| World News  | Securing Baghdad with militiamen
BBC News
A major shift in security came when local tribesmen began policing the area. The Sons of Iraq - also known as the Tribal Awakening - once fought against the Americans but now they are challenging al-Qaeda. In the heart of Adhamiyah is the Abu Hanifa mosque, one of the most important shrines for Sunni Muslims in Iraq. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein it has also been the scene of several clashes between insurgents and US forces. Now a tribal...
photo: USAF / Airman 1st Class Matthew Plew
|  | Thai protests turn nasty
Asia Times
By Shawn W Crispin BANGKOK - Thailand's topsy-turvy politics took a turn for the chaotic on Tuesday as anti-government protesters violently stormed government buildings, blocked major roadways and knocked a state-run television station off the air. The protests shook markets and raised concerns that the government might move to invoke an emergency decree and temporarily suspend democracy. It also ominously points to splits inside the military,...
photo: AP / Sakchai Lalit
|  | Protesters want blood, claims PM
Hong Kong Standard
Thousands of royalist protesters stormed the compound of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, a TV station and several ministries yesterday in a coordinated bid to unseat his elected seven-month-old coalition government. //--> Wednesday, August 27, 2008 ADVERTISEMENT Thousands of royalist protesters stormed the compound of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, a TV station and several...
photo: AP Photo / Sakchai Lalit
|  | Mugabe booed at opening of parliament in Harare
Taipei Times
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was heckled by the opposition yesterday as he opened parliament and declared that “landmark agreements” were expected to be signed by the country’s political rivals. “Landmark agreements have been concluded with every expectation that everybody will sign up,” Mugabe said to boos and jeers from the house. While recognizing “regrettable and isolated” incidents of political violence, Mugabe went on to say that...
photo: AP/Karel Prinsloo
|  | Protesters in Kashmir defy curfew
Dawn
SRINAGAR, Aug 26: Indian police beat Kashmiri protesters who defied a curfew on Tuesday and troops searched for separatist leaders as the biggest anti-India protests in two decades showed no sign of abating. Authorities said they had detained four Kashmiri leaders since Monday. They raided...
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
|  | Authorities have no evidence of plot to shoot Obama
The Australian
US authorities have found no evidence of a plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Three men were arrested and a weapons cache seized this week amid claims the men planned to kill Obama. US Attorney Troy Eid told a press conference that following an exhaustive investigation, officials were satisfied that the arrested men were all drug abusers who did not pose a credible threat to Obama. "Let me be clear: we've...
photo: AP / Jae C. Hong
|  | Why Georgia's on my mind
Seattle Times
KYIV, Ukraine - The conflict in Georgia revealed problems that extend well beyond our region. Recent events have made clear how perilous it is for the international community to ignore "frozen conflicts." The issues of breakaway regions in newly independent states are complex; too often, they have been treated as bargaining chips in geopolitical games. But such "games" result in the loss of human lives, humanitarian disasters, economic ruin and...
photo: US Navy / Lt. Jim Hoeft
| Business News  | Cathay flight without third pilot sparks legal action
Hong Kong Standard
An aircrew union is legally challenging the Director of Civil Aviation for allowing a Cathay Pacific flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong to operate with only two pilots instead of three. //--> Patsy Moy Thursday, August 28, 2008 An aircrew union is legally challenging the Director of Civil Aviation for allowing a Cathay Pacific flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong to operate with only two pilots instead of three. In a writ filed with the High...
photo: Creative Commons / Flickr
|  | Toyota Corolla is the Camry's mini-me
San Diego
By ANN M. JOB For The Associated Press What's better than America's best-selling car, the Toyota Camry? These days, it just might be a baby Camry. It's an apt description for the new-generation Toyota Corolla sedan debuting this year. While smaller and lighter weight than a Camry, the 2009 Corolla comes to showrooms with the exterior styling of a Camry, many of the Camry's amenities, a Camry-like quiet interior and, best of all, fuel mileage...
