Friday, December 24, 2010

Holiday 2010: The year shoppers came back (AP)

Holiday 2010: The year shoppers came back (AP)

Holiday 2010: The year shoppers came back (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:30 PM PST

In this Dec. 18, 2010 photo, shoppers are photographed on 34th Street, in New York. Call it Black Friday, Part II. Stores are rolling out the deals and expect to be swimming in shoppers on Christmas Eve as shopping stragglers take advantage of a day off work. For retailers, the last-minute rush caps a 'back-to-normal' holiday season. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP - Shoppers came back in force for the holidays, right to the very end. After two years of recession, Christmas 2010 will go down as the moment when Americans rediscovered how much they like to shop.

Russian parliament tentatively approves arms pact (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:49 AM PST

General view of Russian lower parliament chamber session in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. Russia's lower house of parliament will not be able to give its full approval to a U.S.-Russian nuclear arms treaty until at least next month, a senior lawmaker said Friday. Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, said that the legislators would pass the ratification bill only in the first of three required readings during this year's closing session Friday. He said the full ratification could only happen next month 'at the earliest.' (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)AP - Russia's lower house of parliament gave preliminary approval Friday to a U.S.-Russian arms treaty, but decided to delay the final vote until next month.

Snow storm hovers in Iowa before heading south (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:46 PM PST

Sydney Baltyn, 9, slides off a snow jump as she sleds with her family at Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, Mo. on Friday Dec. 24, 2010. Christmas Eve snow blanketed the area allowing Greg and Michelle Baltyn to take their daughters Sydney, 9, and Molli, 6, sledding. (AP Photo/Columbia Daily Tribune, Gerik Parmele)AP - A Christmas Eve snow storm that blanketed parts of the Midwest was headed southeast, expected to bring rare Christmas Day snowfall to Nashville, Atlanta and even the Carolinas.

EPA moving unilaterally to limit greenhouse gases (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 06:24 AM PST

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2010 file photo, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, listens during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. The Obama administration is moving through regulatory channels to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions after Congress failed to act on new legislation. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)AP - Stymied in Congress, the Obama administration is moving unilaterally to clamp down on power plant and oil refinery greenhouse emissions, announcing plans for developing new standards over the next year.

UN: Ivory Coast gunmen block possible mass grave (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:09 PM PST

UN forces drive past a billboard for President Laurent Gbagbo in, Ivory Coast, Abidjan Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010. The United Nations said Thursday that at least 173 people have been killed and dozens of others have gone missing or been tortured following Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election, which has prompted fears of a return to civil war. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)AP - Masked gunmen with rocket launchers are blocking access to what officials believe may be a mass grave site in Ivory Coast, the United Nations said, as concerns grow that the West African nation that suffered a 2002-2003 civil war could return to conflict.

Flurry of laws boost Chavez's power in Venezuela (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:22 PM PST

Demonstrators, one falling down, are sprayed by a water cannon during clashes outside the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 23. 2010. Police and soldiers fired water cannons and plastic bullets as thousands of students protested against a law passed by Venezuela's congress that increases government powers over the country's universities. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)AP - President Hugo Chavez has given himself the equivalent of a big Christmas present in congress: a package of laws that dramatically expand his powers and allow him to undermine opponents in one of the boldest moves of his presidency.

Pilgrims, clergy come to Bethlehem for Christmas (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:37 AM PST

Palestinian girls in traditional dresses attend a Christmas parade in Manger Square, outside the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. Thousands of tourists, pilgrims and clergy converged on Bethlehem on Friday as the town of Jesus' birth prepared to celebrate Christmas Eve.(AP Photo/ Adel Hana)AP - The traditional birthplace of Jesus is celebrating its merriest Christmas in years, as tens of thousands of tourists thronged Bethlehem on Friday for the annual holiday festivities in this biblical West Bank town.

Paralympian's recovery: Legs regained, dreams lost (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:17 AM PST

Monique van der Vorst poses near her wheelchair at the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Almost half her life, van der Vorst was wheelchair bound until a freak accident in spring training 2010 sent uncontrollable, spastic shudders through her legs. It was as if a jumper cable set her old body in motion again, the body she had before she became paralyzed barely a teenager. Now at 26, she is starting a third life, literally learning how to walk and, hopefully, run again, dealing with fortitude she no longer held possible. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski)AP - Monique van der Vorst's competitive spirit thrived even after she lost the use of her legs as a teenager. She won two silver medals at the Beijing Paralympics and hoped to win gold in London in 2012.

