| World News  | McCain: Staff shake-up part of 'natural evolution'
The Guardian
By BETH FOUHY Associated Press Writer MEXICO CITY (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a ``natural evolution'' as the organization becomes more national in scope. McCain's campaign announced Wednesday that top adviser Steve Schmidt would assume a broad portfolio of duties, with nearly full control over message and strategy. Schmidt will report to Rick...
photo: AP / LM Otero
|  | Nikkei edges down, sentiment remains gloomy
The Guardian
(Adds stocks, details) *Nikkei takes aim at 12-day losing streak, longest since 1954 *High-tech shares slide after falls in U.S. peers *Trade thin, U.S. markets closed By Elaine Lies TOKYO, July 4 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average edged down 0.3 percent on Friday, taking aim at the longest losing streak in more than half a century, with high-tech shares such as Tokyo Electron Ltd sinking in the face of general economic pessimism. Paper...
photo: AP / Itsuo Inouye
|  | PML-N distances itself from oil price decision
Dawn
By Amir Wasim ISLAMABAD, July 3: The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) on Thursday distanced itself from the governments recent decisions of increasing prices of petroleum products and launching operation in tribal areas. When we are (Pakistan Peoples Partys) coalition partner and supporting them then why did they not take us into confidence on important national issues? PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said. Talking to...
photo: AP Photo/B.K.Bangash
|  | A surprised France prepares a welcome
International Herald Tribune
: A jubilant France prepared Thursday to welcome Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician freed on Wednesday after six years of captivity by rebels in the Colombian jungle, while officials in Paris said that that the French government, which has kept her case high on its agenda, played no direct role in her liberation and was apprised of the Columbian initiative only in a general way. "We were not expecting that particular moment," said...
photo: AP / William Fernando Martinez
|  | Obama Says Iraq Trip Could Refine His Policy
ABC News
By JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer FARGO, N.D. July 3, 2008 (AP) The Associated Press FONT SIZE Sen. Barack Obama is headed to Iraq and he says his trip may imact his plan to bring U.S. troops home within 16 months. (ABC News Photo Illustration) Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to...
photo: Creative Commons / Ragesoss
|  | Former Thai premier cannot leave country
Newsday
BANGKOK, Thailand - Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faces a slew of court cases, has been barred from leaving the country by order of the Supreme Court, a court official said Friday. Thaksin and his wife Pojaman are due to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of abuse of power and conflict of interest in the purchase of prime Bangkok real estate during his term....
photo: AP / Vincent Yu
|  | Bush Wants to See Commitment From N.Korea
Chosunilbo
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday speculated North Korean leader Kim Jong-il “is tired of being isolated in the world... and would try to advance his country in a way that makes it easier for the people to have a better life." Bush was commenting on Pyongyang’s recent more...
photo: White House / Eric Draper
| Business News  | Vodafone buys majority stake in Ghana phone group for £450m
The Guardian
· Mobile use rising by 50% a year in African nation · Ghana Telecom has 90% of country's broadband Vodafone has snapped up a controlling stake in Ghana's third-largest mobile phone company for $900m (£450m) as the world's largest mobile phone operator continues to hunt for growth in emerging markets. It acquired the 70% stake in Ghana Telecommunications, also the country's largest fixed-line operator, from the government as part...
photo: WN/Patricia
|  | American Airlines to cut about 6,800 jobs
Kansas City Star
American Airlines, the nation's biggest carrier, could eliminate more than 6,800 jobs later this year as the industry tries to survive record fuel costs. A union official at American's overhaul base in Kansas City said the nature of the work here may protect most of the local work force from the job cuts. AMR Corp., the parent of American and regional carrier American Eagle, said that it will cut domestic service 11 to 12 percent by the fourth...
photo: creative commons / kurmbox
|  | Airlines: BA traffic down 3.7% as fuel surcharge hits business flyers
The Guardian
British Airways added to the turmoil in the airline industry yesterday by confirming that a deterioration in traffic had accelerated in June. It said a 0.7% dip in traffic in May had become a fall of 3.7% in June, with the highly profitable business-class segment falling by 3.1% - a marked deterioration on May's figures, which showed a fall of less than 1% in premium traffic. The worsening sales outlook indicated that a significant increase in...
