Because Economics is Sexy...

Thailand’s parliament is holding a special session prompted by days of street protests in which an anti-government group has stormed government buildings, a state-run TV station and police headquarters.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is calling for Samak Sundaravej, the prime minister, to resign.
Samak has refused, but on Sunday admitted in a televised speech that [...]

ROME (Reuters) – Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sought bankruptcy protection on Friday after nearly two years of hunting for a buyer, paving the way for its rescue by a group of Italian investors in a coup for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The long-awaited move by the national airline after 61 years of flying [...]

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Energy companies shut down three-quarters of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production on Saturday to prepare for the worst hurricane to hit the U.S. oil patch since 2005 and coastal refineries began shutting down before possible flooding.
Hurricane Gustav, now a dangerous Category 4 storm, roared toward the Cuban mainland on Saturday with [...]

Italy is to provide billions of dollars to Libya as part of a deal to resolve colonial-era disputes, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has announced.
At least $5bn will go to help Libyan infrastructure projects over the next 25 years.
Mr Berlusconi is in the port of Benghazi to meet Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and seal a [...]

A bomb has gone off in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, wounding at least 44 people, police and hospital sources say.
A package left near a fruit seller exploded in Pettah, the main commercial hub of the capital on Saturday, police said.
They added that the blast was a short distance from the main bus station.
A spokesman [...]

John McCain, the US Republican presidential candidate, has introduced Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running-mate to take on Barack Obama in November’s poll.
Palin, a mother of five, is the first woman to lead Alaska and is best known for pushing for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
McCain introduced Palin to [...]

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Saturday he would not quit in the face of growing protests aimed at toppling his seven-month-old government.
Speaking at an official event, Samak said he had requested an audience with Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej later on Saturday to brief him on the political situation.
Samak said [...]

DUSHANBE/PARIS (Reuters) – Russia faced increased diplomatic isolation over its military action against Georgia on Thursday, with its Asian allies failing to offer support and France saying EU leaders were considering sanctions.
Moscow accused the West of heightening tension by a naval build-up in the Black Sea, and said talk of punishing Russia for recognizing the [...]

A Bosnian-born man has pleaded not guilty in Norway’s first war crimes trial since the end of World War II.
Mirsad Repak, now a Norwegian citizen, is accused of having mistreated civilian detainees during the Bosnian conflict in 1992.
At the time he was a member of the paramilitary Croatian Defence Forces.
The charges relate to the imprisonment [...]

Armed men have shot down a Lebanese army helicopter flying over the the southern village of Sejoud, killing an officer, military officials say.
Military sources did not give further details of the attack on Thursday.
Al Jazeera’s Nayla Khoury, in Beirut, said the military was conducting scheduled manoeuvres in the area.
She said: “It is a very sensitive [...]