A commotion at the start of Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica briefly disrupted ceremonies and caused the pope to fall, a Vatican spokesman said. Pope Benedict XVI was helped to his feet by his aides and the service resumed, spokesman Federico Lombardi told CNN. The disruption began when a person tried to touch the pope as he was walking down the main aisle of the church, he said. The person was intercepted by Vatican guards before reaching the pope, Lombardi said. Benedict began what has traditionally been a midnight Mass at the Vatican at 10 p.m. as officials sought to keep the 82-year-old pontiff from a late night. Celebrants in Bethlehem, the traditional Ugg Boots birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank, however, joined the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal for a midnight Mass attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials. Outside the Church of the Nativity, erected over the site Christian tradition says was the place of Jesus' birth, the faithful gathered under the watchful eyes of heavily armed Palestinian police. But Palestinian shopkeeper Nadia Hazboun said the security situation in the West Bank has improved in the time since the militant Hamas group took over Gaza and Abbas' Fatah movement abandoned the narrow strip of land between Israel and the Mediterranean for the West Bank. "It was bad, now it is good," he told Voice of America radio. "I told you, before anybody take the law in his [own] hands. But now the law [is] with the police. We have security, we have calm, we have now the best situation in Bethlehem." Christmas Eve in Bethlehem is a popular Wholesale Ugg Boots destination for American Christians, including Iowan Paul Edelman. "Just the festivities, the idea that this is the birthplace of Christ, and you get to see all the historic places and share it with people from around the world; it's a very nice experience," he told Voice of America radio.

Philippine authorities on Sunday raised the alert status of the country's most active volcano to level 4 and established an extended danger zone around it, saying an eruption is imminent. The status change at the Mayon volcano "means that a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within days," according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Earlier Sunday, the institute said the central Philippine volcano continues "to exhibit a high level of activity," adding that 222 volcanic quakes and tremors have been recorded in recent days. One was "an explosion-type earthquake" that launched a cloud of ash about 1,640 feet (500 meters) into Ugg Boots the air, according to an institute statement. The institute recommended extending already-established danger zones of nearly five miles (8 kilometers) south of the summit and 4.3 miles (7 kilometers) north of the summit. In addition, "areas just outside of this extended danger zone should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify," the institute said. More than 30,000 people fled their homes last week ahead of an expected eruption, and authorities were attempting to evacuate about 50,000 people living around the 8,077-foot volcano. People in surrounding Albay province have flocked to town centers to catch a glimpse of glowing lava cascading down the slopes of Mayon since the mountain began oozing fiery lava and belching clouds of ash last week. The volcano, about 310 (500 kilometers) south of the Philippine capital of Manila, has erupted 49 times since its first documented eruption in 1616. The Philippines is situated in the Uggs Outlet so-called Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In 1814, Mayon had its most violent eruption, killing more than 1,200 people. Its last major eruption was in 1993. Since then, it has remained restless, emitting ash and spewing lava.

A dazed boy's musings after a trip to the dentist's office had a good run. But even with foggy pronouncements like "I have two fingers," he was no match for Britain's talented Susan Boyle. Boyle's surprising vocal performance on "Britain's Got Talent" was far and away the most-watched video of the year on YouTube -- racking up more than 120 million views, according to the site. "David After Dentist," filmed by the boy's father as he was clearly still loopy from medication, was a distant second with about 37 million views. This year is the first time YouTube has released a year-end list. On its blog, YouTube called 2009 "the biggest year yet" for online video. "Some moments were big [President Obama's inauguration], some small [a Minnesota wedding party erupts into dance], some expected ["New Moon"], some Uggs Outlet surprising [Susan Boyle] -- but all of them inspired, entertained and connected millions of people around the world via YouTube," read the blog. Titled "JK Wedding Entrance Dance," the video of a wedding party's choreographed entrance to the tune of Chris Brown's, "Forever," finished third with about 33 million views while the trailer for the hotly anticipated movie "Twilight: New Moon" was fourth with 31 million. An advertisement for Evian bottled water that featured babies roller-skating to Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was fifth with about 27 million views. Boyle, a 47-year-old, unemployed, Scottish charity worker, leapt to international stardom after first taking the stage on the British reality show. Audience members and judges seemed to smirk at her frumpy appearance before she rendered a show-stopping version of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables." Boyle would go on to finish second on the Outlet Ugg Boots contest but her album, released late last month, instantly went gold with more than 701,000 sales in its first week in the United States. YouTube also announced its top search terms for each month of the year -- a list that serves as an instant reminder of the top pop culture moments of 2009. In the United States, the year started with "Obama inauguration" as the fastest rising search term in January and ended with "Tiger Woods" as the most popular term of December.

