Top Judiciary Republican Calls Kagan ‘Dangerous’
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling Elena Kagan "a dangerous, progressive, political" nominee for the Supreme Court. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is warning fellow senators to "be careful" about backing President Barack Obama's nominee, who's expected to be confirmed easily next week. He says Americans won't forgive senators who vote to "impose a legal progressive activist legislator from the bench upon them." Sessions' latest and strongest speech denouncing Kagan comes shortly after Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine became the fourth Republican to announce she'd break with her party to support Obama's nominee. Las Vegas Sun
VOA VIEW: Voters will take revenge against Senators and Democrats as a whole for confirming Kagan.

Mueller: Homegrown Terror Growing Problem
FBI Director Robert Mueller says homegrown terrorists are an increasing problem for U.S. law enforcement. Speaking Tuesday before the National Academy Associates Annual Training Conference in Boston, Mueller said, "We continue to confront terrorist threats, both at home and abroad. Nine years ago, al-Qaida was our primary concern. Today, we also confront homegrown terrorists and individuals who may travel overseas to train for and perhaps commit acts of terrorism, but who may one day return home to plan and execute attacks here." UPI News

Expiration Of Bush Tax Cuts Would Cost Families Thousands In 2011
Millions of families will be faced with thousands of dollars in tax increases if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire at the end of the year, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. A preliminary report obtained by Fox News shows that several tax increases would hit hard if Congress does nothing to minimize the damage before Dec. 31. The study found that raising just the lowest income tax rate from 10 percent to 15 percent would cost 88 million taxpayers an average of $503 next year. Fox News
VOA VIEW: Obama wants to financially destroy working Americans.

Pentagon Focuses On 'Main Suspect' In Afghanistan Leak
The Pentagon is focusing on jailed Army Pfc. Bradley Manning as the main suspect in the leak of tens of thousands of secret U.S. military documents related to the war in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official told CNN Wednesday. Manning, 22, is believed to have accessed a worldwide military classified internet and e-mail system to download tens of thousands of documents, according to the official, who did not want to be identified because of the ongoing criminal investigation of the soldier. The FBI is assisting in the investigation as well, its director, Robert Mueller, said Wednesday. CNN

PLEASE DO BUSINESS WITH THOSE WHO DO BUSINESS WITH US -- OUR ADVERTISERS.

2nd US Sailor's Body Recovered In Afghanistan
A senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials say the body of a second U.S. sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan has been recovered. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, says the family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove , a 25-year-old from the Seattle area , has been notified of his death. Government and police officials in Logar province say villagers found a body, clothed in a uniform, on Wednesday in Baraki Barak district. Philadelphia Inquirer

Obama Takes Manhattan
It's not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but President Obama said yesterday he had a good reason for sitting down with the gabby ladies of the late-morning chatterfest "The View." Obama -- who yesterday became the first sitting president ever to appear on a daytime talk show -- said he wanted to be on a program his wife actually watches. "All those new shows, she's like, 'Eh, let me get the clicker,' " he told the co-hosts at ABC's Upper West Side studios. Obama's entire interview will air today, but the network released parts of it last night. NY Post

Biden Claims $600 Billion In Stimulus Funds Spent
Vice President Joe Biden says “Americans deserve a government that actually works,” and on Tuesday he assured liberals that the Obama administration  is “trying to build a government that delivers much more bang for the buck than it ever has before.” Biden delivered his remarks by video at a conference on how government can work more efficiently, held by the liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, D.C. “Our country is facing enormous challenges, from the economy, to health care, to energy security,” Biden said. “In all these areas, Americans deserve a government that actually works.” CNS News
VOA VIEW: Deficit spending is a dysfunctional and inept government at work.

Immigration Ruling Could Send Message To States
States that had been watching Arizona's immigration law in hopes of copying it received a rude awakening when a judge put most of the measure on hold and agreed with the Obama administration's core argument that immigration enforcement is the role of the federal government. The ruling marked a repudiation of the Arizona law as U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton indicated that the government has a good chance at succeeding in its argument that federal immigration law trumps state law. It was an important first-round victory for the government in a fight that may not be settled until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. Seattle Times

Gulf Cleanup Will Change Once Oil Stops For Good
The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said crews are having trouble finding patches of the crude that had been washing up on beaches and coating delicate coastal wetlands since the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people. Though no one knows for sure how much oil might be lurking below the surface, most of what was coming ashore has broken up or been sucked up by skimming boats or burned. Tampa Tribune

