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UN General Assembly adopts arms trade treaty
New York, April 3 - The UN General Assembly has approved the first global treaty to regulate international trade in conventional weapons, the UN News Centre said.
The resolution containing the text of the treaty was approved by 154 "yes" votes with the simple majority of 97 votes in favour needed to pass the text.
The document received strong support from the majority of UN members during the Final UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty last Thursday. The adoption of the treaty, which required a unanimous approval, was blocked by three states - Iran, Syria and North Korea.
Fear shadows Nepal gays, lesbians: rights body
New York, April 1 : Nepal should allow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups to operate freely and end arbitrary arrests of LGBT people, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
The government should investigate threats and attacks against LGBT people, the rights body said.
Widespread harassment, including by the government, has contributed to a climate of fear among LGBT people and activists in Nepal, and has interrupted vital activities, including HIV prevention work, it said.
6.2-magnitude quake hits Guatemala
New York, March 26 - An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Guatemala, the US Geological Survey said.
The epicentre of the Monday quake, with a depth of 200.50 km, was initially determined to be at 14.5994 degrees north latitude and 90.4279 degrees west longitude, Xinhua reported. (IANS)
Biden demands courage from US Congress on gun control
New York, March 22 - US Vice President Joe Biden Thursday demanded "courage" from Congress in approving gun control measures that would include a ban on assault rifles.
He spoke at New York City Hall at a joint press conference with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and relatives of the victims of the Dec 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
"It's time for the political establishment to show the courage your daughter showed," Biden said to the family of Sandy Hook teacher Lauren Rousseau, who died trying to protect her students from shooter Adam Lanza.
New York population reaches record 8.3 mn
New York, March 15 : The population of New York City last year reached a record 8.3 million after, for the first time in more than six decades, the number of people moving into the Big Apple exceeded the number who left.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday made the announcement concerning the latest Census data, which reveal that the number of New York residents increased by 161,564 between April 2010 and July 2012, rising to 8,336,697, the highest figure in history.
Four killed in New York shootings
New York, March 14 - At least four people have been killed and two others wounded by a single gunman in two shooting incidents in New York State, media reports said.
Two people were shot and killed Wednesday morning at a car wash in Herkimer village and two others were killed in a barber shop a mile away in Mohawk village, both in Herkimer County, Xinhua quoted police as saying.
The suspect was identified as 64-year-old Kurt Myers from Mohawk.
Police said he has white hair and beard, and was carrying a long gun for the attacks and driving a red Jeep Cherokee.
Police did not comment on a possible motive.
New York celebrates 100 years of flamenco's magic spell
New York, March 13 - New York celebrates flamenco's magical enchantment with an expo of some of the marks it has made on the intense cultural life of the Big Apple over the past 100 years.
"This exhibition is the biggest thing that ever happened to flamenco here - five months of telling people the history of flamenco in New York," Carlota Santana, founder of Flamenco Vivo, told EFE.
Conceived as a multimedia expo open until Aug 3, one of its gems is a rare 1934 recording by Federico Garcia Lorca and Antonia "La Argentina" Merce during a performance in New York.
Hostess sells Twinkies, other brands for $410 mn
New York, March 13 - Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co will acquire the famous pastries Twinkies and other brands for $410 million, bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc. announced Tuesday.
The joint offer was the only one presented in writing, and so Hostess, which announced its closure last November, decided to turn the brands over to the two companies, the firm said.
The agreement still must be approved by the bankruptcy court supervising the liquidation of Hostess's assets.
A spokesman for Apollo Global contacted by EFE declined to comment on the matter.
Judge quashes Big Apple ban on supersize sodas
New York, March 12 : A New York state judge overturned Monday the city's ban on large sugary soft drinks, a big setback for the Big Apple's mayor, Michael Bloomberg.
"Arbitrary and capricious" is how state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling described the municipal regulation, which was set to take effect Tuesday.
Bloomberg's measure, the first of its kind in the US, banned the sale of soft drinks of more than 16 ounces with a high sugar content in stores regulated by the city Board of Health.
India can help educate the world, says online pioneer
New York, March 9 - An Indian-American pioneer in online tutoring believes that with its best talent and technology India can create educational material for the rest of the world, raising standards and creating jobs.
Harry Aurora, CEO of iTutor Inc, will present his ideas on the future of online education at a panel discussion Sunday on 'Developing India's Silicon Valley' at the Harvard India Conference presented by the Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School in Boston.
Prof. Sunil Gupta, Professor of Business Administration and Head of the Marketing Department, Harvard Business School will moderate the panel discussion at the March 9-10 conference on the theme of 'India vs India:
Local Strength or Global Growth'.
Indian-American woman charged with keeping maid as slave
New York, March 8 - A New York jury has sought a review of the testimony of an Indian-American woman charged with keeping an illegal immigrant woman from India as a virtual slave at her mansion in upstate New York.