photo: Public Domain Photo / IFCAR
|  | 'Marginal impact on Tata Motors' share price'
The Times of India
28 Aug 2008, 0042 hrs IST, Sumali Moitra,TNN KOLKATA: Will the Singur stand-off severely hit Tata Motors' share prices? Analysts are unanimous that the impact, if any, will at best be marginal. Tata Motors' share price fell for the...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | Oil price rises on supplies fall
BBC News
The price of oil climbed by almost $3 on Wednesday after official figures showed that US crude stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week. Light, sweet crude rose by $2.82 to $119.09 a barrel in...
photo: WN/Theresa Poongan
|  | Ten ways to look at realty purchases positively
Inquirer
RECENT SCENARIOS have been hinting of gloomy days for the housing market, as developers have been struggling to cushion the impact of rising construction material costs. Where is the bright side of all this? Read on. 1. Think Green. Oil price and power crisis issues are pushing environmental thinking among developers. These issues are providing organizations like the Green Architecture Movement an opportunity to urge homebuyersand developersto...
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo
|  | Cell Genesys halts prostate cancer drug trials
Business Journal
> Cell Genesys Inc.said Wednesday it terminated Vital-2, the second of two Phase 3 clinical trials of Gvax immunotherapy for prostate cancer, because of an imbalance of deaths. South San Francisco-based Cell Genesys (NASDAQ:CEGE) said the tests -- comparing Gvax in combination with Taxotere (docetaxel) to Taxotere plus prednisone in patients with advanced-stage prostate cancer -- ended after a recommendations by its independent data monitoring...
photo: GNU Free Documentation / KGH
| Entertainment News  | `Burn After Reading' opens Venice Film Festival
The Associated Press
VENICE, Italy (AP) -- The Coen brothers wrote their dark comedy, "Burn After Reading," with stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand in mind. Not necessarily a compliment. The Venice Film Festival opened Wednesday with the gala premiere of the movie, a tale about idiots - and what happens when their worlds collide. "Burn After Reading" is playing out of competition for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded on the festival's closing...
photo: public domain /
|  | Manager: No performance for Britney at VMAs
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Britney Spears won't perform on this year's MTV Video Music Awards, according to her manager. "Contrary to media reports, Britney was never slated to perform on this year's VMAs," Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager at Jive Records, said in a statement. "She's in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio."...
photo: GFDL / nourtarek
| Health News  | Cancer Knowledge Lags In Poor Nations
CBS News
Knowledge about cancer facts, including cancer risks from smoking, are lagging in low-income countries, a new survey shows. The survey comes from the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), a global nonprofit group based in Geneva, Switzerland. "The survey reveals there are some big, unheard messages" about cancer, David Hill, PhD, president-elect of the UICC, states in a news release. Hill, who directs the Cancer Council Victoria in...
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo
|  | Specialist breast cancer centre opens in Dublin
Irish Times
GENEVIEVE CARBERY A triple assessment clinic and a digital mammography facilities are part of the new specialist breast cancer centre which was officially opened that the Mater Private hospital in Dublin today. "Triple assessment saved my life," iconic 1960s singer Marsha Hunt told those gathered for the opening. Hunt (62) was treated for breast cancer at the Mater in 2005. She also received part of her treatment at St Vincent's private hospital...
photo: GFDL / KGH
|  | Isuzu marks 11th anniversary with La Mesa donation
Journal Online
TRUE to its tradition of celebrating its inaugural anniversary in a socially relevant manner, Isuzu Philippines Corp. recently commemorated its 11th year of inception by giving a significant donation to the "Save the La Mesa Watershed" project of ABS-CBN Foundation. Isuzu committed to rehabilitating 11 hectares of greenery�"one hectare for every year of the company's existence�"at the La Mesa Dam over the next three years. To do this, the diesel...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | Is your kid really gifted? Probably not
CNN
By Paula Spencer Did your child walk and talk early? Does she have a brain like a sponge? Scribble magnificently? Love learning? Ask questions that leave you marveling (and scrambling to Google an answer)? Wow, clearly she's a genius! Or, um, maybe not. "Gifted" has become one of the most tossed-about words in the parenting lexicon. Unfortunately -- sorry, but let's get this out of the way right up front -- it's also one of the most misused....