Rising Oil Prices Boost Exxon 2Q Net Income To $7.56 Billion, Best Result Since 4Q Of 2008
Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday its second quarter income nearly doubled to $7.56 billion as oil prices increased from last year. It's Exxon's highest quarterly profit since the $7.82 billion earned in the last three months of 2008. Exxon set a record for quarterly earnings in the U.S. of $14.83 billion in the third quarter of 2008 after oil prices spiked to near $150 per barrel that summer. Oil prices dropped dramatically as the global recession took hold, and Exxon's profits followed, hitting a six-year low in the second quarter of 2009. Sun Sentinel

Key Parts Of Arizona Anti-Immigration Law Blocked
A judge on Wednesday blocked key parts of Arizona's tough new immigration law hours before it was to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama administration as it tries to take control over the issue. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said she would file an appeal to reinstate the provisions, which had popular support but were opposed by President Barack Obama and immigration and human rights groups. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several provisions including one that required a police officer to determine the immigration status of a person detained or arrested, if the officer believed the person was not in the country legally. Reuters
VOA VIEW: Obama is trumping states' rights.

DOJ Accused Of Stalling On MOVE Act For Voters In Military
The Department of Justice is ignoring a new law aimed at protecting the right of American soldiers to vote, according to two former DOJ attorneys who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act, enacted last October, ensures that servicemen and women serving overseas have ample time to get in their absentee ballots. The result of the DOJ's alleged inaction in enforcing the act, say Eric Eversole and J. Christian Adams — both former litigation attorneys for the DOJ’s Voting Section — could be that thousands of soldiers' ballots will arrive too late to be counted. Fox News

Governor Sounds Alarm About Oil Spill In Michigan River
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and a Canada-based energy company to step up efforts to contain an oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, after more than 840,000 gallons of oil leaked from a pipeline since Monday. "There needs to be a lot more done," the governor said Tuesday, after touring the river area in a helicopter. CNN

Obama: Helping Small Businesses Is 'As American As Apple Pie'
Helping small businesses is “as American as apple pie,” President Obama said from a small business in Edison, New Jersey today where he urged Congress to pass the Small Business Jobs Act. “Small businesses create two out of every three jobs in this country, so our recovery depends on them,” Obama said from the Tastee Sub Shop today, “if we want to keep America moving forward, we need to keep investing in our small businesses.” The president said it’s clear that “we need to do more” to help small businesses by cutting taxes, and making more loans available through the bill. ABC

THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR WEB PORTAL. PLEASE TELL A FRIEND.

Vice President Biden Says Afghan Policy Still Developing
Vice President Biden said Wednesday that it is "much too premature" to judge the Obama administration's policy in Afghanistan, but he said this week's release of classified war documents increased public skepticism. Biden said the White House won't be able to assess whether President Obama's decision to send 30,000 more servicemembers to Afghanistan is working until December, when a formal review is due.  USA Today

Lack Of Funding Threatens The Future Of HIV Drug Therapy In The Developing World
Ten years ago, many experts thought you couldn't bring antiretroviral therapy to people with AIDS in poor countries. The drugs cost too much, there weren't enough doctors, the patients wouldn't take the medicines correctly, and the risk of creating a resistant virus was too high. None of that turned out to be true. About 5.2 million people with HIV infections are on lifesaving treatment in low- and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, antiretroviral therapy, much of it paid for by the U.S. government, is resurrecting whole communities. Washington Post

Hoyer Refuses To Rule Out Raising The Retirement Age To Address Social Security
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Tuesday would not rule out raising the retirement age to try to solve the $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities the federal government faces in Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid and federal pensions. Unfunded liabilities are commitments that the government is obligated to pay, but for which there is no money to repay debts and honor future benefits promised under Medicare, Social Security and government pensions. CNS
VOA VIEW: Liberal socialists have no shame taking money from elderly taxpayers.

