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Iran remains the "most active state sponsor of terrorism" in the world, a report by the US state department says. It says Iran's role in the planning and financing of terror-related activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan threatens efforts to promote peace. Al-Qaeda remains the biggest danger to the US and the West, the annual report states, noting that terror attacks are rising in Pakistan. Iran rejected the report, saying the US was guilty of double standards. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the US had no right to accuse others after in light of its actions at Abu Ghraib...

Help-Wanted Advertising Index The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index Declines April 24, 2008 The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index declined two points in March. The Index now stands at 19, down from 29 a year ago. The Conference Board is the global business research and membership organization. In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine U.S. regions. Steepest declines occurred in the East North Central (-20.3%), West North Central (-18.1%) and East South Central (-16.7%) regions. Says Ken Goldstein, Labor Economist at The Conference Board: "Print want-ad volume has shown a slightly declining trend over the past...

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2008 – The Afghan National Army will assume a leading role in the fight against enemy forces this spring, a military official said in Kabul, Afghanistan, yesterday. Enemy activity has been down in recent months due to the harsh winter weather in Afghanistan, but violence has historically increased when conditions improve in the spring, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Cone, commander of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said during a conference call with online journalists and “bloggers.” Cone said the coalition was very productive in generating Afghan forces during the enemy’s downtime. “The Afghan National Army decided...

The Conference Board announced today that the U.S. leading index increased 0.3 percent, the coincident index increased 0.2 percent and the lagging index increased 0.5 percent in September. The leading index increased in September, the third increase in the last six months, and these increases and decreases have been alternating and offsetting each other. As a result, the leading index is now at the same level as in March 2007.

One of California's leading conservatives delivered a public slap at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday, two days after the celebrity governor called for the Republican Party to move to the political center or risk a future of irrelevance. Sen. Tom McClintock never mentioned the governor by name, but his speech to GOP activists at a state convention was thick with transparent digs at Schwarzenegger and referenced remarks the governor made last week. On Friday, the governor declared that the GOP was "dying at the box office" and would drift into the political margins unless it tackles issues like global warming...

The Conference Board announced today that the U.S. leading index decreased 0.5 percent, the coincident index increased 0.2 percent and the lagging index increased 0.2 percent in April.

Iraqi army soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, prepare to enter a residence while a soldier knocks on the door Oct. 27 during a cordon and search mission in eastern Abu Ghuraib. Soldiers from Multi-National Division – Baghdad's 3rd Bde., 6th IAD Military Transition Team, Iraqi Assistance Group, supported the IA soldiers during the mission as advisors. Official Department of Defense photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Lovel, 363rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD -- With dawn still a couple of hours away from signaling the beginning of a new day, Iraqi army soldiers, along with a...

Italy Weighs the Risks of Leading UN Mission Tony Barber in Rome Updated: 10:41 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2006 With 8,600 soldiers deployed in 28 security and peacekeeping operations around the world, Italy will have a wealth of experience to call upon, should it be asked to lead a United Nations mission in Lebanon.But the closer that Italy's centre-left government gets to committing itself in Lebanon, the more opposition politicians – and some army generals, too – are warning that it may be a step fraught with dangerous consequences. The concerns centre on whether Italian troops will find themselves caught...

Soldiers and their an instructor, .2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, collect targets following a day on the firing range as part of a three-week training course held near the town of Hawijah. HAWIJAH -- One of the primary missions for Coalition forces stationed in Iraq is the training of the Iraqi security forces. Coalition advisors say the development of a disciplined and commanding force is essential for protecting the reconstruction process and ensuring stability throughout the country.As Coalition forces develop plans for withdrawal from the country, advisors believe it is essential that they ensure provisions are in place...

Saudi fighters 'are leading the surge in attacks on British troops' By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent, and Max Benitz (Filed: 31/05/2006) Foreign terrorists, led by fighters from Saudi Arabia, are behind an upsurge in attacks against British troops in Basra, military sources said yesterday. As the Army suffered the highest number of fatal attacks in a month since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, commanders on the ground are concerned at the level of sophistication and ferocity of the assaults. L/Cpl Paul Farrelly Their anxiety was underlined when the Ministry of Defence named two soldiers killed in the latest attacks...

A gaping security flaw in the latest versions of Symantec's anti-virus software suite could put millions of users at risk of a debilitating worm attack, Internet security experts warned May 25. Researchers at eEye Digital Security, the company that discovered the flaw, said it could be exploited by remote hackers to take complete control of the target machine "without any user action." "This is definitely wormable. Once exploited, you get a command shell that gives you complete access to the machine. You can remove, edit or destroy files at will," said eEye Digital Security spokesperson Mike Puterbaugh.

