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A US soldier on patrol in the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan. US President, Barack Obama, has been gathering his war cabinet for what officials indicated could be the final time before he decides whether to dispatch tens of thousands more US troops to the war-torn country.(AFP/File/Simon Lim)

Obama meets war cabinet on Afghanistan

2 hours, 4 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama has huddled with his war cabinet for what officials indicated could be the final time before he decides whether to dispatch tens of thousands more US troops to Afghanistan.

  • Philippine Army armoured personnel carriers and trucks move down a highway of the town of Datu Piang in Maguindanao on military actions against separatist rebels in May 2009. At least 21 people were murdered in the lawless southern Philippines on Monday in a massacre that the military and relatives of the victims said was likely linked to a political rivalry.(AFP/File)
    Bodies in shallow graves following Philippine massacre 2 hours, 55 minutes ago

    MANILA (AFP) - Police pulled bullet-ridden bodies from shallow graves on Tuesday as troops hunted down the gunmen who massacred at least 22 people in one of the Philippines' most brutal explosions of political violence.

  • Kaing Guek Eav (Duch) reads a document in the courtroom at the Extraodinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Duch went from a diligent maths teacher to a staunch revolutionary who oversaw the deaths of more than 15,000 people under the blood-soaked Khmer Rouge regime, before finding Jesus Christ and remorse.(AFP/HO/Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia/AFP)
    KRouge trial prosecutors want Duch jailed Tue Nov 24, 12:43 AM ET

    PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Prosecutors called Tuesday for the former Khmer Rouge prison chief to receive a long jail term for his role in the "Killing Fields" atrocities as they delivered final arguments in his trial.

  • Grandmother Zheng Shuzhen holds a portrait of her deceased grand-daughter at the Complaints Department of the Ministry of Health in Beijing in early May. Two people have been executed in China for their roles in a contaminated milk powder scandal that led to the deaths of at least six infants and sickened up to 300,000, state media has said.(AFP/File/Frederic J. Brown)
    China executes two over tainted milk scandal: state media 8 minutes ago

    BEIJING (AFP) - Two men were executed in China on Tuesday for their roles in a contaminated milk powder scandal that led to the deaths of at least six infants and sickened up to 300,000, state media said.

  • A NASA image shows Planet Earth in one of the most up-to-date images of the world to date. Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday.(AFP/HO/NASA/File)
    Mankind using Earth's resources at alarming rate 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday.

  • Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said Tuesday that monetary policy is key to tackling deflation and urged the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to take on a more aggressive role in staving off falling prices.(AFP/File/Toru Yamanaka)
    Japan finance minister urges BoJ on deflation 1 hour, 29 minutes ago

    TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's finance minister said Tuesday that monetary policy is key to tackling deflation and urged the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to take on a more aggressive role in staving off falling prices.

  • An employee of state-linked Temasek Holdings at the state-linked firm's central offices in Singapore. The investment group has said it plans to raise 600 million Singapore dollars (433 million US) from new bond offerings.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)
    Temasek announces major bond offer plan Tue Nov 24, 12:53 AM ET

    SINGAPORE (AFP) - State-linked Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings on Tuesday said it plans to raise 600 million Singapore dollars (433 million US) from new bond offerings.

  • Head coach Eric Mangini of the Cleveland Browns sparked the ire of Detroit coach Jim Schwartz when he suggested Lions players faked injuries Sunday as a delaying tactic in their 38-37 NFL win over the Browns.(AFP/Getty Images/Jonathan Daniel)
    Browns coach Mangini doubts Lions injuries Mon Nov 23, 11:40 PM ET

    CLEVELAND, Ohio (AFP) - Cleveland coach Eric Mangini sparked the ire of Detroit coach Jim Schwartz when he suggested Lions players faked injuries Sunday as a delaying tactic in their 38-37 NFL win over the Browns.

  • Light-welterweight number one boxing contender Dmitriy Salita works out with a punching bag in Bushkill, Pennsylvania. Salita, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, New York, will meet British Muslim title holder Amir Khan on December 5 in Newcastle, England.(AFP/Don Emmert)
    Title fight unites boxers of different faiths Mon Nov 23, 9:51 PM ET

    BUSHKILL, Pennsylvania (AFP) - A fist fight may seem an odd way to show respect between Jews and Muslims, but when Dmitriy Salita competes for the WBA light-welterweight title next month, he'll be doing just that.

