2 Karadzic boycotts start of genocide trial
by Mariette le Roux, AFP
2 hrs 26 mins ago
| THE HAGUE (AFP) - Radovan Karadzic boycotted the start of his UN genocide trial on Monday, forcing an adjournment for a day as the judge accused the Bosnian Serb wartime leader of obstructing the process.
His legal adviser later said Karadzic, who is conducting his own defence, planned to continue his boycott and would not be present when the trial resumes on Tuesday afternoon.
Karadzic, the political leader during Bosnia's 1992-95 war which left at least 100,000 dead and became notorious for the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo, insists on more time to prepare his case. |
3 Barclays snaps up Standard Life Bank division
by Roland Jackson, AFP
2 hrs 52 mins ago
| LONDON (AFP) - British bank Barclays on Monday bought the home loans and savings arm of insurer Standard Life, pursuing its expansion strategy after the part-purchase of failed US titan Lehman Brothers last year.
Barclays, which has avoided state control unlike rival British banks that were beaten by the credit crunch, said in a statement it will buy Standard Life Bank for 226 million pounds (246 million euros, 369 million dollars) in cash.
Around 270 Standard Life employees will transfer to Barclays upon completion of the deal, which was expected in the first quarter of 2010 subject to regulatory approval. |
4 Karzai questions US reliability as partner
by Stephanie Griffith, AFP
Sun Oct 25, 4:00 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai questioned the reliability of the United States as a partner Sunday, as he fought off criticism of his government's legitimacy following fraud-marred elections.
Karzai's main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, warned in an interview with CNN that the US strategy will not succeed without a credible partner in Kabul, blaming Karzai for deteriorating conditions.
But underscoring the political headache that Washington faces if Karzai wins a run-off against Abdullah next month, Karzai pointed the finger at the United States in a separate, pre-recorded CNN interview. |
5 Asian nations jostle for power in EU-style bloc
by Martin Abbugao, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 4:49 am ET
| BANGKOK (AFP) - Asia's moves toward an EU-style community covering half the world's population have sparked a backroom power play led by the United States, China and Japan, diplomats and analysts said Monday.
Leaders at a summit of 16 nations meeting in Thailand at the weekend heard the prime ministers of Australia and Japan set out competing visions for a regional bloc that would boost Asia's global clout.
But beneath the talk of unity and the "Asian Century" lie intense diplomatic manoeuvrings, with countries desperate to avoid being marginalised in a new regional framework that could still be years off. |
6 Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor, Reuters
Mon Oct 26, 10:53 am ET
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.
The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year, the report from Robert Kelley, vice president of healthcare analytics at Thomson Reuters, found.
"America's healthcare system is indeed hemorrhaging billions of dollars, and the opportunities to slow the fiscal bleeding are substantial," the report reads. |
7 Economic reports point to bumpy recovery
By John Parry, Reuters
43 mins ago
| NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regional economic reports on Monday suggested the U.S. economy has clambered back to levels associated with the end of recession, but recovery will be patchy and may prove fleeting.
Economic activity and manufacturing data for the U.S. Mid West and Texas hinted the impact of the global financial crisis is slowly abating as the economy emerges from the longest recession in 70 years.
However, an index of national economic activity slipped on a monthly basis and a Texas manufacturing output index fell. |
8 Iraqis mourn, blame politics for Baghdad blasts
By Muhanad Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
59 mins ago
| BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government blamed the bloodiest bombings in years on al Qaeda and other extremists, but many ordinary Iraqis think political infighting before next year's election is the cause and fear worse is yet to come.
Hundreds of mourners poured into the area where twin suicide bombs on Sunday killed 155 people, railing against politicians and the security forces in a funeral march, local media showed. Baghdad was ensnared in a traffic jam as the government, facing criticism for the attacks, set up extra checkpoints.
"The blood of Iraqis is very cheap and I ask, how many victims will it take to convince the government that it has totally failed?" Hameed Salam, a former army officer now driving a taxi cab, shouted in the traffic jam on Monday. |
9 Senate Democrats close in on health reform votes
By Donna Smith, Reuters
Sun Oct 25, 1:16 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leaders are close to securing enough votes to advance a sweeping healthcare reform backed by President Barack Obama, a top Senate Democrat said on Sunday, adding that it likely would include a national health plan that would allow states the option of dropping out.