Mortgage Brokers To Be Fingerprinted And Registered
Mortgage loan originators will have to be fingerprinted and sign up to a central registry to do business in future, according to final rules issued on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve and other regulators. The rules are part of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, also called the S.A.F.E. Act. They were issued by the Fed, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Office of Thrift Supervision, Farm Credit Administration and National Credit Union Administration. Mortgage brokers came under tough scrutiny in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis, with some lawmakers and regulators sharply critical of underwriting standards and practices that were seen as so loose they helped foster a housing price bubble. Reuters

Fed: Economy Slowing In Some Regions
The pace of economic activity has slowed or held steady in parts of the country, revealing a choppy path back to health. A new survey released by the Federal Reserve Wednesday found the U.S. economy growing this summer, even as risks mount. Of the 12 regions tracked by the Fed, the survey said that growth held steady in Cleveland and Kansas City, but slowed in Atlanta and Chicago. Economic activity elsewhere was described as modest. High unemployment, cautious consumers and businesses, an ailing housing market and an edgy Wall Street have kept the recovery from gaining strength. MSNBC
VOA VIEW:  The economy is slow everywhere.

Jury Of Rangel's House Peers Meets In Ethics Case
A jury of Rep. Charles Rangel's congressional peers is ready to publicly discuss charges of ethical misdeeds. But the political discussions outside the room will be far more significant. Eight House lawmakers who will determine guilt or innocence of the former committee chairman will hold their first meeting Thursday. A number of Democrats considering calls for the New York Democrat to resign will get their first look at the allegations.  Houston Chronicle

Toyota Recalls 412,000 Cars In US, 16,000 In Japan
Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday. The 373,000 Avalons being recalled in the U.S. range from the 2000 model year through to 2004 and have improper casting of the steering lock bar - a component for the steering system - causing cracks to develop on the surface. In some cases, the crack can cause the lock bar to break, potentially leading to a crash if the steering wheel locks, the world's No. 1 automaker by car sales said. No injuries have been reported from the accidents that may be caused by the defect, it said. Charlotte Observer

YOU can speak out and be heard by having your own "Column" - Visit the "Public Opinion"Section above

Airfares Higher This Year Vs. Last, DOT Reports
If you think airfares have been rising, it's not your imagination. Figures just released from the government, while a bit dated, show that airline prices in the first three months of this year rose nearly 5 percent from a year earlier. And that doesn't include baggage fees and other extras. But if you take a step back, air travel still looks like a bargain. Average fares are 25 percent lower than they were in 1999 after adjusting them for inflation, the government says. The numbers were contained in a report issued Wednesday by the Department of Transportation. The average domestic fare in the first quarter of 2010 rose to $328. Since 2001, the average price for the first quarter was higher only once — in 2008, when it hit $333. The government figures include the ticket price plus taxes and things like security fees.  MSNBC

White House Proposal Would Ease FBI Access To Records Of Internet Activity
The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation. The administration wants to add just four words -- "electronic communication transactional records" -- to a list of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge's approval. Government lawyers say this category of information includes the addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and received; and possibly a user's browser history. It does not include, the lawyers hasten to point out, the "content" of e-mail or other Internet communication. Washington Post

Scientists Say Planet Continues To Warm
Scientists from around the world are providing more evidence of global warming, one day after President Obama renewed his call for climate legislation. “A comprehensive review of key climate indicators confirms the world is warming and the past decade was the warmest on record,’’ the annual State of the Climate report declares. Compiled by more than 300 scientists from 48 countries, the report said its analysis of 10 indicators that are “clearly and directly related to surface temperatures, all tell the same story: Global warming is undeniable.’’ Boston Globe

Spain Reissues US Troop Warrants Over Iraq Death
A Madrid judge reissued arrest warrants Thursday for three U.S. servicemen over the death of a Spanish journalist killed by American tank fire in Iraq in 2003.
Judge Santiago Pedraz acted in response to a recent order from the Spanish Supreme Court that the case - twice shelved by a lower court - be reopened. Cameraman Jose Couso was one of two journalists killed when the U.S. soldiers - members of a tank crew - responded to what they said was hostile fire from a Baghdad hotel that housed Western journalists during the invasion of Iraq. San Diego Union

Intelligence Nominee Has Smooth Session
President Barack Obama's nominee to be chief of U.S. intelligence, James R. Clapper, is expected to be approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee when the panel meets Thursday. The director of national intelligence oversees the nation's 16 spy agencies. Obama nominated Clapper, a retired Air Force lieutenant general who is the Pentagon's chief intelligence official, to succeed retired Adm. Dennis Blair. The nation's third intelligence chief -- Congress created the position in 2004_ Blair stepped down under pressure after clashing with other intelligence officials. Indy Star

Obama To Defend Education Policies To Critics
President Barack Obama is defending his administration's education policies, responding to criticism that so far they have not substantially helped minority students.
The president blames some of the criticism of his plan on teachers and others resistant to change. Obama was to speak Thursday at the centennial convention of the National Urban League, one of eight civil rights organizations that released a report this week calling the president's $4.35 billion education initiative an ineffective approach for failing schools. In excerpts released ahead of the president's speech, Obama says his program's goal is to spur innovate education reform in states and turn around failing schools, many in minority communities, not just label them as troubled and then walk away. Kansas City Star
VOA VIEW: More money will not solve in inherent lack of parental responsibility among minorities.

