All Global News on One Page

On Thursday, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board will decide whether to build a light rail station at Leimert Park Village, the cultural heart of the Los Angeles African American community. The board will also decide if the future Crenshaw/LAX light rail line will be moved below ground for a mile-long stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard, from 48th to 59th streets, where the current plan is for a street-level train.
In recent weeks, as the debate about this decision has spread from the neighborhoods along the Crenshaw Corridor to the broader Los Angeles County community, I hear a consistent refrain: of course there should be a station in Leimert Park Village, and undergrounding the train through Park Mesa Heights makes sense, but how would Metro pay for those upgrades? A Leimert Park Village station would cost an estimated $131 million; the Park Mesa Heights tunnel would be an additional $269 million.
Among the elected officials who comprise the Metro Board, there has also been some rumbling that these enhancements to the Crenshaw/LAX rail line would take money for other future transit projects, like extending the existing Wilshire Boulevard subway to Santa

With 43 lobbyists and a federal influence-peddling budget of at least $35 million this past election cycle, Chevron must have an ambitious agenda for the politicians in Washington, DC.
The company just paid $4.3 billion to acquire Atlas Energy and its extensive holdings in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale so first and foremost on the company’s agenda will be fighting any efforts to have the federal government regulate hydraulic fracturing. Second, Chevron produced 260,000 barrels of oil and natural gas per day from the Gulf of Mexico, so preventing Congress from reforming offshore drilling rules in the wake of the BP disaster will be key. Third, Chevron will join forces with the

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress this week to outline his plans for peace. It was, as expected, a love fest. Congress reacted to him like teenagers do to Beyonce and Lady

I’m a HuffPost editor in New York who loves Canada and couldn’t be more excited for the launch of HuffPost Canada. I’ve never lived there though, so why am I so fascinated by Canada?
I grew up across the border in Buffalo, New York. Some joke that Buffalo is part Canadian. There’s some truth there, as we actually do share Niagara Falls with our friendly neighbors to the

It is really unconscionable that I have taken this long to write about a restaurant that I have been frequenting since the day I moved to New York City. I guess I am one of those people who have taken it for granted that Mezzaluna will always be there ready to satisfy my hunger on nights when I don’t feel like going out or cooking for that matter. It is the one place where I know I can always find authentic Italian cooking seven days a week, including holidays, for lunch, dinner and late into the night, long after the other restaurants on the Upper East Side have closed for the night. A place where I can show up by myself or in a group on a moments notice, and be warmly greeted and

It seems with every new study, a few more bricks pop loose from the facade of gender assumptions.
Two recently hit us back to back. One said that women are getting less traditional about relationships, while men are getting more so. Another found a sharp rise in the end of marriages that have lasted 20, 30 years or more. And in two out of every three of them, it’s the woman who initiated the split.
What’s going on here? Is it the evolution of women? Is it the decline of men? Are we all going to hell?

The US state of Missouri is to release a list of people missing since a devastating tornado struck the city of Joplin on Sunday.

As many as 1,500 people remain unaccounted for, but officials hope many of those are will be found alive.

The tornado killed at least 125 people, injured 750 and wrecked as much as a third of the city, making it one of the most destructive in US history.

US President Barack Obama plans to visit Joplin on Sunday.

Another series of tornadoes struck Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 16

When we announced our merger with AOL, I said that one of the things that most excited me about the deal was how it would allow us to reach our goals — including the launch of international editions of HuffPost — much, much faster. Three months later, I’m delighted to be in Toronto for today’s launch of our first international version: Welcome to HuffPost Canada.
Canadians are no strangers to The Huffington Post: 1.5 million of them visited us in March. So starting our international expansion north of the border was a natural — especially after a survey of our Canadian visitors found that 80 percent would be interested in a Canadian news section and 71 percent would visit the site more often if we covered Canadian news, and provided takes on the hot topics of the day from Canadian voices, some well-known and some we’re excited to introduce you to.
HuffPost Canada (found at www.huffingtonpost.ca) will provide readers with a turbo-charged, Canada-centric version of the site you already know, featuring our signature blend of news, opinion, entertainment, community, and information — all delivered with our familiar look and attitude, and tailored to Canadian issues and perspectives.
Canadian politics and business will be at the forefront of our coverage, which will make the site a go-to place both for Canadians and for Americans looking to get some insight into their neighbors to the north.
HuffPost Canada also features a collection of bloggers sharing their opinions on all things Canadian — everything from the country’s new Conservative Party majority to the playoff chances of the Vancouver Canucks, the one remaining Canadian hockey team left in the Stanley Cup hunt.
Today’s blog lineup includes posts from actress and author Meg Tilly on how she hopes to use blogging to get closer to her daughter, Carleton University professor Edward Jackson on what steps the New Democratic Party needs to take as it assumes its role as Canada’s Official Opposition, legal expert Stephen LeDrew on the Boston Globe’s misguided analysis of the recent Canadian election results, and comedian Steven Shehori with an “off-topic” interview with actor Paul Campbell.
One of the joys of working on the launch of HuffPost Canada has been getting to know Graham Moysey, our general manager, and Brad Cressman, our head of content.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Just at about the time of industrial revolution and the advent of renaissance, the United Kingdom led a pack of European countries, the United States and Japan towards higher stages of economic growth, creating a dichotomy of rich countries and poor countries. For a long time, development economists held the view that the cleavage of rich countries and poor countries was a permanent state of global affairs. Then came the newly industrialized countries of the far east (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore) demonstrating rapid economic growth with significant convergence of their per capita income with rich countries. This trend picked up more credence when China, the most populous country in the world, adopted significant elements of market economy causing a long surge of per capita

