Retired Admiral Says Russia Losing Its Navy Russia’s once-mighty navy faces further dramatic decline after 2015, when most Soviet-built ships will have to be mothballed, a retired admiral was quoted as saying Friday. Vladimir Isachenkov, AP NEWS - 4 minutes ago
In Tobacco-Loving Va., Bars to Quit Cold-Turkey The bluish haze that has hung over the Third Street Diner’s bar and booths for decades finally lifts next month as a new anti-smoking law takes hold in Virginia, a huge shift for a state whose tobacco habit dates to the Jamestown settlement some 400 years ago. Bob Lewis, AP NEWS - 6 minutes ago
4 Relatives Shot Dead at Fla. Thanksgiving Party Four people including a child in bed were shot to death during a family Thanksgiving gathering and a manhunt was under way across South Florida early Friday for a male relative suspected in the slayings. Staff, AP NEWS - 7 minutes ago
World Leaders Spur on Climate Debate World leaders sought Friday to spur on the global-warming debate ahead of a Copenhagen climate conference that has been fired up by pledges from China and the United States to cut emissions. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 8 minutes ago
Swiss: Polanski in Jail Until at Least Monday Roman Polanski will remain in a jail outside Zurich for at least three more days until he meets the security conditions of his bail, a Swiss official said Friday. Bradley S. Klapper, AP NEWS - 15 minutes ago
On Video: Ranger Beats Croc Attack In a “snap”shot of thinking on your feet, an Australian ranger at a Queensland sanctuary saves his colleague from being eaten for lunch by a 4-metre crocodile. Reuters Video, REUTERS NEWS VIDEO - 16 minutes ago
Sri Lanka’s Presidential Poll Set for Jan. 26 Sri Lankan elections officials said Friday that the nation would hold early presidential elections on Jan. 26 in what is expected to be a battle between two men revered for their efforts to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels. Bharatha Mallawarachi, AP NEWS - 17 minutes ago
Brazil: ‘Gringos’ Must Pay to Stop Amazon Razing Brazil’s president said that “gringos” should pay Amazon nations to prevent deforestation, insisting rich Western nations have caused much more past environmental destruction than the loggers and farmers who cut and burn trees in the world’s largest tropical rain forest. Marco Sibaja, AP NEWS - 18 minutes ago
Diplomats: Iran Censured at UN Nuclear Meeting The U.N. nuclear agency’s board censured Iran on Friday, with 25 nations backing a resolution that demands Tehran immediately mothball its newly revealed nuclear facility and heed U.N. Security Council resolutions calling on it to stop uranium enrichment. George Jahn, AP NEWS - 19 minutes ago
Ariz. Man, 22, Missing in Germany After Concert A 22-year-old Arizona man who teaches English overseas has been missing since he attended a concert in Germany last weekend. Staff, AP NEWS - 21 minutes ago
Edward Stimpson, Aviation Advocate, Dies at 75 Edward Stimpson, an aviation advocate who pushed to rejuvenate struggling small aircraft manufacturers in the 1990s by limiting lawsuits against them, has died after a five-month illness. He was 75. John Miller, AP NEWS - 22 minutes ago
Shoppers Pack Stores as Holiday Season Revs Up Shoppers crowded stores and malls in the wee hours Friday, some after spending the night waiting in line, to grab early morning deals and hard-to-find items. Anne D'Innocenzio, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
Key British Diplomat Testifies to Iraq Inquiry Britain’s top diplomat at the United Nations in the build up to the 2003 Iraq war told an inquiry Friday that attempts to win international authorization for the invasion were deliberately undermined by the United States. David Stringer, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
Canada PM to Attend Copenhagen Climate Meeting Canada’s prime minister is reversing his position and will attend a United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen next month, Stephen Harper’s spokesman said. Charmaine Noronha, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
Space Shuttle Atlantis Aims for Morning Landing With clear, crisp weather back home, space shuttle Atlantis aimed for an on-time landing Friday morning in Florida to wrap up an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. Marcia Dunn, AP NEWS - 28 minutes ago
2 Rescued Earlier at Site of Utah Cave Tragedy The medical student who died in a Utah cave was the third spelunker in recent years to get stuck in the same tiny crevice but the only one to die — an outcome that devastated the dozens of rescuers who worked for more than a day to save him. Jennifer Dobner, AP NEWS - 29 minutes ago
Off the Mound, Pirates Pitcher Pursues Farm Policy An e-mail requesting an internship arrived at the Agriculture Department this summer with an impressive resume: Princeton University degree in operations research and financial engineering, 3.8 college GPA, 1520 SATs. Frederic J. Frommer, AP NEWS - 31 minutes ago
German Minister Quits Over Afghan Strike Fallout Germany’s labor minister says he is resigning from the Cabinet amid the fallout from an airstrike in northern Afghanistan that already cost the head of the armed forces his job. Staff, AP NEWS - 31 minutes ago
Seniors Suffer in Troubled California Subdivision John and Donna Pringle were newly widowed when they fell in love and decided to slip into retirement together at a sprawling community being built for the 55-and-up crowd a few miles from their homes in this sun-bleached Southern California town. Jacob Adelman, AP NEWS - 31 minutes ago
Food Banks Go High-Tech to Feed the Hungry Food banks across the country are undergoing a high-tech revolution, adopting sophisticated databases, bar coding, GPS tracking, automated warehouses and other technologies used in the food industry that increasingly supplies their goods. George Tibbits, AP NEWS - 31 minutes ago
Industry Boosts Eurozone Economic Sentiment Economic conditions in the 16 countries that use the euro improved further in November amid mounting optimism in the industrial sector, figures from the European Commission showed Friday. Staff, AP NEWS - 34 minutes ago
