Today, by request, we introduce headlines from The Moscow Times. If you know of any more news sites which should be included, please let me know.

International Hearld Tribune (www.iht.com)

  • Bush's Plan Backs a Nuclear Revival
    President George W. Bush on Thursday laid out his long-awaited energy plan, proposing looser regulations on oil and gas exploration, conservation-minded efforts like a review of gas mileage standards and a $4 billion tax credit for a new generation of highly fuel efficient cars.
  • An Egg Brings Blair's No. 2 to a Boil
    Every politician likes to press the flesh at campaign time, but Britain's deputy prime minister gave new meaning to the term as he propelled a left hook at a voter and ended up rolling on the sidewalk in a no-holds-barred melee.
  • Allies Ready to Lighten Sanctions Against Iraq
    The United States and Britain will begin a diplomatic campaign next week to overhaul the 11-year-old sanctions on Iraq, marking the first substantial step by the Bush administration to carry out a new policy for confronting Baghdad.
  • French Hate Their Own 'Reality' TV - but They Watch It
    "Reality" television has finally come to France, in the form of a steamy, some say trashy, new show called "Loft Story."
  • Digital Art Heist? Van Gogh Web Sites in Rights Battle
    The battle of the van Gogh Web sites highlights a dispute that is increasingly common in the age of digital reproduction. As one van Gogh fan has discovered, copying Web sites is not only easy; it also can be legal.
  • Pentagon Puts Focus on Long-Range Arms to Counter Chinese Threat
    A confidential Pentagon strategy review has cast the Pacific as the most important region for military planners and calls for the development of new long-range arms to counter China's military power.

BBC (news.bbc.co.uk)

  • Tories target asylum
    The Conservatives say Britain is a "soft touch" for asylum seekers as they shift the election campaign spotlight.
  • Israel offers settler deal
    Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres outlines restrictions to the expansion of Jewish settlements, but a senior Palestinian rejects the move.
  • Scientists produce test-tube horses
    Scientists in Newmarket produce Europe's first test-tube foals, which could pave the way for the production of genetically-modified horses.
  • French hunt for trapped potholers
    A massive rescue effort is under way in eastern France to save eight Swiss potholers trapped in a cave by rising flood waters.
  • Overdose death rate cut
    A restriction on the number of painkillers that can be bought at supermarkets and chemists in the UK has led to a big cut in fatal overdoses.
  • Farmers welcome disease-free day
    There were no new foot-and-mouth cases on Thursday Farmers have welcomed the first 24-hour period with no new cases of foot-and-mouth in almost three months.

New York Times (www.nytimes.com)

  • Bush's Energy Plan Shifts to Protecting Supply
    President Bush will issue an executive order that will require agencies to issue a new kind of impact statement on adverse effects to the nation's energy health.
  • Senate Panel Is Split Over Nominee for Legal Post
    Senators deadlocked on the selection of Theodore B. Olson to be solicitor general, with opponents complaining about his involvement in anti-Clinton activities.
  • Citigroup to Buy Mexican Bank in a Deal Valued at $12.5 Billion
    In the biggest Latin American acquisition by a United States company, Citigroup announced that it would buy Mexico's second-largest bank.
  • Questions Hover in Internet Sex Abuse Case
    Public attention has faded in the case of a Columbia University graduate student accused of preying on an undergraduate he met on the Internet, and so have pieces of the case.

Panapress (African) (www.panapress.com)

  • Press leak jolts Anti-corruption commission
    Zambia's Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating who leaked confidential statements concerning how 2 billion kwacha was withdrawn from National Assembly accounts and used during the recent convention of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in Kabwe.
  • Palestinian envoy appeals for clear Zambian position
    The Palestinian ambassador to Zambia has challenged President Frederick Chiluba's government to clearly state its stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  • Cameroon opposition leader snubs President Biya
    John Fru Ndi, leader of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), which is the main opposition party in Cameroon, has turned down an invitation from President Paul Biya to attend a presidential dinner as part of National Day celebrations next 20 May.
  • UNFPA decries dearth of accurate population data in Gambia
    The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) office in Gambia, says the absence of accurate data is hampering proper planning and evaluation of its programmes in the country.
  • Some 10,000 Burundian refugees return home
    Some 10,000 Burundian refugees have returned home in the last four months, mostly from neighbouring Tanzania, said an official source in Bujumbura.
China Daily (www.chinadaily.com.cn)
  • China: US containment policy wrong, doomed
    China on Thursday reacted angrily to a Pentagon-sponsored study calling for a shift in the US military presence in Asia, saying any attempt to contain China was wrong and would fail.
  • Beijing Olympics bid committee dismisses report as smoke
    Beijing's 2008 summer Olympics bid committee dismissed an AFP report that the city has garnered 15 more "tickets" from the IOC members than rivals Paris or Toronto, is "nonsense".
  • EP-3 spyplane crew will see Bush
    The 24 crew members of a US Navy spy plane at the center of an 11-day standoff with China last month will meet President George W. Bush at the White House on Friday, administration officials said.
  • Secret Service detain man before Bush jog
    The United States Secret Service detained a man with a gun in a park where President George W. Bush was jogging on Thursday, local police and White House officials said.
  • Deputy governor fired for taking bribes
    The deputy governor of north China's Hebei Province has been dismissed from office for taking huge amount of bribes, according to official sources.
The Moscow Times (www.themoscowtimes.com)
  • EU Asks Russia to Ax Dollar for Euro
    European Union leaders have urged Russia to start accepting euros instead of dollars for its exports.
  • Ambitious $4Bln Sale Is Up in the Air
    As a debate heats up over global warming, Russia is readying to pull billions of dollars out of thin air.
  • Hanssen Indictment Reads Like Spy Novel
    A U.S. federal grand jury returned a 57-page court indictment Wednesday accusing veteran FBI agent Robert Phillip Hanssen of spying for Russia since 1985.
  • Police: Federal Insulin Funds Stolen
    Managers of a firm set up to produce high-quality insulin will soon go on trial foralleged embezzlement.
  • A Better Chechnya Policy
    The war in Chechnya made Vladimir Putin president. And the same war may bring down his administration.
  • Mammoet In Talks to Raise Kursk Sub
    Russian officials have stepped up talks with a Dutch firm over the lifting of the sunken Kursk submarine.