Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz

Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz
Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, has said he will not sign an execution order for Tariq Aziz, the former deputy of dictator Saddam Hussein sentenced to death last month over the persecution of Islamic parties.
Iraq's high tribunal passed a death sentence on Aziz, once the international face of Saddam's government, in late October.

Qantas plane turned back after bird strike

A Qantas jet was forced to return to Johannesburg after a bird strike damaged one of its engines, the latest in a series of incidents at the Australian airline since an engine failure on an Airbus A380 nearly two weeks ago.

Nazi spaceship film sparks UFO debate

By Allan Hall in Berlin 1:05PM GMT 17 Nov 2010

The Finnish sci-fi comedy 'Iron Sky' centres on real-life SS officer Hans Kammler who was said to have made a significant breakthrough in antigravity experiments towards the end of WW2.

Germany raises security alert after attack warnings

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany said on Wednesday it had strong evidence Islamist militants were planning attacks in the next two weeks and ordered security at potential targets such as train stations and airports to be tightened.

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• Murkowski Alaska-bound as vote counting winds down (AP)
• Pelosi expected to remain House Democrats' leader (AP)
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China's Hairy Crab Prices Indicate Strong Economic Growth

By Keith Fitz-Gerald, Chief Investment Strategist, Money Morning

BEIJING, People's Republic of China – While other investors are busy rounding up all sorts of economic data, tea leaves and fortune cookies in an attempt to figure out China's economic situation next year, I'm heading out the door once again to take a look at hairy crab prices.

Chile: The One Emerging Market That Investors Can't Afford to Ignore in 2011

By Martin Hutchinson, Contributing Editor, Money Morning

When I review each of the world's emerging markets in order to decide which ones to buy in 2011, I start with two questions:

• Is the market cheap?
• And has it under-performed over the past year?

If the answer is "yes" for both those questions, that market is much more likely to get my vote.
But with every rule, there are also exceptions. As we will see.

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Britain Pledges to Support Ireland in Debt Crisis - NYTimes.com

BRUSSELS — The British government signaled Wednesday that it could offer direct financial assistance to Ireland even though Britain is outside the euro zone, as the European Union struggled to contain a resurgent debt crisis.

India needs to do more in social security space

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Half Of Small Businesses Limit Employee Access To Social Networks

The majority (81%) of small businesses have an employee Internet policy and half say employees are not allowed to access any social networks on a company computer, according to a new survey by security firm Webroot.
"Clearly the potential impact of social networks as a threat vector has hit home for IT administrators," said Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO of Webroot.

Irish Bailout Threatens to Reignite Euro Debt Crisis

By Don Miller, Associate Editor, Money Morning

Ireland's reeling banking system, and the government's reluctance to accept outside help, is threatening to reignite the European debt crisis that nearly led to the demise of the European Union (EU) and its currency last spring.
EU officials are trying to persuade Irish officials to shore up the country's devastated banking sector with a possible $100 billion (73.5 billion euros) aid package as Irish policymakers continue to insist that the financially troubled nation doesn't require a bailout.

LNG Is the Future of Energy

By Kent Moors, Ph.D., Contributing Writer, Money Morning

Sometimes the most important impact on a raw material commodity comes less from its actual extraction and more from how product is introduced into new markets.
Indeed, that is becoming the next major development in North American natural gas. The expansion in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports may well hold the key to turning a glut into advancing profit.

How the Dollar and Europe's Ireland Moves Will Steer Fate of U.S. Stocks

By Jon D. Markman, Contributing Writer, Money Morning

Stocks retreated over the past week following an earnings warning from tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), renewed tensions in Europe over the ability of Ireland to pay its debts and a surge in the U.S. dollar.

Overlaying the action was word out of South Korea that the G-20 meeting of leaders of the world's largest economies was not going well, with European and Asian leaders expressing exasperation with U.S. monetary stimulus and a distaste for U.S. President Barack Obama's scolding tone on export targets.

Star Gazing: Jada Pinkett Smith Takes Kids to Hawaii

 

Jet-setting around the globe for Jaden's movie premieres and Willow's musical appearances must be tiring for the Smith family. Jada took her superstar kids to Hawaii for some much needed down time. The actress looks pretty relaxed as she soaks up that famous Pacific sun.

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Foreign ministers to talk Pacific ties

AUCKLAND, AAP - Improving ties with Pacific neighbours was on the agenda when New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully meets with his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, in Canberra yesterday.

Mr McCully was due to arrive in Canberra yesterday afternoon for the biannual meeting.
"These talks are an opportunity to discuss the foreign policy agenda in depth, and to set our shared goals for our trans-Tasman relationship," Mr McCully said in a statement.
"Our discussions in Canberra will cover regional and global issues, and how we can further improve co-operation with our partners, including in the Pacific Islands Forum.
The previous formal talks between the countries' foreign ministers were held in February this year, when Stephen Smith held the foreign affairs portfolio in the Australian government.

Israel to take in 8000 Ethiopians

JERUSALEM, AFP - The Israeli cabinet has voted to bring to the country about 8000 Ethiopians who claim Jewish descent, saying they are living in conditions of disease and hunger.
"There are about 8000 women, men and children living in the most severe humanitarian conditions," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet session on Sunday.
"We have a moral commitment as Jews, as the People of Israel, to find a solution."

Fear grips Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, AFP - The death toll in Haiti's cholera outbreak has soared to 917 as officials struggle to contain the growing epidemic threatening the quake-ravaged country.

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Muslims prepare for rituals

MECCA, AFP - The world's largest annual pilgrimage, the hajj, has begun, with hundreds of thousands of Muslims pouring into the camp of Mina from Mecca to prepare for solemn rituals.

The pilgrims are estimated to total up to 2.5 million this year.

Papandreou Meets with Sarkozy & French Leaders in Paris | Greece.GreekReporter.com Latest News from Greece

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and the French President Nicola Sarkozy met today in Paris shortly after 1 pm local time. The meeting focused on relations between the two countries, developments in the global economy and climate change.

At 6 o’clock this afternoon the Prime Minister will meet with François Fillon. Fillon is once again the leader of the new formed cabinet, according to last night’s announcements.

Papandreou Says Greek Voters Rejected ’Sirens of Instablity’

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said voters have shown support for his efforts to cut the nation’s budget deficit and debt as the ruling Pasok Party stood poised to win most of the weekend’s regional elections.

Gabrielle Union at Day of the Child

Gabrielle Union and other celebs gathered in Los Angeles on November 14, for the 12th Annual Day of the Child. The actress looked fresh and sweet in a periwinkle blue dress with embroidered eyelets.

Shanghai fire: 40 dead as apartment block engulfed in flames

At least 40 people have been killed by a blazing fire in a high-rise residential building in the business centre of Shanghai, on the east coast of China.
A further 90 people were also injured in the incident, which took place at 2pm local time (6am GMT) today in the Jingan district.
Building materials caught fire, and the blaze spread to scaffolding and then to the 28-storey building, home to retired teachers, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
More people could have been hurt, but the 28-storey apartment block was being renovated.

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