Ridiculous Idol Excuses (Compiled)

If there is an entertainment trend ripe for satire, it is the begging-for-attention smut routines at nationally televised music awards shows. How low can these "artists" go? Sadly, there is always another frontier. "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert was the latest offender at the Nov. 22 American Music Awards on ABC, with a routine complete with S&M bondage slaves, deep male-on-male kissing and simulated fellatio on stage.

All in front of millions upon millions of impressionable youngsters. It was another in-your-face Janet Jackson moment.

There's only one thing that makes this funny. It's the idea that somehow none of this was planned, that it was just a spontaneous eruption. ABC was embarrassed enough by Lambert to cancel a planned performance on "Good Morning America." If they expected cheers for that, they're sadly mistaken. ABC clearly wanted to avoid making its news division question the entertainment division's horrendous decision-making.

Every piece of evidence we have suggests ABC and Lambert knew exactly what they were going to do. Lambert told MTV to expect something really sexy. "I was looking for a certain sensuality," he explained about choosing his dancers, and said the S&M wardrobe was "amazing." MTV reported it would feature the sensibility of his music video for the song he performed: "Adam Lambert is fully embracing the S&M lyrics featured in his single. Greased up dancers are dolled up in leather, dog collars, nipple clamps (zoinks!) and platform boots."

The rough-sex lyrics of the song ABC approved for national consumption are very clear: "I'ma hold ya down until you're amazed/Give it to ya till your screaming my name." And this: "Baby, I'm in control/Take the pain/Take the pleasure/I'm the master of both."

For their part, ABC repeatedly told viewers to stick around for Lambert's routine. They scheduled it at the very end of show so they could suggest it was irresponsible for parents if their children caught this porny show right before the late news.

It is clearly offensive to watch ABC and Dick Clark Productions now play dumb in their official statement: "Due to the live nature of the show we did not expect the impromptu moment in question," they jointly declared after the edited West Coast version. There was no "impromptu moment" that was in question. It was the entire disgusting performance, approved and promoted by ABC and Dick Clark Productions.

CBS News jumped in to promote Lambert where ABC left off. How dumb did Adam Lambert think America was? Let's survey his comical answers.

1. Did you have any idea your performance at the AMAs would ignite this firestorm? Lambert said: "No clue. No clue at all."

2. Did you plan those sexually charged moves in the rehearsal? Lambert: "Those kind of came from more of a impromptu place. No, those were not rehearsed."

3. This was the best question from CBS interviewer Maggie Rodriguez: Now that you have had time to think about the children, your child fans, do you feel that you need to apologize to them? Lambert's absolutely classic answer: "I think it's up to the parents to -- to discern what their child's watching on television."

4. Rodriguez followed up: "Well, but they had no idea they were about to see something like that on network TV." That's where Lambert started sounding like a lawyer: "Well, you know -- and you know, just to play devil's advocate with you, Lady Gaga smashing whiskey bottles. Janet Jackson grabbing a male dancer's crotch. Eminem talked about how Slim Shady has '17 rapes under his belt.' There's a lot of very adult material on the AMAs this year and I know I wasn't the only one. I'm not using that as an excuse and I don't have any -- I didn't take any offense with those performers' choices, I'm just saying I think it's up to a parent to watch the television. It was almost 11 at night. If they're concerned with certain material, maybe TiVo it and preview it before your small child is watching it."

Oh, shut up. Rodriguez summed up Lambert's lack of regret:

5. So you don't feel that it's your responsibility to issue an apology? Lambert unfurled what could be a motto for the entertainment world in general: "I'm not a baby sitter. I'm a performer."

So we can blame Lambert, we can blame ABC, and for starting this all, we can blame Fox and "American Idol." They took up Lambert and made him a gender-bending crusader for gay liberation in entertainment. Sexual politics trumped his screechy (and let's face it, lack of) talent. Lambert's honesty about his absolute, leather-bound mission to offend came out at the CBS interview's end. He was asked if he had to do it over again, what would he do differently? "I would sing it a little bit better."

