VISION-WORLD NEWS

LOVE..... US Senate passes far-reaching immigration reform bill Before reading the final tally, Vice-President Biden warned the chamber not to cheer - or boo - the result Continue reading the main story Related Stories America's immigration conundrum US immigration reforms prove divisive Watch Lives of Latinos in US beyond stereotypes Watch The US Senate has passed a broad immigration reform bill that includes a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. The 68-32 vote comes after months of debate and a recent deal to boost border security spending significantly. But the legislation faces a tough road in the more conservative House. House Speaker John Boehner has said he will not advance legislation that lacks support of most of his fellow Republicans, who remain resistant. After the bill's passage on Thursday, President Barack ...

Pierre Borghi: How I gave the Taliban the slip   Continue reading the main story French aid worker and amateur photographer Pierre Borghi spent four months in shackles, imprisoned by the Taliban in a hole in the ground. But an opportunity to escape eventually came his way, thanks in part to the weight he had lost on the "Taliban diet". I was abducted by the Taliban on the evening of Tuesday 27 November. It had been an ordinary, relaxed day in Kabul - no bombs or gunfire or stress. I had been to the supermarket, bought Chinese noodles for dinner and planned a quiet night in watching a zombie movie. This was my second week in Afghanistan on my second visit to the country. I was looking for work in the humanitarian or urban planning sectors while I tried to make it as a photographer. I was walkin...

Kevin Rudd sworn in as Australian PM STORY HIGHLIGHTS Kevin Rudd is sworn in as prime minister Julia Gillard resigns as prime minister, says the privilege of serving was "truly humbling" Opposition leader Tony Abbott calls for voters to back his party in upcoming elections Labor Party was not confident it could win a September general election led by Gillard  Kevin Rudd returned as prime minister of Australia on Thursday, three years after being replaced in the office by his then-deputy Julia Gillard. Rudd challenged Gillard for leadership of the Labor Party on Wednesday and won a 57-45 vote among fellow Labor members of parliament. In the Australian parliamentary system, the leader of the governing party assumes the position of prime minister and on Thursday morning, in Canberra, Rudd was sworn in for a second time. Gillard resigned after the party vote on Wednesday night and announced she will leave politics. A major factor in ...

Rolls-Royce has said that it "regrets" the mid-air failure of one of its Trent 900 engines which happened on a Qantas A380 plane in November 2010. The explosion in the engine had forced an emergency landing of the plane. Rolls-Royce issued the statement after Australia's transport safety regulator blamed the failure on a fatigue crack in an oil feed pipe in the engine. The regulator said the pipe was made with a thin wall section and "did not comply" with the design specifications. "The thin wall substantially increased the likelihood of fatigue cracking," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in its final report on the incident . Rolls-Royce said that it supported the findings of the ATSB. It said the pipe was "one of a small number which had been incorrectly manufactured as a result of a measurement error during a precision drilling procedure", but added that it h...

More than 100 people complained to the corporation about the 32-year-old's cleavage-revealing frock for Saturday night's live final on BBC One. The BBC said: "We're sorry if some viewers found Holly's dress to be unsuitable." It added the dress "was glamorous and wholly appropriate for the occasion". The live final, which was won by Andrea Begley, was broadcast largely before the 21:00 watershed. However it prompted some complaints from viewers who said Willoughby's black lace dress was too revealing. In a statement, the BBC said the presenter "enjoys fashion", adding: "We don't believe it (the dress) would have gone against audience expectations for a TV spectacle such as this." Phillip Schofield, Willoughby's co-host on ITV's This Morning, also leapt to the star's defence writing on Twitter : "139 complaints over Holly's gorgeous Voice...

Michael Jackson's eldest son has spoken publicly for the first time about his father's death as he testified at his wrongful death trial in Los Angeles. Prince Jackson, 16, told jurors his father had some tense phone calls with concert promoter AEG Live, sometimes ending with his father in tears. "He would say, 'They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me'." Katherine Jackson, is suing AEG Live for $40bn (£26bn) over her son's death. The company has denied any wrongdoing. The Jackson family claim AEG Live failed to properly investigate Dr Conrad Murray - the former cardiologist who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 - and missed warning signs about the singer's health. Murray was caring for the singer as he prepared for his This Is It shows. AEG Live said it did not hire or supervise Murray and has argued Jackson had prescription drug and addiction problems long before e...

The BBC's Thomas Fessy says Senegal has been an "important security partner" for the US Continue reading the main story US President Barack Obama has arrived in Senegal on the first leg of a three-nation tour of Africa. It is Mr Obama's second visit to the continent since he became president. He is hoping to boost economic ties with the African countries and promote good governance - all the countries he is visiting have stable democracies. The South African leg of his trip is expected to be overshadowed by the continuing critical condition of former President Nelson Mandela. The White House has said it will defer to the wishes of Mr Mandela's family over whether Mr Mandela is well enough to receive a visit from him in hospital. Mr Obama is visiting Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, excluding Kenya, where his father was born, and Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil-producer which has been hit by an Islami...

