LONDON (AP) ― Britain’s unemployment rate edged up to 8.4 percent in the last quarter of 2011, official figures showed Wednesday, as 48,000 people lost their jobs compared with the previous three-month period.The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate has not been higher since 1995. It rose from 8.3 percent in the three months through September and was unchanged from the three months through November.Wages excluding bonuses were up 2 percent, compared with 1.9 percent in the t

Kill or be killed. That is the kind of life self-described assassin for the Syrian government Sa’er says he was forced into.CNN reported Wednesday the story of a man claiming to have killed as many as 70 opposition forces, and even slit a man’s throat. Sa’er claims the government turned him and others into monsters that would have killed their own fathers.He spoke of an incident in which two police officers captured a man. A major put a gun to Sa’er’s head and ordered him to kill the prisoner, h

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices climbed to the highest level in five weeks after Iran said it will cut off some crude exports to Europe in retaliation for a planned embargo later this year.　 Benchmark U.S. crude rose by $1.06 to end the day at $101.80 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that‘s imported by refineries, rose by $1.58 to finish at $118.93 per barrel in London.　 Stopping Iranian shipments means European refineries will have to find new sources of oil s

LONDON (AFP) ― About 450 million children will be physically and mentally stunted over the next 15 years unless the world takes action to tackle malnutrition, a new report from Save the Children warned Wednesday.Every hour, 300 children die due to a lack of nutrients in their diet, while those who survive are permanently damaged in a way that impacts on their lives and the economic prospects of their countries, the British charity said.The problem has become urgent due to volatile food prices, e

TEHRAN (AFP) ― Iran announced new strides in its nuclear program on Wednesday in a defiant blow to U.S. and EU pressure to rein in its atomic activities, and amid signs of an increasingly vicious covert war with Israel over the issue.The United States dismissed the claims of progress as “hyped” and said Tehran was in fact feeling the bite of international sanctions and coming under increasing pressure to return to the negotiating table.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled on state tele

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, the Associated Press has learned.Even the most modest option now under consideration would be a historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Barack Obama’s 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons.No final decision has