PRESIDENT OBAMA ON GUANTANAMO BAY
WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama sought on Thursday to quell a domestic backlash against his efforts to close the internationally condemned US prison at Guantanamo Bay and roll back some of the most divisive Bush-era anti-terrorism policies.
Mr Obama made his case in a much-anticipated speech a day after the US Senate, controlled by fellow Democrats, handed him a stinging setback by blocking funds to shutter the prison until he presents a detailed plan on what to do with the 240 terrorism suspects held there.
WHITE PLAINS (New York) - FOUR men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near two New York City synagogues were disappointed that the World Trade Center wasn't still around to attack, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday as the men appeared in court for the first time.
The suspects were arrested on Wednesday night, shortly after planting a 16.78-kilogram mock explosive device in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Riverdale Jewish Center, another synagogue a few blocks away, authorities said.
CHICAGO - DATA on Thursday underscored that economic recovery in the United States will be a long, slow slog, with a key manufacturing indicator showing only marginally less weakness and an outlook for rising unemployment even when growth resumes.
The new reports came a day after the Federal Reserve, in minutes released from its April policy meeting, cuts its outlook for economic growth over the next three years and said a full recovery could take five or six years.
JOHOR BARU: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will make a pitch for the Iskandar project as a promising venture for Singaporeans to invest in when he meets Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday.
Having said that he will place cooperation in Iskandar high on his agenda, Datuk Seri Najib visited the economic corridor in Johor on Thursday, just before he travelled overland into Singapore for his introductory visit.