Beautifully animated and formulaically plotted, Kung Fu Panda 2 is one of those cartoons for kids that doesn’t transcend its audience and play to adults as well. Indeed, even the packed house of youngsters with whom I saw the film barely seemed to laugh.
A sequel to the 2008 hit, this episode tries to deal with the bigger questions, even as it throws in jokes about how fat and childish its central character, Po the panda (voiced by Jack Black), is.
Last time out, Po sought to discover his destiny – which, not surprisingly, turned out to be as a king-fu warrior known as the Dragon Warrior. This time, he seeks to answer the eternal question: Who am I?
But it’s not “Who am I?” in the cosmic sense. Rather, it’s “Who am I?” – as in, who were my parents and why was I raised by a goose that runs a noodle shop, instead of by pandas?
The answer comes in the shape of a new bad guy, a peacock named Shen (Gary Oldman), whose tail feathers include steely blades instead of

As people in the West continue to read about, listen to and watch the stories of ordinary citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, they are realizing more and more that human desires, needs and wants — of people in North America, North Africa and the Middle East — are one and the same. Ordinary citizens in the West, enjoying their rights and freedoms, are now empathizing with ordinary citizens in the Arab world, who are standing up to oppressive regimes for their rights and freedoms.
It has become clear that these revolutions are not about imposing a form of religion, as some of us in the West initially thought, but about realizing freedoms and human rights. There is potential to drastically change perceptions of the “other” and perhaps, one day, create a new relationship between the grassroots communities in the West and the Middle East.
These events are enabled by the forces of globalization — ranging from ever-increasing economic, social, political and human security interconnectedness, to a digital information age in which state secrets are sometimes revealed and massive protests are organized via social media sites like Facebook and

You’ve likely seen the screaming headlines suggesting that a soon-to-be available blood test will be able to tell us how long we’ll live — and whether we can ward off the irksome outward signs of aging.
Ignore them. They distort the truth, reducing complex science to sensationalist soundbites.
Here are the facts:
As early as this fall, we may be able to get a simple blood test that can help us monitor not only our general health status, but also how fast we’re aging — or at least how fast our cells are

The marathon of speeches that the American Capitol witnessed last week cleared the view as to what is needed for Palestinians to reach their coveted independent state. Clearing the view, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that getting a state will be easy or attainable in the near future.
People wanting to reach statehood need to be united, set clear and realistic goals as to its borders and have a blueprint for how to reach statehood and not just declare it.
Hidden in the two speeches of US President Barack Obama are some clear hints at how Palestinians can accomplish their national goals.
While both Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the recent Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, it is easy to see the differences. Obama did not oppose it, but called on Palestinians to provide answers to the demands of the international community, whereas Netanyahu simply called on Palestinians to tear their reconciliation agreement.
The cohesiveness of any people is an essential component for seeking independence. No people has been able to reach statehood when

Christine Carter’s recent post asked, “Does Marriage Make Us Happier?” Her answer is yes, and she refers to a published study to make her case. I’ll explain why that study does not show that getting married makes you happier.
An Analogy
First, let’s set aside the matrimania and all of the myths about single people and consider a hypothetical example that has nothing to do with marital status. Suppose a happiness coach offers you an opportunity to become a lastingly happier person. He (or she) says that you can sign up for workshops that are

$4-a-gallon gas inevitably elicits calls of drill-baby-drill to ease the pain felt in Americans’ wallets. But the present debate over how to fight high gas prices and whether or not to increase domestic oil production overlooks a key point — peak U.S. oil consumption has already been reached. We are looking at things

The part of the brain used by people who can "see like a bat" has been identified by researchers in Canada.

