"It's a McDonald's vision of the future: an automated fryer cooks and bags french fries while a vertical grill machine removes patties from the freezer and prepares them, no burger flipper needed," reported the AP news agency.
"Some of the bad news has been linked to consumer lawsuits claiming McDonald's food contributed to their obesity, some to the company's uncharacteristically sluggish results since 2000," reported the AP news agency.
"Chung Mong-hun, top executive of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate who was embroiled in a scandal over a historic 2000 summit between the two Koreas, committed suicide Monday," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian officials said yesterday they had resolved a dispute over 17 militants held at gunpoint in Yasser Arafat's compound, and that the men would not be moving to Jericho as desired by Israel," reported the AP news agency.
"Thousands have fled forest fires raging out of control in the Rocky Mountains of western Canada, officials and reports said. Canada is seeing its worst fire season in decades, with close to 400 fires burning in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta," reported the AFP news service.
"US administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer tempted Iraqis on Saturday with the prospect of a millionaire lifestyle in a foreign country of their choice in exchange for information on Saddam Hussein's whereabouts," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Department of Homeland Security said two programmes that allow foreigners to travel through US airports on their way to other countries without a visa were suspended on Saturday because of security concerns," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An audio tape purportedly from top al-Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahri warned the United States yesterday it would pay a high price if it harmed detainees at a US base in Cuba, saying the real battle had not yet begun. The speaker said let America know that if it tortures them (detainees), it will be torturing itself and if it tries them it will be trying its own sons, and if it sentences them then it will be sentencing its own people," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Rescue workers retrieved bodies from the ruins of a military hospital destroyed by a suicide truck-bomb blast, bringing the death toll above 40 while Russia's military chief accused commanders of negligence and sought to link the attack with apartment-building bombings that helped start the persistent war in Chechnya," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian security personnel arrested some 20 wanted militants who had been holed up in the West Bank headquarters compound of veteran leader Yasser Arafat early yesterday in an apparent deal with Israel and the United States," reported the AFP news service.
"US warships steamed towards Liberia yesterday as President Charles Taylor said he would cede power on Aug 11, bowing to an ultimatum from fellow West African leaders," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A bomb exploded in a car south of here early yesterday, killing at least two people in the vehicle and injuring passers-by. The motive for the explosion, which occurred along a bustling street lined with shops, was not immediately clear," reported the AP news agency.
"The chief of the Australian-led intervention forces in the Solomon Islands said contact had been made with militant leader Harold Keke, whose co-operation is key to restoring order to the troubled area," reported the AFP news service.
"Johns Hopkins University surgeons performed three simultaneous kidney transplants in a complex piece of medical choreography that had nurses rushing organs in labelled coolers among six operating rooms. The six synchronised operations – three to remove the kidneys, three to implant them –became possible after an extraordinarily lucky, six-way organ match among the patients, their friends and their families," reported the AP news agency.
"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi plans to sue the British weekly news magazine The Economist after it published an open letter accusing him of alleged misdeeds in his business dealings," reported the AFP news service.
"French anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove walked free from prison yesterday several months ahead of schedule, after a court replaced his term for destroying genetically modified (GM) crops with community service. Bove is a member of Farmers' Confederation, a militant group that campaigns against globalisation, GM crops and other issues affecting the world's rural population," reported the AP news agency.
"If German politicians lack ideas for reforming the country's struggling healthcare and pensions systems, they can now blame an adverse flow of energy in their workplace. The German parliament's glass dome, a Berlin landmark, makes for bad feng shui, according to an expert in the Chinese art of positioning objects, buildings and furniture. The office of parliament president Wolfgang Thierse would not comment on the suggestion," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Two 17-year-old boys were arrested and charged with a hate crime for setting a cross ablaze outside an Islamic school and mosque in the state of Maryland. Fire Department officials, responsible for investigating fire-related crimes in the county, made the announcement along with Council on American-Islamic Relations representatives," reported the AFP news service.
"Erin Brockovich, inspiration for the 2001 blockbuster starring Julia Roberts, filed a suit on Friday against a California high school, charging that exploitation of an oil well on campus had caused cancer among students and teachers," reported the AFP news service.
"Saddam Hussein's feared sons Uday and Qusay, killed last month by US troops, were buried in the deposed dictator's hometown here yesterday in a swift and heavily guarded ceremony," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US officers said they hoped the killing of the brothers would demoralise guerillas mounting daily ambushes on US troops. But there has been no let-up in attacks," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The US Central Command said on Friday it had begun distributing to American troops several digitally enhanced photographs of fugitive Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, to aid in spotting him if he has adopted a new look to escape detection," reported the AP news agency.