NORAD stays secret on how it tracks Santa (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 11:53 AM PST

Volunteers take phone calls and answer emails at the Santa Tracking Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. Lots of military secrets are hidden behind the gleaming walls of NORAD'S headquarters building, including this one: Just how do they get Santa's flight path onto their computer screens every Christmas Eve? Tracking Santa's travels is a celebrated tradition at the North American Aerospace Command, and it unfolds Friday for the 55th year. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)AP - Tens of thousands of children call NORAD on Christmas Eve always eager to hear how far Santa is from their town, but the volunteers answering the phones have a welcome bit of news for parents, too: St. Nick won't stop at homes unless all the kids are asleep.

Bristol Palin buys home in Arizona for $172,000 (AP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 11:16 AM PST

AP - Bristol Palin has bought a five-bedroom home in Pinal County south of Phoenix.

Medvedev says more time needed for reforms (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:23 AM PST

People watch Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev speaking on television at a cafe in the city of Rostov-on-Don, December 24, 2010. REUTERS/Vladimir KonstantinovReuters - President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday his drive to modernize Russia and shed crippling Soviet traditions needs more time to yield results, but left unclear whether he will seek a second term in a 2012 election.

Heavy snow strands Christmas travelers in Europe (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 11:45 AM PST

A passenger wearing a Santa Claus hat, looks at a departure board displaying cancelled and delayed flights at Zaventem international airport near Brussels December 24, 2010. Unusually heavy snow caused air traffic chaos in Belgium on Friday, with its main airport closing to travellers arriving for Christmas and severe delays disrupting departing flights. REUTERS/Thierry RogeReuters - Heavy snow stranded thousands of Christmas travelers in parts of Europe on Friday, with Belgium's main airport closed for most of the day to landing and icy roads in Sweden choked with traffic.

Russia pushes toward approval of nuclear arms pact (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 07:04 AM PST

Reuters - Russia's parliament gave preliminary approval to a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States Friday, supporting ratification of the new START pact in the first of three required votes.

Karzai warms to idea of talking to Taliban in Turkey (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 12:31 PM PST

Reuters - President Hamid Karzai said on Friday the Afghan government would welcome any offer by Turkey to facilitate talks with the Taliban that could help bring an end to the conflict in his homeland.

U.S. opens tax investigation on Swiss banks: report (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 11:51 AM PST

Reuters - The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into small Swiss regional banks which may have helped Americans evade taxes, the New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matter.

U.S. defends permits for Iran deals in sanctioned nations (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 06:12 AM PST

Reuters - The Treasury Department on Thursday defended its issuance of special licenses for American companies to do business with Iran and other blacklisted nations, in response to a New York Times report on deals made despite sanctions and trade embargoes.

Italy on alert after Rome embassy attacks (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 09:30 AM PST

Police are pictured outside Ukraine's embassy in Rome, December 23, 2010. REUTERS/Max RossiReuters - Italy was on alert for new attacks on Friday, a day after an anarchist group claimed responsibility for parcel bombs that injured two people at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome.

North Korea nuclear test "possible" in new year (Reuters)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 01:47 AM PST

South Korea K-9 self-propelled guns fire live rounds during air and ground military exercises on the Seungjin Fire Training Field, in mountainous Pocheon December 23, 2010. REUTERS/Park Ji-Ho/YonhapReuters - North Korea could carry out a third nuclear test next year to strengthen the credentials of its young leader-in-waiting, Kim Jong-un, a research report from a South Korean Foreign Ministry institute said on Friday.

NW Pakistan gun battle leaves 35 dead (AFP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 05:58 AM PST

Pakistani security personnel are seen at the site of a suicide attack in Ghalanai, the main town in the tribal district of Mohmand, earlier this month. Taliban insurgents launched co-ordinated attacks on five paramilitary checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan Friday, leaving at least 11 soldiers and 24 militants dead, officials said.(AFP/File/A Majeed)AFP - Taliban insurgents launched co-ordinated attacks on five paramilitary checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan Friday, leaving at least 11 soldiers and 24 militants dead, officials said.

Xmas joy mixed with threats for Mideast Christians (AFP)

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 11:21 AM PST

An Iraqi Kurdish girl wears a Father Chrsitmas hat as she and her friends enjoy a day out in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil on Christmas eve.(AFP/Safin Hamed)AFP - Christians in the Middle East prepared on Friday to celebrate Christmas, some in fear of attacks against their community, as in Iraq, and others in the most discreet way possible, as in Saudi Arabia.
Posted by Harshad at 1:01 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)