Senator Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team, said he is pushing a compromise that would create a new national health insurance plan and allow states to opt out. The proposed public plan would compete on a level playing field with other insurers, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to produce a bill on Monday that will be sent to the Congressional Budget Office for an official cost estimate, an aide said. |
10 Iraqis angry at security lapse, bombs kill 155
By BARBARA SURK and HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer
32 mins ago
| BAGHDAD - Iraqis vented anger Monday at a major security lapse that allowed two suicide truck bombers to penetrate what was supposed to be one of Baghdad's safest areas, killing 155 people including 24 children on a bus leaving a daycare center next to one of the government ministries targeted.
Sunday's twin suicide blasts in the heart of the capital struck the Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Administration, the worst attacks in more than two years. They raised fears about Iraq's ability to protect itself as it prepares for January elections and the U.S. military withdrawal.
The children who were killed were on a bus leaving a daycare center near the Justice Ministry when the attack occurred, said an official at the hospital where the bodies were brought. A police official confirmed the death toll and said the bus driver was also killed and six children injured. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. |
11 AP IMPACT: Statisticians reject global cooling
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
2 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.
The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs? |
12 Iceland says goodbye to the Big Mac
By GUDJON HELGASON and JANE WARDELL, Associated Press Writers
13 mins ago
| REYKJAVIK, Iceland - The Big Mac, long a symbol of globalization, has become the latest victim of this tiny island nation's overexposure to the world financial crisis.
Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants - all in the capital Reykjavik - will close next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona.
"The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director of Lyst Hr., McDonald's franchise holder in Iceland, told the Associated Press by telephone on Monday. |
13 Karadzic boycotts opening of his war crimes trial
By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer
7 mins ago
| THE HAGUE, Netherlands - His chair was empty, his headphones lay idle on the desk. In Courtroom One at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, outraged survivors of Bosnia's bloody war gasped in disbelief Monday as judges adjourned the opening day of Radovan Karadzic's trial after just 15 minutes.
The former Bosnian Serb leader boycotted his war crimes trial, claiming he did not have enough time to prepare his defense - even though he was indicted in 1995 and had known he would be tried since being captured in Belgrade over 15 months ago.
The tactic forced a one-day delay in the trial and demonstrated that the former psychiatrist was ready for a tumultuous battle of wills with the UN war crimes tribunal. Judges adjourned Monday's hearing but declared that the trial will begin Tuesday "with or without" Karadzic. |
14 AP IMPACT: Immigration agents mishandle informants
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 11:33 am ET
| EL PASO, Texas - One immigration agent was accused of running an Internet pornography business and enjoying an improper relationship with an informant. Another let an informant smuggle in a group of illegal immigrants. And in a third case, an agent was investigated for soliciting sex from a witness in a marriage fraud case.
These troubling misdeeds are a sampling of misconduct by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel as the agency seeks to carve out a bigger role in the deadly border war against Mexican drug gangs.
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, ICE agents have blundered badly in their dealings with informants and other sources, covering up crimes and even interfering in a police investigation into whether one informant killed another. |
15 AP Sources: Senate bill to include public option
By DAVID ESPO and ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writers
20 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats say Majority Leader Harry Reid intends to include an option for government-run insurance coverage in health care legislation headed for the floor, with an announcement set for later in the day.
Reid signaled his support for a so-called public option last week, but has yet to discuss his plans in public.
Democratic officials spoke on condition of anonymity since the announcement has not been made yet. |
16 GAO: FDA fails to follow up on unproven drugs
By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Business Writer
Mon Oct 26, 7:02 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration has allowed drugs for cancer and other diseases to stay on the market even when follow-up studies showed they didn't extend patients' lives, say congressional investigators.
A report due out Monday from the Government Accountability Office also shows that the FDA has never pulled a drug off the market due to a lack of required follow-up about its actual benefits - even when such information is more than a decade overdue.
