HAITI - The death toll from a cholera epidemic in Haiti topped 200 on Saturday and fears of it propagating in the crowded, earthquake-ravaged capital increased after five cases were detected in the city.
USA - Warning that the US dollar today is backed only by "promises" from the same politicians who created today's economic disaster, longtime monetary expert Craig R Smith documents in a new book that the nation already faces some $120,000,000,000,000 ($120 trillion) in debt, deficit and unfunded liabilities.
ROME, ITALY - For now at least, the work of the synod on the Middle East is focused on 41 proposals that, after further revisions, will be presented to Benedict XVI this Saturday. Among the most representative topics included in these proposals is ecumenical dialogue, interreligious dialogue with Muslims and Jews, and the decisive importance of the Christian presence in the Middle East.
UK - Wholesale changes to the nation's diet, with a move towards vegetarian food and away from beef and cheese, have been recommended by Government advisers. A report commissioned by the Food Standards Agency suggests radical changes to what we eat and even how we cook.
SOUTH KOREA - Finance ministers from the Group of 20 nations are hoping to head off a global currency war this weekend by agreeing not to "competitively undervalue" their respective currencies.
USA - The federal bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could double in size during the next three years, according to projections from the companies' federal regulator. Fannie and Freddie, the federally controlled mortgage finance giants, probably will need at least another $73 billion and perhaps as much as $215 billion from taxpayers in the next three years to meet their financial obligations, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.
USA - Many on the American right have developed a taste for including a bit of German history in their stump speeches. Hitler comparisons abound and the Berlin Wall even made a cameo recently. But the flippant references to the Holocaust are ignorant and offensive. And they should stop.
USA - Astronomers have spotted the oldest galaxy ever seen, one born just 600 million years after the Big Bang. Their report, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, confirms that the distant smudge first spotted by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope is the farthest and thus oldest object ever imaged.
IRAN/SAUDI ARABIA - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi King Abdullah have had telephonic discussions on regional affairs for a second time within a fortnight, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported Thursday.
SWITZERLAND - Physicists probing the origins of the cosmos hope that next year they will turn up the first proofs of the existence of concepts long dear to science-fiction writers such as hidden worlds and extra dimensions.
CHILE - Hedge funds and other major investors are always looking for new places to park their cash. Now copper is attracting the hot money, causing the price of the metal to fluctuate wildly. Key industries are warning of the consequences.
UK - They might not dominate headlines like diamonds or oil, but rare earths are some of the world's most valued resources. These metals are crucial to almost every 21st Century household, and used globally to make high-tech products, from weapons, to flat-screen TVs and mobile phones.
USA - US officials have confirmed they intend to sell $60 billion (38 billion pounds) of arms to Saudi Arabia, including helicopters and jets. The state department said details of the deal had been sent to Congress, which now has 30 days to object.
VATICAN CITY - A resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a common date for Christmas and Easter with Orthodox Churches, and interreligious dialogue with Jews and Muslims were just a few of the topics touched upon during the first week of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops.
USA - What is the most likely cause today of civil unrest? Immigration. Gay Marriage. Abortion. The Results of Election Day. The Mosque at Ground Zero. Nope. Try the Federal Reserve. November 3rd is when the Federal Reserve's next policy committee meeting ends, and if you thought this was just another boring money meeting you would be wrong.