YouGov published its list of the 10 worst business sayings months ago. Some I more than agreed with ("thinking outside of the box," "blue-sky thinking," "heads up"); some didn't bug me too much ("at the end of the day," "going forward," "credit crunch"). But it also got me thinking about my own version of the 10 worst business sayings. Consequently, I compiled my own list, complete with definitions and -- most importantly -- the reasons they were included. The first three top my list for their gross factor, pure and simple. Why? Because regardless of the people or situation in question, I've found that the overt or indirect referencing of bodily functions in a business environment gets me down. 1. Pick your brain: Substituted when someone simply wants to ask you something. "Do you mind if I just pick your brain?" 2. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks: Often used to describe a haphazard approach to presenting a motley product line, batch of ideas, etc. "Well, let's just throw these against the wall and see what sticks." 3. Sweat equity: Offered up when asking people Uggs Outlet to give their time and talent, and payment is not available. "We can't pay you your rate now, but -- when we do start making money -- you'll definitely have sweat equity." The next three were included because of their cliché factor. Like "thinking outside the box" and "blue-sky thinking," their overuse means they no longer catch our attention. 4. It's not rocket science: Used most often when pointing out to someone that the task he's been asked to complete isn't, in fact, complicated. "After all, it's not rocket science." 5. The ball's in your court: This phrase is usually thrown around (pun intended) to let others know that you've reached your limit with regard to handling a situation. "I've now done everything I can. After this, the ball's in your court." 6. Drill down: This is too often used to denote the vigor with which a person or team will be pursuing an objective. "Yes, Bob and I are really going to drill down on that." The following three made my list thanks to their redundancy: 7. I, personally: Since something that is said Ugg Boots Outlet by you is, by definition, personal, I see no need to include both words. For example, when you take the "personally" out of the following sentence, the meaning doesn't change. "Well, I, personally, don't think that X should take precedence over Y." 8. Quite unique (and its compatriots "very unique," "really unique" and "most unique"): Despite the fact that things that are unique can't be qualified, I see this all the time. "Our store has the most unique items." Um ... no. You can, however, say, "Our store is filled with unique items." I have no trouble with that. 9. Past history: This one drives me wild every time I hear it, "Well, based on past history ..." History is, by definition, something that occurred in the past, so why on earth say "past"? And, finally, the most overused phrase in a business context: 10. Urgent (and its frequent companion "crisis"): I include these because, as I'm sure you've discovered, the use of either, or both, of these words does little to UGG Bailey Button Boots resolve what might be going on. Instead, they either ratchet up the tension or make others wonder why you are so out of control. What do I recommend you use instead? I would substitute the use of "immediate" for "urgent," and "situation" for "crisis," as both convey the need for action but leave others room to bring their own skills and intelligence to bear -- while reflecting well on your own.

Thai authorities seized a cargo aircraft carrying tons of weapons from North Korea during a refueling stop in Bangkok, a government official said. The pilot told Thai authorities the aircraft was headed to Sri Lanka, but its final destination was unknown, according to Panitan Wattanayagorn, a spokesman for the Thai prime minister. It contained about 35 tons of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-launched rockets and tubes that may be missile components, the spokesman said. The plane, which was detained Saturday, had five people onboard -- four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus. They will appear in court Monday on charges related to illegal weapons smuggling, the spokesman said. Thai government officials acted after working with several intelligence agencies for several weeks, the spokesman said. The cargo was taken to a military base while the Ugg Boots plane, which is registered in Georgia, remains at Don Muang. Sri Lanka officials said there were no shipments scheduled in the country either by air or sea from North Korea. "We have asked the Sri Lanka embassy in Bangkok to obtain details from the Thai authorities," the ministry said. "We will have more information on the progress of their investigation later on Sunday." Such an aircraft could not have landed in any of Sri Lanka's airports without prior authorization, officials in Colombo said. Last year, two arm dealers were arrested in Thailand. The men's arrest came after a series of events that involved law enforcement agencies from at least five countries, including two undercover agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Viktor Bout and his associate, Andrew Smulian, made millions of dollars delivering weapons and ammunition to warlords and militants, officials said. Bout is accused of supplying weapons to war zones Ugg Boots Outlet around the world -- from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan. He has repeatedly said he has not broken any laws and the allegations against him are lies A Thai court rejected a U.S. extradition request for Bout in August.