"Saddam Hussein's daughters expressed deep affection for their father in interviews,saying that he was a very good father, loving, has a big heart... so many feelings and he was very tender with [them]. But they do not know where he is and last saw him a week before the Iraq war started," reported the AP news agency.
"The US Army has dispatched a team of medical experts to Iraq to investigate a spate of serious pneumonia cases among US troops, with two dead and more than 100 sickened. Lyn Kukral, spokeswoman for Peake and the Army Medical Command, said the actual number of cases is not unexpected given the number of US troops in Iraq and the region, adding that it may turn out that the cases are unrelated to one another. She said a desert environment can exacerbate respiratory problems," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Already strained relations between US troops in Iraq and international media covering their every move are deteriorating, a journalists' watchdog charged on Friday," reported the AFP news service.
"French-based Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) deplored the worsening attitude of US troops towards journalists in Iraq on Friday, following several detentions of reporters covering post-war Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
"A number of reporters has been beaten or detained by soldiers since the war to topple Saddam Hussein's regime was declared over on May 1, while prominent Arab satellite stations have been targets of scathing criticism by senior US officials," reported the AFP news service.
"The US-British soldiers have appeared jittery in recent weeks as their fellow troops get cut down in a steady stream of guerilla-style attacks, and soldiers have been known to train their rifles on reporters making aggressive advances at the site of deadly attacks," reported the AFP news service.
"Gold-coloured bars seized by US forces in Iraq appear to be melted-down shell casings made mostly of copper, rather than gold, the White House said in a report obtained on Friday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US forces also found about US$800mil (RM3bil) in Iraq. Just over US$7mil (RM26mil) could not be authenticated because the notes were wet and damaged, according to the report. But the White House budget office said the Pentagon was working with the US Federal Reserve to exchange the damaged notes for quality notes," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A British soldier serving in Iraq tried to escape the sweltering heat by sleeping in a walk-in fridge but ended up being treated for hypothermia. An army spokesman told the paper the soldier had recovered but was embarrassed," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Long-awaited West African peacekeepers swooped into Liberia by helicopter yesterday, as war-weary Liberians danced for joy in ruined streets on hopes of an end to 14 years of bloodshed. Nigerian soldiers in flak jackets and helmets leapt out under driving rain at the international airport near this war-battered capital, running to take up positions in the long grass around the cracked tarmac," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israel published on the Internet yesterday a list of 342 Palestinian prisoners it plans to release tomorrow in a bid to bolster a US-backed peace plan and reformist Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians cried foul, noting Israeli officials had said 540 prisoners would be freed. They want a general release of all the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy do not plan to serve a second term even if President George W. Bush is re-elected, The Washington Post said yesterday, but the State Department dismissed the report as gossip and rumour," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Bolivian authorities discovered three tons of cocaine in a huge instant mashed potato shipment, netting a total of five tons of the drug in a historic two-day bust," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Cigarette packs in Europe could soon carry graphic images showing the harmful effects of tobacco to remind smokers of how they are damaging their health," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An openly gay Episcopal priest said he is confident of being confirmed as the bishop of the church's New Hampshire diocese, making him the first homosexual among the bishops' ranks," reported the AFP news service.
"George Christos, who has studied the way the brain processes information, said babies who dream they are back in the womb, where they did not have to breathe because their mothers gave them oxygen through the blood, could stop breathing. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the leading cause of death in babies less than a year old.His theory was inspired by sleep research experiments at the psychophysiology laboratory at Stanford University in which people said they had stopped breathing while dreaming of being underwater," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A top Russian defence official admitted yesterday the army had been at fault in last week's suicide bomb attack on a military hospital in southern Russia that left 50 people dead but stressed that police failures had also played a role," reported the AFP news service.
"A massive explosion early yesterday killed 13 militiamen and injured 21 others helping collect weapons in a disarmament drive in northern Afghanistan," reported the dpa news agency.
"US soldiers hunting Saddam Hussein and his top lieutenants just missed capturing one senior target in an overnight raid near the fugitive former president's home town of Tikrit," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The survey by polling firm Mori for the Financial Times newspaper suggested that the heated political battle between the broadcaster and the government over claims Blair's office exaggerated the threat from Iraq has hurt the prime minister more than the BBC. Some 59% of those questioned said they trusted the BBC, compared with 41% who said they trusted Blair," reported the AP news agency.
"A senior opposition politician said yesterday that the head of the intelligence agency MI6 had always planned to retire next year, and was not leaving because of questions about the quality and use of intelligence on Iraqi weapons. The statement by Lord Tom King, a former chairman of parliament's Joint Intelligence Committee, added weight to the government's denials that it had pressed Sir Richard Dearlove to step down as head of Britain's foreign intelligence agency," reported the AP news agency.
