Jack's Newswatch

#1 — BBC | Mexico clash ‘leaves 27 drug cartel gunmen dead’

The Mexican army says it has killed 27 suspected drug cartel gunmen in a clash near the US border.

[...]

#2 — BBC | South Africa to resume deporting Zimbabweans

South Africa is to start expelling Zimbabweans again, from 31 December, the government has announced, ending their special status.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Hamas, 10 other groups pledge to continue targeting Israelis

(CNN) — Members of the militant wing of Hamas and representatives of 10 other militant groups met Thursday and said they were joining forces and that attacks on Israelis would continue.

[...]

#4 — CNN | President mulls new measures to spark economy

Washington (CNN) — After a week mostly focused on Iraq and Mideast diplomacy, it’s back to the economy for President Barack Obama, who will deliver remarks Friday on the August unemployment numbers.

[...]

#5 — Fox | Category 2 Earl Hits N.C. Coast with Heavy Rain

As Hurricane Earl battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks early Friday morning, experts reported that it had produced little storm surge and only minor flooding in some of the state’s coastal counties.

[...]

#6 — Fox | Wyoming Man Donates $1.5M to Defend Arizona Immigration Law in Court

PHOENIX — A Wyoming man has given more than $1.5 million to help defend Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement measure in court, Gov. Jan Brewer’s office said Thursday.

[...]

#7 — NY Times | Fewer Young Voters See Themselves as Democrats

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The college vote is up for grabs this year — to an extent that would have seemed unlikely two years ago, when a generation of young people seemed to swoon over Barack Obama.

[...]

#8 — DM | Dramatic escape for 13 oil workers

An offshore petroleum platform has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill.

[...]

#9 — Independent | ‘Seething’ Brown claims moral high ground – but will not attack his old ally

Gordon Brown is said to be “seething” and “dismayed” about Tony Blair’s searing criticism of him in his memoirs but yesterday told aides not to respond in kind.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Taliban facing ‘financial crisis’, general claims

The Taliban is facing a “financial crisis” as Nato troops have disrupted their lucrative opium trade, according to a top US general.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Chilean miners receive first hot meal in three weeks

Chilean miners trapped underground after a rock collapse have received their first hot meal in 26 days.

[...]

#2 — BBC | Pakistan landlords ‘diverted flood water’

A senior Pakistani diplomat has called for an inquiry into allegations that rich landowners diverted water into unprotected villages during the floods to save their own crops.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Earl strengthens, heads toward East Coast

(CNN) — Hurricane Earl took aim on the Outer Banks of North Carolina early Thursday as the powerful storm prepared to take a swipe at the Eastern Seaboard.

[...]

#4 — Fox | Pakistan Militants Kill 35 Despite Floods

LAHORE, Pakistan — The triple bombing of a religious procession in Pakistan adds to the strains on a government already struggling with devastating floods and shows that Islamist militants are back in business despite the natural disaster.

[...]

#5 — Fox | U.S. Changes Military Commanders in Iraq Amid Debate Over Afghan Withdrawal

Vice President Joe Biden presided over a change-of-command ceremony in Iraq Wednesday marking the final phase of U.S. military involvement — the hand-off comes amid fresh criticism of President Barack Obama’s pledge to replicate such a transition in Afghanistan a year from now.

[...]

#6 — NY Times | Feud With Palin in Background of Alaska Upset

ANCHORAGE — The message might have seemed gracious, on its face.

[...]

#7 — DM | Blair memoir attacks on Brown plunge Labour into new civil war

Tony Blair triggered Labour civil war last night as he tried to demolish Gordon Brown’s character and record as prime minister – and hand the party leadership to David Miliband.

[...]

#8 — Independent | Why Sarkozy went to war on the Roma

The scene is a piece of wasteland on the edge of Saint Etienne in central France. A scrap of land, wedged between a cemetery and a rubbish dump, is home to 100 people, 40 of them children.

[...]

#9 — Telegraph | Prince of Wales tells Vogue readers to wear old clothes

The Prince of Wales has urged readers of Vogue to wear more recycled clothes and natural fabrics to reduce waste and conserve the world’s resources.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Two arrested over ‘assisted suicide’

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of assisting the suicide of a severely disabled 76-year-old man who travelled from Britain to Switzerland to die.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Pakistan jet strikes kill militants and family members

At least 45 people have been killed in air strikes targeting militants in north-western Pakistan, security officials said.

[...]

#2 — BBC | Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski abandons re-election bid

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has abandoned her bid for re-election, after accepting defeat in the Republican party primary ahead of this November’s mid-term elections.