Ridiculous Idol Excuses (Compiled)

Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Adha(Compiled)

Celebrated by Muslims throughout the world on the first day of Eid al-Adha amid mixed with joy, and not April tragedies experienced by their brethren in many countries, and praying to God Almighty to bring together the nation.
وأدى المسلمون بالفلبين صلاة العيد في أجواء من السرور والبهجة، وشارك النساء والأطفال بالصلاة بأحد ضواحي العاصمة مانيلا في تجمع مهيب طغت عليه الألوان فظهر كأنه مهرجان. The Philippine Muslim Eid prayer in an atmosphere of happiness and joy, and co women and children to pray in a suburb of the capital Manila, a grand gathering was overshadowed by the colors appeared like a festival.
وفي إندونيسيا -أكبر دولة إسلامية من حيث تعداد السكان- شارك الملايين في صلاة عيد الأضحى بأنحاء البلاد، وظهر ذلك التجمع جليا بالعاصمة جاكرتا. In Indonesia - the largest Muslim country in terms of population - participated in the prayers of millions across the country, Eid al-Adha, the back of that grouping evident in the capital Jakarta.
وشهدت العاصمة القديمة لكزاخستان آلماتا صلاة العيد أداها ملايين المسلمين وسط أجواء من الفرح، انطلقوا بعدها لذبح الأضاحي. And saw the old capital of Almaty, Kazakhstan Eid prayer is performed by millions of Muslims in an atmosphere of joy, then set off for the slaughter of sacrificial animals.
Also led the Muslim masses in most Arab countries, the Eid prayer, and praying to God to collect pieces of the nation and to relieve stress and restore them to their owners, the occupied territories in Palestine, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque and free from Israeli occupation.
وشاركت جموع المسلمين حجاج بيت الله الحرام في أداء صلاة العيد في المسجد الحرام بمكة المكرمة. Participated the Muslim masses of pilgrims in the Eid prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. وتوافد الآلاف من المقدسيين والمواطنين الفلسطينيين القادمين من داخل الخط الأخضر إلى الحرم القدسي الشريف لأداء صلاة العيد، وسط انتشار لقوات الاحتلال على البوابات المؤدية إلى البلدة القديمة. The influx of thousands of Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem and from inside the Green Line to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Eid prayer, amid the spreading of the occupation forces at the gates leading to the old town.
وفي حي الشيخ جراح بالبلدة القديمة أقيمت الصلاة في خيمة الاعتصام التي نصبتها عائلتا غاوي وحنون بعد طردهما من منازلهما واستيلاء المستوطنين عليها، حيث خطب بالمصلين رئيس الحركة الإسلامية الشيخ رائد صلاح الذي تمنعه سلطات الاحتلال من دخول المسجد الأقصى. In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood prayer was held in the Old City in the protest tent erected by families of Ghawi and affectionate Mnazlhma after the expulsion of the settlers and the capture of them, as worshipers speeches Islamic Movement head Sheikh Raed Salah, the occupation authorities prevented him from entering the Al Aqsa Mosque.
وفي قطاع غزة المحاصر أدى الأهالي صلاة العيد، ورغم المآسي وما يشهده القطاع لم تغب الفرحة عن أطفاله حيث يشعر مشردو القطاع جراء الحرب الإسرائيلية الأخيرة وتدمير منازلهم، بوطأة العيد أكثر من غيرهم. In the besieged Gaza Strip residents led the Eid prayer, and despite the tragedies witnessed by the sector have not lost the joy of the children can feel Mushardo sector due to the recent Israeli war and the destruction of homes, holiday pinch more than others.

وتأبى فرحة العيد إلا أن تزاحم مشاعر الخوف والحزن على وجوه سكان بعض الدول الإسلامية ومنها باكستان التي تقيد المخاوف الأمنية فرحة العيد عندهم وكذلك أفغانستان وفي الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة والعراق والصومال. And avoids the joy of the feast, to vie with the feelings of fear and sadness on the faces of residents in some Islamic countries, including Pakistan, which restrict the security concerns have the joy of Eid, as well as Afghanistan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Iraq and Somalia.

Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Adha(Compiled)

Wall Street prepares to plunge (Compiled)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to plunge Friday in tandem with worldwide markets, as Dubai World and its debt woes threatened Wall Street's confidence.

Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures plummeted, by nearly 300 points on the pre-market Dow alone, hinting that stocks could take a dive during their abbreviated session on Black Friday.

Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance, though they're not always an accurate forecast of stock activity after the bell.

The problems stem from Dubai World, the finance arm of Dubai, which is considering a postponement of payments on nearly $60 billion in debt. The debt was used to fuel a construction boom over the last few years, including its palm-tree shaped island projects, but the Middle East nation was hit hard by a real estate crunch.

"We had a market that was pretty strong, that in one sense was looking increasingly able to shrug off bad news," said Philip Isherwood, equities strategist at Evolution Securities in London. "Suddenly, we've had a shock to the confidence."

Isherwood said the global impact from Dubai World's financial difficulties "is not so huge" and "not worth 300 points of the Dow." But it serves as a nasty "wake-up call" to investor confidence.

"There isn't an absence of risk," he said. "There is always risk. We've just been reminded of that."

Wall Street ended Wednesday on a positive note, with the Dow Jones rising 31 points to hit a fresh 13-month high.

Stocks were boosted by tumbling jobless claims, which the Labor Department said hit a 14-month low last week, and a rise in new home sales.

Retail: Retailers -- including Toys R Us, which opened its doors at midnight on Thanksgiving -- were welcoming shoppers taking advantage of "doorbuster" deals to mark Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500), the world's biggest retailer, stayed open Thanksgiving Day, but offered its specials beginning at 5 a.m.

While economists are calling an end to the recession, a record high jobless rate at 10.2% and a tight lending environment were likely to cause consumers to curb spending.

Companies: AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) announced late Wednesday it agreed to settle a long-standing legal battle with the insurance giant's former chairman, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.

The parties agreed to release each other from all claims, including those filed by Greenberg against AIG for payments of future legal fees and other settlement costs.

They also agreed to submit past claims for AIG's payment of legal fees to a third party to determine how much AIG is legally obligated to pay up to $150 million.

World Markets: In Europe, London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 all fell by less than 1% in morning trading after big selloffs on Thursday. In Asia, the decline was much more dramatic. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell nearly 5% and Tokyo's Nikkei dropped almost 4%.

Money, oil and gold: The dollar gained Friday versus all major international currencies except the yen, after sliding to a 15-month low Wednesday.

Gold slipped in electronic trading, by $29.30 to $1,157.70 an ounce, after having hit a record high of $1,187 Wednesday.

The price of oil took a dive. Oil dropped $3.90 a barrel to $74.06 in electronic trading.

Wall Street prepares to plunge (Compiled)

Iran rebuked over nuclear 'cover-up' by UN watchdog (Compiled)

The UN nuclear watchdog's governing body has passed a resolution condemning Iran for developing a uranium enrichment site in secret.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also demanded that Iran freeze the project immediately.

The resolution, the first against Iran in nearly four years, was passed by a 25-3 margin with six abstentions.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes, but the US says it is seeking nuclear weapons.

In September, it emerged that as well as its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, Iran has a second such facility near the town of Qom. The revelation deepened Western fears about the country's nuclear ambitions.

The resolution was passed with rare Russian and Chinese backing, and the BBC's Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says it is a sign of Iran's growing isolation.

Tehran described the move as a "hasty and undue" step that could jeopardise talks on the issue.

Tehran has failed to agree to a US-backed plan under which its low-enriched uranium would be shipped overseas for processing into fuel.

This is seen as a way for Iran to get the fuel it wants, while giving guarantees to the West that it will not be used for nuclear weapons.

Iran rebuked over nuclear 'cover-up' by UN watchdog (Compiled)

Businesses in U.S. Brace for New Rules on Emissions (Compiled)

The nation’s corporations have long been bracing for the day when they would be required to carry out sharp cuts in the emissions that cause global warming. That day seemed to move a bit closer on Wednesday, when President Obama outlined a national target for such reductions.

