Vladimir Putin delivered a barbed retort to George Bush's muted criticism of Russia's democratic record yesterday when he told reporters at a joint press conference that he did not want to head a democracy like Iraq's.The remark, which raised a loud laugh from the assembled press pool, capped a joint appearance that exposed how relations between the two men have become strained in the past two years, since Washington began criticising Putin's iron grip on Russia's media and politics.Bush said that, during two hours of discussions, 'I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq where there's a free press and free religion. I told [Putin] a lot of people in our country ... would hope that Russia would do the same thing. I fully understand, however, that there will be a Russian style of democracy.'... http://observer.guardian.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 18:20:00 07-16-06 |
New York Crude Oil Rises From Record Close on Middle East |
Crude oil rose from a record close in New York as concern mounted over escalating violence in the Middle East, the source of 30 percent of the world's oil. Rockets fired by Hezbollah, a terrorist organization backed by Iran and Syria, yesterday reached the central train station in Haifa, Israel's third-biggest city, and killed eight railroad workers. Israel warned villagers to flee as it promised to pound southern Lebanon with air assaults. ``The situation doesn't seem to have got any better in Lebanon over the weekend,'' said Tobin Gorey, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. ``There's no direct physical effect as yet on oil supply, but the worry is that no- one really knows where this is heading.'' Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $77.55 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $77.46 at 6:05 a.m. Singapore time. ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5gvNHb24x3c&refer=top_world_news
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Editor - 17:07:00 07-16-06 |
U.S. security teams arrive in Lebanon to plan evacuation |
Two Marine Corps helicopters evacuated 21 Americans from Lebanon to Cyprus on Sunday, and U.S. officials urged others to wait for a formal evacuation plan before they try to leave.The U.S. citizens evacuated Sunday included a family of four with a sick child and four students, said Maura Harty, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs.She said the United States had receive hundreds of phone calls from Americans in Lebanon asking for instruction and urged them not to try to travel by land to Syria. U.S. security teams landed at the U.S. Embassy earlier Sunday to plan the evacuation for any of the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon who wish to leave."It is a situation in flux, in so very many ways," Harty said from Washington. "We are working 24-7 to get this done."... http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-07-16-us-lebanon_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 17:05:00 07-16-06 |
Heat wave has much of nation sizzling |
Temperatures soared into the upper 90s and higher Sunday from coast to coast, bringing out heat warnings, wilting athletes and driving others into the shade.The choking heat is expected to continue for the next few days, and the hot air was moving toward the East Coast, meteorologists said.Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Sunday that the state would make more than 130 office buildings available as cooling centers beginning Monday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had ordered the National Guard out to help firefighters as temperatures even in the normally cool northern part of the state pushed 100°F amid very dry conditions.The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for Las Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis and Tulsa Excessive heat watches were issued for the Philadelphia area and New Jersey, where thermometers made it into the 90s Sunday in a rehearsal for highs of 100°F Monday.... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-07-16-heat-wave_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 17:03:00 07-16-06 |
Bomber Detonates Explosives at a Cafe in Northern Iraq Popular With Shiites, Killing 25 People |
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a cafe in northern Iraq popular with Shiites, killing 25 people, an Iraqi general said Sunday. Earlier, six of more than 30 people seized at an Iraqi Olympic Committee meeting were released in Baghdad, while a British soldier was killed during a raid in southern Iraq. The six hostages were left blindfolded and unharmed in the capital's Baladiyat neighborhood, Iraq's Sport Journalist Union said. There was no word on the other hostages, including the Olympic National Committee chairman, Ahmed al-Hijiya. A former member of Iraq's Olympic committee, Nashat Mahir al-Salman, 75, was the first abductee dropped in the neighborhood, followed hours later by Baghdad soccer coach Ahmed Subhi and four security guards, the sports union said. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2198702
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Editor - 16:56:00 07-16-06 |
Key to stem cells lies in their power |
The Senate will start a debate on Monday on a bill aimed at encouraging stem cell research, and experts agree that stem cells hold the power to transform medicine, allowing doctors to one day regenerate damaged and diseased tissue. Disagreement lies in which types of stem cells hold the most promise, and whether it is unethical to experiment on the types taken from human embryos. Terminology is key to the debate about stem cells. — Totipotent stem cells are produced in the first few days after sperm meets egg. Each of these very early embryonic cells can give rise to an entire organism, including the placenta. — Embryonic stem cells come from a ball of cells known as a blastocyst, which develops five to seven days after conception. These embryonic stem cells are pluripotent — meaning they can differentiate into all the types of cells that make up an animal, including a human being, but do not form placenta and cannot become a fetus. — Fetal stem cells come from ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2198643
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Editor - 16:50:00 07-16-06 |
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