It's an all-too common scene on patrol with a joint Mexican law enforcement task force in Juarez, Mexico. Two people are shot dead in broad daylight Wednesday in a city lost in a drug war between rival cartels over the lucrative drug route into the United States. Gunmen fire on a car, killing the driver; the passenger starts to flee and is gunned down in the street. These are the 11th and 12th killings in the Mexican city that day. Locals said killings are more frequent in the evenings. At this point, the sun hasn't even started to go down. Juarez has become a deadly city where bodies, blood and gun-shell casings are commonplace in the streets. In 2008, more than 1,600 people were killed in drug-related violence; this year local government officials put that number at more than 2,400. The carnage is taking place in a city with a population of around 1.5 million, literally at America's doorstep. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has declared a war on drug cartels and the way they operate their businesses. Calderon ordered 45,000 Mexican military troops and 5,000 federal Uggs Outlet police to hot spots in the drug war. No place has witnessed the amount of carnage this Mexican border city has. Mayor José Reyes Ferriz said in March -- when Juarez saw a drop in drug-war killings during the initial buildup of those forces -- that he felt there was going to be a turnaround for the city. The scores of dead here indicate that he may have been wrong. The military and federal and local police are on patrol, on the lookout for suspicious activity and making random stops as night begins to fall Wednesday. In the distance, the city lights of El Paso, Texas, are visible. The violence is separated by the Rio Grande, which serves as the natural border between the sister cities. The crackle of voices comes over the police radio that a 13th person is dead in Juarez that Wednesday night. The unit then goes on another call where suspicious men are causing a disturbance in a neighborhood. As the police arrive, witnesses who saw the men run off after brandishing firearms do not give a good description of them. There are no descriptions of clothing, body types or vehicles, which police say can be a major frustration. Many locals we spoke with say the police and military are Wholesale Ugg Boots corrupt and cannot be trusted. The city, in an attempt to counter such fears, announced a program where residents can call in information anonymously. The calls are answered on the U.S. side of the border. Local officials said they hope this strategy will generate more tips. At 11 p.m., as the city streets begin to quiet down, there is another call. A gruesome discovery is made literally steps from the border crossing -- four females are found shot; two are children, ages 14 and 12. These deaths are just steps from a pedestrian crossing, where military and local police have increased the numbers on patrol. The death toll for Wednesday stands at 17. It's another deadly day in the life of a city just steps from American soil.

Senate debate on a sweeping health care bill proceeds to one of the most controversial issues Monday: an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion. The amendment by moderate Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska would mirror language from the health care bill passed by the House last month that prevents any health plan receiving federal subsidies from offering coverage for abortion. It was unclear if a Senate vote on Nelson's amendment would occur Monday. Anti-abortion legislators say the House language that Nelson seeks to adopt maintains the current level of restriction by preventing any federal funding for abortion, except in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother. Opponents of the tougher language say the amended language would expand the current level of restriction because women receiving coverage under a federally subsidized health care plan would be barred from purchasing abortion coverage with their own money. "You can't use private money in the private market ... and frankly, I think Wholesale Ugg Boots that goes too far," Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said Monday on the CBS program "The Early Show." The House adopted the restrictive language as part of a last-minute concession to anti-abortion legislators who threatened to defeat the health care bill without a vote on the provision. A similar dynamic could exist in the Senate, with anti-abortion Democrats preventing final approval of the health care bill if they don't like the abortion language. The activity comes a day after President Obama met with Democratic senators amid a rare Sunday session for the Senate as it considers the Democratic proposal that so far is unanimously opposed by Republicans. White House spokesman Bill Burton said Obama "thanked members of the Senate for their hard work so far and encouraged them to continue forward on this historic opportunity" to pass health care reform legislation. "The question now is whether or not we're going to get it done," Obama told the senators, according to Burton. Meanwhile, a group of moderate and liberal Democrats met ugg on sale again Sunday afternoon to try to work out differences over tough issues such as a government-run public health insurance option. The group, put together by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has been meeting regularly to seek Democratic consensus on the public option and other issues threatening the ability of Democrats to overcome a Republican filibuster. "There are still a few things to work out in the bill," Reid said, adding that "the issues were being narrowed," but "we're not there." On the Republican side, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Sunday repeated past criticism that the health care bill ignores GOP concerns and issues. "There was no interest in drafting a proposal that was in the political middle," McConnell said, adding that Democrats wrote a bill "that Republicans couldn't in good conscience support." Reid denied the claim, saying Republicans had plenty of opportunity for input in the months of debate and scores of committee hearings so far. The lone goal of Republicans is to defeat the bill to cause political harm to Obama and the Democrats, Reid said. "Republicans are being destructive," Reid said. "They want Ugg Outlet this to be, as one senator said, President Obama's 'Waterloo,' and it's not going to be." The public option is among the most contentious issue for Democrats, with two members of the caucus saying they have yet to see a compromise they can support. The Democratic caucus contains 60 seats in the 100-member chamber, which is the minimum number needed to overcome a filibuster. If any Democratic caucus members balk at the public option, the party would need some Republicans to back the bill in order for it to pass. The House has narrowly passed a more than $1 trillion health care plan. If the Senate also manages to pass a bill, a congressional conference committee would then need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to Obama's desk to be signed into law.