[...]

#3 — BBC | Asylum seekers stage breakout protest in Australia

More than 80 asylum seekers broke out of a detention centre in the Australian city of Darwin to stage a protest.

[...]

#4 — CNN | Obama: ‘Time to turn the page’ as Iraq combat mission ends

(CNN) — Marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, President Obama said Tuesday night that America would continue supporting Iraq’s government while also looking to refocus its energies on the U.S. economy and the war in Afghanistan.

[...]

Fox | Obama Speech on Iraq War Also Turns to Economic Issues, Draws GOP Fire

Telegraph | Now it’s every Iraqi for himself

#5 — Fox | Video: Captured Mexican Drug Lord Knew Top Capos

MEXICO CITY — A former Texas high school football player and petty street dealer who allegedly rose to become one of Mexico’s most savage assassins says he personally knew the country’s top drug lords and shipped cocaine from Colombia through Panama.

[...]

#6 — Fox | Evacuation of North Carolina Barrier Island Ordered Ahead of Hurricane Earl

RALEIGH, N.C. — Tourists on a North Carolina vacation destination island were ordered to board the ferries and head for the mainland Wednesday and more evacuations could be on the way as powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe the East Coast.

[...]

#7 — DM | ‘Maddening’ Gordon drove me to drink

Tony Blair today lays the blame for Labour’s election ‘disaster’ with Gordon Brown and reveals he dealt with the ‘maddening’ pressure from his former chancellor to step aside by drinking to excess.

[...]

#8 — DM | Bedbugs are booming: Bloodsucker invades 24% more homes

Britain is facing a pandemic of bedbugs that could leave millions of homes infested.

The number of properties invaded by the biting parasites has shot up by nearly a quarter in the past year alone, according to Rentokil.

[...]

#9 — Telegraph | Russian mafia taking over French Riviera

Mafia kingpins from the former Soviet Union have moved into the French Riviera and are taking over with “quasi-military” precision.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Afghan bank chiefs removed over ‘crony loans’ fears

Afghanistan’s authorities have ousted the managers of the country’s biggest bank to try and prevent a collapse due to toxic property investments and murky loans to politically powerful customers, it has been reported.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Hurricane Earl gains strength in eastern Caribbean

A storm moving through the eastern Caribbean has strengthened to a Category Four hurricane, prompting warnings for several islands.

[...]

CNN | Hurricane Earl could reach North Carolina coast by Thursday

#2 — BBC | Chile begins drilling mine rescue shaft

Engineers in Chile have begun drilling the rescue shaft through which they hope to eventually free the 33 men trapped in a collapsed gold mine.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Stocks drop as fear returns

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks fell sharply late Monday, ending a lackluster session more than 1% lower, as the tone on Wall Street turned bearish ahead of big economic reports due later this week.

[...]

#4 — Fox | House’s Former Black Caucus Chairwoman Reportedly Gave Scholarships to Relatives

Relatives of Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and a top aide reportedly won scholarship funds from a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation program in violation of the group’s rules.

[...]

#5 — Fox | Mice, Maggots & Manure Tied to Egg Recalls

As U.S. regulators outline the details of what was found at the two massive egg farms at the heart of the salmonella recall, their assessment that the farms failed to “fully implement” measures to prevent contamination seems like an understatement.

[...]

#6 — Fox | Scientists Baffled by ‘Bootprint’ on Mars

New images of an ancient crater on Mars look just like a bootprint — and the high res pics have failed to solve the age-old mystery for planetary scientists.

[...]

#7 — NY Times | Advances Offer Path to Shrink Computer Chips Again

Scientists at Rice University and Hewlett-Packard are reporting this week that they can overcome a fundamental barrier to the continued rapid miniaturization of computer memory that has been the basis for the consumer electronics revolution.

[...]

#8 — DM | Royal Navy ‘plans to share aircraft carriers with the French’

The Royal Navy could share the use of its aircraft carriers with French forces, it has been revealed.

[...]

#9 — Independent | Four US troops die in Afghan blast

Four American troops have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Afghanistan, Nato said today.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Mexican drug baron Edgar ‘The Barbie’ Valdez captured by police

Edgar Valdez, one of Mexico’s most wanted drug barons blamed for a vicious turf war which has seen bodies hung from bridges, has been arrested by police.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Mexico mayor killed as Tamaulipas violence escalates

The mayor of a town in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas has been shot dead – the second to die in the region in the past two weeks.

[...]

