| World News  | Bush in Saudi Arabia to press king on oil and Iran
Canada Dot Com
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia announced a modest increase in oil output on Friday after an appeal from visiting President George W. Bush but the news did little to douse oil prices that hit a new record earlier in the day. On his second visit to the world's biggest oil-exporter this year, Bush renewed his appeal for more oil from OPEC amid rising pressure at home to take action as record fuel prices weigh on the U.S. economy. Saudi Arabia said...
photo: White House / Chris Greenberg
|  | Teenager taking helm as mayor of Oklahoma town
Scripps Howard
MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- John Tyler Hammons may have already performed his grandest feat as mayor, even before taking office. He put Muskogee in the national spotlight. Hammons, 19, beat an opponent three and a half times his age in a runoff election this week, receiving nearly 70 percent of the vote. Hammons, who just completed his first year at the University of Oklahoma, has been fielding questions this week from national news networks and producers...
photo: AP / Sue Ogrocki
|  | Pakistan protests killer missile strike
CNN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's army lodged a formal protest Friday to "allied forces" in neighboring Afghanistan over a suspected U.S. missile strike this week that killed 14 people in a Pakistani border village. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Pakistan concluded that Wednesday's attack on a house in Damadola village was launched by drones from Afghanistan. Abbas said a formal protest was lodged Friday with "allied forces" in...
photo: AP / Khalid Tanveer
|  | 4 questioned over deadly blasts
News24
Jaipur - Police questioned four people on Wednesday in connection with a string of bombings that killed 80 people and left about 200 injured, officials said. "We have picked them up for questioning in regards to the attacks last night but we have not booked them on any charge," a police spokesperson said in Jaipur, the site of the bombings late on Tuesday. Among those being questioned was one...
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
|  | Italy. Naples: Come for the filth, stay for the memories
Canada Dot Com
Visitors must learn to love Naples for its rubbish and filth, the city's new head of tourism has said. Claudio Velardi, 53, took the job of luring tourists to Italy's dirtiest and most criminal city at a time when Neapolitans are rioting over the mountains of rubbish lying in the streets. The crisis, which arose after the city's dumps became full and collections halted, continues to worsen. Last week, piles of rubbish reappeared on the streets of...
photo: AP/Salvatore Laporta
| Business News  | Manila to hold rice tender for 341,440 tonnes
Gulf News
Manila: The Philippines will hold a tender for private importers for 341,440 tonnes of rice, possibly on June 5, the state's National Food Authority (NFA) said on Friday. NFA spokesman Tomas Escarez said the volume being sought included 141,440 tonnes that was not taken by the private sector at a...
photo: WN / Sweet Radoc
|  | Apple's US and UK online stores sold out of iPhones
Gulf News
San Francisco: Apple has said its online stores in the US and UK are sold out of the iPhone, a sign supplies are being winnowed ahead of the launch of the device's next generation featuring faster internet surfing speeds. The Cupertino-based company confirmed that the iPhone is out of stock online, but added that brick-and-mortar stores run by Apple and iPhone carriers including AT&T might still have units available. Apple has been known for...
photo: GFDL /
|  | 'Effective chemicals may be lost'
BBC News
Scientists say they are worried about new EU proposals which could drastically restrict the number of pesticides available to farmers. The registration process is changing and many commonly used chemicals are likely to fall out of use. It is claimed the replacement regime could lead to reduced yields and further increases in food costs. But anti-pesticide campaigners say the changes are needed to help protect human health and the environment....
photo: WN / ab1
|  | Rice export curbs could hit harvest
Gulf News
New Delhi: India's winter harvest of rice could shrink 5 per cent this year if some farmers switch to oilseeds on fears that export curbs could lead to lower prices, a leading trader said. While the winter crop makes up only around an eighth of India's rice output, any sign of falling production in the world's second-largest exporter could help support Asian prices that have already more than trebled this year. India, the world's biggest exporter...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | India's inflation edges toward 8 pct as hits 44-month high
Turkish Press
Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram gives a press conference in New Delhi in March 2008. India's inflation rate accelerated to a 44-month high of nearly eight percent on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the government which fears a voter backlash. (AFP/File) India's inflation rate accelerated to a 44-month high of nearly eight percent on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the government which fears a voter backlash. Annual inflation...