Webster Plantation is among the smallest communities in Maine, if not the country. With a population of about 80, the two-road town has fewer residents than a New York subway car during rush hour. It's so tiny that Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police, didn't even know it existed until a few days ago. "Frankly, before Sunday, I've never heard of it," he said. "It's that remote, and it's that small." That small-town ambiance was shattered last weekend when authorities discovered the bodies of a couple, who were known by many in the community. An investigation is ongoing, and authorities say there are no suspects. Situated near the center of the state, Webster Plantation is a throwback to a bygone era. Violent crime is rare in the rural farming area. "This is one of those places where everybody left cars unlocked and keys in the vehicle," said Bob Jacobs, owner of the Millstream Grocery. Police have released few details about the crime. The victims, Valerie and Michael Miller, both 47, were discovered Ugg Boots in their home Saturday afternoon, investigators said. McCausland said police are looking for a woman seen leaving the Millers' house on the day the bodies were found. They want to question her. Investigators won't say how the couple died or anything about the crime scene. The Millers have two grown children who live nearby, but police haven't said whether either was in the home with the couple. The husband and wife had lived in their Webster Plantation home for decades. "They lived there as long as I can remember," said Theo Jipson, 81, whose house is a short walk from the couple's mobile home. The killings, the town's first in at least 20 years, have shocked the region and shattered the area's sense of security and peace. "You kind of wonder, 'Is it a threat to anybody else?' " Jacobs asked. "People are kind of nervous. Do I open the door for somebody, or do I not open the door for somebody?" McCausland said the woman seen leaving the house was described as middle-aged, with a ponytail and glasses. "We would like to find her and interview her," McCausland said. "We have appealed to the public for help. So far, we've had half a dozen calls. So far, she's still among the missing." Authorities were summoned to the Miller Wholesale Ugg Boots home by a concerned neighbor. McCausland said she went to the house and saw something suspicious, but he won't say what that was. The neighbor called firefighters, who found the victims' bodies. At first, it was believed that the couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning, McCausland said. However, autopsies performed by the medical examiner confirmed that they were the victims of a homicide, he added. McCausland refused to comment on the cause of death. "Not getting into speculation, and we're releasing very few details about this case," he said. "We're still investigating." Jipson, who said she was the town's tax collector for more than 50 years, fondly remembered the couple. "They were nice people," she said. "I would usually see her at the grocery store shopping. ... He was very, very kind. He always said, 'Look, if you folks Uggs Outlet need any help, don't be afraid to call me.' " Jacobs, who runs a nearby convenience store, said he would occasionally see the Millers. "It's something that catches you by surprise," he said of the killings. "You have the grapevine, and there are all these rumors going around, and people are nervous."

Investment in national saving certificates has hit a new record with Tk 1131.32 crore deposited in the month of September alone, just double the figure for three months (July-September) of 2008-09 fiscal year (FY), reports bdnews24.com. Never before in the past was such huge number of savings certificates sold, said officials of the national saving scheme, a government concern for promoting savings. They said saving certificates worth Tk 3,633.32 crore were sold during the last fiscal year while the figure stood at Tk 2,810 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Explaining the reasons of soaring investment in saving certificates, senior research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Jayed Bakht told the news agency that in recent times, banks have slashed interest rates on deposits while interest rate on saving certificates remained as before. He said higher interest rate on saving certificates is Wholesale Ugg Boots attracting people to invest more on them. Besides, the commercial banks might be unwilling to enhance deposits in view of their surplus liquidity (liquid assets), he pointed out. As per the latest statistics of Bangladesh Bank, saving certificates amounting to Tk 2,809.96 crore were sold in the first quarter of FY 2009-10 while the figure was Tk 758.86 crore during the same period of the last FY. The investment in saving certificates during July-September of the current FY was about four times higher than the figure of the same period of the last FY. Investment in saving certificates stood at Tk 183.51 crore in September of last year compared to Tk 1,131.32 crore in September this year. Saving certificates worth Tk 914.58 crore were sold in July of the current FY while the figure was Tk 421.24 crore during the same month of last FY. August 2009 saw investment amounting to Tk 764.06 crore compared to Tk 150.11 crore during the same month of last FY. The investments in saving certificate stood at Tk 4,174.92 crore during FY 2006-07 while the figure dropped to Tk 2,228.29 crore in 2007-08 FY. At the end of September this year, the total UGG Tasmina Braid Sandals amount of investment in saving certificates stood at Tk 52,600.75 crore while the figure was Tk 49,790.79 crore at the end of last fiscal year. Jayed Bakht cited two factors that caused investment in saving certificates to drop last year (2007-08) — one was a lack of surplus money due to price hike of daily essentials and the other was panic caused by anti-corruption drive during the regime of the last military-backed care-taker government. “With a new political government having taken office panic withered and people are now investing more on saving certificates,” he said Sounding a note of caution, Bakht said that the government might have to spend more in paying interests as a result of soaring investments in saving certificates, which may affect the budget. There are three types of saving certificates issued by the government – the five-year Bangladesh Saving certificates, 3-year saving certificates and 5-year pension saving certificates. The interest rates for the saving UGG Tasmina Sandals certificates ranged from 12 to 13 per cent over the past few years. But no banks nowadays offer more than 10 per cent interest on saving deposits.