  • Brazilian actress Juliana Paes at the International Emmy Awards in New York. Britain has scooped five of the prizes, including for best performances, while Brazil joined the television elite for the first time at the gala ceremony in the US city.(AFP/Stan Honda)
    Britain tops Emmy awards list, Brazil gets first 2 hours, 22 minutes ago

    NEW YORK (AFP) - Britain walked away with five International Emmy Awards on Monday, including for best performances, while Brazil joined the television elite for the first time at a gala ceremony in New York.

  • A couple walks past a poster of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Jerusalem. Israel said there is no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.(AFP/Menahem Kahana)
    Israel says no deal yet on Shalit prisoner swap Mon Nov 23, 3:42 PM ET

    JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel said on Monday there was no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.

  • Russian NTV television channel TV grab shows a Russian firefighter putting out flames resulting from a munitions blast in Ulyanovsk. Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast Monday in central Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental weapons explosion 10 days earlier.(AFP/NTV)
    Eight dead in Russia munitions blast: ministry Mon Nov 23, 12:22 PM ET

    MOSCOW (AFP) - Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast Monday in central Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental weapons explosion 10 days earlier.

  • Scientists react as they stand in front of a screen at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) control center of the ATLAS detectors during the restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva. Two circulating beams produced the first particle collisions in the world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, three days after it was restarted, scientists announced.(AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
    Success for Large Hadron Collider as first atom smashed Mon Nov 23, 4:06 PM ET

    GENEVA (AFP) - Two circulating beams on Monday produced the first particle collisions in the world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), three days after its restart, scientists announced.

  • The KLM airplane which runs on biokerosene is seen at Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam. A Boeing 747, one of four engines powered by a 50-percent biokerosene mix, circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday for what airline KLM called the world's first passenger flight using biofuel.(AFP/ANP/Lex Lieshout)
    KLM flies world's first "passenger flight on biofuel" Mon Nov 23, 4:24 PM ET

    THE HAGUE (AFP) - A Boeing 747, one of four engines powered by a 50-percent biokerosene mix, circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday for what airline KLM called the world's first passenger flight using biofuel.

  • A sold sign is posted in front of a home for sale in August 2009 in San Francisco, California. A rush to cash in on tax incentives helped to push up sales of existing US homes by 10.1 percent in October giving momentum to the ailing sector, industry data showed Monday.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)
    Tax credits fuel 10 percent surge in US home sales Mon Nov 23, 3:37 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - A rush to cash in tax incentives helped boost sales of existing US homes 10.1 percent in October, according to data Monday showing fresh momentum for the sector at the heart of the economic crisis.

  • Gold prices soared to a record 1,174 dollars an ounce here on Monday as a sliding US currency and worries about a possible spike to inflation increased demand for the "safe-haven" metal, traders said.(AFP/File/Sebastian Derungs)
    Gold hits record high 1,174 dollars Mon Nov 23, 1:29 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices soared to a record 1,174 dollars an ounce here on Monday as a sliding US currency and worries about a possible spike to inflation increased demand for the "safe-haven" metal, traders said.

  • Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning a point against Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in a Singles match during the Barclays ATP World Tour Tennis Finals in London. Djokovic handed Davydenko another painful defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals as the Serb secured a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory on Monday.(AFP/Carl de Souza)
    Defending champ Djokovic downs Davydenko again Mon Nov 23, 6:57 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Defending champion Novak Djokovic handed Nikolay Davydenko another painful defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals as the Serb secured a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory on Monday.

  • FIFA president Sepp Blatter, seen here in May 2009, has called an extraordinary general meeting for December 2 following the Thierry Henry handball incident and an ongoing investigation into match-fixing in Europe.(AFP/File/Greg Wood)
    FIFA call crisis talks after qualifiers, betting scandal Mon Nov 23, 2:07 PM ET

    PARIS (AFP) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called an extraordinary general meeting for December 2 following the Thierry Henry handball incident and an ongoing investigation into match-fixing in Europe.

  • Susan Boyle?s album ?I Dreamed A Dream? has become the most pre-ordered CD in the history of online retailer Amazon.(Amazon.co.uk)
    British TV star Susan Boyle's album goes on sale Mon Nov 23, 12:07 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - British reality TV singing sensation Susan Boyle's debut album went on sale Monday, having already become the most pre-ordered CD in the history of online retailer Amazon.

