| Asia remembers devastating 2004 tsunami with prayers, memorial services Posted: 25 Dec 2014 01:16 PM PST  Survivors of Asia's 2004 tsunami and relatives of its 226,000 victims gather along shorelines of the Indian Ocean on Friday for prayers and memorial services to mark the 10th anniversary of a disaster that still leaves an indelible mark on the region. When a 9.15-magnitude quake opened a faultline deep beneath the ocean a decade ago on Dec. 26, it triggered a wave as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) which crashed ashore in more than a dozen countries, wiping some communities off the map in seconds. ...
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| Cuba expats in America weigh return to island Posted: 25 Dec 2014 10:07 AM PST  Cuban expatriates in America, including many who risked their lives to escape the communist island, are torn about whether to return after Havana and Washington formally reestablish ties next year. US President Barack Obama last week announced the normalization of relations with Cuba, which were severed in 1961. Marisol Camarota said she wouldn't think twice about returning to live in her homeland -- provided she can make a living comparable to what she earns in the United States. By contrast, Hector Martinez -- who fled Cuba years ago on a rickety raft -- wouldn't dream of ever setting foot in Cuba again.
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| Can GOP shatter 'Obama coalition' in 2016? Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:30 PM PST  ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans crowed in 2004 that freshly re-elected President George W. Bush had established a "permanent governing majority" for the GOP. Eight years later, Democrats were touting the enduring power of the "Obama coalition" to keep their party in the White House.
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| Protests flare after Missouri police killing of armed black man Posted: 25 Dec 2014 01:38 AM PST  By Aaron P. Bernstein BERKELEY, Mo. (Reuters) - Protests flared into early Thursday in the St. Louis suburb where a white policeman fatally shot a black man who brandished a gun at a gas station on Tuesday night. A group of protesters marched onto Interstate 170 in the city of Berkeley, Missouri, around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, blocking traffic for roughly 45 minutes. The demonstration followed a vigil at the Mobil On The Run gas station where the shooting occurred. ...
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| Two more NY men arrested for threatening police Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:10 PM PST  (Reuters) - Two more men have been arrested for threatening New York police, including one who called the precinct headquarters of two officers killed as they sat in their patrol car and asked to speak to one of them, a police spokesman said on Thursday. The arrests bring to six the number of those detained for threats against the New York Police Department since officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot on Saturday by a gunman seeking revenge for unarmed black men killed by police. ...
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| Storm brings white Christmas to Rockies; soggy weekend to Southeast Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:34 PM PST By Victoria Cavaliere (Reuters) - A winter storm pushing across the Rockies on Thursday was expected to drop a foot of snow in some areas as it fanned eastward, threatening soggy conditions and potential weekend travel delays across a wide swath of the United States, forecasters said. The storm was one of several predicted to produce snow, rain, fog and other treacherous conditions in the coming days as millions of travelers head home after the Christmas holiday, the National Weather Service said. ... |
| Saudi women drivers referred to terrorism court Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:50 AM PST  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two Saudi women detained for nearly a month in defiance of a ban on females driving were referred on Thursday to a court established to try terrorism cases, several people close to the defendants said.
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| Chinese university bans Christmas, calls it 'kitsch' Posted: 24 Dec 2014 09:18 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - A university in northwestern China has banned Christmas, calling it a "kitsch" foreign celebration unbefitting of the country's own traditions and making its students watch propaganda films instead, media said on Thursday. The state-run Beijing News said that the Modern College of Northwest University, located in Xian, had strung up banners around the campus reading "Strive to be outstanding sons and daughters of China, oppose kitsch Western holidays" and "Resist the expansion of Western culture". ...
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