photo: GFDL / My name
|  | Ronda Templeton: Women want more time and money
Express News
Survey shows half of working females would take a second job if their lives allowed it. On this Fourth of July, American women are celebrating our nation's freedom. America's working women - the ones lucky enough to have the day off - also are celebrating an all-too-brief respite from punching the clock. An online survey conducted in May and June by Working America and co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO revealed that what today's women want most is more...
photo: creative commons /
|  | Palm oil prices up
Dawn
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3: Malaysian crude palm oil futures climbed higher on Thursday as more traders bet on the vegetable oils attractiveness as a feedstock for biodiesel following another surge in crude oil prices to record levels But sharp falls in soyoil futures at Chinas Dalian Commodity Exchange after a large trading...
photo: WN / patricia
|  | Cotton suffers fresh fall of Rs50
Dawn
By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, July 3: Cotton market suffered a fresh fall of Rs50 per maund on Thursday as the central Punjab ginners continued to sell newly processed lint around their parity levels and phutti-based average rates. Some of the deals in the new crop were finalised as low as Rs3,600 per maund and there...
photo: Public Domain / file
|  | Drug dealer calls policeman, offers him methadone
Penn Live
7/4/2008, 12:00 a.m. EDT> The Associated Press JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Knowing the consumer is key to good business. But 34-year-old Laura Henderson of Johnstown did not know her consumer when she called the lead detective of Cambria County's drug task force and offered to illegally sell...
photo: AP/Silvia Izquierdo
| Entertainment News  | 'Hero' hits the road and Wii stars can rock out
Knox News
Wii will rock you, especially now that "Rock Band" is available on Nintendo's popular game platform. Hit the road with "Guitar Hero: On Tour," the Nintendo DS version of the popular music game. Nintendo enthusiasts hit the musical jackpot with two new games to release their inner rock stars. "Guitar Hero: On Tour" for the Nintendo DS marks the popular series' first venture onto a portable platform, while "Rock Band" finally reaches the Wii so...
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba
|  | Jessica Simpson winning over country listeners
Knox News
Bill Waugh/Associated Press Actress and singer Jessica Simpson made an appearance at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville last month to help promote her bid to cross over to country music. NASHVILLE - When Jessica Simpson announced plans to go country after her last pop album flopped, there was a collective eye roll in Nashville. To some skeptics, it appeared to be a calculated move to follow in the footsteps of other pop stars who have found...
photo: Public Domain
|  | Madonna's new pal A-Rod
Sydney Morning Herald
Reports that US baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez and Madonna have become close just as their marriages are disintegrating have both the celebrity gossip industry and the sporting world - each a chatty bunch - buzzing with questions about the two "friends." A third boldface name was added to the saga when Rodriguez's wife fled from New York to the Paris home of rocker Lenny Kravitz, who denied anything improper had happened with the slugger's...
photo: AP/Anthony Harvey
|  | Will Justin bring speedos back?
TVNZ
Jul 4, 2008 1:09 PM Not too long ago Justin Timberlake made a bold prediction in a hit song off his multi-platinum-selling album, FutureSex/LoveSounds. He proclaimed to the world: "I'm bringing sexy back". In Timberlake's new Hollywood comedy, The Love Guru, the 29-year-old plays a French-speaking, sexed up, physically endowed, professional ice hockey player named Jacques "Le Coq" Grande. Grande wears tight-fitting Speedo swimwear ... in public....
photo: Creative Commons / Peter Dutton
|  | The Fabulous Flag Sisters
Sydney Morning Herald
Long before Megan Gale and her never-ending pins graced billboards all over Italy, there was another set of Australian legs renowned for being the best in Europe. They were a little hairy, rather muscular and they belonged to a bloke - Perth-born actor Neil Hansen who shot to fame as a performing drag queen in Italy during the 1970s. This...
