Najib calls for probe into Penang prayers allegations, Malaysia

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Najib Razak has called for an investigation by the Penang Islamic Religious Council and police on allegations that the name of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was cited instead of the Yang di-Pertuan Agongs during Friday prayers in several mosques in Penang.

Millions lack shelter after Pakistan floods

People displaced from floods queue to receive donated food at a tent camp in Sukkur, in Sindh province, Pakistan, yesterday.
Picture: EPA KARACHI
Sunday, August 22, 2010
WITH entire towns and villages swallowed up by Pakistan's devastating floods, experts say it could take years to solve a shelter crisis now facing up to six million people camped out under open skies.

Crackdown on teenage smokers, Brunei

Quratul-Ain Bandial and Koo Jin Shen
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, August 22, 2010

15 students sent for mandatory treatment
A TOTAL of 15 students under the age of 18 had been caught smoking in public this year and ordered to undergo mandatory treatment at a smoking cessation clinic. This was disclosed during yesterday's briefing on the hazards of smoking for

$356,550 donated to orphans nationwide, Brunei

Pehin Dato Hj Hazair (L), Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, presenting the donation to the orphans yesterday at UBD's Chancellor Hall. Picture: BT/Zamri Zainal
Rasidah HAB BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Sunday, August 22, 2010

Wyclef Jean rejected as Haiti presidential candidate

HAITI'S provisional electoral council ruled on Friday that hip-hop star Wyclef Jean did not meet a residency requirement to run as a presidential candidate in the nation's November 28 election.
Singer-songwriter Jean, 40, an international celebrity who is popular in his impoverished and earthquake-ravaged homeland, was rejected from the list of approved candidates read aloud by the council on Friday night.

Yahoo News

• Sweden withdraws warrant for WikiLeaks founder (AP)
• Iran begins fueling first nuclear reactor (AP)
• Haiti ruling ends Wyclef Jean's run for president (AP)
• Australian PM says elections too close to call (AP)
• Obama challenges GOP on campaign finance ruling (AP)
• Flooding submerges new towns in Pakistan's south (AP)

» More News

CBC News - Toronto - Cancer faker released by court

Le Figaro - International : Incertitude politique dans le «paradis» australien

 

Les indicateurs économiques sont au beau fixe, mais les législatives de samedi s'annoncent très serrées.Vu d'Europe, on peut se demander comment les deux principaux candidats au poste de premier ministre d'Australie peuvent bien se différencier. Que proposer d'autre aux 14 millions d'électeurs, lors. . . .

French News: Au Pakistan, un demi-milliard de dollars d'aides ne suffit pas

French daily Le Figaro readies charge for premium online content - Brand Republic News

Weary of the Afghanistan War: Some in Merkel's Party Want to Talk with the Taliban

Escape to Norway: Iranian Anti-Stoning Lawyer Continues Fight from Exile

Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who represented Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, was forced to flee Iran after the authorities became determined to silence him. Speaking to SPIEGEL from his exile in Norway, he talked of his plans to continue the fight to save Ashtiani. By Dieter Bednarz in Oslo more...

The World from Berlin: 'The War in Afghanistan Reveals Obama's Impotence'

Russia Leans on Belarus: Europe's Last Dictator Under Pressure from Moscow

Alexander Lukashenko is regarded as Europe's last dictator, but after more than 16 years in power his days as Belarusian president may be numbered. As presidential elections approach, Russia seems to be determined to see the back of Lukashenko. By Benjamin Bidder in Moscow more...

On the Way Down: The Erosion of America's Middle Class

While America's super-rich congratulate themselves on donating billions to charity, the rest of the country is worse off than ever. Long-term unemployment is rising and millions of Americans are struggling to survive. The gap between rich and poor is wider than ever and the middle class is disappearing. By Thomas Schulz

The World from Berlin: 'The Invasion of Iraq Was Wrong, Unjust and Damaging'

Has American credibility been severely damaged by the Iraq War? One day after the last US combat unit left the country, some in the German press say that it has. Commentators are pessimistic about Iraq's ability to cope alone. more...

Günter Grass: 'The Nobel Prize Doesn't Inhibit Me in My Writing'

In a SPIEGEL interview, Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass talks about why he doesn't fear death, the missed opportunities of German reunification and why he thinks the Brothers Grimm had "oral sex with vowels." more...