Schwarzenegger Orders Gov't Worker Furloughs
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday brought back furloughs for thousands of state workers until California passes a budget. Schwarzenegger released a new executive order requiring state workers to take three unpaid days off per month starting next month. State workers were furloughed a total of 46 days when Schwarzenegger issued a similar order in February 2009, which translated to a pay cut of about 14 percent for workers. It's unclear how long the latest round of furloughs could last, as Schwarzenegger and lawmakers enter the fifth week of the new fiscal year without a balanced budget. CBS

Massachusetts Pushes For Popular Presidential Vote
Massachusetts is poised to become the sixth state to approve a law intended to bypass the Electoral College and elect the president of the United States by popular vote. The state senate passed the bill 28 to 9, the Globe reports, and it now goes to the desk of Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, who has said he supports the idea. Under the law, all 12 of Massachusetts' electoral votes will go to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes nationally. However, it will not go into effect until enough states have signed onto the plan to ensure that at least half of the nation's electoral votes -- 270 out of 538 -- go to the candidate who won the popular vote. CBS

 WE ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK ALL OUR SOURCES FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS IN MAKING US AMERICA'S NUMBER ONE NEWS & INFORMATION PORTAL.

BP Spill Moves Congress To Restrict Drilling Without Imposing Carbon Price
Congressional Democrats proposed tougher rules for offshore drilling in response to the worst oil spill in U.S. history, while spurning calls to place a price on carbon emissions. House and Senate leaders presented legislation yesterday rewriting oil and natural-gas drilling rules more than three months after a rig leased by BP Plc exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The bills would strengthen safety and environmental standards for exploration in federal waters, give Congress direct oversight of offshore energy production, and require companies that cause spills to pay all damages. Bloomberg

British PM Warns Pakistan About 'Promoting Terror'
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday warned Pakistan against promoting the export of terror, saying the international community will not tolerate it.
 Mr. Cameron's remarks, made during a visit to Bangalore, India, are the strongest and highest-level criticism of Pakistan since leaked U.S. military field reports this week revealed collusion between Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Washington Times

FBI Director Defends Bureau Over Test Cheating
FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that he does not know how many of his agents cheated on an important exam on the bureau's policies, an embarrassing revelation that raises questions about whether the FBI knows its own rules for conducting surveillance on Americans. The Justice Department inspector general is investigating whether hundreds of agents cheated on the test. Some took the open-book test together, violating rules that they take it alone. Others finished the lengthy exam unusually quickly, current and former officials said. ABC

ATTENTION TALK SHOW HOSTS:We are honored that many radio talk show hosts use our Web Portal for their "show prep."  We would appreciate your occasional mention of our site to your audience.  Thanks!

House Panel Passes Measure To Legalize Some Internet Gambling
A House committee passed legislation today that would legalize some Internet gambling, allowing U.S. residents to place online bets with companies licensed by the Treasury Department. The measure, sponsored by Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would roll back a law designed to block such wagers. That four-year-old law, which took effect in June, bars banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites. Bloomberg

Congress Narrows Gap In Cocaine Sentences
Congress on Wednesday changed a quarter-century-old law that has subjected tens of thousands of blacks to long prison terms for crack cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught with the powder form of the drug. The House, by voice vote, approved a bill reducing the disparities between mandatory crack and powder cocaine sentences, sending the measure to President Obama for his signature. During his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama said that the wide gap in sentencing "cannot be justified and should be eliminated." The Senate passed the bill in March. Washington Times

Jury Begins Weighing Blagojevich Corruption Case
Rod Blagojevich's fate was in the hands of jurors Wednesday as they began deciding whether the impeached Illinois governor tried to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat and schemed to use his political power for personal gain. Jurors, weighing evidence against the second Illinois governor in a row to be charged with corruption, received lengthy instructions from the judge on how their deliberations should be conducted. Prosecutors loaded two carts of exhibits they introduced at the trial that a marshal would wheel into the jury room. Las Vegas Sun

