LA TIMES - Herman Cain denies allegation of 13-year affair, Nov 29, 2011

"By Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times
November 28, 2011, 9:08 p.m.
Herman Cain, whose status as a GOP presidential front-runner had already been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment, denied Monday that he'd had a 13-year, consensual affair with an Atlanta businesswoman.
Ginger White told Atlanta local news station WAGA-TV that she had a sexual relationship with Cain that began in the late 1990s when he was president of the National Restaurant Assn. The affair ended shortly before he jumped into the presidential race this year, she said, but their friendship had continued.
Before White's allegations had even aired, Cain adamantly denied them in his own interview on CNN. White, he said, is "someone that I know, who is an acquaintance who I thought was a friend.""

BBC News - Norway massacre: Breivik declared insane, Nov 29, 2011

"Psychiatrists assessing self-confessed Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik have concluded that he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
They believe he was in a psychotic state both during and after the twin attacks on 22 July that led to the deaths of 77 people and injured 151.
Their report must still be reviewed by a panel of forensic psychiatrists.
Breivik will still be tried in April but it seems likely he will be placed in psychiatric care rather than prison.
Breivik admits carrying out the attacks but has pleaded not guilty to charges, arguing that that the attacks were atrocious but necessary for his campaign to defend Europe against a Muslim invasion.
The two psychiatrists who interviewed him on 13 occasions concluded that he lived in his "own delusional universe where all his thoughts and acts are guided by his delusions", prosecutors told reporters."

BBC News - Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo on way to ICC, Nov 29, 2011

"Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is on his way to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague after being issued with an arrest warrant.
He left the northern town of Korhogo, where he had been under house arrest since April when he was ousted.
The ICC has been investigating alleged war crimes committed in unrest after last year's disputed elections.
The transfer comes just two weeks before legislative elections.
Forces loyal to him and those of his rival, President Alassane Ouattara, stand accused of killings, rapes and other alleged abuses in the conflict"

- Victoria Beckham wins at 'fashion Oscars', Nov 29, 2011

"Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham's elevation into the fashion industry's elite was confirmed Monday when she was awarded a major prize at Britain's most prestigious design awards.
The singer, wife of iconic footballer David Beckham, won the Best Designer Brand prize at the British Fashion Awards ceremony held in central London's exclusive Savoy Hotel.
Wearing a black halter-neck gown, Beckham claimed the 'fashion Oscar' after beating off competition from industry giants Stella McCartney, Tom Ford and Burberry.
Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton, who designed the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress and her sister Pippa Middleton's bridesmaid outfit, walked off with the evening's top prize, Designer of the Year."

BBC News - Syria security forces 'commit crimes against humanity', Nov 28, 2011

"Syria's security forces have committed systematic "crimes against humanity" in their crackdown on anti-government protesters, a UN report says.
The study by an independent panel says civilians - including children - have been murdered, tortured and sexually assaulted.
Syria says it is fighting armed gangs. More than 3,500 people have reportedly died in the violence since March.
Meanwhile, Syria condemned the Arab League's imposition of sanctions.
At a news conference, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem described the league's move on Sunday as a declaration of "economic war" on Damascus, and said the country had already withdrawn 95% of its assets from Arab countries
The sanctions include an asset freeze and an embargo on investments."

BBC News - Egypt election: Long queues in first post-Mubarak vote, Nov 28, 2011

"Large numbers of Egyptians have turned out to vote in the first elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February.
Voting was extended to cope with the high turnout and few security problems were reported.
There had been fears the vote might be delayed after deadly protests against the interim military rulers who replaced Mr Mubarak.
Protesters occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square have boycotted the vote.
The protesters fear the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, which is overseeing the transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule, is trying to retain power.
At least 41 demonstrators have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in the past 10 days, as tensions have flared in the Arab world's most populous state."