#2 — BBC | Israel rabbi calls for ‘plague’ on Mahmoud Abbas

A senior rabbi from a party within Israel’s coalition government has called for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to “vanish from our world”.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Coalition: Attacks in Afghanistan leave more than 30 insurgents dead

(CNN) — Afghan and coalition soldiers killed more than 30 insurgents, including 13 would-be suicide bombers, as they fought off assaults on two military bases and government buildings in eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Sunday.

[...]

#4 — Fox | Watchdog Agency: U.S. Wasted Billions in Rebuilding Iraq

KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq — A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children’s hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets.

[...]

#5 — Fox | Beck Amends ‘Obama is Racist’ Charge, Questions President’s Belief in ‘Collective Salvation’

Radio and TV host Glenn Beck said Sunday he doesn’t want to retract his controversial charge last year that President Obama is racist, but does want to amend it since reading more about “liberation theology.”

[...]

#6 — NY Times | Risk-Taking Rises as Oil Rigs in Gulf Drill Deeper

In a remote reach of the Gulf of Mexico, nearly 200 miles from shore, a floating oil platform thrusts its tentacles deep into the ocean like a giant steel octopus.

[...]

#7 — DM | Gurkha regiment under threat as MoD spending cuts dig deep

One of Britain’s most famous Army regiments could be sacrificed under drastic defence cuts.

Ministers risk being forced to take the axe to the Gurkhas in an attempt to save millions of pounds.

[...]

#8 — Independent | Blair secretly courted Robert Mugabe to boost trade

Tony Blair secretly courted Robert Mugabe in an effort to win lucrative trade deals for Britain, it has emerged in correspondence released to The Independent under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents show that the relationship between New Labour and the Zimbabwean President blossomed soon after Tony Blair took office in Downing Street.

[...]

#9 — Telegraph | British spy death: police probe links to secret work

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the death of a British spy could be linked to his work after investigations into his private life failed to provide a motive for his murder.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Jump jets to fall victim to spending cuts

New jump jets for the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers will be cancelled to save money.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Thousands flee Indonesia volcano on Sumatra

Thousands of Indonesians have been forced to flee after a volcano erupted on the island of Sumatra.

[...]

#2 — BBC | Fears for Pakistani town after new flood levee breaches

Officials in southern Pakistan are battling to save the town of Thatta, where the raging Indus river has breached more of its levees.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Arizona sheriff challenges Justice Department’s request for documents

(CNN) — Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, is challenging the Justice Department’s request for certain documents in its investigation of alleged civil rights violations by the sheriff’s office.

[...]

#4 — Fox | 7 U.S. Troops Killed in Latest Afghan Fighting

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Seven U.S. troops have died in weekend attacks in Afghanistan’s embattled southern and eastern regions, NATO said Sunday.

[...]

#5 — Fox | New Immigration Policy to Halt Some Illegal Immigrant Deportations

Federal authorities have issued a new policy aimed at stopping deportation proceedings for some illegal immigrants, according to a memo issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

[...]

#6 — NY Times | Graft-Fighting Prosecutor Fired in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — One of the country’s most senior prosecutors said Saturday that President Hamid Karzai fired him last week after he repeatedly refused to block corruption investigations at the highest levels of Mr. Karzai’s government.

[...]

#7 — NY Times | Obama Set to Commemorate Katrina Anniversary

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama is traveling to New Orleans to tell residents he remains committed to rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina on the fifth anniversary of the devastating storm.

[...]

#8 — DM | Inside Yemen, the most dangerous place on the planet

The common sense travel advice on Yemen is: don’t even think of going there. On top of six wars in six years in the north of the country there is now also an insurgency in the south. The United Nations assesses the risk to its staff from these multiple conflicts as between medium and high.

[...]

#9 — Independent | Millions at risk as crops fail in central Africa

Hundreds of thousands of children across central Africa are at risk of death from starvation and disease after flash flooding worsened an already chronic humanitarian crisis caused by drought.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Pakistan cricket touches lowest ebb with latest match fixing claims

Pakistan cricket has been hit by a multitude of woes from doping and infighting to ball-tampering and bad governance but now faces its most severe test after new charges of match-fixing.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Chief investigator of Mexico mass killings goes missing

Mexican prosecutors say they are deeply concerned for the safety of a detective who is leading an investigation into the killing of 72 foreign migrants.

[...]

Fox | Families of migrants killed in Mexican massacre say they couldn’t pay ransom

Guardian | Mexican massacre investigator found dead

#2 — BBC | Beck under fire for rally on civil rights anniversary

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck is under fire for scheduling a rally at the site and on the anniversary of an iconic 1963 civil rights demonstration.

