U.S. not lined up to defeat al Qaeda, top official warns

The nation’s chief counterterrorism official says despite a "seriously diminished" threat to the homeland, the U.S. government is still not properly organized to support the "team" effort needed to defeat al Qaeda. Mike Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said the government has made vast improvements since the terrorist attacks of Sept

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Despite Naval Patrols, Somalia’s Pirates Are Busier Than Ever

Just when shipping companies thought it was safe to go back in the water — off the Horn of Africa in particular — Somali pirates last week nabbed two large chemical tankers within 24 hours, despite the presence of a bevy of Western and other navies prowling in search of the buccaneers. The Greek-owned MV Nipayia was snagged last Wednesday, followed within a day by the capture of the Norwegian-owned MV Bow-Asir. The attacks, which occurred at 380 and 490 nautical miles offshore, showed a willingness by the pirates to operate at great distances from their lairs along the Somali coastline

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Children’s charity urges Madonna not to adopt

A British children’s charity has urged Madonna to rethink her planned adoption of a Malawian baby girl as the singer was reportedly due in the east African country to take custody of a four-year-old child. Save the Children spokesman Dominic Nutt said said the child would be better off staying in Malawi than being brought up by the recently-divorced pop star, who has three other children, including an adopted Malawian boy.

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3-D: The Future of Movies

The lights dim in the screening room. Suddenly, the doomed Titanic fills the screen–but not the way I remember in the movie. The luxury liner is nearly vertical, starting its slide into the black Atlantic, and Leonardo DiCaprio is hanging on for life, just like always.

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Hamas hardens position on kidnapped soldier’s release

Israeli negotiators returned to Jerusalem for a Tuesday afternoon Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after Hamas officials "hardened" their position over the release of an abducted soldier. “It became clear during the discussions that Hamas had hardened its position, reneged on understandings that had been formulated over the past year and raised extreme demands,” Olmert’s office said in a statement. Israeli Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin and the prime minister’s special envoy, Ofer Dekel, had been taking part in Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo regarding the release of Gilad Shalit.

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