Monday July 21, 2008
EUROPE 
Sarkozy's constitutional changes go to vote
The two chambers of the French parliament will convene in the old royal residence at Versailles today to vote on President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to rewrite the country's 50-year-old constitution.
Brown calls on Israel to halt settlements
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded yesterday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories as Britain's leader, Mr. Brown repeatedly stressed that economics are the key to peace, and said Israel should ease travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce. But his strongest comments were reserved for the settlements.
AMERICAS
IMF ripe for shakeup, Paul Martin says
The credit crisis will spark a long-awaited overhaul of the International Monetary Fund by forcing nations such as the United States and Britain to acknowledge they lack moral authority to guide the world economy unchallenged, former prime minister Paul Martin predicts.
Mac division could steal iPhone's thunder
Considering all the hype surrounding the iPhone, it's easy to forget that Apple Inc. is first and foremost a personal computer company. While the iPhone is Apple's most buzz-inducing product, it is the Macintosh computer division that is expected to take centre stage when the Cupertino, Calif.-based company reports its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the markets close today.
Obama calls for transfer of troops to Afghanistan from Iraq
As violence flared in Afghanistan, U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama called the situation there ''precarious and urgent'' yesterday and said the United States should start planning to transfer more troops there from Iraq.
Search team returns with no sign of Fossett
A team of elite athletes and expert mountaineers has ended a weeklong hunt for Steve Fossett, finding no sign of the missing adventurer or his plane but eliminating miles of rugged terrain from areas that still must be searched.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Beijing's attempt to slash smog exhausts commuters
The Olympics are almost three weeks away, but Li Yiqun is already wishing they were over.Normally he drives to work in an easy 30 minutes. But starting today, on alternate days his commute will be transformed into a two-hour ordeal in an overcrowded bus.
AFRICA-MIDEAST
Traditional head scarf unveils new rifts in Turkey
Fatma Benli doesn't like the word ''symbol.'' But somewhere in the folds of the flowered green and brown scarf wrapped tightly around her oval face - and the similar coverings worn by millions of Turkish women - is the crux of their country's spreading political crisis, with its duelling allegations of coup plots and coming Islamic caliphates.
When pub crawls clash with prayer calls
The British expatriates who stood outside the Double Decker pub under Friday afternoon's 50 C sun were already slightly unsteady on their feet as they loudly discussed what bar to hit next. It took them just a little too long to react to the beep of a hotel cart carrying an Emirati man and two women clad from head to toe in black. As they dispersed and the cart passed by, a taxi pulled up. A woman in her 20s teetered out in stilettos as she thrust her fist into the air and shouted ''Wooo!''
Zimbabwean opposition wants concerns addressed
Zimbabwe's main opposition party said yesterday it will not sign a deal for talks to end the country's political crisis until mediator South Africa addresses its concerns, although regional officials appeared optimistic a breakthrough was possible.
