Thabo Mbeki: the fall of Africa's Shakespearean figure
South Africa's president was ousted by his own party this weekend.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,u0f,dt30,i4ns,g971
Pakistani Taliban suspected in Marriott Hotel blast
Saturday's massive truck bombing, which killed at least 50 people, is seen as a warning to the Pakistani government over its cooperation with the US.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,82h,mgnb,i4ns,g971
How $700 billion rescue plan may help house prices
Economists hope the proposed bailout will boost confidence and end the cycle of falling real estate values.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,jmjk,kdjs,i4ns,g971
Campaign '08
Women voters could be key to presidential race
But for most, economic issues are more important than candidates' gender.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,3m73,a4qs,i4ns,g971
Schools: Obama stresses more investment, McCain parental choice
A growing chorus of business and education-reform advocates are hoping the next president will create a 'Sputnik moment' for education.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,fofe,bdo1,i4ns,g971
Patchwork Nation Blog: How the McCain and Obama camps differ in travel strategies
Every vote may count in the United States, but thanks to the Electoral College, votes in some places seem to count more than in others.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,1vqe,j32t,i4ns,g971
Commentary
The Monitor's View: The mortgage buck stops where?
A public reckoning by Congress is needed before taxpayers are put on the hook.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,b619,elds,i4ns,g971
Pakistan's contradictory faces
In a country rife with extremism I saw civilized culture and a triumphant human spirit.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,3o81,kvbe,i4ns,g971
U.S. conservation win - in Canada
Forestland half the size of Texas is being saved to help thwart climate change.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,ak3y,5gdo,i4ns,g971
Features
Hot, Flat, and Crowded
Reading New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's latest book, it's hard to know how to describe him.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,2ney,ayy2,i4ns,g971
Aerosol cans: Are they OK to use now?
Q: What's the deal nowadays with aerosol spray cans? I thought that the ozone-depleting chemicals used in them were eliminated back in the 1970s. Is this true?
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,6siq,fen7,i4ns,g971
Horizon highlights - Palin and email security, Facebook and job security, computers and investing security
A weekly Innovative wrap-up.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,aa49,ifjo,i4ns,g971
Backstory
Artists try to save Gdansk shipyards - in images
The view is stark as the birthplace of Poland's Solidarity movement faces possible closure.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,bnyc,atxc,i4ns,g971
The Home Forum
Hugs that will go down in history
Democratic National Convention delegates were overcome when Barack Obama officially became the first black nominee for US president.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,24f2,efd0,i4ns,g971
All their possessions inside eight suitcases
A family gives the term 'living out of suitcases' new meaning.
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,wh7,1kzw,i4ns,g971
Christian Science Perspective: 'Understanding between the faiths'
"The direct rule for practice of Christian Science is the Golden Rule, 'As ye would that men should do to you, do ye' " (Mary Baker Eddy, "Miscellaneous Writings 1883�1896," p. 282).
http://www.elabs5.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=o1l,35xt,er,h6w6,9hxn,i4ns,g971
News in Brief
World
"Thorough preparations" are under way to restart North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, the Foreign Ministry announced over the weekend. The plant, which produces weapons-grade plutonium, was being dismantled under the disarmament-for-aid agreement with five negotiating partners. But the North complains that the US hasn't removed it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, thus failing on its end of the deal.
Israelis were expected to wake up to a changed political order after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he'd resign Sunday night. Olmert would remain in his post as caretaker until his likely successor, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, can form a new government. Reports said Livni already was meeting with prospective coalition partners.
Saying it was heeding the appeals of tribal elders and political leaders in Nigeria's oil-producing region, the leading militant group there announced an immediate new cease-fire. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta broke its previous truce Sept. 14 and declared an "oil war" in retaliation for an attack on one of its bases by Army troops. Over the past week, it claimed successful raids on pipelines, pumping stations, and soldiers guarding them. It said the new truce would last as long as it wasn't attacked again.
A large volume of helium has leaked into the tunnel holding the world's largest atom-smasher, putting it out of commission for at least two months, its operators said Saturday. The Large Hadron Collider deep under the French-Swiss border became headline news Sept. 10 when it successfully conducted its first two tests. The accident was the second to idle it since then.
Ten people were hurt and a police station was heavily damaged Sunday as suspected Basque separatists exploded powerful bombs in two cities in northern Spain. The first, outside a bank in the regional capital, Vitoria, followed a telephoned warning purportedly from the separatist organization ETA. No warning preceded the second blast, which targeted the police station in Ondarroa. The attacks came three days after a pro-independence Basque political party was banned for having ties to ETA.
Adding to China's tainted-milk scandal woes, a nightclub fire and two coal mining accidents killed at least 93 people and injured more than 80 others Saturday. The fire erupted in a three-story establishment popular with young people in Shenzen, near the border with Hong Kong, when burning Roman candles ignited ceiling tiles. As many as 1,000 panicked clubgoers stampeded for the exit. The mining accidents took place in Henan and Heilongjiang provinces and were the fourth and fifth to be reported this month.
A new threat arose Sunday to the fledgling unity government in Belgium - the withdrawal of Prime Minister Yves Leterme's Flemish coalition partner. The N-VA Party said it no longer could support him because it had lost confidence in his ability to find a solution to the thorny issue of devolving powers to the nation's French - and Dutch-speaking regions. Leaders from both sides had been expected to resume negotiations next month on dividing powers.
Assets of the Italian national airline, Alitalia, were expected to be put up for auction as soon as Monday, reports said. Barring an unforeseen new rescue offer for the bankrupt carrier, the civil aviation authority said its planes will be grounded within 10 days. Negotiations between a consortium of potential buyers and unions representing Alitalia employees broke down last week, although the umbrella Confederation of Labor argued that the government has a duty to broker a deal.
USA
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who acknowledges being short on international experience, will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other foreign dignitaries this week as the UN General Assembly opens in New York, campaign officials for GOP presidential candidate John McCain confirmed over the weekend.
Lehman Brothers can sell its investment banking and trading businesses to Barclays for an estimated $1.35 billion, a bankruptcy judge ruled Saturday in New York. The deal would be a first major step in phasing out the nation's fourth-largest investment bank, since it filed for bankruptcy a week ago.
Vice President Dick Cheney must preserve a wide range of records from his time in office, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelley ordered Saturday in a suit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. A Cheney spokesman said he will not comment on pending litigation.
A field of orbiting dust particles in the distant Aries constellation suggests that a collision may have occurred between two Earth-like planets, a team of US astronomers said late last week of the event 300 light-years away.
Muslim meatpacking workers - most of Somali background - were to meet Sunday in Grand Island, Neb., to consider a possible resolution to a dispute over religious practices with employer JBS Swift & Co. A refusal to allow prayer breaks has led to walkouts and protests. About 500 of the plant workers are Muslim.
A problem with ocean waste and litter is likely to worsen, the National Research Council said in a report to Congress that recommends designating an agency to address problems with derelict fishing gear, ship waste, and abandoned vessels.
Alaska completed a 3.2-mile "Road to Nowhere" last week, even though the controversial "Bridge to Nowhere," which was to connect to the road, was never built, the state reported. The $400 million bridge has become a symbol of questionable earmarks in federal bills.
Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays clinched the first American League playoff berth in the team's 11-year history Saturday by beating Minnesota. In the National League, the Chicago Cubs defeated St. Louis to secure their second straight Central crown and their first consecutive post-season berths in 100 years.The Christian Science Monitor
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