http://www.4xtimes.com/blog Last 20 blog 4xTimes Sports World News Politics Entertainment Blog Posts http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185672&user_id=1 TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted northern Japan at 8:17 a.m. (6:17 EST) on Thursday, a government agency said. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185671&user_id=1 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin faces a barrage of questions about rising inflation and job losses on Thursday in his first annual question-and-answer session with the Russian people since leaving the Kremlin. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185670&user_id=1 CANBERRA (Reuters) - As Australia fights to head off recession, the national government on Thursday urged workers to take a holiday to help stimulate the economy. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185669&user_id=1 KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan authorities have identified the body of ex-President Mohammad Daud Khan who was slain in a communist-backed coup three decades ago along with some members of his family, an official said Thursday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185668&user_id=1 KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed at least two police when they attacked two government offices in the southeastern Afghan town of Khost Thursday, a police officer said. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185667&user_id=1 DONGGUAN, China (Reuters) - Strolling the production lines of his toy factory in southern China, Peter Lin barks orders as hundreds of workers in green overalls snap wheels onto toy cars and affix tiny batteries into die-cast replica jets. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185666&user_id=1 Finbarr O'Reilly, Reuters chief photographer for West and Central Africa, was born in Swansea, Wales in 1971 and started as an arts correspondent. He joined Reuters in 2001, turning to photography in 2005 and winning the World Press Photo Award for picture of the year in 2006. In the following story, he describes his latest reporting mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185665&user_id=1 ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan to take a hard line on terrorism after last week's attacks in Mumbai when she made a hastily arranged visit to Islamabad on Thursday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185664&user_id=1 BEIJING (Reuters) - China says there is no chance of embracing the Dalai Lama's demands for autonomy for Tibet, using the state media to condemn the exiled Buddhist leader's stance ahead of his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185663&user_id=1 BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's crippling political crisis shifted its focus on Thursday from Bangkok's gradually opening Suvarnabhumi airport to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will address the nation on the eve of his 81st birthday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185662&user_id=1 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Departing U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Wednesday that he saw no reason for prosecutions or for pardons for those who gave legal advice on the Bush administration's terrorism policies. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185661&user_id=1 MIAMI (Reuters) - Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the younger brother of President George W. Bush, is considering running in 2010 for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Mel Martinez, an aide said on Wednesday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185660&user_id=1 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - California congressman Xavier Becerra has emerged as a leading candidate to be the chief U.S. trade negotiator for President-elect Barack Obama, a Democratic official and lobbyists said on Wednesday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185659&user_id=1 CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is weighing whether to ask Congress for the remaining $350 billion of the financial bailout fund, with White House aides approaching President-elect Barack Obama's transition team about the idea, an Obama aide said on Wednesday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185658&user_id=1 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has done too little to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden said on Wednesday, as he got a congressional report warning of their pressing threat. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185657&user_id=1 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in Congress, unable to convince the outgoing Bush administration to support a broad economic stimulus bill, are looking at a stopgap measure to feed the poor and help them get health care, congressional aides said. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185656&user_id=1 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats will be able to do plenty over the next two years -- despite falling just short of their goal of winning a majority big enough to end Republican procedural roadblocks. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185655&user_id=1 JAKARTA (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton's nomination as U.S. secretary of state could prove tricky for Indonesia, a key ally in Southeast Asia in the U.S.-led war on terror, because of a past funding scandal and her stance on trade and human rights. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185654&user_id=1 TAIPEI (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will uphold Washington's stance on Taiwan, meaning strong informal ties with the island China claims as its own despite formal relations with Beijing, a U.S. official said on Thursday. http://www.4xtimes.com/news/feed_view.php?entry_id=185653&user_id=1 CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama said on Wednesday struggling automakers have put forward a "more serious" restructuring proposal to Congress but withheld judgment on the plans until hearings are held.