[...]

CNN | King’s niece defends rally on anniversary of “I Have a Dream” speech

NY Times | Where Dr. King Stood, Tea Party Claims His Mantle

#3 — CNN | Iraq put on high alert ahead of expected bombing campaign

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned Friday of likely attacks across the country and put all local governments and security forces on high alert.

[...]

#4 — Fox | Militants Attack NATO Bases in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents launched pre-dawn attacks Saturday on a major NATO base in eastern Afghanistan and a nearby camp where seven CIA employees were killed last year in a suicide bombing. NATO said there were no coalition casualties and the attacks were repelled.

[...]

#5 — Fox | 7 Folsom State Prison inmates hospitalized after riot, shots fired by guards

SAN FRANCISCO – About 200 inmates rioted at Folsom State Prison and shots were fired by guards to quell the disturbance. Seven inmates were hospitalized but officials said it wasn’t clear how many suffered gunshot wounds.

[...]

#6 — NY Times | Example Set by First Military Tribunal Case Has U.S. Wary

WASHINGTON — After working for a year to redeem the international reputation of military commissions, Obama administration officials are alarmed by the first case to go to trial under revamped rules: the prosecution of a former child soldier whom an American interrogator implicitly threatened with gang rape.

[...]

#7 — DM | Special Investigation: As France expels its gipsies, is this a chilling echo of the Nazis… or just a desperate attempt to tackle crime?

Dawn breaks over the outskirts of Paris, its arrival marked by the banging of fists on the locked door of a caravan.

[...]

#8 — Independent | Debts, lawsuits and internal feuding cast doubt on future of BNP

The British National Party faces a financial and political crisis with crippling debts and an internal rebellion which could spell the end of the far-right group as a significant electoral force.

[...]

#9 — Telegraph | Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War

Russian submarines are hunting down British Vanguard boats in a return to Cold War tactics not seen for 25 years, Navy chiefs have warned.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Pakistan relief organisations ‘discriminating against Christian flood victims’

Relief organisations in Pakistan are discriminating against Christians when they distribute flood aid, the Vatican said on Friday, as one million more people were displaced by fresh floods.

[...]

Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — BBC | Ex-US President Carter frees American in North Korea

Former US President Jimmy Carter has secured the release of an American citizen detained in North Korea.

[...]

#2 — BBC | India police say 848 tonnes of explosives are missing

Police in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh say they are investigating the disappearance of several hundred tonnes of explosives.

[...]

#3 — CNN | Google: 1 million Gmail calls on first day

(CNET) — Google Wave and Google Buzz may have had troubles attracting usage, but the new ability to place calls from Gmail appears to have caught on quickly.

[...]

#4 — Fox | Hurricane Danielle Roars to Category 4

MIAMI — Hurricane Danielle has become a Category 4 storm far out over the Atlantic.

[...]

#5 — Fox | New video gives tour of trapped miners’ refuge

COPIAPO, Chile -The first video released of the 33 men trapped deep in a Chilean copper mine shows the men stripped to the waist and appearing slim but healthy, arm-in-arm, singing the national anthem and yelling “long live Chile, and long live the miners!”

[...]

#6 — NY Times | Pakistan Flood Sets Back Years of Gains on Infrastructure

SUKKUR, Pakistan — Men waded waist deep all week wedging stones with their bare hands into an embankment to hold back Pakistan’s surging floodwaters. It was a rudimentary and ultimately vain effort to save their town. On Thursday, the waters breached the levee, a demoralizing show of how fragile Pakistan’s infrastructure remains, and how overwhelming the task is to save it.

[...]

#7 — DM | Our terrifyingly crowded solar system: How the asteroids are closing in

It’s not just our country that’s getting a little over-crowded – our whole solar system is too.

Fascinating colour-coded footage recorded over 30 years has documented the increasing number of asteroids flying close to Earth.

[...]

#8 — DM | CIA probes British spy murder as it emerges he was sent on frequent missions to Pentagon’s high-security listening post

The CIA was called in to help investigate the murder of an MI6 spy last night as it emerged he was sent on frequent secret missions to the United States.

[...]

#9 — Independent | Genome breakthrough heralds new dawn for agriculture

In a scientific tour-de-force that has been hailed as the most significant breakthrough in wheat production since the cereal crop was cultivated by the first farmers more than 10,000 years ago, scientists have decoded the genome of the wheat plant.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Anwar al-Awlaki’s father takes legal action to block son’s assassination

The father of Yemeni-US Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is taking legal action to try to prevent the CIA from assassinating his son.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Chile’s trapped miners told rescue could take months

The 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground have been told they may not be rescued for several months, the country’s health minister has said.

