THE GUARDIAN - India's hitman trial exposes criminal world thriving on economic boom | World news, Nov 17, 2011

"It was a late summer's evening in Ghaziabad city. Two small cars were parked outside the Bikaner Wallah sweetshop. Sitting in one, with two friends, was Jagghu Pehlwan, wanted for more than 150 murders. In the other, five more men were drinking and talking. Watching through the heavy monsoon rain were members of the Ghaziabad police special operations group.
According to Inspector Anil Kaparwan, who leads the group, Pehlwan fired "two or three shots" from his Beretta pistol but otherwise was captured without a struggle. If the charges against him are true, the man who is India's most notorious contract killer and one of the world's most lethal serial murderers, was soon behind bars."

INDIA Today - India talks tough on N-liability laws ahead of PM-Obama meet, Nov 17, 2011

"On the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talks with US President Barack Obama, the government on Thursday said the notification of rules for conduct of nuclear business should address concerns that any foreign company could have on the issue of liability being unlimited or unending.
A day after making public the rules for conduct of nuclear business, official sources said these make it clear that liability cannot be unlimited or unending, a contention that assumes significance in the context of implementation of Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
They underlined that law of the land will have to apply and the notification of the rules only clarifies the situation with regard to payment of compensation to victims in the case of a nuclear accident without waiting for the legal procedures to come into play."

PRAVDA - Putin upsets Condoleezza Rice, Nov 17, 2011

"The security advisor and the Secretary of State in the administration of the most unpopular president in US history believes that Putin's intention to run for presidency will lead to mass riots in Russia. Not now, of course, but some time later.
After she stopped serving as the head of the US State Department, Condoleezza Rice became a professor of Political Economy in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Ms. Rice does not release many comments about Russia on her current position. This is the reason why her recent remarks attracted so much attention - in Russia, first and foremost."

XINHUA NET - ASEAN leaders gear up Community building, Nov 17, 2011

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders adopted the Bali Declaration on ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, or the Bali Concord III here on Thursday, which, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty M. Natalegawa said, would help ASEAN act in unison in global matters.
"We have discussed at the session a broad range of issues. We have discussed regional connectivity, the implementation of the ASEAN Charter, the role of ASEAN, and exchanged views regarding international and regional issues," said Marty M. Natalegawa at a press briefing after the signing ceremony."

ABS - CBN, Philippines - Gov’t rushing electoral sabotage case - Horn, Nov 17, 2011

The Aquino administration is rushing to file the electoral sabotage case against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo so that it will finally have a strong basis not to allow her to go abroad, her spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn alleged on Thursday.
In an interview with reporters in St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, Horn told reporters the Arroyo camp has received information from 3 reliable sources that the joint panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to issue the indictment even before the special Supreme Court en banc session on Friday."
   

BRUNEI TIMES - Sabah to be model for Southeast Asia inforest management, Nov 17, 2011

"SABAH is poised to become a model for Southeast Asian countries in sustainable forest management.
United Nations resident coordinator for Malaysia and United Nations resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Kamal Malhotra said Sabah remained a very important place to demonstrate the concept of sustainable development not only in Malaysia but also within Southeast Asia.
"What is going on here is closely monitored by those who are interested in sustainable developmment. We will support the government of Sabah in managing its forest through Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)." He told this to reporters at the launch of the International Conference on Sabah Heart of Borneo Green Economy and Development - Engaging Business for Environment, here, yesterday."

BRUNEI TIMES - HM to attend Asean Summit, Nov 17, 2011

"His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam (L) arriving in Bali Indonesia for the 19th Asean Summit. He is being greeted by Indonesia's Minister of Social Affairs Dr Salim Segaf Al-Jufrie. Picture: Infofoto
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ABC News, Australia - Burma rewarded as ASEAN summit opens, Nov 17, 1011

"Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have opened their annual summit, making an agreement to allow Burma to take over the rotating presidency of the organisation in 2014.It is the first time Burma has attended the summit, which began in the Balinese town of Nusa Dua amid a heavy security presence today.

Burma was supposed to hold the presidency of ASEAN five years ago, but gave it up following pressure over its human rights record.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan says Burma has made progress in recent months under the new military backed, civilian-led government."

NZ HERALD - Marines gain foothold in Australia, Nov 17, 2011

"Up to 250 United States Marines will be based on Australian soil from the middle of next year, underscoring growing concern over an increasingly assertive China.
The US military deployments in the Northern Territory will build in stages to a task force of 2500 by 2016.
President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard outlined the agreement yesterday, which will also see the US Air Force make greater use of Australian bases."

FIJI LIVE - Welcome to Fijilive Sports - FASANOC to rule on ban appeal next month, Nov 16, 2011

"The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee today confirmed receiving an appeal from one of 11 sporting personalities who were dished penalties last week due to ill-discipline during the Pacific Games.
But, FASANOC chief executive Lorraine Mar says hearing will not be done until next month when a 30-day appeal period ends.
Mar did not disclose the person’s identity, but says the wait is feasible in case more appeals are received.
“We can’t be calling in the appeals committee each time an appeal is received. The 11 were given a 25-30 days period to appeal the ruling so we may receive more in the coming days. So it’s only fitting the hearing is done when the period ends which is early next month,” Mar said."