Eight Somali-American men from Minnesota are charged with federal terror-related counts involving al-Shabaab, a Somali group considered a terror organization by the United States, officials said Monday. The alleged offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab, attending terrorist training camps operated by the group and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab, federal prosecutors said in a release. The U.S. State Department has said al-Shabaab is believed to have ties to al Qaeda. None of the eight is believed to be currently in the United States, and only one is in custody, the Justice Department said in a news release. Mahamud Said Omar is in Dutch custody Wholesale Ugg Boots after being arrested in the Netherlands. The charges were filed last week, said B. Todd Jones, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, and were unsealed Monday. "Thus far, 14 defendants have been charged in the District of Minnesota in indictments or criminal complaints ... in connection with an ongoing investigation into the recruitment of persons from U.S. communities to train with or fight on behalf of extremist groups in Somalia," authorities said. Four have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Two have been released pending trial. The court documents unsealed Monday "provide our Somali community, particularly those who have lost family members to terrorist fighting in Somalia ... with some answers," Jones said. According to the documents, about 20 young men -- all but one of Somali descent -- left Minneapolis and traveled to Somalia, "where they trained with al-Shabaab against Ethiopian UGG Short Metallic Boots forces, African Union troops, and the internationally supported transitional federal government," federal prosecutors said. Although the investigation is ongoing, "We have reached -- indeed, passed -- a tipping point of sorts in this matter," said Ralph Boelter, special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis field office. He said he is confident the case will be fully resolved. However, both he and Jones were reluctant to divulge information beyond that contained in the charging documents, citing the continuing probe. "I think this is the federal government's attempt at a brushback pitch," said Fran Townsend, who was a homeland security adviser in the Bush administration and is a CNN national security contributor. "That is, to put the Somali community in Minneapolis on notice that if you choose to be recruited to go over and fight, this is not some romantic foreign adventure; the United States government and the law enforcement community UGG Sundance II Boots are watching. They know you go, they will target you and they will indict you." There is no indication that any harm was intended to the United States, Boelter said. But with Americans holding U.S. passports attending a terrorist training camp in Somalia operated by al-Shabaab, he said, "it doesn't take great logic to assume there are some risks." "Obviously we [U.S. officials] do believe they represent a threat, or they wouldn't have indicted them," Townsend said. Authorities do not want to see people with experience gained from Somali training camps coming into the United States, she said. A sizable group of young men left Minneapolis -- home to the nation's largest Somali population -- last year and were feared recruited by al-Shabaab. Several of them have been reported killed, community leaders in Minnesota have said. The family of one, 20-year-old Jamal Bana, told CNN in July they learned of his death through the Internet. Another one, Shirwa Ahmed, 27, blew himself up and killed 29 others last fall in what is believed to be the first suicide bombing carried out by a naturalized U.S. citizen. The incident raised red flags throughout the U.S. intelligence community. Al-Shabaab remains entrenched in northeast Somalia and in UGG Tall Metallic Boots sections south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after fighting that uprooted hundreds of thousands, according to the United Nations. It was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008. Asked if any of the eight most recently indicted would be returned to America to stand trial, authorities said the process is complicated. A "long and convoluted extradition process" would be involved in getting the one now in Dutch custody, Jones said. As for the others, if they are in Somalia, getting them in custody would be a formidable task, he said, given the instability of the nation and the fact that "it's very difficult for the rule of law to take hold" there. If they were apprehended for some reason, however, it's possible they could be returned to America, he said. But "there's no indication that we have Somali-American, trained UGG Tasmina Braid Sandals terrorists coming back to the United States today from this particular group," Boelter said. Authorities do not know how many Minneapolis youths remain in Somalia, he said.

