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This Is London.co.uk
Moscow has issued an extraordinary warning to the West that military assistance to Georgia for use against South Ossetia or Abkhazia would be viewed as a “declaration of war” by Russia. The extreme rhetoric from the Kremlin’s envoy to NATO came as President Dmitry Medvedev stressed he will make a military response to US missile defence installations in eastern Europe, sending new shudders across countries whose people were once blighted by the Iron Curtain. And Moscow also emphasised it was closely monitoring what it claims is a build-up of NATO firepower in the Black Sea. The incendiary warning on Western military involvement in Georgia - where NATO nations have long played a role in training and equipping the small state - came in an interview with Dmitry Rogozin, a former nationalist politician who is now ambassador to the North Atlantic Alliance. “If NATO suddenly takes military actions against Abkhazia and South Ossetia, acting solely in support of Tbilisi, this will mean a declaration of war on Russia,” he stated. More

The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don’t find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science, and he believes that people should take action now, especially when it comes to children. “Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldn’t wait for a definitive study to come out but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later,” Herberman said. No other major academic cancer research institutions have sounded such an alarm about cell phone use. But Herberman’s advice could raise concern among many cell phone users and especially parents. More

Karzai was handpicked by the US. You can bet he says nothing without US approval

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned Sunday his troops would take their battle against Taliban extremists across the border into Pakistan to prevent them launching attacks in his country. Karzai told reporters in Kabul on Sunday that Afghan soldiers had the right to enter Pakistan because insurgents crossing the border to attack Afghan targets “gives us the right to go back and do the same.”

The Afghan president has previously urged Pakistan and its U.S.-led coalition allies to do more to tackle extremists holed up in Pakistan’s remote border regions, but this is the first time he has indicated taking matters into his own hands. Karzai said his administration’s “patience was running thin.” He said the cross-border attacks have destroyed homes and schools. Read More

OTTAWA (Reuters)
Canadians should avoid unlicensed drugs that claim to improve sexual performance because they could cause problems such as loss of consciousness, prolonged erections and chest pain, the health ministry said on Friday. Health Canada issued the warning in a release about a product called Desire, which was found to contain the prescription drug phentolamine — something not indicated on the label.

“Health Canada advises consumers not to use Desire or any other unauthorized products promoted to increase sexual performance that are advertised as ‘all natural’, as such products may contain undeclared prescription drugs that may pose serious risks to health,” it said in a statement. More

Miles Costello
Times Online
Fears of a sustained downturn in world economies was back on the agenda today after Jean Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, gave warning that the worst of the credit crunch has not passed and was still heading for a “very significant market correction”.

Mr Trichet, who has fiercely resisted following other policymakers by making interest rate cuts, insisted in an interview today that acting to restrain rampant inflationary growth was the best way to ensure stability and job security. “Price stability and credibility in price stability in the medium term is the best way to have a high level of sustainable growth and sustainable job creation,” he told the BBC.

His warning came just days after Mr Trichet told a Lisbon conference that overconfidence by markets in the past had fueled inflationary pressures.
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Photo aturkus

Farmers Almanac predicts 2008 will be the warmest year of the past century. Soaring crude oil prices drove the benchmark market price of electricity to a record last month which means consumers will be paying higher prices for the next two quarters.

“Electricity rates are climbing across the board after several years of relatively flat prices. The average cost per kilowatt hour has increased from 8.4 cents in 1997 to 10.64 cents last year. That’s an increase of 24% in the past decade. These figures are from December 2006 to December 2007. Price increases have hit double digits in many states. Illinois saw an increase of 33%, and Hawaii saw rates climb just below 30%. Maryland, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia aren’t far behind with double-digit gains. One expert said the deregulation of energy markets means consumers are more exposed to price fluctuations.” Read more