When pressed about that policy, agency officials said they have no plans to get more aggressive. |
17 Carrots and Sticks: Obama's split media strategy
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 6:55 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The same president who aggressively harnesses the power of the press to promote his agenda has taken to lacing his comments with criticisms of the media, with no bigger target than the gabby culture of cable television.
President Barack Obama's critique is biting: The media prefer conflict over cooperation, encourage bad behavior and weaken the ability of leaders to help the nation.
The White House's attempt to discredit Fox News as an arm of the Republican Party may have been getting the headlines, but it is only one recent window into Obama's already complex and crafty relationship with those who cover him. |
18 Pakistan kills 19 militants in border offensive
By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 8:19 am ET
| ISLAMABAD - Pakistan killed 19 suspected militants and lost six soldiers in fighting inside a Taliban stronghold close to the Afghan border, the army said Monday as insurgents elsewhere in the frontier region struck back with deadly attacks.
The fierce clashes in South Waziristan and regions further north showed the difficulties facing Pakistan's stretched army as it seeks to root out militants close to its northwestern border, from where Western officials say they also plan attacks on targets inside Afghanistan.
The army moved into South Waziristan nine days ago vowing to crush the Pakistani Taliban, a militant network it says is behind 80 percent of the suicide bombings in Pakistan. The militants have responded with an onslaught of terror attacks on targets around the country. |
19 Nightclubs for the plus-size begin to weigh in
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 25 mins ago
| LONG BEACH, Calif. - Move over, it's Saturday night at Club Bounce and people are bouncing onto the dance floor in a big, big way.
These are big, big people, all dressed to the nines and many tipping the scales at 250, maybe 300 pounds.
That's because this expansive nightclub a couple blocks from the Pacific Ocean, with its flashing lights, friendly atmosphere and wall-rattling hip-hop sounds, caters specifically to fat people. |
20 Jury selection begins in first polygamist trial
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
38 mins ago
| ELDORADO, Texas - More than 150 potential jurors, including 10 women in prairie dresses and braids, crammed into a makeshift courtroom Monday as jury selection began in the first criminal trial stemming from the raid of a polygamist sect's ranch last year.
Raymond Jessop, 38, is charged with sexual assault of a child, stemming from his alleged marriage to an underage girl. The girl, according to church documents seized by authorities, gave birth at age 16 at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado. If convicted, Jessop faces 20 years in prison.
He is also charged with bigamy, but that charge is to be tried separately. Prosecutors allege Jessop has nine wives, including three that were married to a brother before the brother was excommunicated by Warren Jeffs, the jailed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. |
21 Trick or treat? Iconic Necco wafers go all-natural
By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 31 mins ago
| BOSTON - All-natural may be all the rage in the food world, but will candy lovers have a sweet tooth for beet juice and purple cabbage?
Necco sure hopes so. The 162-year-old Massachusetts company is taking its venerable Necco Wafers all-natural, making them the largest mass-produced candy line in the U.S. to shed artificial flavoring and colors.
Necco, short for New England Confectionary Co., cranks out about 4 billion of the roughly quarter-sized wafers each year, packaging them in large rolls (36 wafers) and junior rolls (nine wafers). Beet juice, purple cabbage, cocoa powder and turmeric - a spice often used in curries - are some of the natural ingredients in the new wafers, which will be phased in at retail stores before and after Halloween. |
22 Titanic expedition possible in 2010
By STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 9:26 am ET
| NORFOLK, Va. - The company that has exclusive rights to salvage the Titanic is planning a possible expedition to the world's most famous shipwreck in 2010.
The first expedition to the North Atlantic wreck site since 2004 is revealed in a filing by RMS Titanic Inc. in U.S. District Court, where four days of hearings are scheduled to begin Monday on the company's claim for a salvage award.
Lawyers for RMS Titanic Inc. confirmed the expedition plans but declined to discuss them in detail. |
23 Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names
By MELANIE DABOVICH, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 4:13 am ET
| TAOS, N.M. - Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel.
The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names.
