World Affairs

World's tallest hotel reaches for Dubai

Sun, 02/19/2012 - 16:33 -- tmnadmin

The tallest dedicated hotel building in the world is set to open later this year in Dubai.

The JW Marriott Marquis will consist of two towers, both 355 meters tall, just 26 meters shy of New York’s Empire State Building, according to the company.

It will also be will be the first of the Marquis brand of JW Marriotts, “reserved only for the most iconic properties within the Marriott International portfolio,” to be built outside North America.

Scroll down for artistic renderings of the hotel

Is Mexico's drug war strategy working?

Thu, 02/16/2012 - 21:44 -- tmnadmin

Mexico has landed some hard punches against the drug cartels that have stirred violence in parts of the country -- at least on paper.

In 2011, against just the notorious Zetas cartel, Mexico ended the reign of 16 leaders who ran cartel operations at the state or national level. Thugs with nicknames like "El Piolin," "El Lucky" and "El Amarillo."

But the violence attributed to the Zetas has not decreased even after these busts, and critics wonder if names are meaningless if they are so quickly replaced.

Cannes-Cannes girl

Sun, 01/29/2012 - 11:39 -- tmnadmin

She’s got para-soul.

Curvy Colombian pop star Shakira stays dry with the help of a personal umbrella holder outside the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, yesterday.

The 34-year-old bombshell was on her way to the NRJ Music Awards, where she was given the NRJ Award of Honor — just hours after being knighted by French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand in a special ceremony.

Celebs from Kylie Minogue and Tim Burton to Jude Law and George Clooney have also been made knights of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.

Capt.’s newest excuse

Sun, 01/29/2012 - 11:33 -- tmnadmin

The captain of the overturned Costa Concordia said his bosses “busted my balls” to steer his ships close to shore, and says their insistence on such public-relations stunts led to the disaster with a death toll that grew to 17 people yesterday.

“Management was always saying ‘Pass by there, pass by there,’ ” Francesco Schettino said during a taped telephone conversation cited in a lawsuit against Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian company that operated the Costa Concordia.

“Someone else in my position might not have been so amenable to pass so close,” said Schettino.

South Korea ready for 'new era' of relations with North

Tue, 01/03/2012 - 18:54 -- tmnadmin

The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, offered Monday to cooperate with North Korea to begin a "new era" of relations between the two countries, a day after Pyongyang had said it would defend its new leader, Kim Jong Un, to the death.

"The most important goal for the country is peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," Lee said in his New Year's address to the nation. He called the transitional period following the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death "a window of opportunity."

"This Is Only A Test"

Wed, 12/07/2011 - 19:55 -- vlad

We are now living in a time where our humanity is truly being tested. Be aware of what needs to be studied in order to past the exam that you are given, and a mere “C” will show that you were paying attention!  Though we may live in Fear, fear is merely a disturbance of the mind that influences us to learn how to cope with the inducer or inducers.  It is important to combat our fears by strengthening our character. As our character becomes stronger it is evident that courage will allow us to walk through the path of life fearing no evil.  

Tsunami That Struck Japan

Tue, 12/06/2011 - 12:53 -- vlad

The devastating wall of water that struck Japan in March was the result of at least two waves that combined to create a more powerful tsunami, U.S. scientists said Monday.  Ocean ridges and mountain ranges below the surface of the water channeled the waves created by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan, bringing them together far out at sea to form a "merging tsunami," according to researchers from NASA and Ohio State University.