| World News  | New Zealand PM-elect John Key announces Cabinet
The Australian
NEW Zealand's prime minister-elect John Key unveiled his cabinet Monday, pledging to focus on boosting economic growth amid the global financial crisis. The multi-millionaire former investment banker has been working frantically to put his government in place so it can start work on dealing with the fallout from the global credit crunch and...
photo: AP / New Zealand Herald, Dean Purcell
|  | A western armada is not the way to sink Somalia's pirates
The Guardian
These fishermen-turned-hijackers are best tackled by local fleets - and by targeting poachers of the stock they used to catch The seizure of the Saudi supertanker this week by the pirates of Somalia was their most audacious attack to date, but it was not their first. The pirates hit the headlines a little over three years ago, on November 5 2005, when they attempted to hijack the cruise liner Seabourn Spirit some 75 nautical miles off the coast...
photo: US Navy / MCS2 Jason R. Zalasky
|  | An invitation to leave Iraq? Gladly accepted
The News Tribune
Iraqi officials reportedly drove a hard bargain on the U.S. withdrawal they've just negotiated with American diplomats. To which we say: Let them take advantage of us as much as they want, if it gets our troops out of Iraq more quickly. The proposed new security pact - which was approved Sunday by the Iraqi cabinet - calls for a complete pullout of American forces by the end of...
photo: US Navy / Petty Officer 2nd Class Todd Frantom
|  | Suspected U.S. strike kills 5 militants in Pakistan
Canada Dot Com
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five suspected militants, possibly including an Arab al Qaeda operative, intelligence officials said. The al Qaeda fighter was identified as Abdullah Azam al-Saudi by an intelligence official based in Dera Ismail Khan, hours after the missile attack in Janikhel tribal area of neighboring Bannu district in...
photo: AP / Sherin Zada
|  | Taliban spurn Afghan president's offer for talks
The Guardian
By NOOR KHAN Associated Press Writer= KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Taliban militants rejected an offer of peace talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, saying Monday there would be no negotiations until foreign troops leave Afghanistan. Karzai offered Sunday to provide security for reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar if he enters negotiations and said the U.S. and other Western nations could leave Afghanistan or oust him if they disagree. But...
photo: AP / Riaz Khan
|  | Miliband urges pirates to release crew
The Independent
Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for the immediate release of the hijacked crew of a giant oil tanker - including two Britons - after the vessel anchored off the coast of Somalia. Mr Miliband said the problem of piracy was "a grave danger to the stability in the region". His remarks came as it emerged pirates had captured two other vessels in separate incidents - bringing the number of ships seized in the area to eight in the past two...
photo: AP / Hussein Malla
|  | Zim creates PM post
Independent online (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's rival parties have drafted a constitutional amendment creating the post of prime minister, which opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is supposed to fill under a power-sharing deal, the government said on Tuesday. Information Minister...
photo: AP
|  | Georgia calls on EU for independent inquiry into war
The Guardian
Georgia yesterday called for an independent inquiry into who started the war between it and Russia in August; amid claims by the Kremlin that the western media now accepts that Georgia was the aggressor. Georgia's ambassador to the UN, Irakli Alasania, asked the EU on Monday to carry out a "very thorough" international investigation into the five-day conflict. Georgia was willing to provide "all" information including "classified material" to...
photo: AP / Bela Szandelszky
| Health News  | Texas County Indicts Cheney, Gonzales
CBS News
Charges Against Vice President Relate To Investment In Private Prison Companies McALLEN, Texas, Nov. 19, 2008 E-Mail Story Print Story Sphere Share Text Size: A A A Vice President Cheney's spokesman declined to comment on the indictment in a South Texas county. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)RelatedInteractive Second In Command A closer look at Vice President Dick Cheney's career and his much-publicized health problems. Photo Essay Alberto...
photo: White House/David Bohrer
|  | Canola oil can save mom's life
Independent online (SA)
Washington - Replacing corn oil with canola oil may lower cancer risk not only for women, but for their unborn babies, US researchers reported on Tuesday. They found that mice fed canola oil while pregnant were less likely to develop breast cancer - and so were their unborn pups - than mice fed corn oil. The findings are likely because of omega 6 fatty acids, the researchers...
photo: WN/Patricia
|  | Behind the scenes of bombshell Scarlett Johansson's smouldering new photoshoot
The Daily Mail
Scarlett Johansson looked every inch a modern day bombshell in a behind the scenes sneak peek at her latest smouldering photoshoot. The Hollywood screen siren slipped into a series of seductive outfits for the December issue of Allure magazine, including an Agent Provocateur bustier and a leopard print body suit. Bombshell: Scarlett Johansson prepares for a fashion shoot for the December issue of Allure magazine Siren: Scarlett's look was...
photo: public domain /
|  | Fluoride in Drinking Water may Negatively Affect Health of Fetuses and Infants
Infowars
Reuben Chow Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 Did you know that fluoride in our water supplies is the only chemical added for a specific medical purpose, i.e. to prevent tooth decay? All other chemicals are added for treatment purposes, to improve the quality and safety of tap water. And an expert has voiced his concerns over the potential negative impact of fluoride in drinking water on the health of fetuses and infants. Dr Vyvyan Howard is a medical...
photo: WN / Sweet Radoc
|  | Melamine found in powdered milk
News24
Hanoi - Vietnamese health inspectors found melamine in samples taken from five tons of powdered milk imported from China, raising the number of melamine-tainted products found in the country to 33, health officials said on Wednesday. Nguyen Thi Hiep, deputy director of the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, said the chemical used in making plastics was found in a milk sample sent by GBCO Production and Trade Company, located in Ho Chi Minh...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | Ecuadorean Dwarfs May Unlock Cancer Clues
ABC News
Reporter's Notebook By JEFFREY KOFMAN BALSAS, Ecuador, Nov. 19, 2008 FONT SIZE My left hand grabs the car seat, my right hand firmly clasps the handle above the passenger door inside our rented 4-by-4. We are bouncing our way up a deeply rutted road, passing banana trees and grazing donkeys. A population of dwarfs in Equador is helping scientists understand the origins of cancer. (Jeffrey Kofman/ABC News) This is remote, rural southern Ecuador. A...
photo: AP Photo / Fernando Llano
|  | Cranberry Oatmeal Chews a healthy treat
Kansas City Star
Cranberry Oatmeal Chews are a trans fat-free morsel just the right size for snacking. Everyone needs a nosh now and then. Unfortunately, many commercially baked cookies, crackers, cakes, muffins and pastries contain trans fat. Trans fats are created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated, a process that gives margarines and shortenings a fluffier consistency. Hydrogenated vegetable oils give baked goods a tender crumb and help extend their shelf...
photo: AP Photo
| Politics News  | Obama urged to build partnership with Pakistan
Dawn
By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, Nov 18: The incoming Obama administration has been advised to bring a dramatic strategic shift in US policy towards Pakistan, moving away from knee-jerk reactions to security threats to building a partnership for progress with the South Asian nation. The new approach, proposed by a think-tank headed by Barack Obamas chief adviser, also seeks greater US involvement in resolving regional disputes. The study argues...
photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
|  | Boris Johnson offers funding to councils to scrap speed bumps
The Guardian
Mayor of London issues letter to capital's 32 boroughs urging them to find alternatives to encourage people out of cars Boris Johnson is offering funding to councils to get rid of speed bumps, which he claims are a "lazy way" of slowing down speed. The mayor of London has issued a letter to the capital's 32 boroughs urging them to find alternatives to speed bumps or to "use fewer, where possible". Johnson...
photo: AP / Akira Suemori
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