Lien Chan welcomes mainland's gestures of goodwill
Xinhua - 1 hour ago SHANGHAI, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party Lien Chan said here Tuesday the latest gestures from the mainland is conducive to boosting cross-Straits exchanges as well as the "accumulation of goodwill".

Morgan Stanley fails to silence rebel campaign over Purcell
Independent - 3 hours ago By Katherine Griffiths in New York. Former executives at Morgan Stanley have refused to call off their campaign to oust the investment banking giant's chief executive Philip Purcell, despite concessions from the board.

US reminds N.Korea of its Pacific military might
Reuters - 8 hours ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reminded North Korea on Monday the United States has extensive military might in the Pacific after a suspected North Korean missile test over the weekend.

MCI takes new Verizon offer; Qwest is out
Winston-Salem Journal - 2 hours ago MCI Inc., the No. 2 US long-distance phone company, accepted an increased takeover offer from Verizon Communications Inc., snubbing a bid from Qwest Communications International Inc. that is more than $1 billion higher.

Georgia City May Want Bride to Pay
New York Times - 3 hours ago DULUTH, Ga., May 2 - The runaway bride-to-be who led this Atlanta suburb on an expensive game of hide-and-seek last week may face charges after all, the authorities said, and the city was investigating whether to bill her for the search.

Italy blames stress for agent's death
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription) - 46 minutes ago Italian investigators have blamed stress, inexperience, poor procedures and fatigue among American troops for the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence agent on a Baghdad road. The investigators found

Prisoners abused for 'amusement'
Houston Chronicle - 53 minutes ago By JOHN W. GONZALEZ. FORT HOOD - A clique of US soldiers tormented Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison for "amusement," not for any authorized military mission, Pfc. Lynndie England testified Monday as she pleaded guilty to seven abuse-related charges.

Rejected Jokes From Laura Bush's Monologue
Dissident Voice - 2 hours ago by Arthur Creosote. The Associated Depressed has learned that an anonymous White House staffer tried to sneak the following jokes into Laura Bush's now famous monologue at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.

Sharansky poses problems for Sharon and Bush
Toronto Star - 17 minutes ago Natan Sharansky's resignation from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet this week represents a severe blow both for Sharon's disengagement plan and for President George's Bush plans to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Global Nuclear Meeting Opens
ABC News - 19 minutes ago UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan speaks during a conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Monday May 2, 2005 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. At a time of growing nuclear tensions