photo: PIB /
|  | Hawaii hotels post occupancy increases
Business Journal
> Hawaii No. 2 for occupancy in 1Q [Honolulu] Statewide hotel occupancy up, rates down [Honolulu] Late April Hawaii hotel occupancy flat [Honolulu] Smith Travel branches out to Europe, Asia [Nashville] Room occupancy in Hawaii hotels jumped 12.8 percentage points to 66.8 percent for the week ending May 10. Oahu had the greatest increase statewide, up 18.8 percentage points to 70 percent, as compared to the same week last year. But occupancy...
photo: WN / amany mussa
| Entertainment News  | Sarkozy to present Celine Dion with Legion of Honour
Canada Dot Com
LONDON - President Nicolas Sarkozy will present Canada's Celine Dion next week with the Legion of Honour, a medal created by Napoleon in 1802 to honour France's civilian and military heroes, a French government source confirmed Friday. Dion was originally granted the medal in 2005 but was unable to appear because of her commitment to perform in Las Vegas. The presentation, to be made while Dion is in Paris on a concert tour, comes six days before...
photo: White House / Chris Greenberg
|  | Kate splits from Owen, again
News24
Los Angeles - Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson have split again. The couple - who rekindled their romance earlier this year - have decided to end their relationship, and friends say the split wasn't amicable. Owen's pal told People magazine: "It was a pretty bad break-up. Owen said it was a tough one. He definitely doesn't want to dwell on it. He wants to put it behind him." Last week, it was claimed Kate and Owen...
photo: AMPAS
|  | Critic's choice: This week
Star Tribune
Sunday For anyone who loves everything about the Indiana Jones movies except those never-ending, dizzying action scenes, we have the specials for you. "Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest" (7 p.m., History) uses the popular films as a way to teach you more about archaeology, while "Mystery of the Crystal Skulls" (8 p.m., SCI FI) takes a serious look at the artifacts that have Harrison Ford all hot 'n' bothered in the upcoming...
photo: (AP Photo / Matt Sayles)
|  | Cannes market is festival's focus
BBC News
The Marche Du Film is where the serious business of Cannes really happens, with an estimated one billion Euros eventually changing hands. "For many companies, Cannes may represent 50% of their yearly business," says Jerome Paillard, the market's executive director. "Behind-the-scenes wheeler-dealing will decide what we see for the next couple of years," says Screen International's Michael Gubbins. This prompts the big movie industry publications...
photo: (AP Photo / Francois Mori)
|  | Is 'Indiana Jones' secrecy hiding bad news?
CNN
CANNES, France (AP) -- Indiana Jones doesn't give up his secrets lightly, and neither does the man pulling his strings. Director Steven Spielberg has tried to keep chapter four of the archaeologist's big-screen adventures, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," under wraps as tight as an ancient mummy's....
photo: AP / Matt Sayles
| Health News  | Rent your own cherry tree
The Times
For a fruit with such a fleeting season, the cherry attracts a lot of attention. Its succulent sweetness is symbolic of high summer in prose, poetry and painting. Its blossom is revered in Japan and is the focus of festivals in the United States, South Africa, Australia and throughout Italy, Spain and Portugal. Yet in Kent where only 50 years ago there were 18,000 acres of cherry orchards, there are now less than 1,000 and the fruit has been...
photo: WN / Manuela Paraipan
|  | Vitamin D May Help Curb Breast Cancer
AOL
(May 15) - Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found - adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin" has anti-cancer benefits. The results are sure to renew arguments about whether a little more sunshine is a good thing. The skin makes vitamin D from ultraviolet light. Too much sunlight can raise the risk of skin cancer,...
photo: White House/Shealah Craighead
|  | Juice 'prevents clogged arteries'
BBC News
Juices made from apples or purple grapes - and the fruit themselves - protect against developing clogged arteries, a study suggests. Researchers fed hamsters the fruit and juice or water, plus a fatty diet. The animals who were fed grape juice had the lowest risk of developing artery problems, Molecular Nutrition and Food Research...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Water is vital, but how much should you drink?
CNN
By Linda Saether CNN ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Very few people question the importance of water in a healthy diet, but lately the needed quantity has been called into question. The conventional wisdom of eight, 8-ounce glasses a day has been tossed aside, leaving one to wonder what food group myths might topple next. The apple-a-day thing? The medicinal aspects of Mom's chicken soup? "There has been research out there for a while that the eight,...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Negroponte backing WHO bid
Taipei Times
PLAN OF ACTION: The US deputy secretary of state said Taiwan should be allowed observer status, but did not specify what the US planned to do at next week’s meeting Speaking about next week’s meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA), US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Thursday reiterated US policy that Taiwan should be allowed to participate as an observer. “We think they should be allowed to participate as an observer,...
