World News

Al Qaeda deputy warns Obama against troops to Afghanistan

DUBAI (AFP) - Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri warned US president-elect Barack Obama against sending more troops to Afghanistan, in an Internet audiomessage release...

Knife Attacks in Japan May Be Tied to Pension Scandal

TOKYO, Nov. 19 -- Bureaucrats here have infuriated the Japanese public by losing millions of government pension records. This week someone with a knife and a willingne...

Rwandan president's aide extradited

Rose Kabuye flown to France from Germany over 1994 assassination of Rwanda president.

Rwandan aide extradited to France

A senior Rwandan presidential aide is extradited to France from Germany in connection with the killing of a former Rwandan president.

Mbeki to check Zimbabwe constitution bill: report

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has sent a draft copy of a constitutional amendment giving President Robert Mugabe the power to form a government unilaterally to mediator ...

Ex-French PM to face slander trial

Judges order Dominique de Villepin to appear in court over plot to smear Sarkozy.

Voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation paramount: U.N.

KABUL (Reuters) - Countries playing host to Afghan refugees should only send them home if they want to go, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said on Wednesday, as in...

The battle against Somali pirates

The significance of the latest attacks by Somali piratesPIRATES do not win every encounter. On the evening of Tuesday November 18th an Indian warship attacked and dest...

Brazil ace Ronaldo could retire

Former Brazil striker Ronaldo admits he could retire, despite fighting back from a serious knee injury.

Sadarists disrupt Iraq pact debate

Parliamentary speaker adjourns discussion of agreement on US troop withdrawal.

Politkovskaya case closed to public

Judge overturns earlier ruling saying jurors refused to enter courtroom with press present.

Indian navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship'

NEW DELHI -- An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as ...

German group SolarWorld bids 1bln euros for Opel

FRANKFURT (AFP) - German solar energy company SolarWorld unveiled on Wednesday a surprise billion-euro (1.26-billion-dollar) takeover bid for Opel, a unit of US Genera...

Obama Thanks Palestinian President

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas received a courtesy phone call from American president-elect Barack Obama.

UN head fears over Gaza blockade

UN chief Ban Ki-moon tells Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert he is deeply concerned over conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Russia lawmakers approve longer presidential term

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A proposal to extend the Russian president's term by two years moved closer to becoming law on Wednesday when the lower house of parliament approved...

U.N. calls food summit in 2009, hopes for fair trade

ROME (Reuters) - The world should hold a food summit in the first half of next year to seek fairer trade and help farmers in poor countries make a decent living, the h...

Automakers plead for help, markets fear sector's collapse

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US and European automakers, warning that their industry was now imperiled by the global economic meltdown, appealed for government help and sparked ...

Shock at Kenya prisoner beatings

Kenya's prisons service says it is shocked at a video showing warders beating inmates, one of whom later died.

Nepali police 'torture children'

The international pressure group, Human Rights Watch (HRW), accuses police in Nepal of torturing children.

UN confirms DR Congo pullback

Rebels create 'separation zones' in east as aid agency warns of rising malnutrition.

High in the Holy Land, a Biblical view of peace

ELI, West Bank (Reuters) - When God ordered Abraham to slaughter a son, the angel of the Lord stepped in at the last minute to stay his hand. Was it a test of faith, o...

Russia, Georgia start talks seen lasting years

GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia and Georgia started talks on Wednesday to resolve tensions over breakaway regions that led to a war in August, and one senior official predic...

Moscow Court Closes Politkovskaya Trial to Public

The judge in the trial of three men accused of involvement in the murder of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya decided to bar the media.

Global rules and regulators

Dani Rodrik had a provocative blogpost a little while back: Here is the di...

Malia Obama Discusses Her Parents' PDA: "I Like It" (VIDEO)

Barack and Michelle Obama are pretty famous for their public displays of affe...

NEWS & VIEWS ROUNDUP: November 19

How the war on terror pushed Somalia into the arms of al-Qaeda By Martin Flet...

Al Qaeda No. 2 Calls Obama Racial Epithet

CAIRO,Egypt — Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in ...

"No Drama Obama" Assembling Combative Team

Whatever happened to Mr. No-Drama-Obama? After running a campaign known for ...

Winnetka Overturns Handgun Ban

An emotional night inside the Winnetka Village Council chamber as residents ...

Why Do Dressing Rooms Still Suck?

Why do I look thinner in the mirrors of some shops' fitting rooms than others...

Gay High School Plan Shelved

In a surprise move, planners for a proposed high school touted as a haven for...

Tollway Green Lanes To Charge Drivers For Use?

MINNEAPOLIS -- Debra Salo maneuvered her Mercury Sable into the left lane of ...

John King Stars In Daily Show's "CNN Magic Wall Conspiracy Thriller"

"The Daily Show" correspondent John Oliver was so transfixed by CNN's Magic W...

Open Rights Group's busiest-ever year

Michael Holloway from the UK Open Rights Group sez, Today we're proud to rele...

FCC Transition Team co-chairs are virtual worlds nuts, too

Wagner James Au sez, "Not only are [Obama's FCC Transition Team leaders] Kevi...

IT Crowd third season starts on Friday!

Hurrah! This Friday marks the return of The IT Crowd, my favorite sitcom/nerd...

Virtual worlds increasingly generated by software, not made by artists

Here's Far Cry 2 technical director Dominic Guay talking about the importance...

LIFE and Google bring us 10 million historic images

LIFE and Google have teamed up to put 10,000,000 historic images online -- ab...

BBtv: SELK Bag, Boing Boing Gadgets review with Joel Johnson

This week, Boing Boing tv is debuting regular product reviews produced with J...

Intense Vetting Underway For Obama Hires: "You're Guilty Until Proven Innocent"

The first thing then-White House chief of staff Kenneth Duberstein did was ap...

Shepard Smith Goes Nuclear Over Viewer's Email

Fox News' Shepard Smith was very upset over an email he received regarding hi...

Make-work

I’m so far behind on this one. Here’s a figure based on a table ...

Dean Basks In Election Results, Offers Hints Of The Future

Fresh off an election cycle that saw massive Democratic gains in both houses ...

McCain Running For Reelection in 2010

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, whose presidential bid was snuffed out t...

Today on Offworld

Following our successful lift off, today on Offworld we saw the community sta...

Reporting from Banff for BoingBoing

I'm doing my guestblogging assignment this week while in Banff National Park ...

McCain returns to Senate, is welcomed by Kerry

f WASHINGTON — The red-and-blue Senate trolley rolled up to the Capitol...

Democrats Demand Bush Halt Efforts To Place Political Appointees In Career Jobs

Democrats in the Senate called on President Bush to halt any effort by his ad...

Scrap market collapse threatens Bay Area recycler