Dec
17
2012
If you want to find out exactly how many guns are sold in the US each year, then the figures are not recorded.
However, if you want to know how many applications there are to buy guns each year, then the latest data from the FBI shows that 2012 looks like a bumper year for gun sales in America.
In the wake of the Newtown shooting in Connecticut, there is a renewed focus on gun control in …
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Dec
17
2012
Members of the hacktivist group Anonymous have targeted the Westboro Baptist Church after the hate-mongering quasi-religious group announced plans to protest a Sunday night vigil in remembrance of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, 20 of whom were just 6 and 7 years old.
On Saturday, Westboro Baptist Church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper tweeted that the group would be protesting the vigil in Newtown, Conn., to “sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing …
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Dec
17
2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives targeted the compound of a private military contractor on the eastern outskirts of Kabul on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 15 others, including foreigners, the police said.
Afghans prayed for the girls who died on Monday.
In a separate episode, 10 girls were killed in a rural district of eastern Afghanistan on Monday when a roadside bomb exploded while …
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Dec
17
2012
(Reuters) – Egypt’s opposition called for nationwide protests against a constitution backed by President Mohamed Mursi, after a vote exposed deep divisions that could undermine his efforts to build consensus for tough economic measures.
The Islamist leader won a 57 percent “yes” vote for the constitution in a first round of a referendum at the weekend, according to state media, a margin that was less than his party had hoped for and which is likely to …
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Dec
14
2012
A heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school today, killing his mother and 26 others, mostly children, federal and state sources tell ABC News.
The gunman, identified as Ryan Lanza, 24, of New Jersey, was killed inside of the school.
In addition to the casualties at the school, a dead body was also found in his home, officials said. Sources said Lanza was armed with four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest when he opened …
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Dec
14
2012
NEWTOWN, Conn.—
An official with knowledge of Connecticut school shooting tells the Associated Press that 27 people are dead, including 18 children. Many of the shootings took place in a kindergarten classroom, sources told the Hartford Courant. The gunman is reported dead.
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way, says the man apparently had two guns.
The shooting was reported at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, in western Connecticut. …
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Dec
14
2012
The Los Angeles City Council will take up a resolution Friday calling for Southern California Edison to apply for a formal license amendment and hold a public hearing in order to restart two reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Clemente.
Unit 3 of the plant has been shut down since Jan. 31, when station operators detected a leak in one of its steam generator tubes. Inspectors later found premature wear in a …
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Dec
14
2012
Amid a deepening involvement by the US in the ongoing civil war in Syria, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced he has ordered the deployment of two Patriot missile batteries and 400 US soldiers to Turkey as part of a wider NATO effort to militarize the border between the two countries.
Panetta signed the order shortly before an unannounced visit to the country on Friday. Speaking from the US Air Base in Incirlik, he said: “We …
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Dec
13
2012
Today’s ruling on the CIA’s detention and rendition of German national Khaled El-Masri is a historic moment because for the first time it holds a European state accountable for its involvement in the secret US-led programmes and is a milestone in the fight against impunity, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said.
The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia) was responsible for the …
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Dec
13
2012
THANKS to apartheid, broken job markets and monopolistic mining, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The top 10% of households pocketed 58% of the income in 2008, according to researchers at the University of Cape Town. The country’s Gini coefficient, which measures inequality on a scale of 0 to 1, was 0.7.
But South Africa’s inequality may soon be equalled by an unexpected rival: communist China. According to a new …
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