Much of corporate America has already been thinking about how to comply. Many businesses concluded years ago that such limits were inevitable, and they have been calling on Congress to define the exact rules they will need to follow.

Already, many companies are recording their emissions and analyzing the results. Some have set voluntary targets for reductions and are claiming substantial progress in meeting them. Sustainability — a notion mostly heard in environmental circles only a decade ago — has become a mainstream idea to which some companies are committed and many are paying lip service.

Major corporations, including General Electric, the Ford Motor Company and PepsiCo, have teamed up with environmental groups to set up the United States Climate Action Partnership, a wide-ranging coalition trying to find ways to cut emissions throughout the economy.

Wal-Mart, the nation’s top retailer, has outlined strict goals to reduce energy consumption at its stores and has instructed hundreds of thousands of suppliers to report their energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions. In a speech at a summit meeting in China last year, H. Lee Scott Jr., Wal-Mart’s president and chief executive, said, “Sustainability can and should be a big part of the solution.”

In the energy sector, some corporations have also been vocal in demanding clarity on emissions. James E. Rogers, the chief executive of Duke Energy, a large power company and a major emitter of carbon dioxide, says that clear rules are needed to ensure that companies relying on coal-fired power plants can finance their transition to lower-carbon fuels, like natural gas or nuclear power. Coal accounts for half of the nation’s electric generation.

“A well-designed cap will provide a smooth transition to clean electricity,” Mr. Rogers said in an ad that ran over the summer.

Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said, “Industry needs certainty, and without a very strong role played by the administration, they are not likely to get it.” She added, “Real leadership from the White House is the only way to get a bill through the Senate, and a bill is how we will get certainty.”

Until now, the United States had been the only industrialized economy to shun hard targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The nation has been overtaken by China as the top emitter of carbon dioxide, but Americans are bigger carbon polluters per person than citizens of other countries.

The White House said on Wednesday that the president would present a provisional target at the Copenhagen summit meeting on climate next month to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will be “in the range” of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent below by 2050, the White House said.

That target reflects the goals specified by legislation that was passed in the House in June. A similar bill is bogged down in the Senate, which would set cuts of 20 percent by 2020.

Limiting the growth in greenhouse gas emissions, let alone cutting them, will require a radical transformation of the nation’s energy consumption and fuels that will most likely take decades. It is bound to hurt some energy-intensive businesses, like petroleum refiners and coal-fired power plants, and some manufacturers, while bolstering the development of alternative power industries like solar and wind.

To reduce emissions, Congress has been looking at a mechanism called cap and trade, in which legislators would set a limit on the nation’s emissions and it would decline each year. They would also assign pollution permits that companies could then buy and sell depending on their needs.

Much of the legislative horse-trading in recent months centered on which sectors of the economy would receive these carbon allowances free, as a subsidy to switch to low-carbon fuels or to invest in carbon-abating technologies, and which industries must pay for them.

Corporate America is by no means unanimous in embracing the idea of emission limits. Larger corporations, especially those operating in both the United States and Europe, have gone furthest in tackling their emissions. By contrast, many small businesses and domestic manufacturers have made little headway, and they are worried about the higher energy costs that an attack on global warming would require.

Oil producers have opposed the current climate legislation being debated in Congress. Refiners and producers claim the bill would result in higher gasoline bills, lower domestic output and an increase in fuel imports.

“In the midst of a severe recession with 10.2 percent national unemployment, our economy, the creation of jobs and consumer impact should take much greater precedence over attempts to impress international bureaucrats during an annual convention,” Charles T. Drevna, the president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, wrote on a recent blog post, referring to the Copenhagen meeting.

Some of the nation’s biggest trade groups, including the powerful United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau Federation, have also been fighting the climate legislation through ads and a protracted lobbying battle on Capital Hill.

The National Association of Manufacturers said recently that a climate bill would result in job losses and slower economic growth. The Senate bill, it said, represents a “significant technological and economic challenge to manufacturers while resulting in little benefit to the environment.”

