Lima, Peru - Peruvian Prime Minister Yehude Simon overcame Tuesday a vote of no confidence in Congress after violent protests by indigenous communities earlier this month. Only 56 legislators voted in favour of the opposition-sponsored no confidence motion, which was based on the allegation that Simon made wrong decisions that caused the violence. Sixty-one votes were needed for it to pass...

Rockland County, NY - New Square and Kaser - are the fastest growing municipalities in the Lower Hudson Valley, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Between 2000 and 2008, New Square grew 40 percent, while Kaser's population grew 30 percent, according to the data. The total population of New Square was 6,461 in 2008. In Kaser it was 4,315. New Square ranks fourth in...

New York City - Spurred by a broad coalition of religious, labor and immigrant groups, the City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday to add two of the most important Muslim holy days to the public schools holiday calendar. But the vote, which was nonbinding, put the Council in conflict with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has the power to designate the days off yet said he was...

Adelphi, MD - A federal advisory panel voted narrowly to recommend a ban on Percocet and Vicodin, two of the most popular prescription painkillers in the world, because of their effects on the liver. The two drugs combine a narcotic with acetaminophen, the ingredient found in popular over-the-counter products like Tylenol and Excedrin. High doses of acetaminophen are a leading cause of liver...

Warsaw - For the second time in two years, Polish officials began building a new museum of Jewish history in Warsaw on Tuesday that they hope will become a major cultural landmark. An earlier groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Museum of the History of Polish Jews took place in 2007 in the presence of the Polish president, but bureaucratic obstacles then held up construction. On...

Brooklyn, NY - Greenpoint resident Chrissie Brodigan says she was riding on the L train between Bedford and First Avenue when her pug, who has health problems, overheated and began vomiting in the tote bag she was carrying him in. As she was leaving the subway station with the dog in her arms, she says a police officer's attempt to issue her a ticket turned ugly, and when she became upset the...

Paris - Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing threatened on Tuesday to take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to retaliate against the country, the U.S. monitoring service SITE Intelligence reported. President Nicolas Sarkozy had said earlier this month that the burka, which covers the whole face, was not welcome in the strictly secular country. "Yesterday was the...

Ra'anana, Israel - Driving down the streets of Ra'anana a couple of weeks ago, motorists noticed large posters of young woman, promoting a local store called Hope. Only problem was, on most of the posters, the woman was almost completely obscured by heavy black lines that had been drawn to block out almost everything except the name of the company. But who had done this? The first...

Albany, NY - Today, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced that he would divest $86.2 million in New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) from nine specific companies which have businesses in Iran and Sudan. I commend him for his actions. Faced with the stark realities of terrorism and genocide in these two countries, the Comptroller has acted wisely and prudently. ...

Paris, France - The prosecuting counsel in the trial of a gang of French youths accused of murdering a young Jew has requested a sentence of life imprisonment for the group's ringleader. Ilan Halimi was entrapped, sequestered, tortured and finally died before he could reach hospital in 2006, allegedly as a result of an ordeal at the hands of a gang led by Youssef Fofana. If convicted...

Santo Domingo - Rabbi Shimon Pelman, Chabad emissary to the Dominican Republic, was formally welcomed to the country in a meeting last week Thursday with President Leonel Fernández Reyna at the National Palace in Santo Domingo. Following the president’s greeting, Pelman discussed the Lubavitcher Rebbe, noting that he was meeting the President on the third of Tammuz, the day of the Rebbe’s...

Manhattan, NY - New York City’s thriving black market in illegal food vending permits took a blow this morning when six people were arrested as a result of multiple sting operations by the city’s Department of Investigation. Sotirios “Steve” Econopouly, 71; Fernando Quesnay, 52; Ifigenia “Effie” Tsatsaronis, 40; Jacob Shimon, 46; Nikhli Nikhil Dhameliya, 23; and Adamadia Arabatzis...

Albany, NY - The sales tax increase the city needs to balance its budget hit a huge road block in the form of Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. The measure, which is being carried by Sen. Liz Krueger, was on tap for passage this afternoon by the Senate Democrats at the session they are holding courtesy of the (unintended and disputed) participation by GOP Sen. Frank Padavan. Things were steaming right...

Miami, FL - The Justice Department says Swiss bank UBS AG must reveal names of thousands of suspected American tax cheats because the bank violated U.S. law. A court filing in Miami urges U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold to enforce a summons against UBS seeking the identities of about 52,000 people. U.S. officials say those are mostly wealthy Americans who used secret UBS accounts to hide...

Minnesota - The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat Al Franken won the U.S. Senate election and said he was entitled to an election certificate that would lead to him being seated in the Senate. "Affirmed," wrote the Supreme Court, unanimously rejecting Republican Norm Coleman's claims that inconsistent practices by local elections officials and wrong decisions by a lower court...