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela is in a stable condition, his granddaughter says, though he remains critical. Ndileka Mandela said the 94-year-old's family were taking comfort from messages of support from the public. Meanwhile his daughter Makaziwe said he was "still there" and responding to touch. South Africa's first black president has been in hospital since 8 June with a lung infection. His health has worsened in recent days, prompting current President Jacob Zuma to cancel a foreign visit. He has now arrived back at the hospital. Emotional crowds continue to gather outside the Pretoria hospital. They have been adding messages of support for Mr Mandela, known by his clan name Madiba. Correspondents say South Africans now seem resigned to the prospect of his death. Continue reading the main story Nelson Mandela: Key dates 1918 Born in the Easte...

According to the  Leadership  newspaper nigeria, three teenagers between the ages of 8 and 10, have been caught in the Badarawa area of Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State, for their indulgence in gay activities. The young offenders were nabbed when the mother of the 8-year-old boy became curious when she discovered that her child was  always seen with twenty naira note almost each passing day, which she said was not given to him by either parents. After series of persuasion, the mother said her son opened up hat some boys use to give him twenty naira and they normally use nail to pierce his anus and that he use to feel pains but they will always threaten to kill him if he ever tells any one. The boy further described to the mother that the two older boys use to climb him from the back after he is made to pull down  his trousers, then he will feel a sharp pain in his anus, a...

Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong before the scandal broke Continue reading the main story US spy leaks The US justice department has filed criminal charges against a fugitive ex-intelligence analyst who leaked details of a secret surveillance operation. The charges against ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden include espionage and theft of government property. In May, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of a programme to monitor phone and internet data. The US is also reported to be preparing an extradition request. His leaks revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data. The criminal complaint was lodged with a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia and a provisional arrest warrant had been issued, court documents show. Continue reading the main story Who is E...

This is Nelson Mandela's third time in hospital this year Continue reading the main story Related Stories The emergency ambulance carrying Nelson Mandela to hospital two weeks ago broke down, the South African presidential spokesman says. Mac Maharaj confirmed that the vehicle had engine trouble and that the former president was transferred to another ambulance. But he said there was no threat to Mr Mandela as he was surrounded by intensive care nurses the whole time. American network CBS quotes sources as saying he had to wait for 40 minutes. The CBS report says the transfer to another ambulance took place in freezing winter temperatures. Mr Mandela, 94, was being transported from Johannesburg to hospital in Pretoria in the early hours of 8 June. He was admitted in a serious condition with a recurrence of long-standing lung problems and has been in in...

Extra, extra read all about it! The administration that promised to be the most transparent in history uses covert government accounts to keep electronic mail from becoming public, according to a national news conglomerate that reports “the scope of using the secret accounts across government remains a mystery.” That certainly doesn’t keep with President Obama’s guarantee of “unprecedented level of openness in government.” Those were his words, quoted by media outlets around the globe, right after taking office. It hasn’t quite materialized. In fact, in many ways the Obama administration has been among the more secretive in history or at least in recent times. Just a few weeks ago Obama’s pals in the mainstream media blasted him for failing to deliver on his “campaign promise to make his administration the most transparent in history.” One newspaper even quoted a former FBI special agent who’s working to rescind a transparency award given to the president in 2011 by a...

James Gandolfini, who gained fame playing a memorable mafia boss on HBO's "The Sopranos," died after suffering a possible heart attack in Italy on Wednesday, June 19. Pictured, Gandolfini at the premier of "Zero Dark Thirty" in 2012. HIDE CAPTION Photos: James Gandolfini << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 > >> STORY HIGHLIGHTS James Gandolfini was dead when he arrived by ambulance at a Rome hospital His managers believe he had a heart attack The U.S. Embassy to issue a death certificate Medical examiners must conduct an autopsy 24 hours after the body's arrival in the morgue Rome (CNN) -- The body of actor James Gandolfini was transferred to a hospital morgue in Rome early Thursday, where it awaits an autopsy. By law, medical examiners in I...

- As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue opinions on some high profile and contentious cases, a new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether the high court is doing a good job. According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday morning, 48% of the public say they approve of the job the Supreme Court's doing, with an equal amount saying they disapprove. There is, however, an ideological divide. Fifty-three percent of liberals and 58% of moderates, but only 37% of conservatives, say that they approve of the court. "That's probably a reaction to last year's decision on Barack Obama's health care law," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. In a closely watched ruling, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, last June. "Before that ruling, most conservatives supported the Supreme Court, compared to only 44% of liberals. Now, most liberals approve of the court, with most co...

The Greeks who worship the ancient gods By Matthew Brunwasser PRI's The World, Mount Olympus Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine Readers' tipping nightmares and fairytales How Israel keeps Holocaust memories alive The air force pilot who took her baby on missions Telegram Era ends Stop The summer solstice, 21 June, is one of the most important dates in the calendar for many followers of ancient religions, and it's a special time for people in Greece who worship the country's pre-Christian gods. "I love the energy this place has," says Exsekias Trivoulides who has pitched his tent on what he considers to be the holy site of Mount Olympus. Trivoulides is a sculptor who studied art history and classics, and these days, he is li...