If an island state vanishes, is it still a nation?

Thai PM to face court as party faces ban
AFP Thailand's Prime Minister is due in Court on Monday as his party tries to fend off a possible ban that threatens to further shake the kingdom's fractured political landscape. Abhisit Vejjajiva, alongside other executives, faces a five-year ban from politics and the ruling Democrat Party could be dissolved if it is found Guilty of Corruption by the Constitutional Court. The premier is set to be a witness for the defence in what could be the final hearing before judges rule on the case, which...

Thai PM in court as party faces ban risk
AFP Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva arrived at Court amid tight security on Monday as his ruling party fights to avoid a political ban that could bring fresh upheaval to the deeply divided kingdom. Abhisit will be a witness for the defence at the Constitutional Court in what could be the final hearing in the case, which centres on accusations of misuse of a 29 million baht ($A908,907) state grant in 2005. The Democrat Party - Thailand's oldest party - could be dissolved if found Guilty,...

Thai PM testifies in crucial case
The government's stability remains open to question in view of the strength of opposition red-shirt movement [AFP] The Thai Prime Minister has appeared in court in a bid to stop his governing party from being banned. Abhisit Vejjajiva was a witness for the defence on Monday at the Constitutional Court in what could be the final hearing in the case that centres on accusations of misuse of a 29-million-baht ($900,000) state grant in 2005. He made no...

Thailand rescues nearly 100 elephants from floods
Bangkok — Thailand evacuated dozens of elephants from a popular tourist attraction Monday after they were threatened by floods that submerged homes and paralyzed transportation in parts of the country. The rescue operation in Ayutthaya province, north of the capital, had 92 of the endangered beasts moved from a site known as Elephant Village, said manager Ittiporn Kaolamai. He said five baby elephants and their mothers would be taken to an elevated part of the village but the rest would...

Thai "red shirts" rally to demand leaders be freed
By Sinthana Kosolpradit AYUTTHAYA, Thailand | Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:22am EDT AYUTTHAYA, Thailand (Reuters) - Thousands of Anti-Government "red shirts" demonstrated in the old Thai capital of Ayutthaya on Sunday to demand the release of their leaders and scores of comrades detained since bloody Protests in April and May. By 5 p.m. (6 a.m. EDT), witnesses estimated a crowd of some 10,000 had assembled in the town, 76 km (47 miles) north of Bangkok, for the group's third big rally since September 19...

Italian mafia informant dissolved in acid: police
MILAN | Mon Oct 18, 2010 11:52am EDT MILAN (Reuters) - A mafia informant who disappeared nearly a year ago was tortured and her body dissolved in acid by her former partner and other family members angry that she had cooperated with authorities, Italian Police said Monday. The woman, 35-year old Lea Garofalo, was forced onto a truck carrying 50 liters of acid, interrogated by her abductors and later killed in a field near Milan in the night between November 24 and November 25, 2009,...

Super typhoon lashes Philippines
AFP Super Typhoon Megi became the strongest cyclone in years to buffet the Philippines on Monday. Meanwhile, Flooding in Vietnam swept away a bus and left 20 people missing, including a girl pulled from her mother's grasp by the raging waters. The huge storm striking the Philippines drowned at least one man and was expected to hit China, where authorities evacuated 140,000 people from a coastal province. Advertisement: Story continues below The storm could head later in the week to Vietnam,...

Strongest typhoon in years hits northeast Philippine coast; bus swept away in Vietnam
Manila, Philippines — Super Typhoon Megi became the strongest cyclone in years to buffet the Philippines on Monday, while floods in Vietnam swept away a bus and left 20 people missing, including a girl pulled from her mother's grasp by the raging waters. The huge storm striking the Philippines left at least one man drowned there, and was expected to plunge later into China, where authorities evacuated 100,000 people from a coastal province. The storm could head later in the week to...

Games corruption inquiry begins
A group of Indian Ministers is meeting later to begin investigating claims of Corruption at the Commonwealth Games. Led by Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, they will look into the awarding of contracts and how the work was supervised. Meanwhile, India's media reports the Central Vigilance Commission, a graft Watchdog, is checking 22 Games-related works and purchases for irregularities. The run-up to the event in Delhi was dogged by construction delays. After the troubled start,...

Pakistan awaits statement on judges
Gilani's remarks come as the government fights a Legal Battle over Corruption charges concerning the president [EPA] The Pakistani Prime Minister is due to give a statement to the country's Chief Justice to clarify the government's position regarding plans to dismiss judges. Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is due to make the statement on Monday, aims to allay fears of a looming clash between the executive and judiciary over longstanding Corruption cases,...

Caribbean governor questioned proposed deal with firm allegedly linked to Ashcroft
The British Governor of a Caribbean island questioned the propriety of a proposed deal between a company allegedly backed by the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft and a Prime Minister now under investigation over alleged Corruption, according to Foreign Office documents. Richard Tauwhare, the then Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, claimed that the island's Prime Minister Michael Misick was planning to award a commercial project to redevelop the island's airport to a "Lord Ashcroft...

40-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm reaches final of Japan Women's Open
OSAKA, Japan — Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm remains on track to become the oldest player to win a WTA singles title after beating Shahar Peer in the semifinals of the Japan Women's Open on Saturday. Date Krumm, who turned 40 last month, broke the third-seeded Israeli Peer to go up 6-5 in the third set before serving out for a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 win. "Considering my age and the years I was away from the tour, I would say this is a miracle" Date Krumm said "I just hope that my physical and...