Lucio Soria is a recorder of the dead in Ciudad Juarez's drug cartel war. "El Sorias," as he is affectionately called by his colleagues, is a photojournalist for the Mexican city's two main daily newspapers, El Diario and El PM. For the last 10 years, his job has been to photograph the bodies and crime scenes left behind after cartel hit men completed their work. "I see the photos of the dead as art, not as dead people. I feel sad for the families, they cry and sometimes I cry too," Soria told CNN in a recent telephone interview. "My record is 16 dead in one shift." A regular shift goes from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., or later if there are any last-minute bodies. The day is spent listening to police scanners and waiting for the code that will send Soria and a reporter rushing through the city's congested streets to a new crime scene. "Z-59 is the code for execution and Z-23 is the code for a dead person," he said. Soria knows that arriving at a crime scene too soon could mean a surprise Uggs Outlet encounter with the killers -- one that could cost him his life. He is part of a group of journalists operating in one of the world's most dangerous cities. Every day the passion for their profession competes with the fear of death. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 26 journalists have been killed since 2005 in Mexico -- most of them while covering the crime or corruption beats. By comparison, 10 journalists were killed in the same time period while covering the war in Afghanistan. "There are challenges to the fulfillment of our mission, challenges we have never faced before," said Rocio Gallegos, the editor of El Diario, the city's main news publication, with a circulation of 55,000. "Any journalist in Ciudad Juarez is at risk," she said. For the paper's staffers, death hit home last year with the murder of veteran crime reporter Armando "El Cholo" Rodriguez. On November 13, 2008, unidentified gunmen shot UGG Tall Metallic Boots and killed Rodriguez, 40, while he was parked in front of his house with his 8- year-old daughter in the car; she was not harmed. Rodriguez had been receiving threats since February, Gallegos said. One year later, no one has been charged in his death, and the two lead federal investigators in the case have also been killed. A spokesperson for the attorney general's office told CNN the case is still under investigation, but local journalists have interpreted this as a grant of impunity for crimes against their profession. "The death of Armando Rodriguez left a clear message for everyone: Mind your own business! 'No te metas en donde no debes,'" said Edgar Roman, director of news programming for Channel 44, which broadcasts more than six hours of news each day. "Our self-censorship began when the war started -- self-censorship to avoid UGG Tasmina Braid Sandals getting our reporters in trouble," said Roman. For Roman, and for several others in his position, investigative reporting has become a casualty of war. "We can't investigate because we become targets. Only that which happens in plain view is OK to report," said Roman. "Everyone knows the rules of the game," said Ricardo Ainslie, professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas in Austin and a member of the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. For the last year, Ainslie has been using Ciudad Juarez as the center for his research on the Mexican war against the drug cartels. "You can report what happens on the street, which is public domain, and sometimes they will get threats if they don't report something," Ainslie said. "They can't report UGG Tasmina Sandals backstories, or make inferences about motives. They are treading lightly because they can not afford to investigate -- this means execution." Tim Crockett, head of the security firm Pioneer Consulting and security adviser for CNN, described Ciudad Juarez as "probably more dangerous for journalists than the Middle East." "There are more armed groups that have no respect for law and order," he said. "What would they do if they captured a journalist? There is no leverage. They will just kill you and carry on with their business." Figuring out how to keep staffers safe from an attack has been an ongoing challenge for newsrooms in Juarez. Armored vehicles and bulletproof vests provide little protection against the .50-caliber bullets fired by the cartels. El Diario has managed to keep some investigative reporting by omitting reporter bylines. For Gallegos, self-censorship is not the answer. "We have kept our investigation, which has cost us because UGG Amelie Suede Sandals we have less access to government sources," Gallegos said. "With the argument of security, authorities have given us less access to information and documents," she said. "The biggest challenge is to carry out our mission to inform the public without renouncing to our independence from the authorities, and without becoming messengers to the cartels," said Gallegos. Cartels have begun to time their executions to coincide with live newscasts, journalists say. Channel 44 evaluates its programming by holding bimonthly focus groups. Roman said his audience has gone from being spectators to being the victims. "People are asking us to show a city with hope, and not a city of desolation and destruction. People are tired of living like this. Despite all the violence, there are people who want to keep living a normal life," he said. El PM is the paradox. The newspaper has a daily circulation of 70,000 to 75,000, and normally sells out within two hours of hitting the stands. The main cover picture is UGG Bailey Button Boots usually a bloody crime scene. Some describe it as a "listing" for the day's dead. "You cannot cover the sun with one finger; we say it like it is. We give it a human side and the raw side," said editor Alejandro Tellez. "We live in a city where you go to the streets and you walk into yellow tape and then you come to us to find out what has happened," said Tellez. Ainslie said his research has shown that violence is part of the fabric of daily life in Ciudad Juarez. "Everybody is living it," he said. "Everybody is seeing it. It is in every part of the city. ... Do you not report it because people are worn down and there seems to be no end?" Ainslie added that he was also struck by the difference in the reporting across the border in Ciudad Juarez's U.S. sister city, El Paso, Texas. On one day, he recalled, El Diario carried 15 cartel-related stories, including "three or four on the front page. The El Paso Times carried three cartel stories. Angela Kocherga is one of the few American journalists reporting from UGG Classic Cardy Boots Ciudad Juarez on a weekly basis. She said the coverage of the cartel war by American news organizations has been sporadic at best. "Afghanistan, Iraq are important stories, but Mexico gets lost in the mix day in and day out. The impact on the border is ignored. There is an entire generation being wiped out. ... It's just festering and festering and it's out of control. Ignoring it is not going to make it go away," she said. For some journalists in Ciudad Juarez, it has become a life's mission to tell the world about this war and to write their country's history. Soria feels he left his mark when, on October 20, he photographed the 2,000th victim of the cartel war. His shift was nearly over that day, and the body count stood at 1,996. "I told my reporter, 'Well, I guess I'm not going to get the 2,000.' Then I heard on the scanner that there were three dead and the address was really close to where we were. That day we reached 2001 dead," he said. "When I arrived, the military and the police where putting up UGG Classic Mini Boots the crime tape. The parents were hugging and holding each other. I wanted to record history, so that everyone would remember that moment. We are the ones keeping a log of the dead. I want to be remembered as the one who took that photo," said Soria. Soria's photo tells the story of hundreds of families in Juarez. It shows two family members hugging and a third one crying over the body of one of the men killed, with the police as onlookers.

