11 May 08
British Airways takes beef off the menu to avoid offending Hindus
For decades the national dish has been a staple meal on the national carrier.
But now British Airways has taken beef off the menu for economy passengers amid concerns about its "religious restrictions".
Debt woes drive thousands of Indian farmers to suicide
Crushed by debts most Westerners would deem inconsequential, farmers like Surpam killed themselves at a rate of 48 a day between 2002 and 2006 — more than 17,500 a year, according to experts who have analyzed government statistics. At least 160,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1997, said K. Nagaraj of the Madras Institute of Development Studies.
19 dead in Missouri, Oklahoma after new round of tornadoes
Many have fled this depressed, pollution-scarred mining town. Those who have chosen to stay or have not yet relocated face a new heartache.
A tornado ripped through a 20-block swath of Picher late Saturday afternoon, killing at least seven people. The same storm system then moved into southwest Missouri where tornadoes took the lives of at least 12 others, authorities said.
Sudan cuts Chad ties over attack
Sudan says it has cut off diplomatic relations with Chad, blaming it for helping rebels from Darfur to launch an attack on Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
Obama takes super-delegate lead
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has overtaken his rival Hillary Clinton for the first time in endorsements from super-delegates.
'Israel will not intervene in Lebanon'
Israel said Sunday it would not get involved in the latest outbreak of violence in Lebanon but that it was closely watching developments there.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i told Army Radio that Israel was prepared for the possibility of the situation in Lebanon deteriorating into another civil war.
'Bush to offer Israel powerful radar'
The US may offer Israel a powerful radar system that would greatly strengthen Israeli defenses against ballistic missiles while incorporating it directly into a growing US missile shield, Reuters reported on Saturday.
10 May 08
Hezbollah to end Beirut seizure
Hezbollah has agreed to withdraw its gunmen from Beirut after the Lebanese army settled tensions between the Shia group and armed government supporters.
British intel: China preparing for nuclear war
Defense analysts for the British intelligence service MI6 believe China is preparing for the "eventuality of a nuclear war." The conclusion follows evidence that Beijing has built secretly a major naval base deep inside caverns which even sophisticated satellites cannot penetrate, says a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
A Gulf in Giving: Oil-Rich States Starve the World Food Program
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-oon and his top lieutenants on Monday are convening the first meeting of the U.N.'s Task Force on the Global Food Crisis. Ban says it will "study the root causes of the crisis," and propose solutions for "coordinated global action" at a summit of world leaders in June.
Famine fears for North Korea, aid group warns
North Koreans are dying because of food shortages in rural areas, and a massive famine is just a matter of time, a South Korean aid group said Friday.
The food situation was as bad as the famine that hit the country in the mid-1990s, which left as many as 2 million people dead, Seoul-based Good Friends -- a Buddhist-affiliated group that sends food and other aid to the North -- cited an unidentified North Korean official Friday as saying.
Key Obama Middle East adviser resigns
A principle Middle East adviser to US presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama resigned on Friday after reports surfaced that he had been in repeated contact with members of Hamas.
According to the reports, Rob Malley interviewed Hamas officials, as well as Israeli, Palestinian, and other international officials, as research for reports he wrote for the International Crisis Group, a non-partisan conflict-resolution think tank.
Barrage continues as Kassams hit synagogue, college, house
A total of nine Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip Saturday morning landed in various areas of the western Negev damaged buildings in the western Negev.
Sderot residents were treated for shock as three rockets landed in the Sderot area and four in the Sha'ar Hanegev region.
IDF air strike targets Hamas in Gaza
Hours after a fatal barrage of mortar shells fired from Gaza killed an Israeli man in a kibbutz in the western Negev, IAF warplanes struck back, killing five terrorists and injuring four Islamic Jihad operatives during air strikes on Hamas police stations in the Gaza Strip, Hamas officials said early Saturday morning.
Myanmar junta votes as cyclone victims starve
Myanmar's junta Saturday held a vote on a new constitution, ignoring pleas to focus on delivering urgently needed food supplies to 1.5 million cyclone victims facing disease and hunger.
09 May 08
France no longer supports Blair for EU president
Mr Sarkozy, who takes over the chair of the EU in July, had previously openly backed Mr Blair for the post, mentioning the idea in public himself last year.
However, he has since come under pressure from other capitals, notably Berlin, to rescind this support.
Gas jumps above $3.67, oil passes $126 on Venezuela concerns
Oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday, bringing its advance this week to nearly $10, as investors questioned whether a possible confrontation between the U.S. and Venezuela could cut exports from the OPEC member. Gas prices, meanwhile, rose above an average $3.67 a gallon at the pump, following oil's recent path higher.
Wheat disease threatens supplies
A lethal variant on an ancient disease affecting wheat has spread from its base in Africa to Iran and now threatens vast fields in South Asia, the Middle East and Europe at a time of global food shortages, agricultural specialists warn.
Punished for views on homosexuality
The University of Toledo has taken action against an administrator that has aroused concern over free-speech violations.
Hizbullah fighters impose control on Beirut
In scenes reminiscent of the darkest days of the civil war, young men armed with assault rifles roamed the streets amid smashed cars and smoldering buildings.
It's radioactive, and it's missing
"So far nine items are definitely believed to have been stolen or lost. But theft is the most likely reason. While each item contains relatively small amounts of radioactive material, those nine items alone could create a dirty bomb," said an MI5 source.
Duma confirms Putin as PM
Russian legislators confirmed Vladimir Putin as Prime Minister last night, capping a carefully engineered recast of Russia's leadership a day after he handed the presidency to his protege, Dmitry Medvedev.
Israel's Olmert admits taking cash but won't quit
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted on Thursday taking cash from a U.S. businessman but resisted calls to resign over a police investigation into alleged hefty bribes over almost a decade.
'Best Santa ever' arrested in N.J. on child sex charges
A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen."
Severe storms cause damage in 4 Southern states
A line of severe storms swept across the Southeast on Thursday, damaging homes and businesses in at least four states. No injuries were reported.
An apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi and strong winds flipped a mobile home in Alabama. In south-central Tennessee, at least four homes and a few barns were damaged, and an apparent tornado blews cars off the road in North Carolina.
UN blasts Myanmar for visa policy on aid workers
Myanmar's refusal to give visas to relief experts is "unprecedented" in the history of humanitarian work, the United Nations charged Friday.
A spokesman of the World Food Program says the organization has submitted 10 visa applications around the world, including six in Bangkok, Thailand, and none of have been granted.
08 May 08
Burma death toll worse than Tsunami
THE death toll in cyclone-ravaged Burma could hit 500,000 - more than TWICE the total killed by the Boxing Day Tsunami.
Ahmadinejad: Israel a 'stinking corpse' facing annihilation
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the state of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear, the French news agency AFP reported.
"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.
China registers nearly 20,000 hand-foot-mouth infections
The number of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) cases reported in China this year jumped to 19,962 as of Wednesday, resulting in 28 deaths, according to a Xinhua tally of local official figures.-Local experts said the number of HFMD cases would continue to rise in the province as the peak season has yet to arrive.
Top Chinese, Japanese leaders reach broad consensus at talks
Both leaders believe China and Japan, as close neighbors and important players in Asia and the world, must seek a path of peace, friendship and cooperation, Hu said.- China and Japan signed a joint statement on advancing strategic and mutually beneficial relations earlier in the day.
