| World News  | Ukraine calls for independent Church in spat with Moscow
Turkish Press
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (R) and Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew attend a ceremony in central Kiev. Ukraine's president on Saturday asked the head of Orthodox Christianity to bless the creation of a Ukrainian Church independent of Russia, raising the stakes in a simmering spat with Moscow. (AFP/POOL) Ukraine's president on Saturday asked the head of Orthodox Christianity to bless the creation of a Ukrainian Church independent of...
photo: GFDL
|  | Qantas jet drama 'due to oxygen explosion'
The Times
INVESTIGATORS are focusing on the possibility that exploding oxygen tanks were responsible for blowing a gaping hole in the fuselage of a Qantas Boeing 747 plane at 29,000ft. A team from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found debris scattered through the cargo hold from two oxygen tanks holding a two-hour emergency supply for the pilots. The roof above them appears to have been pushed up by the force of an explosion. Investigators are...
photo: AP / Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Edwin Llobrera
|  | Gordon Brown's quaking now
The Times
It may have been only a momentary loss of balance, but Gordon Brown's stumble as he approached the stage seemed to sum up his enfeebled premiership: even putting one foot in front of the other is now fraught with risk. It was Friday and he was about to give Labour's national policy forum in Warwick his response to the catastrophic overnight news that the party had lost the Glasgow East by-election. This was his chance to show he was still fit to...
photo: AP / Yves Logghe
|  | 29 killed as blasts hit western India: Official
The Miami Herald
AHMADABAD, India -- At least 29 people were killed and 88 wounded when a series of small explosions hit the western Indian city of Ahmadabad on Saturday, a top official said, a day after seven similar blasts struck a southern city. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat state where Ahmadabad is located, said at least 16 bombs went off Saturday evening in several neighborhoods of the busy city. Modi called the blasts "a crime against...
photo: AP /
|  | MPs campaign to make Jack Straw prime minister
The Times
POWERFUL cabinet ministers who see themselves as potential successors to Gordon Brown are secretly plotting against him despite public protestations of loyalty. Even as Brown met yesterday at No 10 with Barack Obama, the visiting US Democratic presidential candidate, the prime minister was an increasingly isolated figure whose days in office are now being measured in weeks. Senior MPs are running a campaign on behalf of Jack Straw, the justice...
photo: AP / Dave Thompson
|  | End Of The Obama Affair
CBS News
This column was written by Gabriel Sherman.Around midnight on July 16, New York Times chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney received a terse e-mail from Barack Obama's press office. The campaign was irked by the Times' latest poll and Nagourney and Megan Thee's accompanying front-page piece titled "Poll Finds Obama Isn't Closing Divide on Race," which was running in the morning's paper. Nagourney answered the query, the substance of which...
photo: AP / Kirsty Wigglesworth
|  | Sleaze scuppers Democrat golden boy
The Times
SCRATCH John Edwards off the list of potential vice-presidential candidates. The former White House contender, who had been hoping to get the nod from Barack Obama, is in the midst of a full-blown sex scandal. Every supermarket shopper knows that the preternaturally youthful former senator for North Carolina may have fathered a love child with a film-maker while Elizabeth, his saintly wife, is dying of cancer. There are sensational new details on...
photo: AP / Jim Slosiarek
|  | Liar who led his nation to ruin
The Times
THE fog of war in Bosnia often made it difficult to distinguish between hero and villain. However, in the case of Radovan Karadzic, the psychiatrist, poet and musician with a silvery mane of hair who became notorious as the Bosnian Serb political leader, it was never in doubt. Only his deluded Bosnian Serb devotees who used to clear the way for him in the streets of Pale, the capital of his unrecognised Bosnian Serb republic, saw him as a...
photo: AP / Darko Vojinovic
|  | Government must establish bioethics rules
Daily Yomiuri
Three decades have passed since the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization, but a pile of thorny questions remain to be answered regarding ethical principles for auxiliary reproductive medicine. Given the gravity of the problem, there should be a permanent governmental organ for collecting relevant information and deliberating possible legislation. Brown's birth in Oldham, England, on July 25, 1978,...
