North Korea to target U.S. with nuclear, rocket tests

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "enemy". The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the United Nations Security Council agreed a U.S.-backed resolution to censure and sanction the...

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Taiwanese activists head for Japan-controlled isles

TOKYO: A boatload of Taiwanese activists protected by the island's coastguard was on Thursday heading for Japanese-held islands at the centre of a bitter international wrangle involving Tokyo, Beijing and Taipei.The seven activists left port in Taiwan on a fishing vessel in the early hours and were expected to arrive in the area around the uninhabited islands about noon (0400 GMT), Taiwanese...

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Windows 8 to mainstream solid-state drives, says analyst

New Windows 8 touchscreen ultrabooks like Acer's 11.6-inch Aspire S7 come standard with solid-state drives. (Credit:Acer)This could be the year of the solid-state drive. Newfangled uber-thin Windows 8 devices and falling flash memory prices could double the size of the solid-state drive market, according to a research note today from IHS iSuppli. "The newest wave of ultrabooks loaded with Windows...

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Romney to be honored Friday at D.C. luncheon

Mitt Romney will make it to Washington, D.C. for inauguration week after all. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee and his wife Ann are scheduled to attend a luncheon in their honor Friday at Washington's J.W. Marriott hotel, National Journal reported this afternoon. The reception will be hosted by two of Romney's biggest campaign fundraisers: Virginia philanthropist Catherine Reynolds and hotel...

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Clinton on Benghazi: Afghanistan Diverted Resources

House Republicans slammed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today for her lack of awareness of State Department cables warning of security threats in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the Sept. 11 attack that killed four Americans, including Amb. Chris Stevens.In the second congressional hearing of the day reviewing a report by the Accountability Review Board on the State Department's...

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Netanyahu turns to Iran after narrow election win

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's parliamentary election, shrugging off surprise losses to centre-left challengers and vowing on Wednesday to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, Tuesday's vote, which also disappointed religiously inspired hardliners, may deflect the premier's focus on confronting Tehran and resisting...

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US urges Bangladesh to hold free, fair trials

WASHINGTON: The United States urged Bangladesh to hold free and fair trials after a war crimes court sentenced a fugitive TV preacher to death Monday amid allegations the tribunal is politically motivated.The International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic body with no international oversight, ordered Maolana Abul Kalam Azad to be hanged for genocide and murder during the bloody 1971 liberation...

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'Big Bang Theory' star creates TV show about real prodigies

"Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons.(Credit:Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)It's looking like the TV show "The Big Bang Theory" may become a reality series, of sorts. Jim Parsons, one of the show's geek protagonists, is working on creating a television series that profiles real-life young geniuses, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series will be based on a YouTube show by the THNKR channel...

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Indian Kashmir officials publish nuke prep warning

SRINAGAR, India Officials in Indian-controlled Kashmir are warning residents to be prepared for a possible nuclear war by building build bomb-proof basements and collecting two weeks' worth of food and water. Local officials said the advisory was routine, though it was the first time it had been published in a newspaper. They said it did not signal new concerns about a nuclear attack in the region,...

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Al Qaeda Commander Killed for the 3rd Time

The second in command of al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate was reportedly killed in an airstrike in Yemen in December, according to a news report by Arabic television network Al Arabiya, the third time the former Guantanamo detainee has been reported dead since 2010.According to the report, Said al-Shihri died last month after sustaining severe injuries from a joint U.S.-Yemeni airstrike...

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