Daily News Channel
Eighteen months ago, when the world was awash in asset bubbles, there was perhaps no market more overheated than commodities. Prices of everything from iron ore to palm oil to corn reached dizzying heights.
Mexican officials closed all schools Friday in the capital city in an effort to combat the swine flu virus that has killed dozens in Mexico and infected eight people in the United States. Authorities also closed schools in Mexico in an effort to quell the virus, which has killed at least 68 people in the country, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico
Lance Armstrong was cleared Friday to ride in this year’s Tour de France, health permitting, after the French anti-doping agency confirmed it would not be launching disciplinary procedures against the seven-time champion. The agency opted not to take any action against the 37-year-old American in connection with an incident in the French Riviera town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer on March 17. Although Armstrong is recovering from breaking his collarbone in March, he has indicated he hopes to be ready for the Tour de France in July.
Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger’s run-in with a flock of Canada geese may be the most famous man-versus-nature story in recent months
Taliban militants made their deepest incursion into Pakistan this week, seizing control of areas that are a short drive from the capital city. A Pakistani government official said the militants fully withdrew from the Buner district on Friday, although other officials cast doubt on the extent of the pullout and how long it would last.
Countries have pledged $213 million at an international conference to boost security in Somalia and halt the country’s growing piracy problem. “We have a unique opportunity to support leaders who have shown a commitment to building peace and rebuilding the Somali state,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “By opening the space for security, we open the door to a better life for Somalia’s people.” “The risks of not supporting the new government are too high and the costs of failure too enormous,” Ban added
Somalia’s prime minister told CNN Thursday that the international naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden are not solving the problem of piracy in the region. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke pointed to the recent increase in pirate attacks as evidence, and called for the U.N. arms embargo on Somalia to be lifted so the government can fight back against the pirates and local militant Islamist groups
A well-known Iranian filmmaker has written an open letter calling for the release of journalist Roxana Saberi.
The mysterious deaths of 21 prized polo horses Sunday at a club in Florida provides a peek inside the private world of a sport that generally is off limits to all but the very wealthy. The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville and the state-run Kissimmee Diagnostic Laboratories near Orlando are conducting necropsies on the dead animals.
Sri Lankan military authorities predicted a swift end to the country’s 25-year civil war after tens of thousands of civilians who had been trapped in a narrow combat zone in the country’s north for over two months escaped the iron grip of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on April 20. But more fighting is in store before that end can be reached. It will take weeks, if not longer, to capture or kill the over 500 hardcore Tigers — including leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who is holed up deep inside the zone — ready to fight to the death