, then-Vice Premier Li Keqiang attempted last year to redeem himself, pledging to revive efforts against rising infection rates in the People's Republic.
Twelve months on — and as World AIDS Day is marked Dec. 1 — the jury is still out over whether Li, who is now premier, has backed his words up with any action, or whether they were simply empty gestures uttered to placate a watching world.
Certainly last year, hopes appeared high for the former. In November 2012, ahead of the United Nations-declared holiday, Li promised to offer greater support to non-government organizations tackling HIV/AIDS in China.