Beardface News

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete poured praise on Bush in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, the second day of his five-nation African tour, each compliment applauded warmly by members of the east African country’s cabinet.

Afghan policemen in plainclothes inspect the damaged police vehicle near the site of a suicide attack on the western edge of Kandahar, south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, Feb. 17. 2008. A suicide bombing at an outdoor dog fighting competition killed 80 people and wounded dozens more Sunday, a governor said. It appeared to be the deadliest attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Mothers cradle children in their arms. Fathers smile softly at the helpless bodies they hold. Other parents are bent over from the weight of their teenage kids whose legs fall limp, almost touching the ground. In the absence of basic medical equipment, these parents do this every day.

China watchers are predicting a drop in the GNP growth rate this year and for the foreseeable future. Most are attributing the expected fall off this year — from last year’s official 11.4 percent, the fifth year in a row of double digit expansion — to the expected downturn in the U.S. and the world economy in general.

This race becomes even more interesting with the new revelation that half the ballots from Rio Arriba County spent the night at a state legislators home that had endorsed Senator Clinton. From New Mexico Politics:

Mumbai: The recent cold wave sweeping across Mumbai and other parts of India could be attributed to global warming, experts said on Tuesday here at an environmental conference.

More than 24,000 interrogations of suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo prison camp were videotaped, though the US military has not confirmed the videos exist, a report said Thursday.

Chad’s president has declared a nationwide state of emergency, telling his citizens that tightened controls were needed to restore order after recent attacks by an opposition alliance.

BROOKLYN (WABC) — A gruesome and unsolved murder has New York City police stumped and looking for a killer whose weapon of choice was a corkscrew.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A Swedish preschool has been criticized for banning its children from wearing striped and spotted clothing because the patterns give one of its teachers severe migraine attacks.

At least 82 youths have died playing “the choking game” since 1995, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in its first study on this game.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — FEMA, already a dirty word along the Gulf Coast, has taken another hit to its reputation.

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — In a humid rehearsal studio, Liberia’s pop queen is practicing her newest single — a song called “Thank you” to be released for President Bush’s visit here next week.

DENVER — More than 1 billion gallons of contaminated water — enough to fill 1,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools — is trapped in a tunnel in the mountains above the historic town of Leadville and threatening to blow.