| World News  | French unions furious over Sarkozy strike comments
Turkish Press
French president Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech during a meeting of French ruling party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) on July 5. Several unions in France lashed out on Sunday at comments made the previous day by Sarkozy that striking in the country now has little effect, and said he is "playing with fire." (AFP/File) Several unions in...
photo: (AP Photo / /Menahem Kahana,Pool
|  | Anwar's opposition holds rally
The Australian
MALAYSIAN opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told about 20,000 supporters at an anti-inflation rally overnight the government should quit over a recent fuel price hike. The crowd chanted "PM resign" as Anwar criticised Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for last month's 41 per cent increase in the cost of petrol, which has deepened his unpopularity after disastrous March general elections. Anwar, who is fighting new accusations of sodomy - the...
photo: AP / Lai Seng Sin
|  | New Lebanese cabinet list awaits Sa'ad approval
Gulf News
Dubai: The new Lebanese government is expected to be announced in the next two days, according to political sources. The cabinet line-up is "almost finalised" and waiting for the arrival of Sa'ad Al Hariri, the leader of the parliamentary majority, who is on a private visit to Saudi Arabia, the sources added. On Saturday, Prime Minister-designate Fouad Siniora said there was "progress" in his efforts to form the new government, in which...
photo: AP / Hussein Malla
|  | Obama and family spend Fourth of July in Montana
Houston Chronicle
TOOLS BUTTE, Mont. - It was a family Fourth of July for Democrat Barack Obama as his wife, daughters, sister and other relatives helped him make an Independence Day play for this reliably conservative state. Obama paid tribute to a nation in which the son of a single mother could rise to such heights. "I know that there is no other country out there where I could be standing before you as somebody who could potentially be president of the United...
photo: AP / Jae C. Hong
|  | US marks Independence Day with fireworks, revelry
Philadelphia Daily News
COLLEEN LONG The Associated Press NEW YORK - Americans across the country mixed patriotism and plain old good fun to mark Independence Day on Friday, with solemn ceremony alternating with parades and hot-dog-eating hijinks. On the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Boy Scouts in Hartford, Conn., rang a replica of the Liberty Bell, while organizers of the annual New York fireworks display promised the rockets'...
photo: AP / The Idaho Press-Tribune, Mike Vogt
|  | 50,000 S. Koreans protest 'unsafe' U.S. beef
CNN
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of South Koreans were demonstrating Saturday on the streets of the capital to protest the government's decision to import what they say is unsafe U.S. beef. South Korean police estimate that the crowd in Seoul is about 50,000. No clashes were reported between the protesters and riot police, although ongoing protests have at times turned violent....
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man
|  | G8 to 'strongly condemn' Mugabe
News24
Washington - The White House said on Saturday that G8 leaders are likely to "strongly condemn" Zimbabwe's and "strongly question" his government's legitimacy, at their Japan summit beginning Monday. Dennis Wilder, the National Security Council's senior director for Asia affairs, said he believed that Zimbabwe would be condemned as part of the G8 leaders' official statement. "I think the G8 will strongly condemn what Mugabe has done. It will...
photo: AP / Str
| Business News  | Bioplastics: The challenge of viability
International Herald Tribune
: Biodegradable plastic products offer the possibility of relieving consumers of guilt and manufacturers of the responsibilities associated with growing landfills and garbage-choked oceans. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only 6.9 percent of plastics were recycled in the United States in 2006, partly because many plastics are composites of different materials and are hard to recycle. In addition, consumers have recently...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Missing trees for woods in perfume industry
Hong Kong Standard
Have you ever wondered how much money is involved in the odors of the developed world. //--> Ian Jackson Monday, July 07, 2008 ADVERTISEMENT Have you ever wondered how much money is involved in the odors of the developed world. So, to make sure there are no big surprises here, I'm not talking about imported Chanel No 5, but the odor of Agarwood, the resinous heartwood at the center of the perfume industry. According to Brent Clegg, director of...
photo: GFDL / BrokenSphere
|  | Youngsters failing to mind their manners
Hong Kong Standard
One in four young people swear in public, 60 percent usually fail to greet their parents and 80 percent will not give up seats to the needy on public transport, a survey by Hong Kong's YWCA has shown. //--> Gloria Lai Monday, July 07, 2008 One in four young people swear in public, 60 percent usually fail to greet their parents...
photo: WN / Guillaume Poulet-Mathis
|  | Home buyers waiting as rates rise, prices fall
Star Tribune
Consumers just can't get a break, and neither can the housing market. Though still at historic lows, mortgage interest rates have trended higher in recent weeks at a time when consumers are already grappling with rising prices on everything from gasoline to groceries. In the Twin Cities metro area, for example, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on Wednesday was 6.71 percent with 0.92 points, according to HSH Associates in Butler, N.J. In...
photo: Creative Commons / John Bradley
|  | Oil at $200/barrel by yearend?
