| World News  | French leader: Israel, Palestinians OK Gaza plan
Houston Chronicle
PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinian Authority have accepted an Egyptian-French plan for Gaza. Sarkozy made no mention of Hamas, the group that controls Gaza and is fighting with Israel, and an Israeli government spokesman stopped short of endorsing the plan. The French president said in a statement issued upon his return from the Middle East that he "strongly welcomes the acceptance by Israel...
photo: AP / Gerard Cerles, Pool
|  | Gas cut: How Europe is coping
BBC News
Many European countries have been hit by a sudden cut in Russian gas supplies, as sub-zero temperatures coincide with a Russian-Ukrainian row over energy prices. The impact has been felt especially severely in the Balkans. Most of the countries affected are in the European Union. How are they coping? AUSTRIA No more Russian natural gas is being delivered to Austria, the country's energy group OMV says. Deliveries had already plunged by about 90%...
photo: AP / Ronald Zak
|  | UN warned of South Sudan violence
BBC News
The UN must boost its peacekeepers' mandate in Sudan to protect civilians amid fears political violence could erupt in the south, says an aid agency. Refugees International warns fighting could flare in the next two years due to polls and a referendum on separating southern Sudan from the north. Relations...
photo: UN / Tim McKulka
|  | Frenetic UN diplomacy over Gaza
BBC News
As the Israeli offensive in Gaza ended its 11th day, foreign ministers from the key powers arrived in New York for a 48-hour period of frenetic diplomacy. The attack by Israeli planes close to a UN school in Gaza, which left 30 dead, only served to underline the importance of reaching agreement on a ceasefire. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke more in sorrow than in anger when he told foreign ministers: "I have called for an immediate end to...
photo: UN / Eskinder Debebe
|  | Satyam chief resigns over inflated profits
International Herald Tribune
: Shares in Satyam Computer Services, a leading Indian software company that counts numerous Fortune 500 companies among its clients, plummeted 70 percent on Wednesday after its chairman resigned amid major accounting irregularities that shocked the Indian business community and threatens to shake the country's reputation as a place to do business. Ramalinga Raju tendered his resignation after revealing that the...
photo: AP / Mahesh Kumar A, File
|  | Israel to pause Gaza bombardment
BBC News
Israel says it will halt its bombardment of the Gaza Strip for three hours every day. The decision follows an announcement by Israel that it had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to allow in vital supplies. It comes as pressure is building on Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal backed by the UN and the US. The plan, proposed by Egypt and France, calls for an immediate ceasefire. Aid agencies...
photo: AP / Sebastian Scheiner
|  | Sudan says Darfur rebels would attack over Bashir
Taipei Times
11TH HOUR: US President George W. Bush said the airlift of equipment for humanitarian efforts in Darfur is a move intended to help save lives with aid The Sudanese government accused Darfur rebels on Monday of planning to launch attacks if Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir were indicted for war crimes and said that would bring a new round of bloodshed. Sudan has been trying to head off a possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant...
photo: AP / Alfred de Montesquiou
| Business News  | Desert spiders, snails, plants, insects won't get federal protection
Business Journal
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected an environmental group’s petition to include 270 desert creatures and plants on federal endangered species lists. Arlington, Va.-based NatureServe asked the federal agency to look at 450 desert spiders, snails, plants and insects for protections. The agency reported Tuesday that it had examined 270 of those requests and determined those species did not warrant special protection. A number of...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | Govt issues dollar bonds
The Manila Times
By Maricel E. Burgonio, Reporter The government launched this year's first dollar-denominated bond offering on Wednesday to fund its increasing capital expenditures to caution the effects of the global financial crisis, a Bureau of Treasury official said. National Treasurer Roberto Tan said the government sold 10-year bonds to offshore investors as part of its foreign borrowing program of $1.5 billion this year. The official did not give details...
photo: WN/Patricia
|  | Arkansas Farm Bureau backs animal cruelty bill
Kansas City Star
Related: More News The Arkansas Farm Bureau has announced it will back legislation to make aggravated animal cruelty a felony on first offense, reversing its opposition to past efforts to stiffen the state's animal cruelty penalties. The group, which represents 227,000 farmers in the state, said its board of directors voted Tuesday to support animal cruelty legislation being backed by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. The proposal, which McDaniel...
