Global News

India’s Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to the Swiss Pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, denying the firm’s demand for patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec.

Hunger Strikers at Gitmo are said to be in dire shape;  Texas cops are on high alert in the face of a possible plot by racists to murder public officials;  And President Obama taps a very famous name for a big job.

The editor of an influential Communist Party journal in China has been suspended for suggesting that Beijing ought to abandon its long-time but troublesome ally North Korea.

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament endorsed a plan to expand its nuclear weapons program, while South Korea’s leader promised a strong and immediate response to any military provocation from Pyongyang.

Russia has begun pressuring major Internet websites to block material it deems illegal or “harmful” to children.  Critics say it’s an overreach that would allow the increasingly authoritarian government to crackdown on protests against President Vladimir Putin.

Two Australian Special Forces soldiers were among five troops wounded by a bomb blast in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. 

This happened yesterday, according to the Defence Department.  A coalition soldier and two Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) personnel were also wounded in the explosion

British Comedienne Cleo Rocos is claiming she went along as Queen’s legendary front man Freddy Mercury helped Diana, Princess of Wales, dress like a male model so the three of them could have a night out at a Gay Bar.

Syria’s state news agency is blaming Rebels for setting fire to three oil wells in the east part of the war torn country.  It’s a growing problem for the cash-strapped government that already dealing with international sanctions and the costly 2 year civil war.

The polls indicate that Venezuela’s acting President Nicolas Maduro is on track to win that office for a full term, in a special election to replace the late President Hugo Chavez.  But if the election were an Internet argument, he’s already lost for violating “Godwin’s Law”.

Two people have died in China from a new strain of Avian Influenza that has never been transmitted to humans.  Both were from Shanghai and the deaths occurred over the past two months.

Two nuclear reactors at a power plant in Arkansas are shut down after an accident that killed one man. The plant was placed under an "unusual event classification”.  The lowest of four emergency classifications designated by American nuclear regulators.

Popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef is out on bail after being arrested for allegedly insulting Islam and President Muhammed Morsi.  The case is raising concerns about government censorship and press freedoms in Egypt.

Authorities in Central Texas are investigating the murders of a Prosecutor and his wife, and they want to know if the killings are related to the deaths of two other law enforcement officials, and if there is a white supremacist plot to murder law enforcement officials.

The search is on for 7 THOUSAND patients of what might be the world’s worst dentist.  Authorities say Dr. Wayne Scott Harrington of Tulsa, Oklahoma apparently have exposed his patients to HIV and Hepatitis B and C because of his filthy office habits.

The problem came to light when a patient recently tested positive for hepatitis C and HIV.  The patient’s only risk factor was receiving dental treatment from Harrington. 

Upon investigating his office, they found a chamber of horrors including:  regular use of a rusty set of instruments on patients with known infections; attempting to sterilize the instruments with household bleach instead of medically-accepted methods; and his practice of pouring bleach on oral wounds until they "turned white."

Drug cabinets were unlocked and unsupervised.  Medications were out of date, including one drug vial that expired 20 years ago in 1993.

Harrington allegedly re-used intravenous needles.  His records indicated the use of morphine, even though he hadn’t ordered any from his supplier for 4 years.

Harrington was a “Medicaid” provider.  That’s the American public insurance system for low-income people.  It means that Harrington had a larger than average proportion of patients with hepatitis and HIV.

Australia’s crackdown on bikies might enter a new punitive phase; A US Lawmaker is forced to apologize for an amazingly awful choice of words; Moscow issues a warning on the North Korean situation.

More than 300 students in Santiago were arrested in massive demonstrations for free, quality education for all Chileans.  Marches took place in Santiago, Valparaiso, and other cities.  And YES, there’s a Harlem Shake video with this story.

Police in Christchurch, New Zealand have arrested a suspect in the brutal beating of Cricketer Jesse Ryder and charged the 20-year old suspect with Assault.  They’re apparently also looking for another suspect.

The United Nations Security Council has approved the first-ever “offensive” brigade to actively battle rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Despite the efforts of United Nations Ambassador Peter Woolcott, Iran, Syria and North Korea spiked an attempt by the United Nations to curb and control the sale of conventional arms. 

People lined up outside banks on Cyprus to do business for the first time in two weeks.  The government had closed the banks to prevent a run on cash during the island nation’s economic crisis.  The Cypriot government is also ordering an investigation of what might have caused the crisis.