Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Today's Globe

Cancun -- Around the world

Mexico

Ida bears down on Mexican coast

Officials readied storm shelters along Mexico's Caribbean coast Saturday and told fishermen and tour operators to pull in their boats amid warnings that Tropical Storm Ida could become a hurricane as it neared the resort city of Cancun.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's winds strengthened to near 70 mph, just short of a Category 1 hurricane.

Ida's forecast track moved slightly toward the north, on a path that would take it through the middle of the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico and Cuba around midday today.

ISRAEL

Peres calls on Abbas not to quit post

Tel Aviv Israel's president on Saturday called on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to rescind his decision to stand down, invoking the memory of Yitzhak Rabin at a public commemoration for the assassinated Israeli premier.

Shimon Peres recalled that along with Rabin, he and Abbas were among signatories to the 1993 Oslo peace accord and he appealed to Abbas by name not to quit.

AFGHANISTAN

Officials investigate deadly airstrike

Kabul U.S. and Afghan authorities investigated Saturday whether a botched NATO airstrike was to blame for the death of Afghan soldiers and police during a search for two American paratroopers missing in a Taliban-infested area of the country's west.

ENGLAND

Official: Obama critics miss the point

London British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Saturday accused critics of U.S. President Obama of foolishly expecting him to fix the world's woes single-handedly.

In a speech to London's Fabian Society think tank, Miliband said those sniping at Obama failed to understand the scale of challenges facing the international community, or the shifting power centers of global politics.

BRAZIL

Air France crash memorial dedicated

Rio de Janeiro Scores of relatives of the 228 people killed in the June 1 Air France jet crash dedicated a memorial in an upscale beach neighborhood Saturday amid strong criticism that the airline has failed to provide them with the answers or compensation they were promised.

GERMANY

Dominoes form tribute to Berlin Wall fall

Berlin Large colorful dominoes painted by German students were placed Saturday along the former path of the Berlin Wall to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the barrier that divided the city for nearly three decades.

RUSSIA

President predicts arms control deal

Moscow Russia and the United States have a good chance of reaching a new nuclear arms reduction deal before year's end, but other nuclear powers must join disarmament efforts, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday.

SAUDI ARABIA

Pilgrims won't be barred over flu fears

Riyadh The Saudi health minister said Saturday that the kingdom will not bar anyone considered high-risk for swine flu from performing the hajj pilgrimage this year, though he urged countries where pilgrims set out from to take precautions.

IRAN

Journalists jailed during rally released

Tehran Iranian authorities have released three journalists who were among more than 100 people arrested during pro-government and opposition street demonstrations this week, the country's official news agency reported.

ETHIOPIA

Madagascar political rivals reach deal

Addis Ababa Madagascar's political rivals have agreed on posts within a transitional government that will hold power until next year's elections following a power struggle that brought months of volatility to the country, an African Union statement said.

Across the country

COLORADO

Man who threatened Obama pleads guilty

Denver A man who threatened to kill Barack Obama last year just before the Democratic National Convention in Denver has pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges.

Shawn Adolf faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to having firearms as a felon.

PUERTO RICO

U.S. tourist dies while 'car surfing'

San Juan Police say a U.S. tourist who was pretending to be surfing on the hood of a friend's moving car was killed when he fell and broke his neck in a popular Puerto Rican beach town.