[...]

#2 — BBC | Taliban kill eight Afghan policemen in Kunduz

Taliban militants have killed eight Afghan police officers in the northern province of Kunduz, police have said.

[...]

#3 — CNN | 72 bodies found in Mexico were immigrants, officials say

(CNN) — Seventy-two bodies discovered at a ranch in northeast Mexico belonged to migrants who were making their way toward the United States, Mexican officials said Wednesday.

[...]

Fox | Survivor Details Massacre of 72 Migrants by Drug Cartel in Mexico

#4 — Fox | U.S. Warns Taliban Planning Attack on Aid Workers in Pakistan

The Pakistani Taliban are planning to attack foreigners assisting in the aftermath of devastating floods in the country, a senior U.S. official warned Wednesday.

[...]

#5 — Fox | Murkowski Counts on History Lesson to Remain Confident in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sen. Lisa Murkowski declared Wednesday that “it ain’t over yet, folks” as she faced the prospect of being ousted by a conservative challenger backed by Sarah Palin amid widespread anti-incumbent rage this year.

[...]

#6 — NY Times |  Despite Reform, Banks Have Room for Risky Deals

When Congress passed a new financial regulation bill last month, it sought to prevent federally insured banks from making speculative bets using their own money. But that will not stop banks from making bets that some critics deem risky, even as the rules go into effect over the next few years.

[...]

#7 — DM | Did spy’s killer steal state secrets?

Intelligence officers are investigating whether state secrets were stolen by the killer of a British spy.

[...]

#8 — DM | Rich no more: 700,000 wealthy people wiped out by the credit crunch

Around 700,000 people have seen their fortunes wiped out by the recession, a study revealed yesterday.

[...]

#9 — Independent | Six Sunni fighters killed in ambush in Iraq

Insurgents killed six members of a government-allied Sunni militia in an ambush northeast of Baghdad today, police said, offering no respite to a nation still reeling from a spate of attacks on police and soldiers a day earlier that left at least 56 dead.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | CIA memo on United States as ‘exporter of terrorism’ published by Wikileaks

A classified CIA memo discussing the United States as a possible “exporter of terrorism” because of al-Qaeda recruitment in America has been posted on website, Wikileaks.

[...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

#1 — BBC | Dozens of bodies found at Mexico ranch

Mexican troops say they have discovered 72 bodies at a ranch in the north of the country.

[...]

#2 — BBC | France to drain lake under Mont Blanc glacier

French engineers are set to drain a lake that has formed under a glacier on Mont Blanc, and threatens to flood the St Gervais valley.

[...]

#3 — BBC | Colombian youths in fear over Facebook hitlist

Colombian police are investigating the killings of three youths whose names appeared on hitlists published on the social networking site Facebook.

[...]

#4 — CNN | McCain wins Senate primary in Arizona

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain told supporters he will “take nothing for granted” after defeating former Rep. J.D. Hayworth in a bitterly fought Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Arizona Tuesday.

[...]

#5 — CNN | WikiLeaks to release CIA paper on Wednesday

(CNN) — WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website that infuriated the Pentagon when it published thousands of classified military reports, said it will release a fresh set of documents Wednesday.

[...]

#6 — Fox | Safety concerns have been raised about runway where Chinese passenger jet crashed, killing 42

YICHUN, China (AP) — At least one airline had questioned the safety of nighttime landings at the relatively new airport in northeast China where a passenger jet crashed and burned while trying to land at night on a fog-shrouded runway, killing 42 people and injuring 54.

[...]

#7 — NY Times | Job Losses Over Drilling Ban Fail to Materialize

WASHINGTON — When the Obama administration called a halt to virtually all deepwater drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon blowout and fire in April, oil executives, economists and local officials complained that the six-month moratorium would cost thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost revenue.

[...]

#8 — DM | Britain forced to borrow U.S. jets to fly from our NEW aircraft carriers as cutbacks bite

Britain will be forced to borrow U.S. warplanes to fly from the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers because of defence cuts, the Daily Mail can reveal.

[...]

#9 — Independent | British ‘spy’ found dead near MI6 offices

A man believed to be a British spy has been found murdered in a flat near the headquarters of MI6.

[...]

#10 — Telegraph | Barack Obama spending holiday playing Scrabble

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman said the First Family were “having a great time”, enjoying playing games and reading as Martha’s Vineyard was hit by wind and rain.

[...]

Popularity: 2% [?]