The Philippine Star
It no longer sounds far-fetched… the $200 barrel of oil by year end. Last Wednesday, crude oil climbed above $144 a barrel before settling at $143.57, up $2.60 for the day. Oil prices briefly soared to a new high near $146 a barrel last Thursday, before easing as the dollar gained ground against the euro. Lingering concerns about conflict with Iran and comments by Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggesting his country would not boost...
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo
|  | House begins ferry probe
The Philippine Star
An inquiry into the sinking of the M/V Princess of the Stars opens at the House of Representatives today on orders of Speaker Prospero Nograles. The House transportation committee aims to determine who was responsible for the death of an estimated 700 passengers, who went down with the ill-fated ship off Romblon two weeks ago. Nograles said the House inquiry seeks to pass a law that would strengthen the country's maritime laws to prevent a repeat...
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez
|  | From Iron Range hockey hero to Wall Street star
Star Tribune
CHISHOLM, Minn. At Valentini's Supper Club, a half-dozen longtime residents reflect on their native son. Philip Falcone was a hockey standout, dubbed "the phantom" for his uncanny ability to cruise -- untouched -- legs barely pumping, past defenders. He was the youngest of nine, who grew up in his brothers' hand-me-downs; the quiet, inquisitive kid with a sheepish grin who worried about his grades or making the hockey team, even after...
photo: GFDL / Mrmiscellanious
|  | On Baseball: Rays' rise warms exec here
Philadelphia Daily News
By Jim Salisbury Inquirer Baseball Columnist The Fourth of July fireworks were a little brighter for Tampa Bay baseball fans this year. After more than a decade of losing and mostly last-place finishes, the local nine reached the unofficial threshold where contenders are separated from pretenders with the best record in the majors. The Rays are rocking. Their fans are fired up. Chuck LaMar, the Phillies' director of pro scouting, always knew it...
photo: Creative Commons / Tonyesopi
|  | Microsoft-Yahoo talks limited to chitchat
The News Tribune
SAN JOSE, Calif. - In the wake of Microsoft's failed bid to buy all of Yahoo, one thing is clear: The two companies have what could be called a failure to communicate. As the Microsoft-Yahoo takeover saga grinds into its sixth month, contact between the companies is continuing. But the status of talks between them is an increasingly muddled mess complicated by the fact that Time Warner's AOL has quietly been...
photo: AP / Vincent Yu
| Entertainment News  | Connie Fisher: is there life after Maria?
The Times
"I used to call them my monkeys who sit on my shoulder," Connie Fisher says earnestly. "One's a good monkey, one's a bad monkey. I shoot the bad monkey. My last director used to say, 'I'm going to shoot the monkey!'" That was Jeremy Sams, on the West End production of The Sound of Music, in which Fisher won her the part of Maria through a high-rating BBC Saturday night talent show in 2006. It's not clear which monkey Sams had in mind. Good, it...
photo: AP
|  | Danger, this film has smoking scenes
The Times
Doctors' leaders called for curbs on smoking scenes in films and in the media yesterday as they pressed for tougher government action to reduce the demand for cigarettes. Film censors should take into account pro-smoking elements in films when issuing a licence, and films portraying smoking in a "positive" light should be preceded by antismoking advertisements, the British Medical Association said. Also suggested are: white cigarette packets...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | 'Hancock' grabs heroic $107.3M over long weekend
Examiner
LOS ANGELES (Map, News) - Will Smith's box-office superpowers remain intact. Smith's "Hancock" - the story of a boozing, foul-mouthed superhero who dresses like a street bum - led the Fourth of July weekend with a $66 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. That raised the total for Sony's "Hancock" to $107.3 million since it opened Tuesday night to get a jump on the holiday. It was a familiar place for Smith, one of Hollywood's...
photo: AP / Matt Sayles
|  | How Nelson Mandela won the greatest game with rugby
The Times
Nelson Mandela sat inscrutable as a sphinx, as he always does when the conversation turns serious and he is the listener. You're not sure, as you blather on, whether he's paying attention or lost in his own thoughts. But when I quoted Martin Luther King, he nodded with a sharp, lips-pursed, downward jolt of the chin. We met in the living room of his home in Johannesburg in August 2001, two years after he'd retired from the South African...
photo: AP Photo
|  | Moving On
The Times
To the Shires Supermodel turned lingerie designer Elle Macpherson, below, is going rural. Macpherson, 45, whose Notting Hill home is still available for £9m, is looking for a country property...
photo: AP
|  | Baguette ballyhoo
The Star
Celebrities have a go at designing their own bag. AN iconic bag deserves to be feted in style, so to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Fendi Baguette, the fashion house invited celebrities and artists to design their own Baguette on a limited anniversary canvas edition. At the recent "Fendi 10+ Exhibition" celebration in Kuala Lumpur, the brand unveiled its collaboration with ten prominent Asian celebrities and artists. The ten included...
photo: AP
|  | 'We shall have the first cultural IPO'
The Times Of India
Paul Schrader, one of the world's most famous screenplay writers, will deliver a Masterclass on Screenwriting and two films written by him, 'Mishima' and Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' will be screened at the festival. A major highlight of the event will be the unveiling of the scale model of the Osianama,...
photo: AP
|  | Whose song will always remind us of the summer of 2008?
