Saturday, December 27, 2008
International
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 27 December, 2008
U.S. SLUDGE SPILL GROWS TO A BILLION GALLONS
Estimates for the amount of sludge that gushed from a coal plant
in the U.S. state of Tennessee have tripled to more than a
billion gallons (nearly 3.8 million kiloliters), inundating
homes and railroads and threatening a nearby river.
PAKISTAN MOVES TROOPS TO INDIA BORDER
Pakistani troops have been moved to the Indian border amid fears
of an Indian ground incursion, two Pakistani military officials
say. India's prime minister was briefed on the security
situation amid rising cross-border tensions following the
terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
BLAST KILLS 13 IN CHINESE VILLAGE
An explosion early Saturday killed at least 13 people and
collapsed 10 houses in east-central China's Henan province,
state-run media reported.
MILITANTS' ROCKET KILLS 2 CHILDREN IN GAZA
A rocket fired by Palestinian militants fell on a Gaza home and
killed two children, Palestinian sources say, on the same day
Israel opened three Gaza border crossings for the first time in
10 days.
FIVE DIE IN PERU DISCO STAMPEDE
Police in Peru search for the person who threw a tear gas
canister into an unlicensed discotheque early Christmas Day,
causing a stampede that killed five people, Peruvian news
reports said.
POLICE: BURNS ALTERED 'KILLER SANTA' PLAN
Police in the U.S. state of California say Bruce Jeffrey Pardo,
while dressed as Santa Claus, shot people at the home of his
former in-laws, torched the house and then suffered third-degree
burns. That's why he killed himself rather than use the airline
ticket in his pocket to Canada, they said.
NO CHARGES FOR HANUKKAH PARTY CRASH DRIVER
Charges will not be filed against a 76-year-old man who lost
control of his vehicle and crashed into a building where a
Hanukkah celebration was under way, police in Long Island, New
York, say.
IRANIANS TOSS SHOES AT BUSH POSTERS
A few dozen Iranians threw shoes at posters of U.S. President
George W. Bush in Tehran, a demonstration of support for an
Iraqi journalist jailed for throwing his shoes at Bush two weeks
ago in Baghdad.
BUSINESS
JAPAN'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT SEES RECORD FALL
Japan's industrial output took the largest drop in history in
November over October, tumbling 8.1 percent -- nearly double the
previous high of 4.3 percent in January 2001, according to a
report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
TWO TRIED OVER TAINTED MILK POWDER
A dealer of a toxic chemical and a producer went on trial Friday
in China, state media reported, in the latest development in the
country's tainted milk powder scandal that left six babies dead
and sickened 290,000 others.
AMERICANS KEEP TIGHTER GRIP ON CASH
In a troubling sign that U.S. consumers are retrenching this
holiday season, consumer spending and orders for durable goods
fell further in November, according to government reports.