Roadside bomb in Baghdad kills local politician
Baghdad — A Roadside Bomb hit a convoy carrying a member of Baghdad's Local Government, killing him and wounding eight people on Monday, a spokesman for Baghdad's Provincial Council said. Insurgents have often targeted Iraqi politicians and Government officials who have been bickering for months over the Makeup of a new Government and who should lead the country after parliamentary election in March produced no clear winner. The Council's spokesman, Mohammed Hashim, said the politician,...

Spectators react to Conway/ Paul debate
Related:    Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) -- As Jack Conway and Rand Paul supporters waited to get inside Bigelow Hall, the battle lines were drawn.  "I'd like to see Rand be able to educate the people about the truth of what he's really saying instead of people listening to the negative Ads," said Tim Profitt, a Paris, Ky. resident and Rand Paul supporter.    "I want to see the truth come out I hope and some actual factual stuff about jobs for Kentucky and...

Nigeria's Pre-Election Tensions
The Car Bombs detonated (Reuters) near Abuja's Eagle Square on October 1 ruined a high-profile Military ceremony celebrating Nigeria's fifty years of independence and put President Goodluck Jonathan and other senior political figures at risk. Though the politicians were unhurt, there were sixteen deaths--including security operatives--and sixty-seven injured. President Jonathan's mishandling of the aftermath of the bombings threatens to exacerbate regional tensions. It has also likely reduced...

Queen Nancy To Blame Bush, As Democrat Party Implodes
With her party down in the polls and poised to lose potentially dozens of seats in the mid terms, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will use one of her last major speeches before the Elections to hit two favorite Democratic targets: George W. Bush and the Chamber of Commerce. We have lost millions of jobs to Outsourcing under President Bush. We dont intend to repeat that policy no matter how much money the Chamber of Commerce dumps into our Elections,” Pelosi plans to tell the Women of Steel...

Union Bosses Are Funneling Millions to Democrats to Keep Money Flowing To Them
Last year, for the first time ever , the number of Public-sector Union members exceeded Private-sector Union members. As it has been estimated (conservatively) that Private-sector Union members(most of them under the threat of losing their jobs )shell out $13-$15 Billion annually in Union dues, given the growth in Public-sector Unions, the Union industry easily rakes in in excess of $26 Billion or more per year in Union dues alone. As a result, Union bosses have a vested interest...

Alex Sink Loves Felons
I am a diehard Karen Handel supporter for Governor of Georgia. I believe Nathan Deal won the nomination by lying about Handel’s record. After Deal’s nomination, we now see what appears to be insurmountable allegations of Corruption, bad business Deals, near Bankruptcy, etc. But all things being equal, I’ll be Voting for Nathan Deal while holding my nose because even with all his problems, he is still better than Roy Barnes. So I get that many Republicans in Florida are...

Obama: Political Misfortunes Show That "facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day"
How much does the president not understand why his party is about to get shellacked? This much : West NEWTON, Mass. - President Barack Obama said Americans' "fear and frustration" is to blame for an intense Midterm Election cycle that threatens to derail the Democratic agenda. "Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're...

World photos of the week
A devotee of the Chinese Bank Neow Shrine with his cheeks pierced with toy guns takes part in a procession through the streets to mark the annual Vegetarian Festival in southern Thailand's town of Phuket on October 13, 2010. The festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days, with many religious devotees slashing themselves with swords, piercing their cheeks with sharp objects and committing other painful acts to purify themselves, taking on the sins of the...

Iraq's Maliki meets rival al-Sadr in Iran: report
By Ramin Mostafavi and Parisa Hafezi Tehran | Mon Oct 18, 2010 2:31pm EDT Tehran (Reuters) - The Iraqi Prime Minister met his erstwhile Shi'ite Muslim rival in Iran Monday, state television said, as Tehran moved to patch over their differences to help ensure Iraq's next government is led by Shi'ites. With Iranian intervention, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had already won the public backing of fiery anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for his bid for a Second Term in office after an...

Iranian Chocolate Thief To Lose His Hand
From those defenders of the faith at the Agence France-Press : Iranian chocolate thief ‘to have hand chopped off’ October 18, 2010 Tehran An Iranian court has condemned a man convicted of robbing chocolates and cocoa from a Tehran pastry shop to have a hand chopped off , Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Judge Mohammad Reza Giyuki, quoted in the report, also sentenced the 21-year-old man, whose identity was not revealed, to six months in Prison for damaging the shop and...

Oil workers, youths, truckers defy French govt
Paris – French oil workers defied the government's demand Monday to get back to work and end fuel shortages, stepping up their fight against President Nicolas Sarkozy's Retirement reforms, as youths faced off against Riot Police and truckers joined the Protests. Airlines, meanwhile, were told to drastically cut back their flights into France on Tuesday, when the next national street Protests are planned, and severe disruptions to Air Travel, Public transport, schools and other facilities...

'Protesters' Attack France's Fuel Supplies
From a cheering Associated Press : Oil workers, youths, truckers defy French govt By Greg Keller, AP Business Writer October 18, 2010 Paris French Oil workers defied the government’s demand Monday to get back to work and end fuel shortages, stepping up their fight against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Retirement reforms, as youths faced off against Riot Police and truckers joined the Protests. You know how ‘youths’ obsess about their Retirement...

TN Moving Stories: TIGER Grant Winners Leak Out, Flights into France Cut, Tappan Zee Bridge Replacements Unveiled
TIGER II grants to be announced this week, but the winners have begun to leak out. ( Streetsblog ) Swiss complete drilling for 35.4 mile tunnel, the world’s longest ( BBC ) Unrest continues in France over possible increase in Retirement Age. Today, Government to cut flights into French terminals by 50%. ( New York Times ) Final replacement Tappan Zee Bridge spans unveiled. With : rail link. Without : funding. ( Second Avenue Sagas ) Q&A about the Chevy Volt, including the key...