FIJI LIVE - Voice of 7s Series rugby lauds ‘magical Fiji’, Nov 28, 2011

"By Lavenia Vuadreu
The man whose name is synonymous with World 7s Series rugby, Nigel Starmer-Smith, paid a flowing tribute to the Digicel Fiji 7s team on their remarkable return to form and the guile in which they returned to the style of Fiji 7s of old.
Starmer-Smith described them as magical Fiji in his column on the International Rugby Board website saying their performance in the final capped off a wonderful Gold Coast 7s tournament which will, like other tournaments in the World 7s Series, be a very a popular event for years to come.
“It was their (Fiji 7s) new style. They made a commitment about not wanting to go into contact and wanting to go back to the style of Fiji which is about continuous attack, running from everywhere, and that is exactly what they did,” Starmer-Smith said.
“All of their big men stood up, against a team who looked a little passive.”"

FIJI LIVE - AFL Fiji ready for Oceania Cup, Nov 28, 2011

"Source: AFL Fiji
With just over two weeks to go until the opening of the 2011 AFL Oceania Cup, the Fiji Junior Tribe will be looking forward to facing the rest of the Pacific when they arrive on December 12.
Teams from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Nauru and New Zealand will be up against the Junior Tribesman who will be looking to improve on their 3rd place finish this time last year in Tonga.
AFL Fiji development officer, Glen Butler revealed the Oceania Cup will not only decide who the champions of the Pacific will be but also select the Oceania Under-16s and South Pacific U18s squads to play in Australia next year.
“In 2011, seven Fijians represented these squads but we are hoping more will be involved in 2012,” Butler said.
“This is a great opportunity to test the talent pool in the pacific and the potential for future recruitment in the AFL,” Butler added.
The Australian Boomerangs; an U16 indigenous side will be here to compete against two Pacific representative selected sides."

EGYPTIAN ENIGMA Prophecy Fulfilled, Nov 28, 2011

CNN News - Egyptians head to the polls for first vote since historic revolt, Nov 28, 2011

"Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptians streamed into polling places Monday to vote in the first election since an improbable revolt toppled one of the world's longest-serving rulers.
Hundreds of people lined up on the streets of downtown Cairo, waiting patiently to cast their ballots in the first round of voting to decide who will sit in the upper and lower houses of Parliament. The lower house will be tasked with drafting Egypt's new constitution.
"This is the first time in 55 years that I (can) vote," said Sharif Shinawi, a 55-year-old businessman. "It was never in the history of Egypt, since Adam and Eve, that we've had this opportunity. I am willing to wait 10 hours, or until tomorrow morning if I have to, but I will vote."
In Cairo's el Manial neighborhood, Mohamed Rida'a Mohamed Abdulla beamed as he left a polling station."

THE GUARDIAN - Egypt elections, Nov 28, 2011

"There have been instances of vote buying and voter coercion, according to campaigner Hatem Rushdy, but the practice appears to be less widespread than in previous elections.
There's a lot going on. We've heard of vote selling, people paying for votes, people giving out hand outs for votes - sometimes money sometimes food stuffs. It seems like it still going on. We have also heard of a lot of coerced voting where the owners of large residential housing projects have asked employees to give in their national IDs so the vote can be done on mass on their behalf. [But] it is not as widespread as it was previously, at least not in Cairo.
When Hatem voted he said two of the 12 substations had no judges to observe the ballot. But he said the vote was going better than expected and the turnout could be the highest in Egyptian history."

PRAVDA - Russia's new radar to monitor all Europe including Britain, Nov 28, 2011

"The new radar station in the Kaliningrad enclave will be ready to monitor missile launches from the entire European continent already on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The new station plays a significant role in the complex of measures, which Russia takes in response to the growing power of the US missile defense system. The radar station in the Kaliningrad region will be put into service of the air defense system on November 29, Viktor Esin, the former chief of Russia's missile troops told Izvestia newspaper.
The over-the-horizon missile warning radar Voronezh-DM is situated in the settlement of Pionerskoye of the Kaliningrad region. According to Viktor Yesin, the station will monitor the western direction on the distance of up to 6,000 kilometers. "The radar virtually covers all of Europe, including Great Britain," the official said."