photo: AP
| Business News  | US and Dubai markets seek new trading range
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: After last week's 11 per cent decline, crude markets in both New York and the Dubai Merc's Oman benchmark continued to drift lower. Markets were seeking a new trading range, beginning with what might be the nearby bottom. Support came at just above the psychologically important price of $120/bbl for WTI and Oman, which is selling for less of a discount to New...
photo: AP / Hasan Jamali
|  | New boss Andrew Witty revamps Glaxo Smith Kline
The Times
HE has been in charge for two months, but Andrew Witty, the new chief executive of Glaxo Smith Kline, Europe's biggest drugs company, is already trying to turn the business on its head. One of his first decisions has been to do this in an almost literal way. He is moving the directors and senior managers out of their suite on the top floor of the group's imposing west London headquarters and into a newly created space next to the staff coffee...
photo: Creative Commons / KTo288
|  | Toyota to hike price of Prius, luxury models in Japan
Daily Yomiuri
Toyota Motor Corp. has begun discussions on raising retail prices of its hybrid engine-powered Prius and luxury models in Japan in response to rising steel product and other material prices, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday. Toyota plans to make a final decision on which models will see price increases, and by how much, in August and will increase retail prices by the end of this year. According to sources, the prices will be raised by 1...
photo: Public Domain / IFCAR
|  | Investing abroad is right decision to ensure food supply
Gulf News
It is suggested that rising food prices is responsible for about 30 per cent of inflationary pressures encircling the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). To be sure, all GCC countries are suffering from inflation, though Qatar and the UAE stand out as being the worst hit. Inflation rates stood at 14 per cent and 11 per cent in Qatar and the UAE in 2007, respectively. By one account, prices of foodstuff had increased by some 75 per...
photo: Creative Commons / Art-top
|  | Dubai's exports and imports soar
Gulf News
Dubai: Dubai has seen almost 50 per cent increase in imports and exports and 91 per cent rise in re-export within one year, officials said. Mahmoud Al Bastaki, director of Dubai Trade, an online trading portal, told Gulf News that second quarter 2008 imports totalled Dh166 billion, a 54 per cent increase from second quarter 2007. Export...
photo: WN
|  | UAE banks beat profit estimates
Gulf News
Dubai: Leading UAE banks are reporting strong first-half profits defying the global trend and analysts' expectations. In the beginning of this month Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Emirates NBD - the largest regional bank by assets - said that the UAE banks would report profits in the range of 30 to 45 per cent. So far, most leading UAE-based banks have reported profits in this range or more. Banking industry analysts said the UAE...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
| Entertainment News  | Oh, to be Naomi Watts
The Times
No wonder Naomi Watts looks radiant. She hasn't worked in ". . . months", she breathes, her wide blue eyes growing wider. "I've really slowed down, turned down a lot of stuff. This" - she motions to the suite at the HÔtel de Crillon in Paris, where she is being crimped and powdered for her launch as the new face of Thierry Mugler's perfume Angel - "is basically the only work I've done all year. It's been really nice; the timing has been perfect....
photo: APphoto
|  | Spears child custody deal agreed
BBC News
US singer Britney Spears and her former husband Kevin Federline have agreed their child custody settlement. Ms Spears will increase payments to Mr Federline from $15,000 to $20,000 a month, according...
photo: AP Photo/Hermann J. Knippertz
|  | Class Act
Irish Times
INTERVIEW: Movies that feature strong women are "as rare as hen's teeth right now", according to Jessica Lange, but that hasn't stopped the two-time Oscar winner from picking out the interesting, rewarding parts, writes Michael Dwyer CHOSEN AS the closing presentation of Galway Film Fleadh last week, Bonneville features three middle-aged American women in a car, the old convertible that gives the movie its title, going on a cross-country trip...
photo: AP
|  | Complex women add dimension to AMC's 'Mad Men'
Knox News
HOLLYWOOD - In its first season, "Mad Men," AMC's series about a group of guys on Madison Avenue, received critical raves for its finely drawn portraits of the employees of Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. Set in 1960, it focused on Don Draper, a glamorous up-and-comer with a double life and a secret past, and the smart, politically incorrect men around him. But watching from a different perspective, there's a whole different story going on....