BP Oil Rig Firefighting Method Questioned
Efforts to extinguish the fire following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico may have helped sink it, ABC News reported Wednesday. The U.S. network said interviews and documents obtained by the Center for Public Integrity reveal the decision to fight the April 20 blaze with salt water rather than fire-suppressing foam may have overwhelmed the ballasts keeping the rig afloat. That may have caused the rig, leased by British oil producer BP, to list and then sink, ABC said.  UPI

 ADVERTISEMENT:If you want to advertise your business or web site on this Web Site, send us an email by clicking on to "Contact" above.  It could be the best business decision you make.

Abbas Seeks Arab Backing To Nix Talks
In a final thrust to persuade reluctant Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to enter direct talks with Israel, the EU coupled strong exhortations on Wednesday to Abbas to immediately begin them, with statements designed to give him confidence that once at the negotiating table, he will have strong support for a number of his key positions. Abbas arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a two-day visit to attend a special meeting of Arab League foreign ministers that begins on Thursday. The parley will evaluate the current proximity talks and discuss the possibility of starting direct negotiations. Jerusalem Post

'Right Wing March Could Lead To Deaths'
The State Attorney's office rejected a petition for a right-wing procession in Umm al-Fahm on Wednesday on the basis that it could lead to violence and loss of life.
Petitioning for the demonstration against the Islamic movement in Umm al-Fahm were right-wing activists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel, as well as Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari. This is not the first time prominent right-wing activists Marzel and Ben-Gvir have attempted to hold such a march in Umm al-Fahm.
Marzel and Ben-Gvir received police approval and held a similar march in Umm al-Fahm in March 2009. During the Umm el-Fahm march, rock-throwing and violent clashes with the town's residents prompted riot police to respond with stun grenades and tear gas. Sixteen policemen were lightly wounded, including deputy police chief Insp.-Gen. Shahar Ayalon. Jerusalem Post

Details Of 100M Facebook Users Collected And Published
Personal details of 100m Facebook users have been harvested and published on the net by a security consultant. Ron Bowles used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user's privacy settings. The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, contains the URL of every searchable Facebook user's profile, their name and unique ID. Mr Bowles said he published the data to highlight privacy issues, but Facebook said it was already public information. The file has spread rapidly across the net. BBC

South Korea's Prime Mminister Offers To Resign
South Korea's prime minister offered to resign Thursday after parliament shot down his efforts to scrap a plan that would relocate several government ministries out of the capital. Chung Un-chan, an academic appointed in September, has led the charge to abandon the project, thought up by the previous liberal administration.
President Lee Myung-bak has said the plan to move more than half of the 15 government ministries from Seoul and a nearby city would waste taxpayer money and create inefficiencies. Detroit News

Cameron Sparks Diplomatic Row With Pakistan After 'Export Of Terror' Remarks
A furious diplomatic row erupted between London and Islamabad tonight after David Cameron accused elements of the Pakistani state of promoting the export of terrorism. Speaking on his visit to neighbouring India, the prime minister launched the strongest British criticism yet of Pakistan, warning that the country could no longer "look both ways" by tolerating terrorism while demanding respect as a democracy. Angry responses followed from Pakistani officials in the UK and the foreign ministry in Islamabad. The row comes as Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, prepares to visit Britain next week. He is due to stay at the prime minister's country retreat of Chequers. Guardian

US Bailouts Prevented 1930s-Style Great Depression Say Economists
To Washington conservatives they were egregious examples of "big government" overreach, but the White House's economic stimulus and bailout policies have saved 8.5m jobs and averted a further slump of 6.5% in US economic output, according to a study by two influential economists. An in-depth modelling exercise by Moody's chief economist, Mark Zandi, and a Princeton University expert, Alan Blinder, paints a bleak scenario of a 1930s-style Great Depression if the US government had enacted none of its $1.7tn (£1.3tn) programmes to avert a financial meltdown. Guardian
VOA VIEW: Quacks, not geeks - bailouts only delayed economic problems.