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2006 – Coalition leaders are working to transfer security responsibility to Iraqis as soon as possible, but they recognize the dangers of "rushing to failure," a senior military official told Pentagon reporters today. Army Brig. Gen. Carter F. Ham, deputy director of regional operations for the Joint Staff, called the seating of Iraq's new government and its building a force of more than 263,000 security forces major milestones for Iraq. "There's still a lot to be done in Iraq, and we shouldn't kid ourselves about that," he said. "But I think that every now and then it's...

Two-and-a-half years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stormed to power in an unprecedented recall election, vowing to end the gross fiscal mismanagement seen under Gray Davis. Since then, the budget picture has brightened – primarily because of big revenue gains and slight slowing in spending growth. Nevertheless, a vast annual “structural deficit” of at least $5 billion remains. So the 2006 governor's race is likely to hinge on how candidates say they will right California's fiscal ship, just as in 2003? Not even close. In fact, none of the three leading candidates have a credible plan to fix this mess. Here's...

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2006 – Multiservice U.S. special operations forces are at the tip of the spear in the war against global terrorism, a senior DoD official said on Capitol Hill today. America's special operators continue "to play a leading role in our nation's current campaigns" against international terrorists at far-flung battlefields in Afghanistan, Iraq and other locales, Thomas W. O'Connell said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House Armed Services Committee. Terrorists in these places are being given a drubbing by U.S. military and allied forces, said O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity...

'Safe' painkiller is leading cause of liver failure 08 December 2005 NewScientist.com news service Alison Motluk A POPULAR over-the-counter painkiller is now the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US - and almost half of those cases are accidental overdoses. Paracetamol (or acetaminophen as it is known in the US) is used by millions of Americans each year, and is commonly thought to be safe. Until 1980, paracetamol was not even listed as a cause of acute liver failure. But between 1998 and 2003, the proportion of cases of liver failure caused by the drug nearly doubled. William...

We have a saying at the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association: "We can't lead where our members don't want to go." This is an acknowledgement that support for our work comes from member dues and that affiliation with this taxpayer organization is voluntary. If dues-paying members are not convinced that HJTA is working to advance their interests as taxpayers, they won't be dues paying members for long and the organization will wither. Needless to say, we are motivated to pay close attention to their concerns. Let's contrast this approach with that of the leadership of our state's public employee unions. First,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 24, 2005) – The Distinguished Service Cross – second only to the Medal of Honor in military decorations – has been awarded to U.S. Army Col. James H. Coffman Jr. for his role in leading Iraqi Special Police Commandos through a 5 ½-hour battle against insurgents trying to overrun an Iraqi police station. Flanked by the commando unit Coffman fought with, U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, commander of Multi-National Forces–Iraq, pinned the cross and eagle medal on Coffman’s body armor during an Aug. 24 ceremony at Adnon Palace in Baghdad’s International Zone. Iraq’s Minister...

Leading cleric rails at injustice of 'Muslim bashing' By Nick Britten (Filed: 28/07/2005) The most senior Islamic cleric in Birmingham claimed yesterday that Muslims were being unjustly blamed in the war on terrorism and that the eight suspects in the two bombing attacks on London "could have been innocent passengers". Mohammad Naseem, the chairman of the city's central mosque, called Tony Blair a "liar" and "unreliable witness" and questioned whether CCTV footage issued of the suspected bombers was of the perpetrators. He said that Muslims "all over the world have never heard of an organisation called al-Qa'eda".Mr Naseem, who was...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Partial election results from six of Iraq's 18 provinces showed the cleric-endorsed Shiite ticket running strong for seats Thursday in the National Assembly. The United Iraqi Alliance, which is backed by the country's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was leading in the six provinces, according to the partial results from the Baghdad, Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Qadisiyah, Najaf and Karbala provinces. The vote count ranged from 25 percent in Baghdad province to 70 percent in the sparsely populated province of Muthanna. In Baghdad province, the United Iraqi Alliance was leading 3-1 against its closest...

10:00am 12/20/04 Conference Board: LEI up 0.2% vs forecast 0.1%By Corbett B. Daly WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- The U.S. index of leading economic indicators rose for the first time in six months, the Conference Board said Monday. The 0.2 percent increase was slightly faster than expected. Economists polled by CBS MarketWatch had predicted the LEI would rise 0.1 percent in the month. "Although the LEI has declined for nearly half the year, the declines were relatively modest," said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board. "Even if economic performance early in 2005 proves sluggish, conditions could brighten by spring," Goldstein added....