No more Martin (Mahr-TEEN). It was plain-old Martin. No more Marcos. Now it would be Mark. |
24 Ex-guerrilla just shy of outright win in Uruguay
By MICHAEL WARREN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 11:33 am ET
| MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - A blunt-talking former guerrilla fell just short of a first-round victory in Uruguay's presidential election, according to results Monday, and his conservative opponents have united in hopes of leaping past him in a Nov. 29 runoff.
Jose "Pepe" Mujica, the candidate of the governing leftist Broad Front coalition, got 47.5 percent of the votes Sunday, just below the majority needed to win outright.
Conservative ex-president Luis Alberto LaCalle got 28.5 percent, and Pedro Bordaberry of the Colorado Party 17 percent with 99.9 percent of the votes counted, the electoral court said Monday. |
25 Vatican: Talks with traditionalists will continue
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
2 mins ago
| VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI's efforts to unify the Catholic Church and reach out to Christian traditionalists took a new step Monday with the start of talks between the Vatican and a group of breakaway Catholics that includes a Holocaust denier.
The Vatican said the three-hour talks with a delegation from the Society of St. Pius X were held in a "cordial, respectful and constructive climate" and would continue frequently over the coming months.
The society, founded by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, split from Rome over the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly its outreach to Jews and Christians who were not Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI's effort to reconcile with the group is part of his overall aim of unifying the church and putting a highly conservative stamp on it. Just last week, he made a major gesture in that direction by making it easier for Anglican traditionalists to convert to Roman Catholicism. |
26 Rabbinical ruling causes havoc on elevators
By TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 13 mins ago
| JERUSALEM - The Jewish day of rest has become a bit more labor-intensive for Yosef Ball.
The Orthodox Jew and his wife are no longer using elevators custom-built for the Jewish Sabbath, ever since a rabbinical ruling last month outlawed them. Instead, they have been hiking up seven flights of stairs to get home each Saturday, lugging with them their five young children and a double stroller.
"It's been very hard, but we're walking up the stairs slowly and with a lot of patience," said Ball, 29, while pushing a baby carriage with two toddlers in tow on a recent day. |
27 Tunisian president wins 5th term in landslide
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 8:59 am ET
| TUNIS, Tunisia - Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected for a fifth term with an overwhelming 89 percent of the vote - his weakest performance yet but more than enough to show his solid grip on the nation.
The results announced by the Interior Ministry on Monday from Sunday's voting reflect timid gestures toward Ben Ali's rivals in this year's race to lead this Mediterranean vacation haven.
Ben Ali was last re-elected in 2004 with more than 94 percent of votes - a drop from his previous victories of between 99.2 and 99.7 percent. He took power in a bloodless coup in 1987. |
28 Japan PM: Reviving weak economy top priority
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 26, 3:23 am ET
| TOKYO - Japan's new prime minister declared Monday that reviving the nation's sluggish economy is top priority for his government and stressed seeking "close and equal" ties with the U.S. in a speech outlining his main policy goals to parliament.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, whose government swept to power in an August election victory that unseated a long-ruling conservative party, said key objectives include creating new jobs, cutting public works spending, and giving cash to families with children.
Hatoyama also said he wants to seek a "close and equal" alliance with the U.S., which he described as the "cornerstone" of Japanese diplomacy. He added that he wants to "frankly" discuss a plan to realign U.S. military bases in Japan, where 47,000 American troops are based under a security pact. |
29 Karzai dismisses election rival's ultimatum
By Golnar Motevalli and Ahmed Masood, Reuters
1 hr 25 mins ago
| KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan president Hamid Karzai rejected on Monday a demand from his rival in a presidential run-off to sack the country's top election official, setting the stage for a new confrontation.
Tension between Karzai and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah escalated when the ex-foreign minister demanded that the head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) be sacked because he was biased toward the incumbent. Abdullah also wanted three cabinet ministers suspended until the election was completed.
"Our ministers and officials, which Abdullah wants sacked or replaced, they have not done anything illegal or against the law that is why we cannot sack or replace them," Karzai was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office. |
30 Murdered Russian campaigner buried in Ingushetia
Reuters
2 hrs 37 mins ago
| SURKHAKHI, Russia (Reuters) - More than 3,000 people gathered on Monday in the Russian republic of Ingushetia to bury an opposition campaigner whose murder rights groups say has underlined the slide into violence across the North Caucasus.
