BC-Obama-Ad
* AP foreign
* , Thursday October 30 2008
BC-Obama-Ad, 1st World News Obama takes his message to prime time TV; McCain goes after Obama MIAMI - John McCain charged that Barack Obama lacks "what it takes to protect America from terrorists" Wednesday as he sought to shift attention away from the economy in the final week of the race for the White House. Obama cast his rival as a threat to the middle class, and readied a 30-minute prime-time commercial at a cost of millions.
Obama, who has led in the polls for weeks, toughened his rhetoric as Republicans and even some Democrats said the race to pick the next president was tightening somewhat nationally and in some battleground states.
Obama takes to the prime-time airwaves to make final pitch to voters Full Story
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama took to the prime-time airwaves on Wednesday night with a costly and slickly produced infomercial aimed at convincing voters to cast their ballots for him just days before the presidential election.
"We've seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of history, and on American lives," the Democratic presidential nominee said during the half-hour ad, which aired at US$1 million a pop on a series of television networks.
Strong earthquake strikes southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 170 Full Story
WAM, Pakistan - Desperate villagers clawed through piles of mud and timber while others dug mass graves Wednesday after an earthquake collapsed thousands of homes in Pakistan, killing at least 170 people and injuring hundreds more.
Army transport planes ferried tents, medical supplies and blankets to the quake zone in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where some 15,000 were made homeless by the shallow, 6.4-magnitude jolt that struck as most people slept.
Congolese rebels reach edge of Goma, then declare a ceasefire Full Story
GOMA, Congo - Congolese rebels said they reached the outskirts of Goma and declared a ceasefire Wednesday to prevent panic in the city, where retreating government soldiers were commandeering cars and firing wildly as people fled in torrents of human misery.
Gunfire crackled throughout the city with occasional booms from heavy artillery, apparently from fleeing army troops who residents said were out of control.
Syria tells United States to shut down cultural centre, school in Damascus WASHINGTON - The Syrian government has officially asked the United States to close the American Cultural Center in Damascus immediately and the American school in the capital by Nov. 6, the State Department said Wednesday.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry gave formal notice of the deadlines to Maura Connelly, the top U.S. diplomat in Damascus, after the government said Tuesday it would order both institutions closed in retaliation for a weekend American attack on alleged Iraqi militants inside Syrian territory, according to the department.
Number of new U.S. troops in Afghanistan could more than double Full Story
WASHINGTON - Military planners now think they may need to send more than double the number of extra troops initially believed needed to help fight the war in Afghanistan.
The buildup in the increasingly violent campaign could amount to more than 20,000 troops rather than the originally planned 10,000, two senior defence officials said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because no new figures have been approved.
Quartet of Mideast peacemakers to meet in Egypt next month for progress report Full Story
RAMALLAH, West Bank - A senior Palestinian official said Wednesday the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers will meet Nov. 6 at Sharm el-Sheik to assess progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting's date has not been announced, said the gathering in Egypt would include U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
McCain and Palin blast Los Angeles Times for not releasing Obama tape Full Story
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin accused the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday of protecting Barack Obama by withholding a videotape of the Democrat attending a 2003 party with a Palestinian-American professor and critic of Israel.
McCain and Palin called Rashid Khalidi a former spokesman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a characterization that Khalidi has denied in the past, and McCain said 1960s radical Bill Ayers had attended the same party. Both candidates said guests at the event made critical comments about Israel.
Obama effigy found hanging from tree on University of Kentucky campus Full Story
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A life-sized likeness of Barack Obama was found hanging from a tree with a noose around its neck Wednesday at the University of Kentucky, the second time in about a month such an effigy of the Democratic presidential nominee was reported on a college campus.
University spokesman Carl Nathe said the effigy was found Wednesday morning in a high-traffic area between a classroom building and parking garage. Police immediately took it down but released no information about their investigation.
Peru mob torches police station as anti-government protests spread Full Story
LIMA, Peru - Angry villagers in Peru's northern jungle have torched a police station a day after 71 people were hurt in a clash between police and protesters in the south.
RPP radio says a 1,000-strong mob set fire to the station and took 25 officers captive in San Martin province. They reportedly were angered when police threw tear gas near a school and several children were affected.
UN General Assembly urges U.S. to lift 47-year-old embargo against Cuba Full Story
UNITED NATIONS - The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Wednesday urging the United States to repeal its 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba, which the country's foreign minister vowed would never bring the Cuban people "to their knees."
It was the 17th straight year that the General Assembly called for the embargo to be repealed "as soon as possible."
Negative campaign damages McCain's legacy as respected politician Full Story
WASHINGTON - John McCain began his bid for the White House a well-liked and well-respected politician, considered honourable by Republicans and Democrats alike and hailed for his war hero history.
But even onetime McCain boosters have turned on the Arizona senator in the course of this election campaign, with a litany of prominent Republicans maligning him for his pick of the controversial Sarah Palin as his running mate and accusing him of making an unnecessarily nasty run for the top job.
Vermont school shooter sentenced to 3 life terms for 2006 rampage Full Story
BURLINGTON, Vt. - A man who killed two people in a 2006 shooting rampage in Vermont has been sentenced to three consecutive life terms.
Twenty-nine-year-old Christopher Williams was sentenced today on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Fashion designer's sexual assault trial nears its end Full Story
LOS ANGELES - Fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander sexually assaulted aspiring models after luring them to Los Angeles with promises of glamorous photo shoots and stays in a luxury hotel, a prosecutor said Wednesday during closing arguments in his trial.
Deputy District Attorney Mara McIlvain told jurors that Alexander had a "common plan" that started with finding the women on the Internet and ended with him fondling or raping them in his apartment when they visited California seeking modelling opportunities.
Palin faces new ethics complaint over children's travel costs Full Story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A new ethics complaint against Sarah Palin accuses the Alaska governor of charging the state when her children travelled with her.
The complaint alleges that the Republican vice-presidential nominee used her official position as governor for personal gain. The Associated Press reported this month that Palin charged the state more than $21,000 for her three daughters' commercial flights since she became governor in December 2006.
Venezuelan satellite launched from China; carries TV, radio transmissions Full Story
EL SOMBRERO, Venezuela - Chinese and Venezuelan scientists hovered over radar screens, a Russian combat jet flew overhead and satellite dishes tilted toward the skies as Venezuela tracked the launch of its first satellite on Wednesday.
President Hugo Chavez has increasingly turned toward the East for help in technological development, and his latest endeavour - at a cost of some US$406 million - will help him spread his revolutionary message across Latin America.
Ukraine's parliament passes key economic bills to avoid meltdown Full Story
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved legislation that the International Monetary Fund set as a condition for an emergency loan, raising hopes that this ex-Soviet republic, hit hard by the global crisis, will avoid a meltdown.
But chances for a quick recovery were hit by a dramatic fall in the national currency and signs of a rapid economic slowdown, caused largely by falling global demand for steel, the country's main export.
Canadians, Taliban battle in information war for hearts, minds of Afghans Full Story
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - It's a familiar routine for local Afghan journalists: within seconds of a roadside blast or bomb attack, they get a boasting text message or phone call from the local Taliban information officer.
"They call right in to the radio presenter on the air," says Khan Mohammed Khadim, manager of Kandahar's Killid group of stations. "Much faster than the ISAF (western) information."
Distributed by the Associated Press