WICHITA, Kan. – Defiant and unapologetic, a man accused of shooting a Kansas abortion provider confessed to the slaying Monday, telling The Associated Press that he killed the doctor to protect unborn children. Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., spoke to the AP in a telephone call from jail, saying he plans to argue at his trial that he was justified in shooting Dr. George Tiller. "Because of the fact preborn children's lives were in imminent danger this was the action I chose. ... I want to make sure that the focus is, of course, obviously on the preborn children and the necessity to defend them," Roeder said. "Defending innocent life — that is what prompted me. I mean, it is pretty simple," he said. Roeder is charged with one count of first-degree murder in Tiller's death and two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly threatening two ushers who tried to stop him during the May 31 melee in the foyer of the doctor's Wichita church. Roeder has pleaded not guilty and buy ugg boots is scheduled to go to trial in January. Tiller family attorney Lee Thompson and groups that support abortion rights decried Roeder as a terrorist who used violence to achieve his political agenda. "It is precisely this unrepentant domestic terrorism — and those who fund it — that must be stopped or else we will see more clinic violence and people will be killed," the president of the National Organization for Women, Terry O'Neill, said in a statement. Thompson has said allowing Roeder replica watches to use a so-called necessity defense would "invite chaos and be tantamount to anarchy." Courts have prevented others accused of killing abortion providers from using the same argument. "It is my view legally that it is an absurdity and simply reflects he is doing nothing more than trying to get publicity," Thompson said Monday. Troy Newman, president of anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said Roeder's statements do not reflect the sentiments of most people who oppose abortion. "The pro-life Piaget-Watches standard has always been to protect the dignity of human life, all human life, from the moment of conception until natural death," Newman said. In his more than 30-minute interview with the AP, Roeder did not apologize for the slaying. "No, I don't have any regrets because I have been told so far at least four women have changed their minds, that I know of, and have chosen to have the baby," Roeder said. "So even if one changed her mind it would be worth it. No, I don't have any regrets." Asked if he would do it over again, Roeder replied: "We all have a sense of duty and obligation to protect innocent life. If anybody is in a situation where they can, I think it is their obligation." Tiller, 67, had been the target of relentless protests for most of the 36 years that he performed abortions at his Wichita clinic, where he practiced as one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions. He was shot in both arms in 1993 and his clinic was Zenith Watches bombed in 1986. Roeder's confession came on the same day several strident abortion opponents released their "Defensive Action Statement 3rd Edition" that proclaims any force that can be used to defend the life of a "born child is legitimate to defend the life of an unborn child." The statement's 21 signers demand Roeder's jurors be allowed to consider the "question of when life begins" in deciding whether lethal force was justified. Among the signers are Eric Rudolph, James Kopp and Shelley Shannon — all serving prison time for targeting abortion providers. One signer, New Jersey anti-abortion activist Joe Provone, said Kopp, Rudolph and Roeder are "worthy of admiration, gratitude and respect." "Not everyone possesses their courage or ability as we are all endowed by our God with different gifts and talents," Provone wrote in an e-mail to AP. "Please rest assured I will continue to protest the killing of the unborn in the way I deem appropriate given my own self-appraisal."

