The popular former prime minister Tony Blair wants to help his successor win reelection. Thanks, but no thanks.
The broad grin. The easy manner. The pitch-perfect delivery. It could only be Tony Blair, now back on the British political stage for the first time since leaving Downing Street three years ago. With an election due this summer, Blair was out to boost his party and his successor, Gordon Brown, when he made his comeback speech at a village Labour Club meeting this week. Brown had the "experience, judgment, and boldness" to mend the economy, he said.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/235802
WASHINGTON - Afghan President Hamid Karzai called Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday after the Obama administration expressed dismay at his assertion a day earlier that the international community was to blame for the controversy over last year's disputed Afghan election.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Karzai used the 25-minute call to clarify his remarks.
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges Friday against a pregnant American woman in the so-called Jihad Jane case. The two American women are accused of plotting online to attend a terror training camp.
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez flew from Ireland Friday to Philadelphia, where she was arrested by agents with the joint terrorism task force there. Her 6-year-old son flew with her and was placed in the custody of child protective service workers.
The train service was launched a year ago
Separatist militants have blown up a section of railway track in Indian-administered Kashmir, the police say.
No trains were running when the militants detonated an improvised explosive device on the tracks near Pulwama. There were no casualties.
Train services between Srinagar and Qazigund have been suspended.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8600369.stm
Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor has resigned in a row with the country's law ministry.
He said the government was not co-operating in the process of reopening corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and other officials.
US President Barack Obama has vowed to "ratchet up the pressure" on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.
Mr Obama told CBS television Iran was becoming increasingly isolated and the US wanted to enlist the help of "a unified international community".
Jackson fans remembered the singer at a memorial at the theatre in 2009
Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin are to be inducted into the hall of fame at the Apollo Theatre in New York.
Franklin, 68, best known for hits including I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) and Respect, will attend a ceremony at the Harlem theatre on 14 June.
Toyota's US sales bounced back in March as substantial discounts helped to win back customers who had been shaken by the firm's mass safety recalls.
The Japanese carmaker saw its US sales jump 40.7% last month compared with a year earlier. The big rise came after its sales slumped by 8.7% in February.
A Turkish pop singer has set a new world speed record for an unaccompanied blind person.
Metin Senturk drove a Ferrari at an average speed of 181 miles an hour at an airport in eastern Turkey.
He was followed in another car by former rally driver Volkan Isik, who gave him instructions through an earpiece inside his helmet.
Victims of abuse by Catholic priests and Jewish groups have condemned the Pope's personal preacher for comparing criticism of the Pope to anti-Semitism.
The US-based victims' group, Snap, said the comments by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Pope Benedict's personal preacher, were "morally wrong".
MOUNT DORA, Fla. - A central Florida urologist has posted a sign on his office door warning supporters of President Barack Obama to find a different doctor.
The notice on Dr. Jack Cassell's Mount Dora practice says, "If you voted for Obama, seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years."
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Nothing like incentives to shift a few more Kentucky-built Camrys |
March proved incentives work. Battered by recalls and a tarnished image, Toyota cranked up the cash machine to record levels and all was forgiven. March sales skyrocketed 86.8% compared to February and, adjusted for selling days, finished 35.3% ahead of March 2009 at 186,863 units.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=103907
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NUMMI closure could be a PR disaster for Toyota in a state where its sales are strong and unemployment is high |
Toyota has today ended production at its joint manufacturing plant in California with General Motors with leaving behind deep local resentment according to local media reports.
New United Motor Manufacturing Inc, a 50-50 joint venture better known as NUMMI, was in the vanguard of Toyota's entry into the US market 25 years ago. It helped establish the company’s reputation in the country.
New vehicle sales in Japan grew 10% in 2009 fiscal year which ended yesterday compared to the previous 12 months to 3,182,073, the first upturn in seven years according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=103898
Ford Motor chief executive officer Alan Mulally has said the automaker would be able to speed up debt repayment as its financial results improve.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=103891
While China's automotive market and industry has been a big beneficiary of government stimulus measures, some analysts believe that its rapid rate of growth could be losing momentum.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=103900
The United Auto Workers healthcare trust is expected to net about US$1.78bn from an auction of Ford Motor stock warrants it received as part of its funding, the automaker has said.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=103906
As predicted late last week, Ford has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Volvo Car Corporation and related assets to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Company Limited.
read more >>
Who says that green means boring? The Infiniti Essence concept car has an electric assist motor that generates 592 horsepower when combined with its V6.
NEW YORK - The first press conference of the New York International Auto Show featured Mercedes-Benz, the German icon, introducing an improved version of its Alabama-made R-Class crossover with the help of the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. bobsled team.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36124539/ns/business-autos/
In the next year or so, after only a century or so of trying, the electric car may break free of the lunatic fringe and become a mainstream transportation option for everyday drivers.
Click on the arrows above to read about the evolution of the electric car.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31783457/ns/business-autos?pg=1#Biz_Electric_cars_0907
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