Some blind people have learned to echolocate by making clicking noises and listening to the returning echoes.

A study of two such people, published in PLoS ONE, showed a part of the brain usually associated with sight was activated when listening to echoes.

Action for Blind People said further research could improve the way the technique is taught.

Bats and dolphins bounce sound waves off their surroundings and by listening to the echoes can "see" the world around

US growth slowed in the first three months of 2011 to an annualised rate of 1.8%, which is a 0.4% quarterly rise, the Commerce Department has

The US has ordered all its non-essential diplomats and family members of embassy staff to leave Yemen as fighting there escalates.

Medical sources say 72 people have died in three days of clashes between tribal fighters and government troops.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has again said he will not step down, despite mounting protests.

He has so far refused to sign a transition deal that would see him resign in favour of a unity government.

The US has repeated its call for Mr Saleh to step down, urging all sides to accept a ceasefire.

"We continue to support the departure of President Saleh who has consistently agreed that he would be stepping down from power and then consistently reneged on those agreements," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Paris.
Airport clashes
In its travel advisory, the US state department said there was "ongoing civil unrest throughout the country and large-scale protests in major cities".
AnalysisJon LeyneBBC Middle East correspondent
This is some of the most intense violence since the crisis began in Yemen months ago.

It follows the refusal of President Saleh to sign a compromise deal at the weekend, under which he would have stepped down in return for an amnesty from prosecution.

Since then, opposition forces have attacked government buildings. Mr Saleh has focused his attacks on the forces of a key tribal leader, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar.

President Saleh has warned that the country could be descending into civil

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS *** out of ****
LYTTLETON THEATRE AT THE NATIONAL
If you’re planning to visit London soon, after you’ve seen Buckingham Palace and then tried to spot the royal newlyweds returning gifts at Harrods, check out One Man, Two Guvnors at the National. It’s a crash course in very British humor that will teach you as much about post-war Britain as a hundred walking tours. You may not be convulsed with laughter at every double entendre and every single bad pun, but the people around you will be having such a grand time you’ll be certain to enjoy yourself and learn something about the Brits at the same time.
Carlo Goldoni’s durable comedy The Servant Of Two Masters has been modernized and plopped down in Brighton in

Some of us have worked hard to change our world; some of us have worked hard to change ourselves. And yet, for many of us, no matter how hard we have worked and no matter how much we’ve progressed, something is still eluding us.
It’s not an illusion. Something is still eluding us. It is the experience of oneness, the experience of thriving in a thriving world, the experience of going beyond our own narrow self-concerns and living from a place of inspiration and connection, from the place of safety that can come only from knowing that others, too, are seeking the highest good of all, including

I hear it a thousand times a day. I used to say it as often:
I’m so stressed out
or
I’m so busy
or
I’m so tired
It has become a badge of belonging here in Los Angeles, and, I suspect, across much of America as well. How often have you proclaimed your absolute exhaustion? And — what does that mean, exactly? If you are so tired, go to bed earlier. If you are so stressed, do some meditating or

After a trip to India to study yoga more in depth, I returned home only to find the real yoga was about to begin.
I had wanted to go to India for over 15 years, even before stepping onto my yoga mat. Something about this country called to me. And when I started practicing yoga over eight years ago, I wanted to go even more. In January, after three years of trudging through various misfortunes — the loss of my mother and aunt, car crashes, job troubles — I decided it was

One night I had a powerful dream. I was standing around a water cooler with a group of coworkers. Our conversation seemed to be cordial, but I became aware that some of the workers were sending psychic/invisible “punches” to the others. I would say to one who’d been punched, “Are you okay?” And then to the other, “Did you see what you just did?” I was shocked by how unconscious people were of their behavior.
My dream showed the power of our invisible

“…During the day I have only the power of those who sleep in the day – far fewer, so I am limited. Though I’m bolstered by people watching TV, since that’s a form of sleeping. I’m the sum total of the unconscious cognition of every brain in the city. And I’m Rufe Roscoe [the mob's CEO] too – I’m his self-hatred.”
In John Shirley’s 1980 (cyberpunk) novel “City Come A-Walkin,” the City is an avatar, or avatars, for all its inhabitants; it is at once the dreamed body-built-fabric as well as the medium that these inhabitants build and drive