Philadelphia Daily News
By Dan DeLuca Inquirer Music Critic Everybody's got a personal playlist of summer songs. It might have Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind," or Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime." The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City," or maybe Regina Spektor's song of the same name. Seals and Croft's "Summer Breeze" might make you feel fine, though I'm betting the Isley Brothers' version would make you feel finer. The 21 picks assembled here -...
photo: WN
|  | Abhi to star in music video
The Times Of India
6 Jul 2008, 0000 hrs IST, SUBHASH K JHA ,TNN In spite of having done so many films with dad Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek was as nervous facing the camera with his father in their latest film together as he was the first time. “In fact I was more nervous now than I was earlier. Why only me? Any actor would be nervous with him no matter how many times you work together. He’s such an awesome...
photo: wn
| Health News  | Water, waste tackled at confab
Manila Bulletin
In a gathering of environmentalists from different global regions, the critical issues of waste and water and the leadership roles women play in these concerns were tackled in an international symposium held last week at Century Park Hotel in Malate, Manila. Spearheading the symposium on women, water and waste was the Philippine Womenâs University which has as its Board Chairperson, Dr. Helena Z. Benitez, a pioneer environmentalist who served...
photo: WN / Renzelle Mae Abasolo
|  | Eczema kids become asthmatic adults
The Australian
HAVING eczema as a child nearly doubles the risk of becoming an asthmatic later in life, according to research which lends strength to the aggressive treatment of childhood skin conditions. In the largest study of its kind, Australian researchers tracked 8500 Tasmanians from childhood to get the first concise picture of how allergic conditions develop. The findings, published in the...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | Kids And Health: Good hygiene can minimize your MRSA risk
Seattle Post-Intelligence
There are lots of stories in the news about healthy people getting antibioticresistant staph infections. And some parents are wondering how they might protect their children. It will help, at the start, to gain an understanding of these infections. They actually have been happening for years, though there is evidence that the rate is increasing. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA (pronounced MERsuh), can be spread through...
photo: WN / deniseyong
|  | Salisbury mom donates breast milk
The News & Observer
SALISBURY, N.C. - Blake Evans says her friends will probably be surprised to see her featured in a story about breast milk donation. "I'm a very private person," she explains. But the Salisbury mom feels so strongly about getting the word out about a worthy cause that she's willing to give up a little privacy. A few weeks ago Blake filled a large cooler with about 1,000 ounces of frozen breast milk. "My freezer is full," she said. "I don't have...
photo: public domain /
|  | West Nile confirmed in Sarnia
Canoe
Health threat By The London Free Press Tests results on a dead crow found in southwest Sarnia have confirmed West Nile virus is in the region. The positive test is the first for Lambton County in 2008. A spokesperson for the Middlesex-London Health Unit...
photo: creative commons /
|  | Millions of Pinoy kids to be immunized
Journal Online
MILLIONS of infants and young children from poor communities nationwide are now assured of being given free immunization against debilitating diseases following the allocation of some P484-million for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the Department of Health, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) said yesterday. NAPC Secretary Domingo Panganiban said that the program was designed to provide children from low-income families...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
|  | Osteoporosis: The silent epidemic
Journal Online
HEALTH WATCH Osteoporosis is considered as the silent epidemic because it is detected late. There are 75 million people affected by the disease in the United States, Europe, and Japan. One in every three women is affected and one in five men will suffer from osteoporosis. In women, the risk is larger than the sum of risks of having breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer while in men, it is greater than the risk of having prostate cancer.. In...
photo: creative commons
|  | Tame health-care gorilla with new medical plan
Asbury Park Press
When it comes to health care, we're heading into an economic cul-de-sac. Health care will become one of the most onerous personal-finance issues in coming years unless the system is changed to ensure universal access, cost control and long-term financing. American families now pay more than $12,000 a year for health coverage as medical bills rank among the top personal economic problems, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research group...
photo: Creative commons / Nina-no
|  | Costly cancer drug brings hope, dilemma
The News Tribune
It took only an instant for 58-year-old Gailanne Reeh to go from the picture of health to death's door. By chance, her doctor noticed a lump under her arm during a routine exam. It turned out to be advanced breast cancer. Soon she was having tests to reveal the extent of the cancer and hearing the grim results. The surgeon, she recalled, "looked at me and said: 'This is not a conversation I like to have. But I can't do anything for you. You can't...
photo: Public domain /
| Politics News  | Climate deadlock seen at G8 despite 'constructive' Bush -
Yahoo Daily News
by Shaun Tandon 14 minutes ago TOYAKO, Japan (AFP) - US President George W. Bush pledged Sunday to play a "constructive" role on climate change at a summit of rich nations, but hopes for a breakthrough were dim as he pressed developing countries. Japan, the host of the three-day Group of Eight summit, pushed for progress in the fight against global warming but environmentalists said that any agreement was unlikely to be far-reaching....
photo: White House / Eric Drape /
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