The Man Who Saved Europe: How Winston Churchill Stopped the Nazis

Some 70 years ago, Hitler's Wehrmacht was chalking up one victory after the next, but then Winston Churchill stood up to the dictator. Their duel decided World War II. The former British prime minister has been viewed as one of the . . . .

Hawaii-based soldier killed in Iraq

Hawaiian, Alaska Airlines drive tourism recovery

Candidate profile: Neil Abercrombie - Hawaii News

Neil Abercrombie

Honolulu mayoral forum heats up over Oahu rail project

Panos Prevedouros

Peter Carlisle

Kirk Caldwell

Hawaii Medical Center emerges from bankruptcy

Property tax quadruples for needy families in Kalihi - Hawaii

Hawaii troops among those marking end to combat in Iraq

Mother and daughter are victims in apparent murder-suicide - Hawaii News

Washington Post News

(Photo: Tracy A. Woodward/Washington ost)

Click Track: Rihanna's war zone

My soft spot for Dr. Laura

Parker: What she's done to help people should be balanced against her insensitivity.
Plus: Wired for racism?

• Broder: Why Robert Gibbs is so angry
• Ignatius: Obama's second-term master stroke
• Milbank: Alaska's Tea Party hypocrisy
• Will: A two-state solution is delusional

Discussions

Begin Democratic panic

Ponnuru | Bad employment news. Obama's view on the Ground Zero mosque. Whatever the reason, Democrats have started to panic.

• User Poll: Who 'owns' Ground Zero?
• On Leadership: Of course you need vacation
• On Faith: Hitchens 'a hero to the faithful'?
• User Poll: What are you doing with $1 coins?
PLUS » Your Photos: Show us your vacation

Focus on leadership

Facing down intolerance

Video | Alyse Nelson of Vital Voices on how women all over the world are taking risks to become political and business leaders bettering their communities.

• Paul Light: Secrecy in Obama's grant fund
• PostLeadership: Ethical crisis in the C-Suite?
• FedCoach: Overcoming technophobia

Americans slow to buy, employers slow to hire With consumers destined to disappoint for many years, economy is unlikely to recapture prosperity of quarter-century that preceded financial crisis.

Neil Irwin

• Wary businesses brace for 'a different era'
• U.S. eyes private sector's role in affordable housing
• Unemployment edges downward in the District

Iran fueling first nuclear plantEngineers begin weeklong process of loading uranium fuel into reactor in first startup step.

Associated Press | 7:01 a.m. ET

Blago's defense, funded by you? If TV shows can't cover the ex-Illinois governor's costs for retrial, federal taxpayers may have to.

Jerry Markon

• Blagojevich found guilty on one of 24 counts

Wikileaks founder is wanted man Swedish officials say chief of whistle-blower Web site is suspected in 2 cases of molestation, rape.

Associated Press | 8:11 a.m. ET

U.S. to host Mideast peace talks While citing obstacles, White House expresses hope that deal for Palestinian state may come soon.

Mary Beth Sheridan and Janine Zacharia

• OPINION: Ignatius: Two slightly different invitations
• Clinton: Israelis, Palestinians to resume talks

How the oil well was plugged BP and Uncle Sam overcome natural antagonism to create functioning team in gulf spill response.

Joel Achenbach

• 9/11 mediator assesses spill claims | Full coverage

You, nice to meet, it is

'Star Wars' speed dating event in Orlando offers attendees a three-minute shot at the chance to stop flying Solo. » Alexandra Petri

More Nation/World Headlines

• Prosecutors: WikiLeaks founder suspected of rape
• Australian governing party trailing in vote count
• Floods submerge new towns in Pakistan's south
• Rains batter China anew; 50,000 evacuated in flood
• Report: Blackwater agrees to pay $42 million in fines
• Nats fall to Phillies, 1-0 | Rangers top O's, 2-0
• Artur Davis comes out swinging in Alabama
• Intelligence chief brings sense of humor to job
• Hospital pricing systems garnering more attention
• U.S. pleased with extradition of reputed arms dealer
• Serena Williams withdraws from U.S. Open

News Columns and Blogs

• Faster Forward: Requiring FM radios in phones?

With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire

70 Years On, UK Honors Battle of Britain's "Few"

 

(AP)  In the words of Winston Churchill, it was Britain's "finest hour," a turning point in world history - though it didn't always feel that way at the time.

Seventy years after the Battle of Britain, Churchill's daughter commemorated the pivotal air campaign Friday alongside surviving members of "the few," the Royal Air Force pilots who defied the odds to defend the country from German attack.

