The latest headlines from : Common Dreams

The British government will lose its leadership position on climate change and risk scuppering a global deal to cut emissions if it presses ahead with a new generation of dirty coal power, say leading US scientists and environmental leaders.
The heads of three influential groups, representing more than 2 million members, have written to the foreign [...]

WASHINGTON - Disclosure of an election computer glitch that could drop ballot totals for entire precincts is stirring new worries that an unofficial laboratory testing system failed for years to detect an array of flaws in $1.5 billion worth of voting equipment sold nationwide since 2003.
Texas-based Premier Elections Solutions last week alerted at least [...]

DENVER - If anything can be said about the members of CODEPINK, it’s that they are a restless lot.
Not satisfied with chanting anti-war slogans from a stationary position in front of Denver’s Union Station Sunday afternoon, the 200 or so adherents of the women-led peace advocacy group moved their message to the 16th Street Mall [...]

BAGHDAD - Senator Joe Biden may be one of the only U.S. politicians that can get Iraq’s feuding Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish politicians to agree. But not in a good way.
Across racial and religious boundaries, Iraqi politicians on Saturday bemoaned Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama’s choice of running mate, known in Iraq as the [...]

The Canadian corporate giants dominating Alberta oil sands extraction and refining lobbied the federal government intensively this summer, federal records show.
The campaign began shortly after Liberal Leader Stephane Dion unveiled his plan for $15 billion worth of new taxes on carbon emissions and continued through July.
Oil and gas lobbyists held several meetings with Industry [...]

JERUSALEM - Two boats carrying dozens of international activists sailed into the Gaza Strip Saturday in defiance of an Israeli blockade, receiving a jubilant welcome from thousands of Palestinians.The boats docked in Gaza City’s tiny port after a two-day journey marred by communications troubles and rough seas. As they arrived, children swarmed around and leaped [...]

DERBY LINE, Vt. - The changes started coming slowly to this small town where the U.S. border with Canada runs across sleepy streets, through houses and families, and smack down the middle of the shared local library.
First was the white, painted lettering on the pavement on three little side streets - “Canada” on one side, [...]

Forty-five years to the day after Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech, Barack Obama will become the first black man picked by a major party to run for president. Having picked Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, he is due to accept the Democratic nomination as their candidate in front [...]

HERAT, Afghanistan  - An investigation has found that more than 90 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in coalition air strikes days ago, an Afghan government minister told AFP Sunday.
President Hamid Karzai ordered the investigation into Friday’s operation in the western province of Herat after Afghan officials said high numbers of civilians were killed [...]

ERICE, Sicily - This ancient hilltop town, rife with Roman, Greek, Norman and other influences, is hosting a very modern gathering: a conference on global risks like cyberterrorism, climate change, nuclear weapons and the world’s lagging energy supply.
More than 120 scientists, engineers, analysts and economists from 30 countries were hunkered down here for the 40th [...]

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military on Saturday released a cameraman working for Associated Press Television News after nearly three months in detention, saying no evidence was found that he posed a security threat.
Ahmed Nouri Raziak, 38, was handed over to representatives of The Associated Press at a U.S. military compound in Baghdad. He was detained [...]

HERAT, Afghanistan  - Afghan villagers staged an angry protest Saturday amid claims that 76 civilians were killed in coalition air strikes against Taliban rebels, as the US military launched an investigation.
President Hamid Karzai condemned civilian casualties from Friday’s clashes in the western province of Herat but there were conflicting claims about the death toll, with [...]

Israel warned tonight that an attempt by peace activists to sail two boats to the Gaza Strip was a “provocation” and said it would consider “all options” to prevent them reaching their destination.
A group of 46 activists set sail this morning from Cyprus and were hoping to reach Gaza tomorrow to challenge the economic blockade [...]

STOCKHOLM  - A spectre is haunting the cities and villages of most developing nations, warns a senior official of a World Bank-affiliated organisation.
“It’s the spectre of a food, fuel and water crisis,” says Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group.
“I believe we are [...]

CHICAGO - Barack Obama Saturday named veteran Senate colleague Joseph Biden as his vice presidential running mate, adding foreign policy heft — but also a loose tongue — to his ticket for November’s election against Republican John McCain.
After hours of media leaks, the 47-year-old Democratic White House hopeful confirmed that he was picking the [...]