But the chamber’s attacks against climate policy have also led to a wave of well-publicized resignations from the trade group — by prominent companies like Apple and Nike, and the utilities Pacific Gas and Electric, Exelon and PNM Resources. All of them assailed the chamber’s climate policy as counterproductive.

“Nike believes that climate change is an urgent issue affecting the world today and that businesses and their representative associations need to take an active role to invest in sustainable business practices and innovative solutions to address the issue,” the company said after quitting the chamber in September.

Since coming into office, the Obama administration has encouraged the development of lower-carbon technologies and has sought to increase the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles. Venture capital firms have also been pouring billions of dollars into alternative energy projects, car companies are working on electric vehicles, and some power utilities have welcomed incentives to switch to low-carbon sources of energy.

Adam Sieminski, the chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank, said that setting a goal was a constructive step, but that much more work remains to map out ways the country can actually meet the president’s target. That includes increasing the use of natural gas to replace coal in the short term, in his view, and adding more nuclear power in the long run.

“We have a lot of ideas on the table,” he said. “But no one has actually agreed to the blueprint that would allow us to get to the goal that the president has outlined.”

Businesses in U.S. Brace for New Rules on Emissions (Compiled)

China Pulls Out Its Driver (compiled)

We're terribly sorry to report this, but there are some people on Earth who don't have the highest regard for golf. They say it's an elitist pastime for fancy people and garden-party intellectuals—more of a leisure pursuit than the sort of activity that cultivates one's muscles.

In China, where the sport hardly existed a quarter of a century ago, this stereotype has persisted. It was the nation's wealthiest classes that first adopted the game, building exclusive private courses like Shenzhen's sprawling Mission Hills Golf Club, which has 12 courses of 18 holes each, making it the world's largest golf club.
The popular ranks of the nation's athletes, however—the ones who are ambitious about leveraging their talent—don't pay the sport much attention. The government, which controls the sports scene here with its lavish spending on development programs, has anointed tennis, soccer, basketball and table tennis as the mandatory school sports. In the past four years alone, about 800,000 basketball courts have been built in China, pushing the estimated number of players to about 400 million.

But what the promise of a green jacket can't accomplish, a gold medal just might.

After last month's announcement by the International Olympic Committee that golf will be a medal sport starting in 2016, China's golf leaders are bursting with optimism. They have started pushing Beijing to begin building public driving ranges and courses in hopes of incubating talent.

Earlier this month, Mission Hills wrapped up its first-ever Asian Amateur Championship tournament—which was held in conjunction with Augusta National Golf Club and Scotland's Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Thanks to those relationships, the winner was given an automatic invitation to next year's Masters.

Mission Hills also announced plans to launch its own Chinese junior tour in January, with bi-weekly 18-hole tournaments and an affordable annual membership fee of 500 Chinese yuan, or about $73.

"These stepping stones are crucial to our mission of nurturing the next Tiger Woods," says Tenniel Chu, Mission Hills' executive director. After the Olympics announcement, Mr. Chu said, "golf is no longer an elitist sport—it's an official sport in the Chinese world."
Prior to the IOC's announcement, one of the most ambitious things the China Golf Association had said was that the country could have 20 million recreational golfers by 2020 (the U.S. has about 26 million).

But since the Olympic vote, the sport's backers in China seem to have raised their sights a bit. At the announcement of the Chinese junior tour, Xu Deli, chairman of the provincial-level Guangdong Golf Association, said, "We want to produce not just one Tiger Woods, but many Tiger Woods. In 2016, I hope that some of these golfers will be part of that competition."

For golf to prosper here, it will need more public facilities and a stronger amateur circuit to cultivate young talent. Mr. Chu says China still has less than 100 amateur tournaments a year, compared to the U.S.'s 600-plus tournaments each year. China will also need more and better golf instruction (Mission Hills has three golf academies) and, eventually, some domestic stars. "All we need is a local hero—a Yao Ming of golf would be tremendous for the sport," Mr. Chu says.

One of the great hopes so far in Chinese golf is a 21-year-old named Han Ren, who shot a few holes with Tiger Woods when the U.S. star visited in 2001. Without an ecosystem to thrive in back home, Mr. Han was sent overseas to take his game to the next level—first to Canada in 2003 and then to Indiana University, where he is a junior.