photo: UN file
|  | Astronaut released from hospital
News24
Seoul, South Korea - A science official says South Korea's first astronaut has left a hospital after recovering from neck and back pain apparently caused by her Russian spacecraft's unexpectedly steep descent to Earth last month. Science Ministry official Jung Kyung-taek said Yi So-yeon was released on Wednesday from a...
photo: NASA /
|  | Smoking 'triggers deadly changes'
BBC News
A key mechanism by which smoking triggers genetic changes that cause lung cancer has been unravelled. Researchers have shown exposure to cigarette smoke slows production of a protein called FANCD2 in lung cells. This protein plays a key role in repairing damage to DNA, and causing faulty cells to commit suicide before they go on to become cancerous. The study, led by Oregon Health and Science...
photo: Public Domain /
|  | Midwife training delivers safer childbirth
The Guardian
Midwife training delivers safer childbirth A local health worker explains how the Katine project is helping improve survival rates for mothers and newborn children , Wednesday May 14 2008 This article was first published on on Wednesday May 14 2008. It was last updated at 12:55 on May 14 2008. Sister Josephine Achen, a traditional birth attendant in Katine. Photograph: Dan Chung Josephine Achen, known as Sister Josephine, is 60 years old and was...
photo: WN / Janice Sabnal
| Politics News  | Karnataka: 65% turn out
The Statesman
Radhika Giri BANGALORE, May 16: Naxals shooting down two persons in Hebri in Udupi district, shoot at sight order in Udupi, Shimoga and Chitradurga districts, clashes between rival party workers in Bellary district a day prior to voting: all these did not deter voters from briskly exercising their franchise in the phase II elections that covered central Karnataka. Voting percentage in the 66 Assembly constituencies with a population of 1.1 crore...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | China's 1-child policy causes extra pain
Orlando Sentinel
WUFU, China - Bi Kaiwei and his wife, Meilin, stopped having children after their daughter was born, taking to heart China's one-child policy and its slogan "Have fewer kids, live better lives." For them and other couples who lost an only child in this week's massive earthquake, the tragedy has been doubly cruel. Robbed of their sole progeny and a hope for the future, they find it even harder to restart their shattered lives, haunted by added...
photo: WN / Rubielyn Bunag
|  | Candidates blame govt for contaminated water
The Statesman
Kajari Bhattacharya BERHAMPORE, May 16: One look at their diseased hands and feet and the fact that the country has been Independent for the last 60 years seems doubtful. Women in some villages of Murshidabad are doomed to a life without a family of their own, as no one will marry them. Even gram panchayat candidates here have sores on their hands and feet. They go about campaigning while trying in vain to ignore painful...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | Women on guard
The Statesman
Debashis Bhaumik COOCH BEHAR, May 16: Fearing attacks by the CPI-M, women of Checkpost Colony in Dinhata have formed a resistance group to protect their village from trouble creators. They are reportedly...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | Electoral battle spills onto home turf
The Statesman
Abhisek Roychowdhury CANNING (South 24 Parganas), May 16: Its a family feud all the way between some CPI-M and RSP candidates after the election to seats in Bashra gram panchayat in Canning which took place on 14 May. The parents of two brothers, who are fighting a bitter electoral battle on tickets from the RSP and the...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | Parties appeal for peace in third phase
The Statesman
SILIGURI, May 16: Several political parties appealed for peace in Jalpaiguri during the panchayat polling on Sunday. In view of the wide spread violence marring the previous two phases of the panchayat polling in several districts we appeal to the political parties, the administration and the common people to maintain peace in the district during the polling on Sunday, the district leaders of the CPI, the Forward Bloc...
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
|  | Bush arrives in Riyadh to press for higher oil output
Daily Star Lebanon
By Agence France Presse (AFP) Saturday, May 17, 2008 Laurent Lozano Agence France Presse RIYADH: US President George W. Bush sought again on Friday to persuade Saudi Arabia to raise oil output after arriving to visit the world's biggest crude exporter as record oil prices hit Western consumers. "Clearly, the price of gas is too high for Americans, and it's causing a hardship for many families of low income. But it also is not allowing our economy...
photo: White House / Chris Greenberg
|  | Hsieh in ‘stay away’ Ma protest
Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his vice presidential candidate in March’s presidential election, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), will not attend president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration on Tuesday. Hsieh said he was planning to join Ma’s inauguration, but he changed his mind after Ma and vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) failed to apologize for the possibility that they might not be able to deliver on two...
photo: AP / Chiang Ying-ying
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