photo: WN/Patricia
|  | Tobacco Control Program Saved Billions in Health Costs
Healthfinder
Rapid benefits tied to fact it was directed at adults, not youth, study finds. this article to news version (SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, news release, Aug. 25, 2008) TUESDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- California's state tobacco program resulted in a 50-to-1 return on investment over 15 years, say researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. In a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of PLoS Medicine,...
photo: WN / marzena
|  | California Stop-Smoking Campaign Saved $86 Billion: Report
ABC News
August 26, 2008 FONT SIZE CHICAGO (Reuters) - California's large-scale tobacco control campaign has saved $86 billion in health care costs in its first 15 years, U.S. researchers said on Monday.Revenues generated from the 1998 voter-approved anti-smoking Proposition 10, which added a... Revenues generated from the 1998 voter-approved anti-smoking Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent-tax on tobacco products, helped fund anti-smoking programs such...
photo: WN / marzena
|  | Teens influenced by home smoking bans
Scientific American
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Banning smoking in the home may help adolescents develop antismoking attitudes and impede early experimentation, but researchers report. Conversely having a family member who smokes may be an even more important determinant of adolescent smoking. "Having a home smoking ban reduced the odds that an adolescent would begin to experiment with cigarettes but only in homes that...
photo: WN / marzena
|  | Nuts, corn not source of colon ills, study says
San Diego
CHICAGO - Contrary to popular belief and common medical advice, eating seeds, nuts, corn and popcorn does not cause the bowel disease diverticulosis or its painful complications, researchers said Tuesday. In fact, nuts and popcorn may even provide some protection from the complications and those who avoid nuts may be depriving themselves of valuable nutrients, said Dr. Lisa Strate and colleagues at the University of Washington School of Medicine...
photo: WN / sweet
| Politics News  | Clinton releases delegates
Syracuse
DENVER (AP) - In an emotional meeting leading up to the Democratic roll call of the states, Hillary Rodham Clinton released her convention delegates Wednesday to vote for certain presidential nominee Barack Obama. Many in the crowded ballroom yelled back, "No!" "I am not telling you what to do," Clinton responded. "You've come here from so many different places having made this journey and feeling in your heart what is right for you to do." Her...
photo: AP/Mary Ann Chastian
|  | Mugabe unfazed by political deadlock
Sydney Morning Herald
ZIMBABWE'S President, Robert Mugabe, says he will form a new government, despite a deadlock in the country's power-sharing negotiations. "We shall soon be setting up a government," Mr Mugabe was quoted as saying in the state-run Herald newspaper yesterday following the opening of parliament...
photo: (AP Photo)
|  | Miliband warns Russia over new Cold War -
Yahoo Daily News
by Anya Tsukanova 29 minutes ago KIEV (AFP) - Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned Russia Wednesday not to start a new Cold War but said Western attempts to isolate Moscow would be counterproductive. On a visit to Ukraine, Miliband put the onus on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to prevent an escalation of tensions between the West and Moscow after the Kremlin recognised two Georgian breakaway regions....
photo: AP / Yves Logghe
|  | Mile-High Musings: Dean denies Democrats are divided
The Columbus Dispatch
Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, dismissed talk that the party remains split because of the primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "Don't succumb to the Republican talking points," Dean told the Ohio delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver yesterday. "This party is united. This is a party that wants to elect a Democrat. And that's what we're going to do. Hillary wants to do that....
photo: (AP Photo/Lou Krasky)
|  | Mugabe leadership rejected - Opposition
The Australian
ZIMBABWE'S opposition said today it will not join any new government with President Robert Mugabe until power-sharing talks are concluded, after the 84-year-old declared he would name his own cabinet. The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change described Mr Mugabe's intention to form a government regardless of the opposition as "a declaration of war...
photo: AP / Olivier Asselin
|  | Politics hold Pakistan economy hostage
Asia Times
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider QUETTA, Pakistan - The breakup of Pakistan's five-month-old ruling coalition, just a week after the resignation of former president Pervez Musharraf, has further aggravated investors' concerns about the country's political uncertainty and weak economic outlook, dragging stocks and the local currency to record lows. The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100 share index fell on Tuesday (August 26) by 383 points, or 3.5%,...
photo: AP / Fareed Khan
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