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Kennedy. Kennedy Death Adds Volatile Element to Health Fight “The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy became a rallying point for advocates of health care reform and could provide a new tone in the debate.” After Diagnosis, Determined to Make a ‘Good Ending’ “From the time his brain cancer was diagnosed 15 months ago, Senator Kennedy spoke of having a ‘good ending for myself.’” Kennedy was a top warrior for healthcare reform “He will be missed as Democrats consider how much to give up in exchange for some GOP support -- and whether they can hold their ranks.” Kennedy Did Life's Work, Up to End “Senator spent his final 15 months working on his memoir, sailing and talking about health-care reform.”
China. China Opposes Plan for Dalai Lama to Visit Taiwan “The decision by the president of Taiwan to allow the visit threatens to jeopardize improving relations with China.” Taiwan risks China row over Dalai Lama “Taiwan approves a visit by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, something ‘resolutely opposed’ by China.”
Mexico Drug Trade. Mayhem Crosses the Border With Informers “José Daniel González was living the sweet life in America. He bought the $365,000 two-story Mediterranean with the tile roof and swimming pool. He started a trucking company, was raising a family.” 16 indicted in California in drug-smuggling probe “Sixteen people were indicted and hundreds of pounds of cocaine seized in a sting against Mexico's notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Wednesday.”
Afghan Official. Alleged Drug Ties of Top Afghan Official Worry U.S. “The challenges posed by corruption in Afghanistan are revealed in President Hamid Karzai’s running mate.” Bombing Deepens Despair in a Stricken Afghan City “Those living in Kandahar have felt a sense of helplessness and isolation over the attack in the center of the city that killed at least 41 people on Tuesday.”
Volunteerism. Volunteering Waning in Recession, Report Says “A survey undercut anecdotal reports that volunteers had flooded nonprofit groups as unemployment had increased in the current recession.” Recession Prompts Many Americans to Stop Volunteering, Study Finds “Seventy-two percent of Americans say they have cut back the time they spend volunteering and performing other civic activities in the past year — largely as the result of the recession, according to the study by the National Conference on Citizenship.”
Los Angeles Fire. Smoke expected to linger, prompts warnings “Health officials warn those with respiratory problems to stay indoors because of the Angeles National Forest fires. Some school athletic programs are canceled.” Wildfire continues to burn in Angeles National Forest “Crews are continuing today to battle a 750-acre wildfire in the Angeles National Forest that is being fanned by bone-dry conditions and high temperatures and filling the skies above the L.A. Basin with thick, gray smoke.”
Darfur. War in Sudan's Darfur 'is over' “The war in Darfur, which has killed up to 300,000 people, is over, says the UN's military commander there.” Darfur peacekeepers have ended massacres: UNAMID chief “The outgoing head of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur defended his soldiers against persistent criticism of their effectiveness, insisting they have ended the massacres that long plagued the Sudanese region.”
Mali Women. Mali women's rights bill blocked “The president of Mali refuses to sign a new family law, criticized by Muslims because women do not have to obey their husbands.” To love, honour and obey in Mali A new family law in Mali is causing a furore, partly because it no longer stipulates that wives have to obey their husbands.
Guantanamo. Young Guantanamo Afghan to sue US “One of the youngest detainees to be held at Guantanamo Bay will sue the US government for compensation, his lawyers say.” Young Afghan freed from Guantanamo to sue US gov't “The family of one of the youngest prisoners ever held at Guantanamo plans to sue the US government to compensate him for mistreatment and an adolescence lost to nearly seven years in a cell, his lawyers said Thursday.”
Australian Aborigines. Treatment of Aborigines ‘racist’ “A UN official riticizes Australia’s measures to fight child abuse and alcoholism in Aboriginal communities as discriminatory.” UN official slams NT intervention “Professor James Anaya is the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights and freedoms of Indigenous peoples.”
Netanyahu and Merkel. Israeli PM meets Germany’s Merkel “Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu is in Berlin for talks with the German chancellor, expected to cover the thorny issue of settlements.” Auschwitz blueprints given to Israeli PM “Architectural plans for the Auschwitz death camp that were discovered in Berlin last year were handed over Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for display at Israel’s Holocaust memorial.”
Iran Protests. Iranian protesters 'not agents' “There is no proof opposition leaders blamed for post-election unrest acted for foreign powers, Iran's supreme leader says.” Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says no proof UK and US backed ... “Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the election violence in June was calculated by the country's enemies.”
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. Iraq Shia leader mourned in Iran “The body of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a powerful Iraqi Shia Muslim leader, begins its journey from Tehran to Najaf in Iraq for burial.” Leader's Death is Major Blow for Iraq's Largest Shiite Party at a Crucial Time “Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of Iraq's largest Shiite political party, died Wednesday, creating a leadership vacuum that could weaken the bloc ahead of the January parliamentary election.”
U.S. Drone Attack. 'Militants die in drone attack' “At least four suspected militants are killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan, Pakistani officials say.” Drone attack in northwestern Pakistan kills 6 “A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at a militant hide-out in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding nine, intelligence officials said.”
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