photo: Public Domain / -
|  | Intel's miss weighs on Microsoft shares
Syracuse
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Shares of Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, sank Wednesday after chip maker Intel Corp. said fourth-quarter sales missed already lowered expectations. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft's stock fell 57 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $20.19 in late morning trading. Intel slashed its sales forecast for the quarter by $300 million in November. On Wednesday, the Santa...
photo: creative commons
|  | Putin orders complete halt to Ukraine gas shipments
Houston Chronicle
MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ordered Gazprom to stop all shipments of natural gas to Europe through Ukraine. Russian gas is already not getting through the pipelines that cross Ukraine. Gazprom has blamed Ukraine, saying Russia has delivered the gas but Ukraine has shut down the pipelines and is stealing gas intended for Europe. Ukraine insists that Russia stopped supplying the gas this morning. Putin told Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller...
photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office /
|  | Apprenticeships for burger staff
Ananova
Fast food giant McDonald's is to give staff the chance to take up an apprenticeship in running a burger bar. The firm said it aims to offer the training scheme to up to 6,000 members of its 72,000-strong workforce this year, and up to 10,000 each year from 2010. It comes exactly a year after McDonald's...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Wal-Mart names new head of international division
The Wichita Eagle
(0) The Associated Press BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, on Wednesday named the president and CEO of its Sam's Club warehouse division to fill the same roles at its international unit. Doug McMillon, 42, fills the spot in the company's second-largest operating segment left by Mike Duke, who was tapped in late November to succeed...
photo: GFDL File / Jared C. Benedict
|  | UK retailer Marks & Spencer to cut 1,230 jobs
Philadelphia Daily News
JENNIFER QUINN The Associated Press LONDON - British retail industry stalwart Marks & Spencer Group PLC said Wednesday it will cut 1,230 jobs and close 27 of its stores in a drive to reduce costs as the retail sector continues to struggle. Chairman Stuart Rose said in a statement the company , Britain's largest clothing retailer , had its biggest trading day ever Dec. 23, selling more than 50 million pounds ($74 million) of goods. But that didn't...
photo: WN / RTayco
|  | NZ King Salmon sees sales leap 30pc
NZ Herald
A leap in December salmon sales in this country by the New Zealand King Salmon Co could point to a change in New Zealanders' Christmas eating habits. The company yesterday said its New Zealand sales last month were 30 per cent ahead of December 2007,...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
| Entertainment News  | Jenny McCarthy hits the beach in a stripey bikini as she soaks up the sun ...
The Daily Mail
Jenny McCarthy showed off her figure in a stunning striped bikini yesterday as she continued her Hawaiian holiday with partner Jim Carrey. The 35-year-old blended in with fellow sunbathers as she lounged on the beach alone in a white sun hat and blue and white two-piece swimsuit. Actress Jenny McCarthy looked stunning in a blue and white striped bikini as she continued her Hawaiian holiday The 35-year-old lounged on the beach alone after putting...
photo: AP/Matt Sayles
|  | Arquette files for divorce
News24
Los Angeles - Actress Patricia Arquette has filed for divorce from her husband Thomas Jane, court records showed on Tuesday. The 40-year-old Emmy-winning star of US television series Medium and cult movie True Romance married Jane in June 2006 and the couple have a five-year-old daughter together. In papers filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, Arquette cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Arquette was previously...
photo: AP / Jim Cooper
|  | Brangelina to adopt 4th child
News24
Los Angeles - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are reportedly set to adopt another Ethiopian child. The couple - who already have three biological children Shiloh, two, six-month-old twins Knox and Vivienne, and three adopted children, Cambodian Maddox, seven, Pax, five, from Vietnam and four-year-old Ethiopian girl Zahara - are planning to jet to Africa before the end of January to complete paperwork on the new addition to their family. "Brad and...
photo: AP Photo / Francois Mori
|  | Ascentium Earns Rare International Microsoft Accreditation
The Examiner
Distributed by Press Release EMAIL ARTICLE PRINT ARTICLE SEATTLE (Map) - SEATTLE, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascentium Corporation, a leading digital agency, is pleased to announce its recent accreditation as a Microsoft Business Value Planning Services (BVPS) provider. The award-winning company is the first Systems Integrator in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to receive BVPS certification. Ascentium is also among a select few of Microsoft...
photo: AP / Elaine Thompson
|  | How Kate Winslet Could Win An Oscar
Fox News
How Kate Winslet Could Win An Oscar | More About Josh Brolin’s Broadway Debut | Prince Returns; Entertainment Weakly How Kate Winslet Could Win An Oscar Attention voters for both the Oscars and the SAG awards: did you know you don’t have to vote for actors in the categories for which studios advertise them? In plain English: you can elevate an actor from supporting to lead or send a lead down to supporting at your own discretion. This...
