Ginkgo ineffective in Alzheimer's A new study shows that ginkgo biloba is not efficient enough to keep cognitive decline and the resulting Alzheimer's disease at bay.

Israelis nab 14 Palestinians in WB Israeli forces have raided the West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Ramallah and al-Khalil, arresting some 14 Palestinians.

Washington to replace Iran NIE architect National Intelligence Council Chief, Thomas Fingar is to leave office nearly a year after issuing a report on Iran's nuclear activities.

Recession fears pull oil to 22-month low Crude oil prices fall to a 22-month low and stocks in Europe and Asia decline on mounting concerns over the global financial crisis.

Strong Quake Strikes Panama, No Damage Reported The quake hit 35 miles (56 km) west southwest of David, Panama, at 1:11 a.m. local time (0611 GMT).

Asians Step Up Defence Against Somali Pirates An Indian warship destroyed a Somali pirate vessel in a brief battle late on Tuesday, the navy said.

ETA Man Arrested in France Is Supreme Leader Spanish authorities believed Txeroki was only ETA's political leader, but it seems he was in charge of the military part of the organisation

Namibia Delays US Software Extradition Case Alexander, former chief executive of New York-based software maker Comverse Technology Inc., has denied wrongdoing.

U.S. Strike Kills 5 Militants In Pakistan Several people were wounded in the pre-dawn attack, in the Janikhel tribal area in Bannu district of North West Frontier Province.

Former French PM To Stand Trial Over Smear Scandal Villepin has denied wrongdoing in the case in which he has been accused of trying to torpedo Sarkozy`s reputation.

Russia Closes Politkovskaya Trial To Public The judge in the trial overturned an earlier ruling that the trial be held in public.

Russia, Georgia Start Talks Seen Lasting Years The United States, which sees Georgia as an ally in the volatile Caucasus, is also participating.

Confirmed: Hitler Had Only One Testicle! During World War I, a paramedic who saved Hitler`s life and confessed it later on due to a guilty conscience.

Israel Says Will Boycott U.N. Forum On Racism In a speech to visiting U.S. Jewish leaders, Livni said she announced last February that Israel would not participate in the 2009 meeting.

Albania To Deter Election Fraud With TV Monitors The high-resolution cameras will be installed at vote counting tables in such a way that they will record how every ballot is assigned.

Iranian Blogger Could Face Death Sentence An Iranian blogger has been arrested in Iran and charged with spying for Israel. He could face the death penalty if found guilty. Hossein Derakhshan, known around the world as the father of the Iranian blogosphere, was recently arrested upon returning to Iran from Canada.

UK, Syria To Share Intel The high-profile visit to Syria by the United Kingdom's foreign secretary, David Miliband, may have borne significant fruits for the "war on terror." Miliband was the highest-level UK diplomat to fly into Damascus in seven years. The event signaled preparedness by Washington's main ally to work with Syria rather than to isolate it.

'Tighter Cooperation Needed' To Fight Piracy The hijacking of a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of Africa has taken piracy up a notch and signals that improved cooperation is needed to fight piracy, a shipping expert said.

Deadline Passes For Evacuating Disputed Hebron House The deadline set by the Israeli High Court of Justice for Israeli squatters to evacuate a disputed house in Hebron expired on Wednesday. The state can now, by law, force the dwellers to leave.

Rescue Plan Under Fire: Merkel's Opel Offer Slammed The German government's offer to come to the rescue of carmaker Opel has come in for hefty criticism, particularly from within Chancellor Merkel's own party. Meanwhile Opel says it is reducing production for next year and cutting back to a 30-hour week in most plants.

Germany and Italy's 'Collective History': Conference to Examine Nazi-Era Crimes German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Italian counterpart announced on Tuesday that historians from the two countries are to hold a conference next year. The topic will be the hundreds of thousands of Italian soldiers that were deported to Nazi Germany during World War II.

Is the ETA planning to attack Spain is reportedly on full alert in case of a new attack by ETA in the wake of the arrest of the Basque separatist organisation's alleged military chief.

Eric Holder to Become First US African-American Attorney General President-elect Barack Obama will appoint former Clinton Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder to the position of attorney general, according to US media reports citing two prominent Democrats involved in transition matters. If confirmed, Holder, 57, would be the first African-American to occupy the...

Obama warms to reductions LOS ANGELES: Barack Obama has sent an explicit message to international negotiators of a new global warming treaty that, under his administration, the US would move to greatly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, and "help lead the world toward a new era of global co-operation on climate change".

Australian miner paid rebels $9.3m AN AUSTRALIAN mining company has paid millions of dollars in controversial fees to Somali rebels responsible for a surge in international piracy, including the hijacking this week of an oil supertanker.

Buckets of cash and seeking more wives DHOWS rest on a sandy beach in front of a few ramshackle homes.

Gunboat diplomacy, Somali-style AN INDIAN warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden has engaged in a gun battle with a suspected pirate ship and destroyed it, the Indian navy said yesterday.

Sheep sellers will have no more truck with cars THERE should be no more Bahrainis throwing trussed Australian sheep into the boots of their Mercedes before next month's Eid al-Adha religious festival.

VHP, Bajrang Dal not terror groups: UK The British government has said it does not consider the right-wing Hindu groups VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal as "terrorist" organisations, in remarks which may have political connotation.

Malegaon probe: Business houses on ATS radar A check was being done whether the business houses were aware about the end use of funds. "We have questioned some of them and we are working to ascertain as to how much of money had been handed over to the saffron outfit," a senior probe official said on the condition of anonymity.

John Sergeant quits Strictly Come Dancing I wanted to have fun but if I won the competition it would be a joke too far says the 64yearold

Baby P: Doctor who missed broken back speaks out Dr Sabah Al Zayyat the only person to be sacked over the case said she had been "deeply affected" by her involvement in the events leading up to his death in August last year.

Indian warship sinks Gulf pirate boat An Indian warship sank a pirate boat after it refused to stop and be searched in the latest encoutner in the Gulf of Aden where piracy has been described as 'out of control'.

McKiernan Has Reconciliation Plan U.S. military officials have conceded that the United States is not winning in Afghanistan.

Japan Shields Health Officials After Murder The attacks follow a series of scandals involving pensions and health care for Japan`s rapidly ageing population.

Somali Pirates Seize Greek Carrier -Maritime Group The East African Seafarers` Assistance Programme said the Greek vessel was taken on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden.

Bruni hopes she's good enough Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has told US TV viewers she hopes she's "good enough" in her role as France's first lady.

Melamine found in powdered milk Vietnamese health inspectors have found melamine in samples taken from five tons of powdered milk imported from China.

UN chief worried about Gaza UN chief Ban Ki-moon has told Israeli PM Ehud Olmert that he's worried a humanitarian crisis is brewing in the Gaza Strip.

Obama calls Palestinian leader, says peace important A Palestinian negotiator says U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called the Palestinian president and told him that peace is a vital interest for Israelis and Palestinians.