Army 'Was Close To Seizing Up'
Britain's military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan brought the Army close to the point of "seizing up", a former head of the service said today. General Sir Richard Dannatt said the decision to deploy a task force to Helmand in 2006 at a time it was facing worsening insurgency in Iraq represented a "perfect storm" for the Army. Giving evidence to the official Iraq Inquiry, he disclosed that he had written to the then defence secretary Des Browne to warn him that morale was "fragile" and could lead to a potentially devastating exodus of personnel from the service. Gen Dannatt said he had been surprised to learn of the decision in 2004 to send British troops to Helmand, even though he was at that time the commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps which was due to be deployed. Independent

Cameron Uses Turkish Visit To Launch Ferocious Attack On Israel
David Cameron signalled a toughening stance on Israel yesterday by comparing the besieged Gaza Strip to "a prison camp" and urging Israel to end its three-year blockade. Mr Cameron's comments will carry additional diplomatic weight because they were made in Turkey, which has threatened to sever ties with Israel after its deadly assault on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. In a stopover on his way to India, Mr Cameron launched a diplomatic offensive aimed at bolstering Turkey's bid to join the European Union and enlisting its support in the efforts to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. Independent

Gene That Causes Parkinson's Disease Identified
Researchers have found a molecule that causes the nerve cell death in the brain that sparks the condition – and hope they can soon stop it in its tracks. The discovery was described as a "significant step forward" in the battle against the degenerative disease that affects 120,000 people in the UK – or one in 500 of the population – with 10,000 new cases being diagnosed each year. Research may lead to vaccine for diabetes, scientists sayParkinson's is a movement disorder characterised by uncontrollable shaking and loss of co-ordination of muscles. Telelgraph

Global Warming Evidence Is 'Unmistakable'
A new climate change report from the Met Office and its US equivalent has provided the "greatest evidence we have ever had" that the world is warming. The report brings together the latest temperature readings from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean. Usually scientists rely on the temperature over land, taken from weather stations around the world for the last 150 years, to show global warming. But climate change sceptics questioned the evidence, especially in the wake of recent scandals like "climategate". Now for the first time, a report has brought together all the different ways of measuring changes in the climate. The ten indicators of climate change include measurements of sea level rise taken from ships, the temperature of the upper atmosphere taken from weather balloons and field surveys of melting glaciers. Telegraph

Al-Qaida-Linked Group Claims TV Bombing In Baghdad
An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bombing earlier this week targeting the Baghdad offices of a pan-Arab television station, describing the deadly attack that killed six people as a victory against a "corrupt channel." A statement posted on the website of the Islamic State of Iraq said the operation was carried out by a "hero of Islam" and was intended to hit the "mouthpieces of the wicked and evil." The Arabic-language news channel Al-Arabiya is one of the most popular in the Middle East but is perceived by insurgents as being pro-Western. A suicide bomber driving a minibus Monday drove through at least two checkpoints before pulling up to the front of the station's Baghdad office and blowing himself and his vehicle up. Atlanta Journal

Afghan President Asks Why Allies Won't Act On Pakistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned on Thursday the willingness of his Western allies to strike insurgent bases in Pakistan given the strong evidence of Islamabad's support for the Taliban. The question now is 'why they are not taking action'?" Islamabad's covert backing of the Taliban resurfaced this week with the publication by the whistleblower organisation WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified U.S. military documents related to the near-nine-year-old war. NY Times

General Assembly Declares Access To Clean Water And Sanitation Is A Human Right
Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, the General Assembly declared today, voicing deep concern that almost 900 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water. The 192-member Assembly also called on United Nations Member States and international organizations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer countries scale up their efforts to provide clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for everyone. UN News

Secretary-General To Honour Atomic Bomb Victims In Hiroshima And Nagasaki
Ban Ki-moon is set to become the first United Nations Secretary-General to attend the Peace Memorial Ceremony on the anniversary of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima when he visits the southern Japanese city next week. Mr. Ban is also scheduled to visit Nagasaki, which was bombed on 9 August 1945, three days after Hiroshima was attacked. More than 200,000 people died of nuclear radiation, shock waves from the blasts and thermal radiation. Additionally, over 400,000 more people have died – and are continuing to die – since the end of World War II from the impacts of the two bombs. UN News

ABC Online  Canada National Post  Daily TelegraphThe Observer Wired News Xinhua News

VOA VIEW -- Is the opinion of Voice of America, Inc.  The founding fathers of this great nation gave us the First Amendment.  You too can express your opinion on this web site.  Click on the blue "Public Opinion" button at the top of this page for full details.  The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of the ownership or advertisers of this web site.