photo: AP /
|  | Riding In Cars With Boys
Sydney Morning Herald
Drew Barrymore has a light, winning touch that makes pap palatable, and perhaps one day she'll find the reverse of that outgoing warmth and unexpectedly scare audiences half to...
photo: AP /
|  | New & recent releases
The Charlotte Observer
Opening Next Week: In this photo provided by Universal, Selma Blair and Ron Perlman star in " Hellboy II: The Golden Army." (AP Photo/Universal, Egon Endenyi) NEW RELEASES LOVE STORY 2050 A Bollywood musical. 150 minutes.Unrated. THE RAPE OF EUROPA *** 1/2 Writer-directors Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham focus on Adolf Hitler's plan to loot the nations of Europe, destroy art that displeased him and enshrine the rest in his boyhood...
photo: AP / Evan Agostini
|  | Sir Ben Kingsley a Beatle would-have-been?
Inquirer
LOS ANGELES, CaliforniaImagine Sir Ben Kingsley as a Beatle. It was one of those might-have-beens for the knighted actor. 'I was offered a contract by Dick James who recorded all the Beatles' early discs,' the Oscar-winning thespian said in a recent interview. 'It was an extraordinary meeting. Dick was quite insistent because he heard me play the guitar and sing onstage in London, as did the boys, John (Lennon) and Ringo (Starr). It was quite...
photo: IFC Films
| Health News  | Grandparents' actions may keep grandkids away
The News & Observer
Carolyn Hax is away. Meanwhile, readers offer their opinions. On new grandparents kept at arm's length: The wisdom of our parents' generation in many cases does not apply anymore. Just two examples, babies are almost all sleeping on their backs now, and parents are told to put off the introduction of solid foods till 5 or 6 months of age. This isn't an indictment of what my mother's generation did. It's just different now. I know that some...
photo: WN / Yolanda Leyba
|  | Local tomatoes red hot
Knox News
Grainger County farmer Zalen Williams drops off his tomatoes at Valley Produce for distribution to restaurants and produce markets. There has been an increase in demand for locally grown tomatoes because of a salmonella outbreak. A nationwide salmonella outbreak that resulted in a recent widespread health warning on tomatoes has been a boon for Grainger County and other Tennessee-grown tomatoes, among the first crops declared safe by the U.S....
photo: WN / patricia
|  | Watermelon: it's Viagra, the natural way
Sydney Morning Herald
A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a barbie and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra, but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long. Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body's blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation's top producers of...
photo: Public Domain / -
|  | Seared scallops with leeks and lemon chilli butter
The Daily Mail
Flavouring the butter with lemon and chilli really helps to cut through the natural richness of scallops. You'll need to serve this with some good crusty bread to mop up any leftover buttery juices. Seared scallops with leeks and lemon chilli butter SERVES 4 AS A STARTER INGREDIENTS4 young, but not baby, leeks, trimmedsalt and freshly ground black pepper12 scallops, roes on or off1 tbsp light olive oillemon wedges, to serve FOR THE BUTTER:250g...
photo: Public Domain /
|  | Smokeless tobacco ups oral cancer risk
National Post
Reuters Change font size Story tools presented by try{ var arr_da = document.getElementById('ad-leaderboard').getElementsByTagName('script'); for(var i in arr_da){ if(typeof(arr_da[i].src) != 'undefined' && (/http:\/\/ad\.ca\.doubleclick\.net/.test(arr_da[i].src))){ var str_da_src = arr_da[i].src; str_da_src...
photo: WN / Sweet Radoc
|  | 'The chocolate here is a very special thing'
San Diego
EAST COUNTY - Loyal customers showed up at the Wisteria Candy Cottage yesterday, distraught at the news that the backcountry shop selling confections like caramel turtles and pecan rolls might go out of business. HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune Third-generation candy maker Dana Eacobellis (left) helped customers. The store is in a building that used to be Boulevard's one-room schoolhouse. "I heard you're closing. That's so sad," Dave Slater of San...