Last month, Mr. Han returned to Shenzhen for the Asian amateur tournament. After shooting a 65, he took a quick lead ahead of his South Korean and Australian rivals, only to cede his position on day two. In the end, the top Chinese finisher placed 11th in the tournament, with competitors from Australia, New Zealand and golf-crazy South Korea sweeping the top six spots

China Pulls Out Its Driver (compiled)

Obama speaks on Afghanistan Tuesday; goes to climate summit Dec. 9 (Copiled)

Two key scheduling matters:

President Obama will make his case for a new strategy in Afghanistan on Tuesday at 8 p.m., from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point .

Obama will attend the Copenhagen global warming summit on Dec. 9, a day before he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

In his Afghanistan speech, Obama will lay out his plans for troop increases along with an exit strategy for the war now in its ninth year, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

"We're not going to be there another eight or nine years," Gibbs said, adding that Obama had not told him how many additional troops he plans to deploy to the region.

Gibbs said the president will also discuss the financial costs of the war.

"It's very, very, very expensive," Gibbs said.

As for the big international climate summit in Copenhagen, White House environmental adivser Carol Browner said the president will offer to reduce U.S. greenhouse emissions to 17% below their 2005 levels over the next decade.

Obama speaks on Afghanistan Tuesday; goes to climate summit Dec. 9 (Copiled)

Philippines' key suspect surrenders (Compiled)

The lead suspect accused of masterminding the massacre of at least 57 people in the Philippines has turned himself in to police, officials have said.

Andal Ampatuan Jr is a local mayor and member of a powerful political clan in Maguindanao province on the southern island of Mindanao.

He has denied any responsibility for the killings.

Ampatuan Jr gave himself up to Jesus Dureza, a presidential adviser, in the provincial capital on Thursday and was expected to be flown to Manila for formal questioning, officials said.
"The family voluntarily surrendered him and they agreed that he will be investigated," military commander Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer said.

Ampatuan Jr has been fingered as the lead suspect in what is believed to be the Philippines' worst ever politically-linked killings.

His father, Andal Ampatuan Sr, is the provincial governor who has been grooming his son to succeed him in elections due next year.

The family also has close political ties to the Philippine president, Gloria Arroyo, although on Thursday officials in Arroyo's party said Ampatuan Jr, his father and a brother had been expelled following an emergency meeting of the party leadership.
'Not guilty'
Following his surrender, Ampatuan Jr was taken into military custody and flown out of the provincial capital in an army helicopter.

Asked by reporters if he was involved in the killings, Ampatuan Jr, who tried to hide his face with a scarf, replied: "There is no truth to that. The reason I came out is to prove that I am not hiding and that I am not guilty."

Ronaldo Puno, the Philippines interior secretary, said he had warned the family they risked a military attack unless Ampatuan Jr gave himself up by midday on Thursday.
His surrender comes as a man who says he was a witness to Monday's killings told Al Jazeera that Ampatuan Jr had directly ordered the massacre, targeting a political rival for the provincial governorship.

The witness, who identified himself only as "Boy", said he was among more than 100 armed men who held up a convoy of political campaigners and journalists before taking them to a remote mountainous area.

He said Ampatuan Jr had ordered the gunmen to kill all the members of a rival political clan, including women and children, and to make sure no evidence was left behind.

"Datu Andal himself said… anyone from the Mangudadatu clan - women or children - should be killed," he told Al Jazeera.

"We don't ask why, we just follow orders."

"Boy", who is now in hiding fearing his life is in danger, said all of the women in the group had been raped before being killed and their bodies dumped in mass graves that had already been dug out using an excavator.

Arrests

On Thursday security forces said they had arrested 20 people in connection with Monday's massacre.
The arrests come after police at the scene of the massacre discovered another 11 bodies buried in shallow graves, taking the death toll to at least 57.

The first funerals of some of the victims also took place on Thursday, more than three days after the massacre, although the bodies of several others have yet to be identified.