photo: GNU / Caroline Bonarde
|  | Enslaving the Amazon
The Times
Images of ants both open and close this wonderful book. In the early chapters the unforgettable opening scene of Werner Herzog's historically inaccurate but utterly compelling film Aguirre: Wrath of God is evoked - columns of soldiers and bearers descending ant-like down the Andes towards the Amazon river to attempt the search for the mythical riches of El Dorado. The closing chapter describes the incredible richness of organisms found in the...
photo: AP Photo / Dado Galdieri
|  | Down home with Warren Buffett
The Times
At first this seems an inflated book. Over 900 pages about a man who loves money so much that he has no interest in religion, the arts, literature, science, travel, partisan politics, his surroundings or fine living. Before the global recession (which reduced his fortune by around $16.5 billion), Warren Buffett was said to be the richest man on earth, with an estimated net worth of $62.3 billion in March 2008. But he lives in a house in Omaha,...
photo: AP / Daniel Roland
| Health News  | Higher death rate among girls linked to liberal liquor laws
NZ Herald
The struggling health sector took another knock in November with news that the death rate for teenage girls had risen. Alcohol was the main culprit. All other age and gender groups registered declining death rates in Statistics New Zealand's latest life tables, continuing a gradual lengthening of the human lifespan that dates back to the origins of modern medicine in the early years of the Industrial Revolution. But this time there was an...
photo: WN / patricia
|  | Losing weight, saying 'yes' in 2009
CNN
By Elizabeth Landau CNN (CNN) -- In April, at age 34, Giyen Kim dropped a 60-hour-a-week job to follow her childhood dream of becoming a writer. Now, she's primed to clear her next personal hurdles: making money from writing, and losing weight. "I made a lot of changes last year and I just really started to focus on the things that were important to me, my passions, and just really flipped my life upside down," she said. "When this year came...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Treat Yourself to Better Nutrition
The Examiner
Distributed by Press Release EMAIL ARTICLE PRINT ARTICLE BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (Map) - Kellogg Company Raises the Bar on Nutrition with its New Kellogg's FiberPlus(TM) Antioxidants Bars BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- While less than 10 percent of Americans are consuming the recommended levels of fiber each day, fiber is only one of today's top nutrition concerns for Americans(1). Research shows that consumers are also seeking to add...
photo: WN / Hana Kotulanova
|  | Rudd Government faces high-energy food fight
The Australian
VEGEMITE, blue cheese and traditional jams and preserves could be forced off grocery shelves if a government taskforce wins Canberra's support for new limits on salt, fat and sugar content. The Australian Food and Grocery Council has launched an offensive against the Rudd Government's preventive health taskforce, challenging its credibility over fat taxes and other proposals it says could make the obesity problem worse. A submission...
photo: WN/Patricia
|  | Framingham airs marijuana restrictions
The Boston Globe
FRAMINGHAM - Officials last night took an initial step toward making Framingham the first town in the state to ban smoking marijuana in public. The Board of Health detailed at its hearing last night how it wants to add smoking marijuana in restaurants, offices, or other public places to the town's antismoking ordinance, which...
photo: GFDL / Specious
|  | Ambulance targets missed again
BBC News
The performance of the ambulance service in Wales is continuing to deteriorate according to the latest statistics. In November 2008, 57.1% of Category A emergencies received a response within the eight minute target - down 1.6% on the previous...
photo: WN / Minakumari
|  | New push for nurses to take doctors' roles
The Australian
A RAPIDLY expanding chain of private clinics has applied for permission to run a pilot scheme under which prescriptions written by nurses would qualify for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidies. The Revive Clinic chain, staffed entirely by highly trained nurse practitioners, has also sought federal government permission for its consultations to be covered by Medicare -- a demand likely to infuriate the doctors lobby. The groundbreaking plan,...
photo: creative commons
|  | Mississippi Has Highest Teen Birth Rate, CDC Says
CBS News
Mississippi Passes Texas And New Mexico To Become State With Highest Teen Birth Rate, CDC Says ATLANTA, Jan. 7, 2009 E-Mail Story Print Story Sphere Share Text Size: A A A (AP) (AP) Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report released Wednesday. Mississippi's rate was more than 60 percent higher than the national average in 2006, the...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
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