photo: AP
|  | Crows' Duritz rises from depths with tour, new CD
The Charlotte Observer
After years of struggle with mental illness, he says he's proud of his band's recent success. By Courtney Devores Special to the Observer Charlotte is the third stop on nationwide tour for Counting Crows, Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday. WHERE: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 707 Pavilion Blvd. TICKETS: $23.50-$126. DETAILS: 704-522-6500; www.ticketmaster.com. After a harrowing period that found singer Adam Duritz in the depths of...
photo: AP
|  | Weeds marathon revisits 2nd season
Canada Dot Com
SATURDAY The story of a young widowed mom trying to make ends meet isn't really a new one in the television world. But there's a lot more to that story when it comes to the offbeat plot lines that surface in Weeds.BAD GIRL: Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker attends a party July 18 in Hollywood, Calif.David Livingston, Getty Images The made-for-cable comedy-drama casts the entrancing Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, a suburban soccer mom whose...
photo: AP
|  | Paris bakes cookies?
Toronto Sun
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Baking cookies? That's hot! We're paraphrasing, of course, but Paris Hilton says she's no longer the omnipresent dirt magnet and party girl our world has come to know/love/resent/envy/hate. "I feel like I'm really grown up. I'm an adult now," the 27-year-old heiress said during a sit-down with Sun Media. "I'm in a really great relationship and in love, so I stay home a lot." Hilton the love-struck homebody? Slaving over a...
photo: AP Photo / Markus Schreiber)
|  | The daily dish... a spicy serving of celebrity news
Buffalo News
Wedded bliss ... All's well with the marriage of Guy Ritchie and Madonna, the film director tells People - "as far as I'm aware of," he added with a smile. A relaxed and cheerful Ritchie, 39, joined the cast of his upcoming directorial effort "RocknRolla" at the San Diego International Comic-Con. Joined by his film's co-stars Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges to show scenes and sign autographs, Ritchie also spoke about how...
photo: AP
| Health News  | Water 'detox' robbed me of my wife
The Daily Mail
Last week a court awarded Dawn Page £810,000 after a diet of six pints of water a day caused brain damage. Here her distraught husband tells how their lives have been destroyed - and warns that anyone can set up as a ‘nutritional therapist’. When Dawn Page breaks into her blue-eyed, crinkly-faced smile, it’s just possible to see the person she once must have been. Particularly as Dawn smiles a lot – even if she does not...
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo
|  | Majority of Americans with health insurance are on medication
Buffalo News
Madeline Davis is like so many other Americans when it comes to her health. For years, the Williamsville resident has been taking prescription medications for myriad chronic conditions. In her 20s, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure, a condition that runs in her family. She also has asthma and allergies. And by 2000, she had become borderline diabetic. "[Doctors] put me on meds right away. I was a mess. When I found out I was borderline...
photo: AP/Carlos Osorio
|  | Artificial pancreas just years away, experts agree
Scientific American
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters) - Researchers working on an artificial pancreas believe they are just a few years away from a nearly carefree way for people with diabetes to monitor blood and inject insulin as needed. They believe they can link two current technologies -- continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pumps -- into a seamless package. Such a mechanical pancreas could greatly reduce the need for...
photo: public domain
|  | No. 2 cause of death for youths is suicide: DOH
Taipei Times
Suicide is the second most common cause of death among teenagers, the Department of Health said yesterday at a campaign activity to raise public awareness of the issue. At the activity in Taipei’s Ximen Pedestrian Area, the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center (TSPC) joined forces with the Sun-yang Social Welfare Foundation and Taipei’s health bureau to raise awareness of the warning signs and how to prevent teen suicides. The department founded the...
photo: Social Movements (Set) / public domain
|  | TV, video games not related to nightmares: study
Canada Dot Com
Television and computer games aren't to blame for dark dreams about things that go bump in the night, according to a new study that finds no link between children's viewing or gaming habits and their nightmares. The research debunks popular wisdom as well as previous studies in which parents and children reported that frightening dreams were triggered by TV programs. "We found no correlation between the amount of TV watching and computer game...
photo: WN / Sweet Radoc
|  | Could water really have a memory?