Mexico Catches Men with 3,756 Sea Turtle Eggs

(AP)  Police in Mexico say six suspects have been detained on the southern Pacific coast with 3,756 illegally harvested eggs from protected sea turtles.
Guerrero state police say the six men were caught with the Olive Ridley turtle eggs in a coastal town east of the resort city of Acapulco.

Analysis: How Are These Mideast Talks Different?

\

Pessimists will say "here we go again."
Optimists will point to the goal of a peace agreement within one year and say "this time things will be different."
Journalists will have to restrain themselves from ending stories with "only time will tell."
The Obama administration has been working toward this announcement for twenty months, literally since their first days in office. Former Senator George Mitchell was named special envoy in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first week on the job.

Wyclef Jean Ruled Out of Haiti Presidential Run - CBS News

 

(AP)  Updated at 12:20 a.m. ET
Haiti's electoral commission said Friday that hip hop artist Wyclef Jean cannot run for president of this Caribbean nation, ending his outsider's bid to lead a country struggling to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Special Section: Haiti | The Road to Recovery
Jean, who faced a challenge to his candidacy in the Nov. 28 elections because. . . .

Blackwater Firm to Pay Gov't $42M in Fines

 

(AP)  The troubled security firm formerly known as Blackwater will pay $42 million in fines to settle thousands of violations of U.S. export control regulations, according to The New York Times.
The newspaper reported on its website Friday that the Moyock, N.C.-based company now known as Xe Services reached a settlement agreement with the State Department.
The alleged violations included providing sniper training for Taiwanese police officers, illegal . . . .

Iran Begins Fueling Its First Nuke Power Plant - CBS News

 

(AP)  Iranian and Russian engineers began loading fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a major milestone as Tehran forges ahead with its atomic program despite U.N. sanctions.
The weeklong operation to load uranium fuel into the reactor at the Bushehr power plant in southern Iran is the first step in starting up a facility the U.S. once hoped to prevent because of fears over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Petraeus: Afghans Call Shots in Taliban Talks

(CBS)
The war in Afghanistan has gone on for 3,240 days. With each day, the casualties mount. On Friday, NATO reported the deaths of three coalition soldiers, including an American.
Special Section: Afghanistan | The Road Ahead
In Helmand Province, at least seven Afghan road-construction workers were shot to death by Taliban insurgents.

WikiLeaks Founder Suspected of Rape in Sweden

 

(AP)  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is suspected of rape in Sweden, where authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, officials said Saturday.

The 39-year-old Australian denied the allegations on WikiLeaks' Twitter page, saying they "are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing."

PAOK beats Fenerbahçe 1-0 in Europa League play-offs

Buenavista Golf

Teams and captain profiles: Blair Macrorie - Sports

Holiday mobiles, Tenerife

Summer Jam Tenerife 2010

Picasso - Daily News - Tenerife

The English Live Theatre - Tenerife - - ISLANDCONNECTIONS.EU

Spain - Bullfighting (with the exception of Cataluña)

The (Orthodox) Church returns to Russia

The Cape Verde Experience 2010/11 Brochure

'OLOA' means family, Cape Verdean style, in New Bedford | SouthCoastToday.com

Cape Verde Newspapers on the Internet

«Le tourisme est le parent pauvre du pays» - Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes

La ville présente ses nouveaux projets , New Caledonia

Une 40e édition innovante - New Caledonia News

À vingt-six jours du départ, le Tour de Calédonie 2010 a été dévoilé hier, en début de soirée au Park Royal, par Gérard Salaün. Avec une distance qui dépasse légèrement les mille kilomètres, un prologue, onze étapes ou demi-étapes en onze journées de course, cette quarantième édition de la Grande boucle calédonienne sera disputée par soixante-treize coureurs répartis dans quinze équipes. Parmi eux, Joseph Cooper vainqueur l’an passé et qui revient mettre son maillot jaune en jeu.

New Caledonia News - Les gendarmes perquisitionnent à l’OPT, Aug 20, 2010

Trois gendarmes ont passé la matinée au siège de l’Office des postes, hier à Nouméa, dans le cadre de l’enquête sur la défiscalisation du futur réseau 3G. Ils s’intéressent aussi au projet de câble vers Wallis, et à quelques autres dossiers.

  

Saipan power totals 57.7 megawatts

Micronesian cage group revived

'Cut your budget, give more to NMC'