Germany eyes September 22 for election

BERLIN: Germany will likely hold a federal election on September 22 next year, a government source told AFP on Wednesday, after the majority of the country's 16 states agreed on that date.The interior ministry would inform the political parties of the states' choice next week, the source added. The official date must be cleared by German President Joachim Gauck after a decision in cabinet.The...

Read More..

Bike parts get artists' imaginations in gear

It's a mask made from bike parts and an altered deer skull. We can't vouch for its comfort.(Credit:Mark Grieve and Ilana Spector)You know that greasy bike chain sitting in the corner of your garage? Take a look at the below gallery of original art made from bicycle components, and you might think twice about getting rid of it. Chicago-based bike parts company SRAM gave a group of handpicked artists...

Read More..

Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation IndiaA young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian...

Read More..

Susan Rice Made Allies, Enemies Before Benghazi

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, on Capitol Hill this week answering questions about her role after the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, has become yet another player in the divide between the left and right, with her possible nomination as the next Secretary of State hanging in the balance.But who was Susan Rice before she told ABC's "This Week" and other Sunday morning...

Read More..

Banished diseases making a comeback in Europe

A perfect storm of warmer weather, tropical migrants and plummeting health budgets is stoking the resurgence of once-banished, mosquito-borne diseases in Europe. Several countries have been hit by Europe's financial crisis, and by diseases brought in by...

Read More..

Portuguese lawmakers clear biting 2013 austerity budget

LISBON: Bailed-out Portugal's lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a 2013 budget imposing an unprecedented austerity squeeze even as protesters massed outside.The budget, aimed at saving 5.3 billion euros ($6.9 billion), passed easily with the support of the centre-right government, which has an absolute majority.The government says the plan, which relies on higher taxes for 80 percent...

Read More..

Facebook ads really work, just ask Samsung

Carolyn Everson, Facebook global marketing chief (Credit: Dan Farber/CNET)Do Facebook ads work? Of course they do, said company global marketing head Carolyn Everson. "The biggest myth is that Facebook ads don't work," she said, reiterating Mark Zuckerberg's comments on Facebook's ad business. And, Facebook's rising stock price seems to support the notion that advertising dollars...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

High Horse Photograph by Greg Parker, Your Shot The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head in a November 17 photograph submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot photo community.Taken...

Read More..

GOP Senators More Troubled After Rice Meeting

Three Republican senators who met Tuesday with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice say they are more troubled now over her initial explanations about the deadly Sept. 11 raid in Libya.Rice met behind closed doors Tuesday with Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte — three of her harshest critics. Ayotte said Rice told them that her national television description...

Read More..

UK consumers lose their taste for green energy

Continue reading page |1 |2 In a world of rising energy costs and consumer alarm, UK energy policy continues to lack focus In every debate about energy, the phrase "keeping the lights on" keeps on cropping up. The UK's energy secretary Ed Davey took just three sentences to reach it in his recent statement...

Read More..