TOKYO, JAPAN - To the government's critics, it was a long and shocking act of official stonewalling: Agreements long hidden in Foreign Ministry files allowed nuclear-armed US warships to enter Japanese ports, violating a hallowed principle of postwar Japan. Yet their very existence was officially denied.
UK - The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world's most eminent climate scientists. Their predictions - based on an analysis of natural cycles in water temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - challenge some of the global warming orthodoxy's most deeply cherished beliefs, such as the claim that the North Pole will be free of ice in summer by 2013.
CAIRO, EGYPT - New tombs found in Giza support the view that the Great Pyramids were built by free workers and not slaves, as widely believed, Egypt's chief archaeologist said on Sunday. Films and media have long depicted slaves toiling away in the desert to build the mammoth pyramids only to meet a miserable death at the end of their efforts.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - Venezuelans rushed to the shops on Saturday, fearful of price rises after a currency devaluation that will let President Hugo Chavez boost government spending ahead of an election but feeds opposition charges of economic mismanagement. In a bid to jump-start the recession-hit economy of South America's top oil exporter, Chavez on Friday announced a dual system for the fixed rate bolivar.
UK - Supermarkets were stripped of essentials today as weathermen predicted further snow and a prolonged period of freezing weather. Bread, milk and salt to treat frozen pathways were among the items being swept from the shelves as customers stocked up. Further heavy snowfalls lashed big-freeze Britain, piling more pressure on the country's already-stretched winter resources.
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, USA - A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California Saturday afternoon, shaking buildings south of the Oregon border and knocking out power in several coastal communities. The powerful quake hit at about 4:27pm PST about 22 miles from Ferndale, the US Geological Survey said.
USA - Mideast envoy George Mitchell has threatened that the US could freeze aid to Israel if the country fails to advance peace talks, YNetNews.com reported. Mitchell said the US can legally cut its support for aid to Israel and that all options must remain open, YNet reports, though he clarified on PBS that the US wants to put pressure on both sides in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
CHICAGO, USA - A would-be terrorist tries to board a plane, bent on mass murder. As he walks through a security checkpoint, fidgeting and glancing around, a network of high-tech machines analyzes his body language and reads his mind. Screeners pull him aside. Tragedy is averted.
UGANDA - Witch doctors in Uganda have admitted their part in human sacrifice amid concerns that the practice is spreading in the African country. One man said he had clients who had captured children and taken their blood and body parts to his shrine, while another confessed to killing at least 70 people including his own son.
UK - A nightmare week for Gordon Brown ended last night with a new blow, as one of the City's leading fund managers warned the prospect of Britain losing its top tier credit rating is "more likely now than it has ever been".
UK - Food manufacturers are being overly "secretive" about their research into nanotechnologies for fear of a public backlash similar to that on genetically modified food, claims a new report.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague, said Muslims were well placed to fill the spiritual void "created as Europeans systematically empty the Christian content of their lives. Europe will pay dear for having left its spiritual foundations."
UK - With Britain broke, unemployment rising and our population heading inexorably towards 70million, the Government has suddenly realised that farming and food production are actually quite important, contributing 80billion pounds to the economy and employing 3.6million people.
FRANCE - In an article in El Pais Jean-Marie Colombani, former Editor of Le Monde, has criticised the Lisbon Treaty for making the EU more complex, regarding the combination of the full-time EU President and rotating EU Presidency for member states.
NEW YORK, USA - Bob Herbert reports: "I'm starting the new year with the sinking feeling that important opportunities are slipping from the nation's grasp. Our collective consciousness tends to obsess indiscriminately over one or two issues - the would-be bomber on the flight into Detroit, the Tiger Woods saga - while enormous problems that should be engaged get short shrift."