LOST IN THE DARK RIDE

WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Lieberman, one of Republican John McCain’s strongest supporters, is pledging to put partisan considerations aside and work with President-elect Barack Obama. Lieberman is a Democrat-turned-independent. Although he caucused with Senate Democrats, the Connecticut lawmaker alienated many in his party for his criticism of Obama. Lieberman issued a statement Wednesday congratulating Obama for his "historic and impressive victory." Many Democrats want to strip him of his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship, kick him out of the party caucus or both because he endorsed his close friend McCain over Obama. Much depends on how badly Democrats need Lieberman to reach…

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Obama planned to spend the rest of the week at home in Chicago, turning in earnest to reviewing the hiring decisions he’ll have to make in the next two-and-a-half months. Campaign advisers have already presented him with names to review for key positions, but they said he wasn’t focused on filling the jobs before winning the election. A top priority, the advisers…

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NOOR KHAN The Associated Press WECH BAGHTU, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday demanded that President-elect Barack Obama put an end to civilian casualties as villagers said U.S. warplanes bombed a wedding party, killing 37 people, including 23 children and 10 women. The U.S. military said it was investigating the report but an American spokesman added that “if innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologize and express our condolences.” The bombing Monday afternoon of the remote village of Wech Baghtu in the southern province of Kandahar destroyed an Afghan housing complex where women and children had gathered to celebrate. Body parts littered the wreckage…

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Miliband and Kouchner’s hubristic threat to African leaders does little for those in desperate need of food, safety and shelter The Guardian headline on Monday was clear as mud. It read “Stop killing in Congo or else, leaders warned”. Everything was left hanging. Which leaders? Warned by whom? Or else what? The story was that western spokesmen had warned various African leaders, albeit via the press, that they would be “held to account, or else” if they did not do what they were told. This clearly implied military intervention and there were briefings to that effect, though only a few hundred soldiers were mentioned. The threats were from the new prophet of Blairite interventionism - David…

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An Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip killed five gunmen and a ground raid killed another yesterday, Palestinian medics said, in the first armed clash in the strip since a ceasefire took hold there in June. An Israeli army spokesperson said the air-strike missile was aimed at men who had fired mortar bombs at Israeli forces operating in another part of the Gaza Strip….

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North Korea released new photographs today in an apparent attempt to scotch rumours that dictator Kim Jong-Il is seriously ill. It follows sustained speculation abroad that the ruler of the isolationist communist nation may have suffered a stroke in August, and comes a week after claims that he had undergone brain surgery. Kim’s health is of intense interest because he has not publicly named any successor and because the regime claims to possess nuclear weapons. Kim Jong-il poses in a winter parka with soldiers in one of the pictures released today Pictures released by the state news agency show Kim posing with dozens of soldiers during a visit to two military units - though there was no…

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LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - World leaders urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday to help build a new economic order and lead the globe out of its worst financial crisis since the 1930s. People take photographs of a sand sculpture of U.S. President-elect Senator Barack Obama at Puri beach in eastern Indian November 5, 2008. (REUTERS/Sanjib Mukherjee) Excitement about the historic election of Democrat Obama as the first black U.S. President was tempered by an awareness of the challenges he faces as the world’s biggest economy heads towards recession. “We need to change the current crisis into a new opportunity. We need a new deal for a new world. I sincerely hope that with the…

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North Korean state media has released a fresh batch of photographs of the country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, but gave no details on when or where they were taken. The photos, released by the official Korea Central News Agency on Wednesday, showed Kim visiting two military units. The agency said the pictures were taken during a Unit 2200 and a sub-unit of Unit 534, but gave few other details other than to say that the North Korean leader expressed his satisfaction over their readiness to defeat any enemy invasions. Last month the North released a series of photos and news reports intended to portray Kim as active and healthy and quell speculation that he may have suffered a stroke or other…

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TOKYO (AP) _ In concert halls and ballrooms, in plazas and at beach parties, people across the globe hailed ’s election as a stroke for racial equality and voiced hopes his presidency would herald a balanced, less confrontational America. Throngs crowded before TVs or listened to blaring radios for the latest updates. In Sydney, Australians filled a hotel ballroom; in Rio, Brazilians partied on the beach. In the town of Obama in Japan, dancers cheered in delight when their namesake’s victory was declared. Observers — many in countries where the idea of a minority being elected leader is unthinkable — expressed amazement and satisfaction that the United States could overcome…

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President Dmitry Medvedev will deliver his first annual address to the national parliament today, focusing on the global financial crisis, Russia’s social and economic problems and the situation in the Caucasus. “This document will offer answers to a number of important questions facing our country. Of course, I am referr?ng to the situation faced by the Russian Federation in August, the ma?n challenge…

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