Jurors deciding the federal case of the 40-year-old Annie George in US District Court Albany, about 140 miles north of New York City, Thursday asked Judge Gary Sharpe to re-hear testimony in which George possibly referred to Valsamma Mathai as "the maid," Albany Times Union reported.
UNSC slaps new sanctions on North Korea
New York, March 8 - The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution outlining new sanctions against North Korea in the wake of the recent nuclear test carried out by Pyongyang.
The fourth set of UN sanctions is aimed at curbing the activities of North Korean banks suspected of funnelling money to the communist regime's nuclear and missile programmes.
The resolution includes measures to step up the scrutiny of suspicious North Korean sea and air cargo shipments and expands previous restrictions to encompass three North Korean officials and two entities in the country's weapons industry.
NYC sex workers avoiding condoms due to fear of getting caught for prostitution
New York, Mar 6 : Carrying condoms has resulted in arrest for a growing number of women in New York.
Experts said that the issue may be contributing to a public health crisis in which sex workers are beginning to use condoms less frequently.
In an incident cited by Vice magazine, a New York woman was arrested and charged with "loitering for the purpose of prostitution" after an officer found a condom in her purse, the New York Daily News reported.
The unnamed woman was wearing jean shorts and a "tight" shirt and had been standing outdoors for about 30 minutes.
US restaurateur with Down syndrome offers free hugs to customers
New York, Mar 5 : A man with Down syndrome operates the "world's friendliest restaurant" in Albuquerque, where every customer is offered a hug - free of charge.
Tim Harris, 27, is a medal-winning Special Olympian, a sailor, his high school's Homecoming King and a motivational speaker.
The self-proclaimed "world's friendliest restaurant" sits in Albuquerque, New Mexico and serves "breakfast, lunch and hugs" every day of the week.
Tim's Place may be the only restaurant in the country owned and operated by someone with Down syndrome, his parents said.
US says Pyongyang should feed starving millions than talking basketball with Rodman
New York, Mar 5 : The Obama administration has rebuked North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un for spending more time cavorting with former basketball player Dennis Rodman and less time caring for its starving citizens.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that `instead of spending money on celebrity sporting events to entertain the elites of that country, the North Korean regime should focus on the well-being of its own people.'
Rodman visited North Korea last week with members of the Harlem Globetrotters, and even scored a rare meeting with Kim Jong-Un himself.
Disco therapy helps Holocaust survivors get over nightmarish memories
New York, March 4 : Disco is being used in Brooklyn to help Holocaust victims get over their anxiety and grief.
Trippy lighting and funky music creates a soothing sensory experience at Minnie's Place in Canarsie, helping survivors of the greatest atrocity of the 20th century get over their nightmarish memories, the New York Post reported.
With black lights, a projector beaming psychedelic images on a wall, a "shower curtain" of multi-colored fiber-optic strands and an aromatherapy diffuser, people would feel like a trip to The Body Shop.
This time Republican woman politician says ‘rape rarely leads to pregnancy’
New York, Mar 3 : Now, another Republican has sparked a row saying pregnancies by rape are rare because a woman''s body is traumatized by the violence.
Celeste Greig, president of the California Republican Assembly, made the remarks to the San Jose Mercury News ahead of this weekend''s state GOP convention in Sacramento.
Greig was responding to a question about former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, who gave an outrageous definition of ‘legitimate rape’, saying women''s bodies have the power to prevent pregnancy.
Obama under fire from Star Wars and Star Trek fans over `mind-meld` gaffe
New York, Mar 2 : `Star Wars' and `Star Trek' fans were outraged after President Obama mixed up his science fiction movie references during remarks on the sequester on Friday.
Obama made the fanboy faux pas after he was asked why he can't use the power of the presidency to force lawmakers to reach a budget deal.
The president responded in exasperation that people expect him to "somehow do a Jedi mind-meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right," the New York Daily News reported
US man `swallowed` by 20ft sinkhole under bedroom
New York, Mar 2 : A 36-year-old man was presumed dead after a large crater opened up under the bedroom of his Tampa home and swallowed him.
In a matter of seconds, the earth opened under Jeff Bush's bedroom and swallowed him up like something out of a horror movie.
The only thing left was the TV cable running down into the hole, the New York Daily News reported.
Bush was presumed dead on Friday as he fell into a sinkhole - a hazard so common in Florida that state law requires home insurers to provide coverage against the danger.
The sinkhole, estimated at 20 feet across and 20 feet deep, caused the home's concrete floor to cave in around 11 pm.
Armstrong faces $3m lawsuit from US insurance company for fraud, breach of contract
New York, Mar 2 : In a latest addition to the numerous legal challenges for Lance Armstrong, the disgraced cyclist has been slapped with a three million dollar-lawsuit claiming fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of contract by an insurance company.
Acceptance Insurance from Nebraska, United States which had filed the suit, is hoping to recover bonuses it paid to Armstrong for three of his Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2001 as well as damages and legal fees, New York Daily News reports.