Chris Hollins, Ola Jordan win ‘Strictly’
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Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan have been crowned the 2009 series champions of Strictly Come Dancing. Read more
Cambodia sends Uighur asylum-seekers back to China
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A group of Muslims who fled China after deadly ethnic rioting and sought asylum in Cambodia have been sent back home, even though rights groups fear they face persecution there. Read more
Late Pope John Paul moves closer to sainthood
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VATICAN CITY – The late Pope John Paul moved closer to sainthood in the Catholic Church on Saturday when his successor, Pope Benedict, approved a decree recognising that John Paul had lived the Christian faith heroically. The Vatican said Benedict had signed the “heroic virtues“ decree, a key step in the procedure by [...]
Boxer supports abortion deal
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California Sen. Barbara Boxer, deep in the negotiations with health care holdout Ben Nelson, signed off on the abortion compromise that goes further than she wanted, but clears the way to get the health… Read more
Staying at the Basra ‘B&B’
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It is jokingly dubbed ‘the most expensive B&B in the world’. Then again the trailer camp is the only ‘bed and breakfast’ that also provides lunch, dinner, a gym, 24-hour Internet access and a relatively secure place to stay in Basra.Situated within the newly-acquired American military base in this southern-Iraqi province, the B&B provides private [...]
Bankers’ long tradition getting short shrift these days
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The ugliest Americans are now the nation’s bankers. Read more
U.S. pledges aid, urges developing nations to cut emissions
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COPENHAGEN — With an offer of significant new aid to help poor nations cope with the effects of global warming, the Obama administration began a major diplomatic effort Thursday aimed at saving the troubled climate talks before the president’s expected arrival Friday morning. Read more
Book review: ‘When China Rules the World’ by Martin Jacques
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China has a plan to become the world’s premiere power and if they do, Martin Jacques writes, it’ll be on its own terms. Read more
Rising prices spark a new gold rush in Peruvian Amazon
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PUERTO MALDONADO, PERU — Boriam Valera has seen his future. It shimmers — and sells for more than $1,100 an ounce. Read more
U.S. holds 3 in alleged narcoterrorism case
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U.S. prosecutors have charged three alleged al-Qaeda associates with conspiring to engage in narcoterrorism, attacking what experts say is a widespread source of illicit funding for terrorist groups across the globe. Read more
U.S. says nuclear agreement is near
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President Obama said Friday the United States and Russia are “quite close” to reaching an agreement that would cut their nuclear stockpiles and allow the world’s atomic giants to keep monitoring each other’s arsenals. But they are unlikely to meet their goal of getting an accord by year’s end. Read more
Afghanistan unveils new cabinet, technocrats stay
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KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to keep most of his top ministers, mainly technocrats favored by the West, in his new government, a senior minister said on Saturday. Read more
Senate races clock on health bill
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With the clock ticking toward a self-imposed Christmas deadline, Senate Democrats scrambled on Friday to win over a potential defector and line up the 60 votes needed to pass a broad healthcare overhaul. Read more
Key powers in climate compromise
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While the White House was announcing the agreement, most other delegations had not even seen it. This has clearly annoyed a number of countries who, when the agreement document, expressed their distaste in vigorous language – a “coup d’Etat against the UN”. With no firm target for limiting the global temperature rise, no commitment to [...]
US says China agrees to end brand subsidies WTO case (AFP)
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WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States announced that China agreed to end a series of “famous brand” subsidies for a range of goods that Washington challenged as illegal at the World Trade Organization. Read more
Obama brokers a climate deal, doesn’t satisfy all (AP)
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COPENHAGEN – Two years of laborious negotiations on a climate agreement ended Friday with a political deal brokered by President Barack Obama with China and other emerging powers but denounced by poor countries because it was nonbinding and set no overall target for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a leading proponent of [...]
Bandaged Silvio calls for calm as he leaves hospital
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Four days after he was attacked at a rally in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi left hospital with a bandaged nose, a compress on his left cheek and a call for calm in Italian politics. Read more
Infamous Nazi Sign at Auschwitz Stolen
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WARSAW, Poland (Dec. 18) — The infamous iron sign bearing the Nazis’ cynical slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” that spanned the main entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp was stolen before dawn Friday, Polish police said. The 16-foot, 90-pound iron sign at the former Nazi death camp in southern Poland where more than 1 million [...]
Gynaecologist’s ‘orgasm’ patient drops sex claim and agrees to pay HIM £30,000
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Bibi Giles, 50, accused Angus Thomson of intentionally pleasuring her during a 90 second examination in 2006. Read more