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is NFL jerseys quietly laying the groundwork for long-range strategy that could be used to contain a nuclear-equipped Iran and deter its leaders from using atomic weapons. U.S. officials insist they are not resigned to a nuclear Iran and are pressing negotiations to prevent it from joining the world's nuclear club. But at the same time, the administration has set in place the building blocks of policies to contend with an Iran armed with atomic weapons. Those elements, former officials and analysts said, include the Rolex watches newly revised defense shield for Europe and deeper defense ties to Gulf states that feel threatened by Iran. Andrew Kuchin, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said administration officials are clearly thinking about how to contain an Iran armed with nuclear weapons. "It would be pretty irresponsible on our part if we didn't," he said. The administration shies away from talking about a ugg boots nuclear-armed Iran, believing that such talk implies that the U.S. has given up hope of stopping the Iranians from getting the bomb. "It is our clear policy that an Iranian nuclear-weapons capability is unacceptable, and we are working with our allies and partners to ensure that Iran desists from working toward such a capability," said Colin Kahl, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. In recent weeks, U.S. diplomats have pushed with its international partners to nudge Iran into agreeing not to use its nuclear facilities to build atomic weapons. Several negotiating sessions in Geneva have led to a U.N. draft plan under which Carolina Panthers jerseys the Iranians would ship enriched uranium out of the country for processing instead of using their own nuclear sites — which could also be used to covertly build weapons. Iran indicated Tuesday it might agree, but the details are still being worked out. But if Iran stays on a nuclear arms path, the administration's only realistic choice is to deter it from using them, said Richard Kugler, a senior consultant to a policy research center at National Defense University. The administration's move earlier this year to reconfigure an interceptor and Baltimore Ravens Jerseys radar system to protect Europe against short- and medium-range missiles is already one clear element of deterrence aimed at a nuclear Iran. The proposed system is based on the assumption that the missiles would be Iranian and carry nuclear warheads.

CAIRO: A passenger train collided with the back of a second one NFL jerseys just outside of Cairo on Saturday, destroying several passenger cars and killing at least 25 people, a police official said. At least 55 others were wounded in the accident, which occurred in Girzah district of 6th of October province, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Emergency personnel worked to extract the dead and Rolex watches wounded from the trains, said the official. The train that caused the collision was headed from Cairo to the southern city of Assuit, while the one ahead of it was traveling from Giza province to the oasis town of Fayoum, said Egypt's official Middle East News Agency. Egypt has a poor safety record on its railways, and there are several fatal accidents ugg boots each year, usually blamed on poorly maintained equipment. The country's worst railway disaster took place in February 2002 when a train heading to southern Egypt caught fire, killing 363 people. More recently, a passenger train barreling toward a station collided with a Seattle Seahawks jerseys second train in August 2006, killing 58 people. The train belonged to the country's oldest and most dilapidated third-class train service. The crash stirred a wave of outrage among Egyptians over the poor state of transportation infrastructure. The transportation minister, Mohammed Mansour, acknowledged after the accident that the rail system was in need of a major overhaul and was severely underfunded. The incident prompted the government to approve an immediate allocation of Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys $860 million to develop the rail infrastructure, plus another $600 million in loans to the sector later in that year.

China is hoping to stifle excessive production NFL jerseys capacity in six industries - including steel and cement - as the world's third-largest economy looks to keep its recovery on track, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner. China's economy expanded more than 7 percent in the first three quarters, thanks in large part to the government's 4-trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package, said Xiong Bolin, a deputy department director from the NDRC. Speaking at a news Philadelphia Eagles jerseys conference in Beijing yesterday Xiong said: "The stimulus plan has played a key role in the recovery." And he said the country was well on the way to realizing its full-year growth goal. "Achieving a growth rate of 8 percent for the year is basically no problem," he said as statistics for September showed improvements in trade, housing sales, manufacturing and car sales. The data suggests that resilience in retail sales and industrial production are helping to offset the blow to China's economy from falling exports. But, despite the good news, production overcapacity still exists in Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys steel, cement, glass, coal, the chemical industry, polysilicon production and wind power equipment and taking that out of the system is now seen as crucial to keeping the recovery moving. Xiong said the NDRC will tackle the overcapacity by holding back approval or funding for projects. The government's radical stimulus spending initiative has encouraged demand within industrial sectors - including steel and cement - because the investment has largely flowed into the construction of railways, roads and other infrastructure projects, Xiong said. But Yao Jingyuan, chief economist with the San Diego Chargers jerseys National Bureau of Statistics, pointed out that the overcapacity problem is also a result of expansion between 2003 and 2007, when China's high growth rate, coupled with booming overseas demand greatly stimulated expansion. "The global financial crisis has slowed China's economic growth rate and hurt global demand, causing the overcapacity problem," Yao said. According to the statement issued by the NDRC and nine other ministries, banks have been told not to lend money to projects that violate government guidelines. Those projects are also barred from raising money for unauthorized expansion through either ugg boots bonds, short-term bills, medium-term notes, convertible bonds or equity offerings.