The killings occurred after about 100 suspected Ampatuan gunmen allegedly ambushed a convoy of aides and relatives of a rival politician, Esmael Mangudadatu, as well as a group of accompanying journalists.

The victims were snatched as they were travelling to file election papers nominating Mangudadatu as a candidate for provincial governor in next year's poll.

According to investigators, the victims were shot at close range, some with their hands tied behind their backs, before being dumped or buried in shallow graves on a remote hillside.

Death threats

Mangudadatu, the rival candidate for governor, was not himself in the convoy because he had received death threats and said he thought the women he sent in his place would be safe.
He has pressed senior Philippine government officials to immediately arrest and prosecute those behind the killings.

Mangudadatu said four witnesses in his protection had told him the convoy was stopped by armed men loyal to Ampatuan Jr, to prevent his family from filing election papers.

"It was really planned because they had already dug a huge hole [for the bodies]," he told reporters earlier this week, adding that there were reports from the area that the militia had been blocking the road for a few days.

Among those killed were at least 20 journalists accompanying the convoy, in what media monitoring groups have labelled as the worst-ever single attack on journalists anywhere in the world.

The massacre has put intense pressure on the government of Gloria Arroyo, the Philippine president, to take decisive action against the Ampatuan clan.

She has vowed an all-out effort to bring those responsible for the killings to justice, saying that no one would be seen to be above the law.

In the wake of the massacre Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighbouring province, ordering hundreds of extra troops to the area.

Philippines' key suspect surrenders (Compiled)

Obama to announce Afghanistan troop strategy Tuesday (Compiled)

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will announce the U.S. troop strategy for Afghanistan in a speech at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday.

In the speech, Obama will explain why the United States is in Afghanistan, its interests there and his decision-making process, Gibbs said, but "the president does not see this as an open-ended engagement.

"Our time there will be limited, and I think that's important for people to understand," he said.

"We are in year nine" in Afghanistan, Gibbs told reporters. "We're not going to be there another eight or nine years."

Obama will meet with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday afternoon before the speech.
Video: More troops to Afghanistan
Video: More troops in Afghanistan?
Video: Debating Afghanistan strategy

Cost issues are among the topics the president will address, Gibbs said.

"It's a million dollars a troop for a year," he said. "Ten thousand troops is $10 billion. That's in addition to what we already spend in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That also does not include training, and it doesn't include the maintaining of a security force. It's very, very, very expensive."

But, Gibbs added, "I think the president, throughout this process, has talked about the cost in terms of American lives and in terms of the cost to our treasury, and I think he'll continue to talk about it."

The president ordered more than 20,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in March. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, reportedly has called for up to 40,000 more to wage a counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban, the Islamic militia originally ousted by U.S. military action in 2001.

Obama has weighed several options for bolstering the American contingent, ranging from sending a few thousand troops to the 40,000 McChrystal requested.

A defense official told CNN earlier this week the Pentagon is making detailed plans to send about 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of Obama's decision on the 8-year-old war.

There had been no final word on Obama's decision as of Tuesday, said the Defense Department official, who has direct knowledge of the process. But the official said planners have been tasked with preparing to send 34,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan with the expectation that Obama was leaning toward approving that many.

Obama to announce Afghanistan troop strategy Tuesday (Compiled)

Germany's top soldier quits over Afghanistan raid (Compiled)

Germany's top soldier has resigned over a Nato air strike in Afghanistan in which civilians are thought to have died, the defence minister said.

Wolfgang Schneiderhan stood down over the 4 September attack in Kunduz on fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban.

His decision followed reports that information about the strike - ordered by a German commander - was withheld, the defence minister said.

The strike is thought to have killed dozens of civilians collecting fuel.

Taliban fighters had seized the two tankers while they were being driven from Tajikistan to supply Nato forces in Kabul.

Reports said that villagers were taking fuel from the tankers when the strike happened.

According to the independent Afghanistan Rights Monitor group, up to 70 civilians died.

Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told parliament that Gen Schneiderhan had failed to provide proper information about the incident.

Germany's top soldier quits over Afghanistan raid (Compiled)