  • Rescue workers enter a mine shaft after an explosion tore through the state-run coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, near the Russian border. The death toll from China's deadliest coal mine blast in two years has climbed to 104, local authorities said early Monday, according to state media.(AFP/Peter Parks)
    Death toll from China mine blast rises to 104: media Sun Nov 22, 7:46 PM ET

    HEGANG, China (AFP) - The death toll from China's deadliest coal mine blast in two years has climbed to 104, local authorities said early Monday, according to state media.

  • Iranian technicians remove a container of radioactive uranium at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facilities in 2005. Iran's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said that Tehran wants a guaranteed supply of fuel for a research reactor as a military chief warned that any attack on its nuclear sites would be crushed.(AFP/File/Behrouz Mehri)
    Iran wants nuclear fuel guarantees, warns against air attack Sun Nov 22, 2:47 PM ET

    TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said on Sunday that Tehran wants a guaranteed supply of fuel for a research reactor as a military chief warned that any attack on its nuclear sites would be crushed.

  • Israelis take part in a protest calling for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Jerusalem in March 2009. Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Sunday there has been "progress" in talks to free Shalit, held in the Gaza strip for the past three years.(AFP/File/Gali Tibbon)
    Israel's Peres reports 'progress' in talks to free Shalit Sun Nov 22, 3:12 PM ET

    JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Sunday there has been "progress" in talks to free soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip for the past three years.

  • Incumbent president Traian Basescu casts his vote at a polling station in Bucharest. Romania's incumbent president and his Social-Democrat rival will face a run-off after Sunday's first round election, exit polls showed, as the recent EU member tries to recover from a political crisis and a deep recession.(AFP/Daniel Mihailescu)
    Romanian president, rival face run-off vote: exit polls Sun Nov 22, 4:24 PM ET

    BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romania's incumbent president and his Social-Democrat rival will face a run-off after Sunday's first round election, exit polls showed, as the country aims to recover from a political crisis and a deep recession.

  • Handout picture shows workers at the Statkraft Osmotic power plant prototype in Tofte, south of Oslo, in October 2009. After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.(AFP/Statkraft/File)
    Harnessing the power of salt, Norway tries osmotic power Sun Nov 22, 6:54 PM ET

    OSLO (AFP) - After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.

  • With Spain facing its worst recession in decades, the government will approve this week a sweeping package of reforms aimed at changing the nation's economic growth model, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, pictured on November 19, said Sunday.(AFP/ANP/File/Valerie Kuypers)
    Spanish PM vows sweeping reforms to boost economy Sun Nov 22, 5:39 PM ET

    MADRID (AFP) - With Spain facing its worst recession in decades, the government will approve this week a sweeping package of reforms aimed at changing the nation's economic growth model, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday.

  • People walk through a pedestrian bridge while shopping at stores in a Brooklyn mall in October 2009 in New York City. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has voiced confidence that the US economy will make a strong recovery and poured cold water on talk of dropping the dollar as the key global currency.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Spencer Platt)
    US economy will 'bounce back': Indian PM Sun Nov 22, 4:21 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has voiced confidence that the US economy will make a strong recovery and poured cold water on talk of dropping the dollar as the key global currency.

  • Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe (L) shoots past Wigan Athletic's Dutch player Mario Melchiot (R) during the Premiership match at White Hart Lane in London. Tottenham Hotspur won the game 9-1.(AFP/Adrian Dennis)
    Five-star Defoe as Spurs put nine past Wigan Sun Nov 22, 4:36 PM ET

    LONDON (AFP) - Jermain Defoe scored five goals as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Wigan Athletic 9-1 at White Hart Lane here on Sunday, a record victory for the hosts in the top-flight.

  • Wide receiver Lance Long of the Kansas City Chiefs catches a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City stunned reigning Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh 27-24 in overtime(AFP/Getty Images/Wesley Hitt)
    Colts win a close one, Saints roll to stay unbeaten Sun Nov 22, 6:39 PM ET

    BALTIMORE, Maryland (AFP) - Indianapolis eked out yet another narrow win on Sunday while New Orleans rolled past Tampa Bay as the Colts and Saints remained unbeaten in the National Football League.

  • Renelly Morel (R), digital marketing manager for Ubisoft, works out with Your Shape on November 6, in San Francisco. French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft will have a virtual fitness coach whipping Wii users into shape. "Your Shape" ramp-up the healthy videogame genre by using a camera to put people on-screen and under the scrutiny of an animated coach devoted to making workouts go strong.(AFP/File/Glenn Chapman)
    Ubisoft steps up videogame fitness with virtual coach Sun Nov 22, 6:46 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft will have a virtual fitness coach whipping Wii users into shape starting Tuesday.