Was President in Danger From Dinner Crashers? The Secret Service maintains that President Barack Obama was never in danger at a state dinner after an uninvited Virginia couple got through security, but it wouldn’t comment on whether anyone is screened for radiological or biological weapons. Larry Margasak, AP NEWS - 37 minutes ago
Dubai Woes Hit World Stocks Again; Asia Down Most European stock markets regained their poise Friday but Asia fell sharply as investors weighed the impact that Dubai’s trouble with $60 billion in debt would have on the global financial and economic recovery. Pan Pylas, AP NEWS - 39 minutes ago
Made in China: A New ‘Electromobile’ A Chinese automotive manufacturer rolls out its electric car model, pinning hopes on its environmental appeal and fuelling costs as low as a few dollars per month. Reuters Video, REUTERS NEWS VIDEO - 46 minutes ago
Japanese Flock to First-Ever Open Budget Debate Japanese flocked to a large gymnasium in central Tokyo in recent weeks to see what for them was an unusual sight: senior bureaucrats being grilled over their budget requests for next year. Malcolm Foster, AP NEWS - 46 minutes ago
ThyssenKrupp Reports Loss of Euro1.87 B ($2.8 B) German steel maker ThyssenKrupp AG reported a loss of euro1.87 billion ($2.8 billion) for the 2008-9 fiscal year and announced plans Friday to cut 5,000 jobs and sell divisions employing another 15,000 people. George Frey, AP NEWS - 49 minutes ago
Russia’s Putin: France Backs South Stream Pipeline French electricity giant EDF will join Russia’s Gazprom in supporting the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday. Deborah Seward, AP NEWS - 52 minutes ago
Swiss Vote on Proposal to Ban Minarets The campaign posters are inflammatory: Minarets rising like missiles from the national flag. Eliane Engeler, AP NEWS - 54 minutes ago
US Stock Futures Tumble on Fears Over Dubai Debt U.S. stock futures plunged Friday as a wave of fear swept through world markets over concerns that financial trouble in the Middle Eastern city-state of Dubai will upend a global economic recovery. Tim Paradis, AP NEWS - 55 minutes ago
4 Relatives Shot Dead at Fla. Thanksgiving Party A manhunt was under way in Florida early Friday for a relative of three adults and a child shot to death during a Thanksgiving family gathering. Staff, AP NEWS - 58 minutes ago
Dubai Debt Crisis Raises Financial Turmoil Fears The fallout from Dubai’s debt crisis rippled across the globe Friday, raising concerns of another wave of financial turmoil and showing how vulnerable the world economy remains despite signs of recovery. Jeremiah Marquez, AP NEWS - 62 minutes ago
Yao Ming Joins HIV Campaign in China: UN UNAIDS on Friday launched a campaign to address rampant discrimination against people living with HIV in China, with the help of Chinese NBA megastar Yao Ming. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Israel Eases Search for New Batch of Fatah Fugitives Israel has lifted orders for the capture of a new batch of fugitives from president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party provided they do not leave Palestinian-administered areas, a spokesman said on Friday. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Polish Zoo Lets Visitors Meet the Flintstones Warsaw’s zoo has opened a new display where two volunteers dressed as cavemen will spend time in a former monkey-cage, to remind visitors that humans are animals too, organisers said Friday. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Namibian Begins Voting in General Election Namibians began voting Friday in general elections expected to return the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) to power, despite a tough challenge from a new breakaway party. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Khmer Rouge Prison Chief in Shock Acquital Plea Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch stunned Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court Friday by asking judges to acquit and release him on the final day of arguments in his trial. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Sri Lanka Says to Hold Presidential Poll January 26 Sri Lanka’s electoral office said Friday that presidential elections would be held on January 26, with President Mahinda Rajapakse expected to face his former military chief Sarath Fonseka. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
Yen Surge Overshadows Better Jobless Data in Japan A fall in Japan’s jobless rate pointed at a recovery in the world’s number two economy Friday, but the government fretted that the surging yen could again derail the export-reliant nation. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 68 minutes ago
London 7/7 Relatives Slam Joint Inquest With Bombers Relatives of people who died in the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London have protested at a decision to hold inquests into their loved ones' deaths jointly with those of the dead attackers. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 68 minutes ago
End for Friends Generation as Internet Brings Down Borders Borders UK, one of Britain?s biggest booksellers, which also owns Books Etc, was seeking a buyer on Friday a day after going into administration, a spokesman said, brought down by competition from online and supermarket competitors. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 68 minutes ago
3 Adults, Child Shot Dead at Family Party in Fla. A manhunt is under way in Florida for a relative of three adults and a child shot to death during a Thanksgiving night family gathering. Staff, AP NEWS - 73 minutes ago
Deflation, Surging Yen Threaten Japan’s Recovery Japan got word Friday that prices fell again in October, just as a surging yen threatens to worsen the deflation that is undermining the country’s fragile economy. Tomoko A. Hosaka, AP NEWS - 74 minutes ago
China Pledges Stable Economic Policy for Next Year Chinese leaders pledged Friday to stick to stimulus spending and easy credit to support growth next year, making clear their unease about the stability of China’s nascent recovery from the global crisis. Joe McDonald, AP NEWS - 76 minutes ago
Hong Kong Pink Diamond to Set Record A rare ‘vivid pink’ 5-carat diamond ring by Graff jewellers, is set to hover near world record prices when it is auctioned by Christie’s on December 1. Reuters Video, REUTERS NEWS VIDEO - 76 minutes ago