-The era of uncertainty is over: The BBC has just announced that Chris Evans will head up an all-new group of Top Gear hosts. – Evans, a hugely famous British TV and radio host, is the first confirmed replacement for the departed Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Evans has signed a three-year deal as the lead host of the show, according to TopGear.com. – The newly named host
– Carroll Shelby may have decamped to that big racetrack/chili cookoff in the sky, but the company he left behind continues his good work modifying Ford Mustangs. The latest example is the just-announced 2015 Shelby Super Snake, which promises as much as “750-plus” horsepower. – Last offered in 2011, when it was based on the GT500, the new Super Snake takes as its starting point the 2015 Ford Mustang GT,
–Overview: Introduced in 2007, updated in 2010 and again for 2013, the Mazda CX-9 remains one of the few three-row crossovers we actually find fun to drive. Even Mazda calls the CX-9 “the elder statesman” of its lineup, and it shows its age enough that its replacement is expected to appear at the Los Angeles auto show this fall. Although too old to reflect Mazda’s latest Skyactiv approach, the CX-9
By Mohammed Ghobari and Lara Sukhtian SANAA/GENEVA, (Reuters) – Houthi fighters in central Yemen blew up the home of a senior politician on Wednesday while he was in Switzerland as a member of the exiled government’s delegation to peace talks, residents said. In Geneva, the U.N.-sponsored talks between the warring factions went into a second day. Yemeni websites published picture of its collapsed ceiling on top of a pile of
By Mohammed Mukhashaf ADEN (Reuters) – Al Qaeda militants in Yemen killed two alleged Saudi spies on Wednesday, residents said, accusing them of planting tracking devices which enabled the assassination of the group’s leader in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week. Residents said al Qaeda charged the men with planting chips which pinpointed the location of several al Qaeda commanders slain in recent months, including its boss Nasser al-Wuhayshi,
By James Pomfret and Yimou Lee HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers appeared to be standing firm on Wednesday in their pledge to veto Beijing-backed electoral reforms, as the Asian financial center’s legislature debated the package that will define its democratic future. The former British colony has reinforced security after mass protests crippled parts of the city late last year, presenting China’s ruling Communist Party with one of
By Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia accused NATO on Wednesday of reviving the ghost of the Cold War by encroaching close to its borders and seeking to change the strategic balance of power, as Germany denounced Moscow’s nuclear weapons build-up as a Soviet-style reflex. Ties between Russia and the West have hit new lows over Ukraine and the latest accusations come after Moscow said it would enhance its nuclear
By Luke Baker and Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – With a deal on Iran’s nuclear program drawing near, Israel is beginning to look at what comes afterwards and how best to position itself for the longer term. Publicly, Israeli officials have not given up trying to influence what appear to be the closing stages of negotiations, although gaps could persist beyond an end-June deadline. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Prime Minister
The United States called for a “greater commitment” from Iraq’s government on Wednesday in the fight against Islamic State as it lamented Baghdad’s failure to deliver enough soldiers for training and underscored the need to empower Sunni tribesmen. “As I’ve told Iraqi leaders, while the United States is open to supporting Iraq more than we already are, we must see a greater commitment from all parts of the Iraqi government,”
The Palestinian unity government resigned on Wednesday in a deepening rift with Gaza as the blockaded territory’s de facto rulers Hamas held separate, indirect talks with Israel. An aide to president Mahmud Abbas said prime minister Rami Hamdallah “handed his resignation to Abbas”, but confusion reigned over when the government was likely to dissolve. It was also unclear what the next cabinet might look like, reflecting the chaotic period for