XINHUA NET- Dark clouds of war shrouding Syria, Nov 28, 2011

"By Li Hongmei
BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- In response to the incumbent president Bashar al-Assad’s failure to halt a violent crackdown on eight-months of unrest against his rule, and in an unprecedented move against an Arab nation, the Arab League has voted to impose economic sanctions on Syria.
On Sunday, Damascus slammed the sanctions as a betrayal of Arab solidarity and insisted a foreign conspiracy was behind the revolt, all but alluding to more bloodshed could follow.
This has not only sent thousands of pro-government Syrians to street rallying against the sanctions which are interpreted as the clearest sign to leave Syria in the cold and more vulnerable to the outside assault, but has raised fears of civil war -- a worst-case scenario in a country that is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of the Middle East.
Syria borders five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities. And its web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. Chaos in Syria could send unsettling ripples across the region."

INDIA Today - 2G trial: Delhi High Court grants bail to Kanimozhi, four others : In the Courts News, Nov 28, 2011

"The Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and four other accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables directors Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar and Cineyug founder Karim Morani were the others who were granted bail.
Former telecom secretary Sidharth Behura's bail application would be heard on Tuesday.
Kanimozhi was arrested on May 20 and she has been lodged in Tihar Jail since then.
This was the fifth time that Kanimozhi had applied for bail. Ever since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the charge-sheet in the 2G spectrum case, Kanimozhi's lawyer has been arguing that there was no reason to keep her in jail.
The DMK reacted happily to the court decision saying it was a huge relief that Kanimozhi would now be out on bail.
Kanimozhi's hopes for bail had risen after the Supreme Court granted bail to five corporate honchos, who too were arrested in the 2G scam case, last week."

NZ HERALD Egypt generals under fire from US, Nov 27, 2011

"The US increased pressure on Egypt's military rulers to hand power to civilian leaders.
The generals turned to a Mubarak-era politician to head a new government in a move that failed to satisfy more than 100,000 protesters who jammed Tahrir Square in the biggest rally this week.
The demonstrators rejected the appointment of Kamal el-Ganzouri as prime minister, setting up a showdown between the two sides only three days before key parliamentary elections.
The protesters say they will not leave the square until the military rulers, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, step down and a civilian presidential council is formed to run the country until a new leader is elected."

BBC News - Nato helicopters 'kill Pakistan checkpoint soldiers', Nov 26, 2011

"Pakistani officials have accused Nato helicopters of firing on a military checkpoint near Pakistan's Afghan border, killing 26 soldiers.
The "unprovoked and indiscriminate" attack took place in the Pakistani tribal region of Mohmand, the Pakistani military said in a statement.
In response, Pakistan has closed the border crossing for supplies bound for Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Nato said it was aware of "an incident" near the border and was investigating.
The alleged attack took place at the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, Reuters reports, at around 02:00 local time (21:00 GMT).
Two officers were among the dead, officials said, and seven soldiers were reported wounded."

LA TIMES - Egypt protest against military rulers is biggest yet, Nov 26, 2011

"By Jeffrey Fleishman and Amro Hassan, Los Angeles Times
November 25, 2011, 5:20 p.m.
Reporting from Cairo—They came by the tens of thousands, swelling through neighborhoods, marching over bridges and pouring into Tahrir Square on Friday in the biggest protest yet against Egypt's increasingly isolated military rulers.
Workers, mothers, activists, students and doctors, their numbers multiplying into nightfall, rallied in spirit and defiance reminiscent of the chilly February days that marked the end of Hosni Mubarak's regime. Dubbed "Last Chance Friday," the demonstration had the hardened determination of a battle and the air of a carnival. Protesters bandaged after earlier clashes with police wandered amid families with face-painted children.
"

EGYPT Today Video, Nov 26, 2011

BLACK Friday Videos , Nov 26, 2011

CNN News - Ganzouri regains PM job amid rival protests in Cairo, Nov 26, 2011

"Cairo (CNN) -- Kamal Ganzouri, who once served as prime minister under President Hosni Mubarak, regained the post Friday as competing protests drew tens of thousands of demonstrators in the capital.
"We are here to serve our nation," Ganzouri said.
Ganzouri told reporters that Hussein Tantawi, field marshal of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Egypt's dominant force since Mubarak's ouster in February, "made it clear to me he is no longer willing to stay in power. If he told me otherwise, I'd not have accepted to take this role."
Ganzouri said he had asked for time to form a Cabinet "that will be accepted by everyone.""