FIJI LIVE - Welcome to Fijilive Sports - Match fitness not a concern for Fiji 7s team, Nov 17, 2011

"Fiji 7s coaches, Alifereti Dere and Etuwate Waqa are not worried by the lack of build-up matches ahead of the 2011/12 HSBC World 7s Series at Gold Coast next weekend.
Dere and Waqa have set up a strict training schedule for the Setefano Cakau-skippered side, even discouraging players from featuring in local tournaments and joining up with their respective clubs.
“Right now, with time not on our side we want to make sure that all these players are injury-free for the Gold Coast 7s,” Dere said.
“We know that match fitness have been a weakness for the previous Fiji teams, but we wouldn’t have decided against this had we not been confident that these boys are good without it.”"

HAWAII REPORTER - US Soldier Found Guilty of Killing Unarmed Afghans, Nov 17, 2011

"A U.S. soldier has been convicted on charges involving the random murders of three unarmed Afghan civilians last year.
Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs was found guilty Thursday by a military jury after a weeklong court martial at an Army post in Washington state. The 26-year-old soldier was sentenced to life in prison, but is eligible for parole after serving at least eight years.
Prosecutors said Gibbs led a five-member rogue U.S. army unit, described as a "kill team." The charges against him ranged from murder to chopping fingers off victims to keep as trophies."

HAWAII REPORTER - U.S. State Department Special Agent Indicted by Oahu Grand Jury on Second Degree Murder Charge, Nov 17, 2011

"HONOLULU, HAWAII - The Honolulu City Prosecutor announced today that an Oahu grand jury indicted U.S. State Department special agent Christopher W. Deedy for murder in the second degree and the use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony in the shooting death of a Kailua man on November 5 in Waikiki.
Deedy, 27, of Arlington, Va., was in Hawaii to help with security efforts for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, an event that attracted 21 world leaders and 20,000 participants from November 7 to 13."

HAWAII REPORTER - Scammed In Laos, Trapped in America, Nov 17, 2011

"BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - Bouala Phommachanh, 55, agreed to leave his wife and five children behind in the fall of 2005 to take a farming job in Hawaii after a recruiter visited his home in the Laos capital of Vientiane.
The Laotian recruiter promised that if Bouala answered the questions correctly at the American Embassy, he could make enough as a farm worker in Hawaii to pull his family out of poverty. Bouala wasn’t convinced, but his wife was, and she urged him to go."

BBC News - Bank of England sees 'worsened' economic outlook, Nov 16, 2011

"The UK's economic outlook has worsened and the economy could stagnate until the middle of next year, the governor of the Bank of England has said.
Sir Mervyn King also said that the eurozone debt crisis was the "single biggest risk" to the UK.
The Bank has cut its 2011 and 2012 growth predictions to about 1%.
It came as the UK unemployment total rose by 129,000 in the three months to September to 2.62 million, with youth unemployment above one million."

BBC News - Portugal's PM Pedro Passos Coelho visits Angola, Nov 16, 2011

"Portugal's prime minister is travelling to oil-rich Angola, which is boosting its investment in its former colonial power caught up in the eurozone debt crisis.
Angolan presidential aide Carlos Maria Feijo said Portugal's privatisation scheme would be discussed.
The International Monetary Fund has ordered Portugal to sell state companies to qualify for a bailout."

BBC News - Iraqi women: Winners or losers in a war-torn society? Nov 16, 2011

"As the remaining US troops in Iraq prepare to return home, how has life changed for women in the country they are leaving behind?
Junior hospital doctor Lubna Naji is used to dealing with mass casualties. Last week it was a bomb explosion at Baghdad's biggest market.
"The emergency room was a total mess. Distressed people, burns, shell injuries. But I finished duty, ordered some food and soon I was laughing again.
"If we grieved about every single tragedy that happens over here we will spend our entire lives grieving because it's continuous," says the 25-year-old."

BBC News - Liquid lakes close to moon's skin, Nov 16, 2011

"Scientists have found the best evidence yet for water just beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.
Analysis of the moon's surface suggests plumes of warmer water well up beneath its icy shell, melting and fracturing the outer layers.
The results, published in the journal Nature, predict that small lakes exist only 3km below the crust.
Any liquid water could represent a potential habitat for life.
From models of magnetic forces, and images of its surface, scientists have long suspected that a giant ocean, roughly 160km (100 miles) deep, lies somewhere between 10-30km beneath the ice crust."

BBC News - India 'honour killers' face death for 1991 murders, Nov 16, 2011

"A judge in India has sentenced eight men to death and 20 others to life imprisonment for three so-called honour killings that took place in 1991.
The men were found guilty of murdering a Dalit boy and a girl from a higher caste who had eloped together, as well as the boy's cousin."

BBC News - Monti unveils technocratic cabinet for Italy. Nov 16, 2011

"Mario Monti was sworn in as prime minister during a ceremony in Rome
Mario Monti has unveiled a new, technocratic cabinet meant to steer Italy through its debt crisis after the fall of Silvio Berlusconi's government.
Mr Monti, who has now been sworn in, appointed a banker to lead a super-ministry of development, infrastructure and transport.
Mr Monti, a former EU commissioner, has sought to reassure markets that Italy will overcome its debt crisis."