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File-In this Jan.15,2010 file photo …

'Ring of Fire' eclipse visible from China to Texas

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sunrises and sunsets often dazzle, but they'll have a special ring to them in a few days for people in the western United States and eastern Asia: The moon will slide across the sun, blocking everything but a blazing halo of light.

Full story

Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage....

London Olympics 2012 torch relay starts in Britain

Yachtsman Ben Ainslie was the first torchbearer as the Olympic flame began its 70-day journey around Britain and Ireland on Saturday ahead of the 2012 London Games....

Possible engine problem delays U.S. rocket launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The launch of a privately owned Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was delayed on Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket's engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said....

GENERAL

Bahrain king attends UK queen's jubilee lunch

The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of rights abuses, was among nearly 50 foreign royals at a lunch Friday to mark the diamond jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

IRANEWS

Iran says nuclear talks with U.N. "good, constructive"

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog about Tehran's atomic activities are going well, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday, the second day of discussions.

MIDDLE EAST

Syrian opposition faces fractures, infighting

BEIRUT (AP) — A key activist group threatened Thursday to withdraw from Syria's main opposition umbrella grouping, saying the council has drifted away from the spirit of the Syrian revolution.

EUROPE

Hollande sworn in as French president

Socialist leader Francois Hollande was sworn in as president of France on Tuesday at a solemn ceremony overshadowed by the catastrophic debt crisis threatening to unravel the eurozone.

ASIA AUSTRALIA

Japan faces 'extinction' in 1,000 years

Japanese researchers on Friday unveiled a population clock that showed the nation's people could theoretically become extinct in 1,000 years because of declining birth rates.

AFRICA

Nigeria losing fifth of revenue to oil theft: report

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria is losing nearly a fifth of its revenues to oil thieves, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was quoted as saying in the pro-government daily This Day on Tuesday.

S America Canada

Modest gains mark Haitian leader's first year

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — In a country where the news is typically bad, if not catastrophic, many people in Haiti look at the past year under a musician-turned-president with guarded surprise.

USAFFAIRS

Census: Minorities now surpass whites in US births

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half the children born in the U.S., capping decades of heady immigration growth that is now slowing.

U-NATIONS

G8 leaders to tackle eurozone crisis this weekend

WASHINGTON – Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the eurozone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency.

BUSI-MESS

Euro Crisis: Markets Tumble After Downgrades

World stock markets have suffered further steep falls in volatile trading as a result of the eurozone debt crisis after downgrades in the credit ratings of Greece and 16 Spanish banks.

RELIGIOUSITY

Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

"Love thy neighbor" is preached from many a pulpit. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the highly religious are less motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people.

OPINIONS & BLOGS

Israel is 64, thanks to Western life support

Israel turns 64 on May 14th. But it only seems to have made it to today thanks to unconditional life support from the US, UK, EU and powerful global Zionist lobbies.

ISLAM-IK BANK

Mortgage law can help ease housing crunch: Saleh Kamel

Saleh Kamel is a leading Saudi businessman and philanthropist who is popular worldwide as a renowned pioneer of Islamic banking and finance.

SCIENTIFIC VIEW

New Mayan Calendar Discovered That Doesn't End in 2012

Archeologists have unearthed what they say is the oldest known version of the Mayan calendar and one that doesn't "end" with the Earth's destruction later this year. Yeah, you're welcome.

TECHNO-LOGIC

Why (and How) to Turn Off Socialcam on Facebook

Friends — I beg of you — TURN OFF SHARING for the Socialcam app on Facebook.

HEALTH TIPS

No tears as Ga. woman sees bacteria-ravaged hands

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia graduate student fighting a rare flesh-eating infection has been looking at her ravaged hands and asking about the damage, all without tears, her father said Wednesday.

MEDIA-LOGIC

Libertarian MSNBC Guest Gets Mic Cut Off for Refusing to Debate ‘Non-Story’

Back when the O’Reilly Factor was first gaining popularity, one of the common, and wildly misguided, complaints against the show by liberal commentators was that the host, Bill O’Reilly, was too willing to cut off the microphones of guests when they didn’t say things he liked.

ENVIRO-MENTALITY

Mad cow quarantines lifted at 2 California dairies

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Quarantines were lifted on two Central California dairies associated with a case of mad cow disease after investigators found no link between the illness and food the diseased bovine might have consumed, federal officials said Friday.