BBC News
The news that the number of prescriptions for homeopathic medicines written by GPs in England has nearly halved in just two years coincides with the 20th anniversary of a seminal scientific paper on the subject. Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1988, the science world was rocked by one of the most controversial research papers ever published in the highly-respected journal Nature. According to a charismatic French scientist named Jacques...
photo: WN / Sweet Radoc
|  | National law to limit under-age drinking
Sydney Morning Herald
THE Federal Government plans to unify laws across all states and territories to control the supply of alcohol to minors but has ruled out banning young people aged 18 to 21 from buying alcohol from bottle shops. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said there were no plans to introduce a British-style ban on under-21s buying alcohol from liquor stores and supermarkets, a move about to be introduced in parts of England and Scotland. The Government's...
photo: Public domain /
|  | Hospital car parking fine warning
BBC News
A two-hour time limit will be imposed on patients using the free car park at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, with those staying longer facing a £70 fine. The new rules have been brought in to try to stop people abusing the free parking for shopping and commuting. Patient groups welcomed the free car parking but warned many hospital appointments can run over two hours. But the hospital assured patients that if this happened, any fine would be cancelled....
photo: Creative Commons / Mikereichold
| Politics News  | McCain buys ad on troop visit -
Yahoo Daily News
Mike Allen Sat Jul 26, 12:09 PM ET Signaling a new aggressiveness, aides to Sen. John McCain (D-Ariz.) said Saturday that he is going up immediately with an ad called "Troops" criticizing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for canceling plans to visit wounded troops at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. The 30-second ad is to run during NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in Denver. Colorado is one of this election's most...
photo: DoD/Cherie A. Thurlby
|  | McCain camp: Obama shortchanged injured troops
Syracuse
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican John McCain's campaign on Saturday sharply criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama for canceling a visit to wounded troops in Germany, contending Obama chose foreign leaders and cheering Europeans over "injured American heroes." Obama's campaign called the accusation "wildly inappropriate." His spokesman has claimed that the visit to a military hospital in Germany was scrapped after the Pentagon raised concerns about...
photo: Jamal Penjweny
|  | Obama defends foreign tour
TVNZ
Jul 27, 2008 8:18 AM US presidential candidate Barack Obama, wrapping up an overseas tour where he got a rock star reception, defended his decision to take the trip despite mixed signals about its impact on his popularity at home. "I am convinced that many of the issues we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad," the Democratic senator told reporters in London on Saturday after meeting British...
photo: AP / Jae C. Hong
|  | Admit you're the problem, Labour peer tells Gordon Brown
Belfast Telegraph
Pressure continued to mount on beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night as high- profile Labour supporters questioned his future. Cabinet colleagues sprang to his defence with Chancellor Alistair Darling warning against "chopping and changing leaders" and insisting Mr Brown was still the best person to lead the party. But Lord Desai called for the Prime Minister to "admit he is the problem" and...
photo: WN / Jamal Penjweny
|  | Cambodians Go to Polls Amid Border Row
ABC News
By KER MUNTHIT Associated Press Writer PHNOM PENH, Cambodia July 26, 2008 (AP) The Associated Press FONT SIZE Supporters of Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party stand on a truck during the... Supporters of Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party stand on a truck during the last day of national elections campaign in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, July 25, 2008. Cambodia is scheduled to hold its election on July...
photo: AP / Heng Sinith
|  | Allies give President morale booster before SONA
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines -- Smarting from plunging trust and approval ratings, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo got a much-needed confidence booster -- if only from her own allies -- on the eve of her State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. Around 130 administration congressmen threw a 'solidarity fellowship' in support of the embattled leader Friday night, promising their 'grateful' leader that they would 'remain committed and will continue...
photo: OPS-NIB / Roberto Canilang
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