Japan leadership duel nears vote amid China spat (AP)

Japan leadership duel nears vote amid China spat (AP)


Japan leadership duel nears vote amid China spat (AP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 10:31 PM PDT

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks to the crowd during a campaign stop near Yurakucho train station in Tokyo Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010. Days before a party vote that will determine Japan's leader in the face of pressing economic and international concerns, Kan and powerful challenger Ichiro Ozawa scrambled to woo lawmakers over the weekend. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ** JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA **AP - Japan braced for yet another new leader ahead of Tuesday's ruling party vote that pits the prime minister against a veteran lawmaker known as a backroom powerbroker. The race comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat with China and a surging yen that is battering the country's vital exporters.



Waking up with a different accent

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 10:28 PM PDT

Kay Russell suffers from Foreign Accent Syndrome - an extremely rare neurological disorder.


India's lost Buddhist university to rise from ashes (AFP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 10:06 PM PDT

The ruins of Nalanda University some 90 kms from Bihar state capital Patna. The ancient Indian university, destroyed by foreign invaders more than 800 years ago, is to be re-built as a symbol of the country's intention to become a world centre of higher education.(AFP/AFP)AFP - Indian academics have long dreamt of resurrecting Nalanda University, one of the world's oldest seats of learning which has lain in ruins for 800 years since being razed by foreign invaders.



Australia lawyer 'smokes' Koran, Bible pages (AFP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 09:47 PM PDT

The pages of a Koran are seen on display at the al-Mansouri mosque in the ancient coastal city of Tripoli, in Lebanon. An Australian lawyer tore pages from both the Koran and the Bible and smoked them on YouTube, days after a US pastor's threat to burn Islam's holy book triggered deadly protests and global condemnation.(AFP/File/Joseph Eid)AFP - An Australian lawyer tore pages from the Koran and the Bible and smoked them on YouTube, days after a US pastor's threat to burn Islam's holy book triggered deadly protests and global condemnation.



TV Advertising: It's Not Dead!

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 09:02 PM PDT

Automakers and financial service companies helped boost U.S. ad spending in the first half by 5.7%.


Palm Beach Speak: Taking "a Palm Beach Moment"

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:58 PM PDT

Not long after moving to Palm Beach, I attended an event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club. In the midst of


Turkish voters approve amendments in referendum that indicated confidence in nation's leader

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:15 PM PDT

Turkish voters on Sunday approved a package of constitutional amendments in a referendum that was considered as much a decision on changing the Turkish constitution as a vote of confidence in the nation's leader.


Referendum - Turkey - Politics - United States - Middle East


China making inroads on emissions

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 07:09 PM PDT

BEIJING - When it comes to climbing China's bureaucratic ladder, closing factories to cut greenhouse gas emissions can be a career booster.


China - Environment - Carbon Cycle - Carbon Management - Asia


Karzai rift prompts U.S. to reevaluate anti-corruption strategy in Afghanistan

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 05:44 PM PDT

Senior Obama administration officials have concluded they need to step back from promoting American-style law enforcement as the main means of fighting corruption in Afghanistan because of the rift it has caused with President Hamid Karzai.


Afghanistan - Warfare and Conflict - Afghanistan Civil War - Hamid Karzai - Peace Process


Japan frees 14 crew members of Chinese ship (AP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 10:27 PM PDT

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a detained Chinese fishing trawler is flanked by two Japanese Coast Guard vessels during an investigation by Japanese authorities near Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010. China's top foreign policy official increased pressure on Japan on Sunday by summoning its ambassador to again demand the immediate release of the Chinese fishermen and their boat detained near disputed islands.  (AP Photo/Xinhua, Ji Chunpeng) ** NO SALES **AP - Japan freed 14 crew members of a Chinese ship Monday nearly a week after their vessel collided with two Japanese patrol boats near disputed southern islets, but kept the captain in custody in a case that has angered China.



Christian worshippers attacked in Indonesia (AP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 10:09 PM PDT

AP - Indonesia's president ordered police to hunt down and arrest assailants who stabbed a Christian worshipper in the stomach and beat a minister in the head with a wooden plank as they headed to prayers.


Hurricane Igor leaps to Cat 4 status over Atlantic (Reuters)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:47 PM PDT

Reuters - Hurricane Igor strengthened rapidly over the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, becoming a large and dangerous Category 4 storm as it spun menacingly westward.


Marine Base's Critics Win Okinawa Vote

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:29 PM PDT

Critics of a siting plan for a U.S. Marine facility won a majority in city council elections in the town where the base is supposed to be located, in the latest sign of staunch local political opposition to the base.


Waning Recovery Fuels Uncertainty

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 09:08 PM PDT

The global recovery is still on track, but it's looking increasingly likely to be a long slog for much of the developed world.


Unions Press Liberal Democrats on Cuts

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 04:58 PM PDT

U.K. trade unions are fighting the Conservative-led coalition government's planned spending cuts by pressing the junior partner, the Liberal Democrats, to rebel against them.


China's Homegrown Success Stories

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:30 PM PDT

Multinationals can learn from sportswear retailer Li Ning, computer maker Lenovo and beer vendor CR


Donors must ramp up aid to Africa: Blair commission (AFP)

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:05 PM PDT

File photo shows children who have been displaced by violence waiting for food at a camp in Kibati, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. International donors must commit to giving billions more dollars in aid to Africa to reduce poverty and help the continent face new challenges, a commission set up by Tony Blair urged Monday.(AFP/File/Tony Karumba)AFP - International donors must commit to giving billions more dollars in aid to Africa to reduce poverty and help the continent face new challenges, a commission set up by Tony Blair urged Monday.



Israel's PM suggests compromise on settlements possible

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 08:01 PM PDT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has stopped well short of agreeing to a continued freeze on building Israeli settlements in the disputed West Bank territory, indicated Sunday he might be willing to compromise.


Church: U.S medical team hopes to be freed in Zimbabwe

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 07:43 PM PDT

Five Americans -- two of them doctors -- who treat AIDS patients are expected to appear Monday before a magistrate in Harare, Zimbabwe, on allegations of operating an unlicensed clinic and dispensing medicines without a pharmacist's supervision.


U.S.-Saudi Arms Deal Advances

Posted: 12 Sep 2010 09:02 PM PDT

The Obama administration is taking the next step in a sale of arms to Saudi Arabia worth up to $60 billion— the largest sale of U.S. weapons overseas ever.