Maksharip Aushev, 43, who campaigned against what he said were abductions by the security forces, died at the wheel of his car after his vehicle was peppered with bullets as he drove to visit relatives in the nearby republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Mourners gathered in drizzle at a graveyard by a small mosque in the village of Surkhakhi, about 10 km (6 miles) outside Ingushetia's biggest city, Nazran, to bury Aushev. |
31 Kalashnikov decries "criminal" use of rifle
By Dmitry Solovyov, Reuters
Mon Oct 26, 11:38 am ET
| KLIMOVSK, Russia (Reuters) - Approaching 90, the inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle has one big regret:
The almost unstoppable Kalashnikov, designed in 1947, has become the weapon of choice for militants and rebels from Liberia to Afghanistan as well as gangsters and drug traffickers.
"It is painful for me to see when criminal elements of all kinds fire from my weapon," Mikhail Kalashnikov said in a videotaped address to a conference of Russian arms traders and designers at a top-secret Soviet-era arms testing facility outside Moscow. |
32 Governor blames security forces for Baghdad carnage
by Sammy Ketz, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 11:55 am ET
| BAGHDAD (AFP) - Baghdad's governor on Monday blamed negligence or even collusion by the security forces for devastating twin suicide bombings that killed around 100 people in the heart of the capital.
Governor Salah Abdul Razzaq said authorities had video footage showing the vehicles which exploded on Sunday, Iraq's deadliest day in more than two years.
The near-simultaneous bombings targeting the justice ministry and the Baghdad provincial government headquarters wounded more than 500 and left body parts and charred corpses scattered around the streets of the capital. |
33 Zimbabwe leaders 'poles apart' as unity talks stall
by Godfrey Marawanyika, AFP
1 hr 33 mins ago
| HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai are "poles apart" on key unity government issues, a minister said Monday after Zimbabwe's feuding leaders failed to break a 10-day deadlock.
"The principals met. Sadly and tragically the stalemate continues," cabinet minister and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman Nelson Chamisa told AFP. "We are poles apart on fundamental issues."
The three-hour talks were the first between the long-term rivals since Tsvangirai shelved ties with Mugabe's "dishonest and unreliable" camp on October 16, sparking a crisis in the fragile, eight-month partnership. |
34 Widower testifies at start of German 'veil martyr' trial
by Deborah Cole, AFP
2 hrs 3 mins ago
| DRESDEN, Germany (AFP) - An Egyptian man told a German court Monday how his pregnant wife was murdered before his eyes in a frenzied anti-Islamic attack, in a case that has inflamed tempers in the Muslim world.
On the first day of the trial of Russian-born German defendant Alex Wiens in the eastern city of Dresden amid tight security, the victim's husband Elwy Okaz gave wrenching testimony in the same courthouse where his wife was killed.
Some 200 police officers were on hand after reported Internet death threats against the accused, who appeared in court behind bulletproof glass. |
35 Around 200,000 Pakistanis flee heavy military losses
by Masroor Gilani, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 11:42 am ET
| ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan's huge anti-Taliban offensive has displaced around 200,000 people as soldiers suffered their deadliest 24 hours since the assault began, the military said Monday.
Pakistan has claimed a string of successes and has vowed to crush Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan, pressing its most ambitious battle yet in a tribal area infested with Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.
But in growing signs that Taliban fighters are seeking to widen the conflict across the vast tribal belt and hobble the offensive, heavily armed insurgents killed five Pakistani troops in surprise raids further north. |
36 Japan PM pushes for 'equal' ties with US
by Miwa Suzuki, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 5:17 am ET
| TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stressed in his first policy address to parliament Monday that he wants a relationship of equals with chief ally the United States.
Hatoyama, who took power last month, was speaking ahead of Barack Obama's first visit to Tokyo as US president on November 12-13 and amid a row about where to relocate a major US base on a southern island.