photo: GFDL / Vi..Cult...
|  | Wine chemical improves health but not longevity
New Scientist
Efforts to tinker with the biology of ageing to treat disease and extend lifespan are beginning to resemble the split personalities of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This week, scientists revealed that giving healthy, middle-aged mice an ingredient found in red wine fends off heart disease, bone loss and muscle atrophy. But the chemical, called , doesn't extend the rodent's lifespan as previous work had found in obese mice. Meanwhile, another study found...
photo: public domain /
|  | Pesticides: a poisoned chalice?
The Guardian
The proposed EU pesticide ban has provoked a predictable backlash from the "conventional" farmers unions and industry representatives The pro-pesticide lobby is claiming that the EU's proposed pesticide ban will increase food prices, at a time when they are already on the rise. Photograph: David Giles/PA Following the on-going debate about pesticides and the wisdom of their use sometimes seems similar to watching . You might not watch for it...
photo: USDA /
| Politics News  | Should BJP support the nuke deal?
The Times Of India
Rajeswari Pillai R Senior Fellow ORF, New Delhi Its opposition to the deal is still a mystery Bharatiya Janata Party’s opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal has been and is still a mystery. The initiative for civil nuclear cooperation with the US was started by the BJP and the current deal is only an extension of that initiative....
photo: PIB / Photo Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India.
|  | Pakistan committed to war on terror: Gilani
Dawn
By Our Reporter KARACHI, July 3: Reiterating Pakistans commitment to the war against terrorism being waged alongside the international community, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has expressed the resolve to maintain the minimum credible deterrence to ensure regional peace. Addressing the 89th officers commissioning parade of the Pakistan Navy at the Pakistan Naval Academy, PNS Rahbar, on Thursday morning, Mr Gilani underlined the need...
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed
|  | McCain calls for tight border security in Mexico visit
Houston Chronicle
TOOLS MEXICO CITY - Se habla straight talk? In a day of sight-seeing, meetings and mixed messages in Mexico's capital, John McCain called Thursday for keeping the border open for business but shutting it tight against undocumented migrants and illegal narcotics. Some conservatives have criticized the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as being soft on illegal immigration. Apparently at the risk of offending his hosts, McCain seemed...
photo: AP Photo / Evan Vucci
|  | Obama's campaign considers holding acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High
Star Tribune
DENVER - Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two people with knowledge of convention planning said Thursday. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing has been confirmed. Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said no decisions have been made....
photo: AP / Jae C. Hong
|  | Obama says Jones mailer is not an endorsement
Kansas City Star
Barack Obama's presidential campaign distanced itself Thursday from a mailer by Georgia Democratic Senate hopeful Vernon Jones that shows them together under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes we can." Jones defended the mailer, saying it shows he supports the Illinois senator, not the other way around. "It shows that I am the best person to work with Barack Obama to turn this country around," Jones told The Associated Press in a telephone interview...
photo: AP / Chris Carlson
|  | A new world under one Heaven
Asia Times
By Francesco Sisci Part 1: BEIJING - Globalization in the West started with the Greeks - with the Anabasis told by Xenophon, a disciple of Socrates. Then, 10,000 Greek mercenaries marched to Persia to aid Cyrus, who enlisted Greek help to try to take the throne from Artaxerxes. This occurred between 401 BC and March 399 BC. About half a century later, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) followed almost the same route, not to serve the Persians but...
photo: AP/Ng Han Guan /
|  | Brown quizzed by senior MPs - live
The Guardian
Minute-by-minute coverage of the PM's appearance before the Commons liaison committee This one's not for the faint-hearted. is giving evidence to the liaison committee - the body made up of the 31 Commons committee chairmen and chairwomen - and it's due to go on for up to two and a half hours. Or 150 minutes. And they could be long ones. The meetings happen twice a year, and this is Brown's second. Last time, in December, the hearing coincided...
photo: Creative Commons / Andrew Gee
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