IMAGAZINE@24

Up to 10,000 US troops will be on the ground or off the coast of Haiti by Monday to help deal with the earthquake aid effort, US defence officials say. The announcement came after US President Barack Obama pledged full American support in a phone call to his Haitian counterpart Rene Preval. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-moon... 

Afghanistan far deadlier than Iraq for U.S. troops in 2009 By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY Readmore @ www.usatoday.com More than twice as many U.S. troops died in Afghanistan in 2009 than in Iraq, U.S. casualty records show, and Afghanistan is likely to become an even deadlier place for American forces as reinforcements are... 

Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has died aged 69, according to party officials. Wahid, who was often referred to by his nickname Gus Dur, ruled the country between 1999 and 2001. He was the first elected president after the fall of the 32-year Suharto regime in 1998. Wahid had been suffering from a number of medical... 

A former Roman Catholic archbishop in Argentina been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing a young seminarian while still in office. Edgardo Storni, 73, was in charge of the archdiocese of Santa Fe when he abused the male student in 1992. He will serve his sentence under house arrest because of his age, however... 

Source : www.bbc.co.uk The US was aware that “a Nigerian” in Yemen was being prepared for a terrorist attack – weeks before an attempted bombing on a US plane. ABC News and the New York Times say there was intelligence to this effect, but its source is unclear. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab flew from Lagos to... 

Pope knocked down at Christmas Eve Mass Source :  www.msnbc.msn.com VATICAN CITY – A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter’s Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday. The 82-year-old pope quickly got up and was unhurt, said a Vatican spokesman,... 

By Sandra Block, USA TODAY Source : USATODAY With Christmas just two days away, retailers are going to extraordinary lengths to convince last-minute shoppers that they still have enough time to buy something for everyone on their list. Some of this week’s promotions were planned months ago, but they’ve taken on... 

Soure : www.bbc.co.uk Disgraced Wall Street financier Bernie Madoff has been moved to the medical centre within the prison where he is serving 150 years for fraud. He was transferred on 18 December, a spokeswoman for the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in the US state of North Carolina confirmed. However, she declined... 

Source  : www.bbc.co.uk LINK :www.bbc.co.uk A US man who triggered a major alert by falsely claiming his son was adrift in a helium balloon has been sentenced to 90 days in jail – and his wife to 20. Richard Heene, 48, and his 45-year-old wife Mayumi said in October their son had been carried off by the balloon. Six-year-old... 

Source : www.bbc.co.uk A second Irish bishop is resigning after a damning report which found that Catholic leaders concealed child abuse. The Bishop of Kildare, Dr James Moriarty, announced he had offered his resignation to the Pope on Wednesday. Despite previously insisting he should not resign, Bishop Moriarty said he accepted... 

source :www.bbc.co.uk Snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures have killed at least 19 people across Europe as well as severely disrupting air, rail and road transport. At least 15 people froze to death overnight in Poland as temperatures dipped way below freezing. In parts of Germany a figure of -33C was recorded. Flights have... 

Source : www.bbc.co.uk Up to 100 people have been killed after a runaway truck ploughed into a crowded market in Nigeria. Officials said 55 people died, but a BBC reporter at the scene, in Kogi state, counted at least 100 corpses. Kogi state police said the lorry hurtled down a hill at speed, smashing cars and motorcycles then... 

CNN NEWS (www.cnn.com) Source :  CNN A major sponsor for Tiger Woods announced Sunday that it is dropping the golf star in light of recent controversy swirling around his personal life. Accenture, a management consulting firm, said on its Web site that “given the circumstances of the last two weeks … the company...