"The close and equal alliance between Japan and the United States is the foundation" of efforts to secure regional peace that would benefit Japan, Asia and the entire world, he said. |
37 Massive Baghdad bombing casts doubt on Iraqi security, elections
By Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam, McClatchy Newspapers
Sun Oct 25, 4:31 pm ET
| BAGHDAD -- Suicide bombers in cars packed with explosives killed at least 132 people and wounded 600 more outside Iraqi government buildings Sunday morning in nearly simultaneous blasts that were powerful even by Baghdad's grim standards.
The bombings made Sunday the deadliest day in Iraq since April 2007 , according to casualty figures released by Iraqi authorities, and they drew particular outrage because they struck at cabinet ministries and city government offices that are supposed to be especially secure.
One of the explosions also ruptured a water line, causing a flood that turned red as it mixed with blood. Corpses bobbed underwater and dangled from rooftops. An Iraqi soldier fainted at the scene upon hearing that eight of his comrades had died. |
38 U.N. diplomats press Afghan commission for election changes
By Hal Bernton, McClatchy Newspapers
Sun Oct 25, 5:59 pm ET
| KABUL, Afghanistan -- United Nations diplomats and the chairman of an Afghan election commission are sparring over efforts to curb fraud in the country's Nov. 7 presidential runoff election.
U.N. and Western officials want to bolster the Afghan election process in the hope that a second round between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah can quickly yield a winner whom most Afghans accept as legitimate.
The diplomats are pressing for several changes, including closing hundreds of polling centers that recorded thousands of questionable votes, most of them for Karzai, during the first round of voting on Aug. 20 . |
| From Yahoo News U.S. News |
39 Ohio can't find doctors to offer execution advice
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer
17 mins ago
| COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio was on track this year to execute a record number of inmates. One botched execution and several lawsuits later, the death penalty is temporarily on hold there.
The latest challenge: The state can't find medical professionals willing to advise it on the best way to put condemned inmates to death because of ethical and professional rules.
The rules - which generally prohibit doctors, nurses and others from involvement in capital punishment - are deterring those professionals from speaking publicly or privately about alternatives to the state's lethal injection process, Attorney General Richard Cordray said in a court filing. |
40 U.S. sees "mixed picture" on world religious liberty
By Andrew Quinn, Reuters
43 mins ago
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sees a mixed picture on world religious freedom, with progress in interfaith dialogue weighed against government repression and sectarian strife in many countries.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday unveiled the latest State Department report on global religious freedom, which particularly criticized Iran and North Korea among other countries for harsh limits on religious expression.
"It is our hope that the ... report will encourage existing religious freedom movements around the world," Clinton said, adding that all people should have the right to believe or not as they see fit. |
41 US newspaper circulation slide accelerates
by Chris Lefkow, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 11:58 am ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Daily circulation figures for US newspapers released on Monday provided more bad news for the embattled industry.
Average daily circulation fell more than 10 percent in the April-September period compared with the same period last year, accelerating a slide that has led to bankruptcies, closures and cutbacks in newsrooms across the country.
Average circulation for 562 Sunday newspapers was down 7.49 percent. |
42 Soldier's scarred face on display at Washington museum
by Virginie Montet, AFP
Mon Oct 26, 7:40 am ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Rick Yarosh, 27, has two holes where his nose used to be, and the raw-looking skin of his disfigured face looks melted and fused.
The former Iraq War soldier fell victim to a home-made bomb in Iraq, which left burns over 60 percent of his body and rendered his face unrecognizable from how he had looked before his injuries.
But he proudly displays those wounds in a portrait on display at a new exhibition at Washington's National Portrait Gallery. |
Astute DocuDharma readers may recognize this story.
43 Employer-Based Insurance: Paying More, Getting Less
By KATE PICKERT, Time Magazine
Mon Oct 26, 10:50 am ET
| If you like what you have, you can keep it.
Throughout the health-care reform debate, this has been President Obama's central message to the 80% of Americans who say they are satisfied with their current health insurance. But after the millions of Americans who receive coverage through their employers - and who make up a large portion of that satisfied 80% - start signing up for their 2010 coverage in the so-called "open enrollment" period over the next few weeks, they may well wonder if the status quo is such a good thing. |
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Reform Immigration -
March on Washington
