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Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon summarized two reports conducted by the UN concluding that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and other territories is illegal and "a breach of the fourth Geneva Convention." This is not the first time that the UN has condemned Israeli breach of the convention, but this comes at a crucial time when Israeli blockades of the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera and Democracy Now, are endangering approximately 750,000 Gazans who rely on UN and Israeli food aid

Pakistan's embattled Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was conferred with Harvard Law School's "Medal of Freedom" for his struggle for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary on Wednesday in Boston, Massachusetts. In the past, this award has been given to the team which litigated Brown v. Board of Education, and to Nelson Mandela. The New York City Bar Association granted him an honorary membership at a ceremony attended by Chaudhry on Monday, recognising him as a "symbol of the movement for judicial and lawyer independen

The New York Times has stated that Hillary Clinton has accepted the position of the United States Secretary of State. In order to accept the position, she has to step down as the current junior senator of New York. The Times quotes two unnamed Clinton campaign "confidants" who say that she is "ready" to take the position. Clinton would be the third woman in U.S. history to get the position. The other two were Madeline Albright and Condoleezza Rice. Earlier campaign officials for U.S. president-elect Barack Obama said that Clinton would not be

An appeal has been filed by the former wife of fugitive Thai ex-Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, against her conviction and three year sentence for tax evasion. Potjaman Shinawatra, step-brother Bannapot Damapong, and her secretary Karnchanapa Honghern were previously found guilty of conspiring to evade taxes in a share transfer deal. Thailand's Criminal Court ruled in July that the transfer of 4.5 million shares in Shin Computer and Communications (Now Shin Corp) was illegally declared as a family gift, and that the three conspired in the

One week after the eleventh-hour renewal of the American soap opera Days of our Lives, NBC, the network airing the series in the United States, has let it known that the renewal has come at a price, namely a lower one. As a result of further cost-cutting measures to keep the show afloat through September 2010, two of the longest-running actors on the serial have had their contracts severed. Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, who have played the characters of Marlena Evans and John Black for decades, have taped their final episodes and have been o

For the first time in nearly four years, the national average for a gallon of gasoline in the United States has fallen below $2. The American Automobile Association (AAA) reports local, state, and national averages daily, and Friday's findings show that the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is now at $1.989 cents, free-falling from the record high of $4.114 a gallon reached on July 17. Friday also marks the 64th straight day in which retail prices for gasoline have fallen. The sharp drop in prices does not automatically transl

The recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California, have burned more than 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of land. Nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 10,000 residents were evacuated. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa expressed concerns that Los Angeles was on the verge of a blackout, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared the situation a state of emergency. In terms of property damage, this fire is the worst since the Bel Air fire in 1961. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky stated, "Whether you li

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued an update in its investigation of a serious runway incursion in Pennsylvania in September. A regional jet with sixty people on board aborted takeoff and swerved to avoid a light plane, missing it by an estimated ten feet. The event occurred at Allentown's Lehigh Valley International Airport. A Canadair CRJ-700, operated by Mesa Airlines as Flight 7138, received clearance for takeoff but aborted the maneuver at 120 knots (138 mph), skidding around a Cessna 172R that had ju

Vela International Marine, the Saudi Arabian company that owns the MV Sirius Star oil tanker which was captured by pirates on November 15, has begun negotiations with the Somali pirates. The Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal said that talks had begun, but he did not say whether a ransom would be paid. Vela International Marine, which is owned by state-owned Saudi Aramco, would only say it is "working toward [the crew's] safe and speedy return." "We do not like to negotiate with pirates, terrorists or hijackers," said Saud al Faisal in Rom

A grenade attack on People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters occupying Thailand's Government House compound has killed a 48-year-old man. Media reports indicate that the blast injured between 20 and 29 others. This is the third attack on protesters occupying the Prime Minister's offices since August. The grenade attack took place in the early hours of this morning, 03:30 local time (20:30 UTC). PAD security details have prevented police from examining the crime scene. Local police commander, Somchai Chueyklin, told AFP they were waitin

The United Nations Security Council has announced that it intends to send up to 3,085 more peacekeeping troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite a commitment from rebel forces to reduce their fighting. The UN stated that the troops will be deployed immediately, and kept in the Congo for at least the rest of 2008. Depending on the security situation in the country, the troops may be kept in the country past the end of this year. The move was made as part of UN Security Council Resolution 1843, and was recommended by the United

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on Monday that repairing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will cost up to €16.6 million or US$21 million. The LHC, which is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, is located near the border of France and Switzerland and crosses the border four times. It has a diameter of 27 km (17 miles). It is designed to simulate the conditions shortly after the Big Bang, but it broke down on September 19 due to an electrical failure. Most of the repair time is covered by previ