"The Episcopal Church voted to approve the election of its first openly gay bishop, a decision that risks splitting the denomination and shattering ties with its sister churches worldwide. The American Anglican Council, which represents conservative Episcopalians, said before Monday's vote that if delegates approved Robinson's election, opponents would hold an extraordinary meeting in October to decide their next move," reported the AP news agency.
"Economic activity in the service sector grew at the fastest rate in six years in July amid record growth of new orders, according to a report released Tuesday. The strength of the report served as confirmation for economists that the economy is finally embarking on a path of sustained economic growth," reported the AP news agency.
"MCI, the former WorldCom Inc., Tuesday received bankruptcy court approval to settle accounts with five telecommunications companies with which it swapped services. One of the approved settlements calls for a unit of BellSouth Corp. to pay MCI $81 million, the difference between what MCI and the BellSouth subsidiary agree that they owe each other," reported the AP news agency.
"The Communist Party of the Philippines paid tribute Wednesday to late Muslim separatist rebel chief Salamat Hashim, calling him an ally and a great fighter and leader. Leaders of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front announced Tuesday that Salamat died July 13 from complications from a heart ailment and acute ulcer," reported the AP news agency.
"Nine patients from four countries were flown to Singapore on Wednesday, two in critical condition, after suffering injuries from a car bomb blast in Jakarta, an emergency rescue company said. The patients, from the United States, Canada, Singapore and Indonesia, suffered burns, fractures, smoke inhalation and head injuries, according to a statement from medical assistance company International SOS," reported the AP news agency.
"Australia has sent federal police to help Indonesian authorities hunt down those responsible for bombing a Jakarta luxury hotel, Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday. Australia also reissued a warning for its citizens to avoid nonessential travel to neighboring Indonesia for fear of more attacks," reported the AP news agency.
"Police on Wednesday said they seized documents last month showing terrorists had planned to target the area around Jakarta's Marriott Hotel that was devastated by a powerful car bomb. National police spokesman Basir Barnawi said it was possible that some explosives could have made their way to Indonesia's capital before the arrests but said there was no established link with the Marriott blast yet," reported the AP news agency.
"Homosexuality is against Scripture and culturally unacceptable, Asian church leaders said Wednesday after the U.S. Episcopalian Church voted to approve the election of its first openly gay bishop," reported the AP news agency.
"Investors shaken by a terrorist attack overseas and a turnaround in interest rates sent stocks sharply lower Tuesday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 150 points in their worst day in 2 1/2 months," reported the AP news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell has dismissed as nonsense a Washington Post report that he and his deputy Richard Armitage planned to step down in early 2005," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas yesterday called off a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, saying Israel was not doing enough to implement a US-backed peace road map," reported the Reuters news agency.
"West African peacekeepers were building up their strength at Liberia's main airport in preparation for a risky mission to bring stability and humanitarian aid to its war-torn capital. The arrival of a 300-strong Nigerian advance guard at Robertsfield Airport on Monday was greeted with joy by hundreds of war-weary civilians. The newly formed Ecomil force's next task is to secure the city itself," reported the AFP news service.
"Qatar's crown prince abdicated his position yesterday in favour of his younger brother, saying he had never aspired to the position," reported the AP news agency.
"Federal authorities said on Monday they had suspended a US immigration judge after a newspaper reported he referred to himself as Tarzan during court proceedings for an African political asylum seeker named Jane. Jane, who is still in the United States, is described by doctors as a former political prisoner in Uganda who was beaten, raped and tortured," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Swiss authorities have issued former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari with a six months' suspended sentence and fined them US$50,000 each in a graft case. Bhutto and Zardari, who has been in jail since 1996 on a host of corruption and criminal charges, were consulting legal advisors on whether to appeal the Swiss order," reported the AFP news service.
"Zambia's embattled ex-president Frederick Chiluba was arrested yesterday and charged with stealing US$29.7mil after a prolonged anti-graft investigation by his successor," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Two elderly people have died in Portugal's wildfires, bringing the death toll from the nation's worst fires to 11," reported the AFP news service.
"A judge covered US movie star Cameron Diaz's modesty by ordering on Monday that topless pictures of her that she is trying to suppress remain sealed. The star of Charlie's Angels and Something About Mary sued to stop a photographer from releasing the pictures taken of her at 21, before she earned international renown," reported the AFP news service.
"US porn mogul and fierce free speech activist Larry Flynt told Californians on Monday he was ready to be their governor – but only if they can accept a smut merchant as their leader," reported the AFP news service.
"British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government came under blistering fire yesterday, accused by critics of attempting to smear the reputation of a scientist driven to suicide by a row over the Iraq war. Blair's office has admitted one of its officials spoke to The Independent newspaper, which then wrote a story suggesting dead Iraq weapons expert David Kelly was a fantasist," reported the AFP news service.
"Arab foreign ministers ruled out a US request to send troops to Iraq when they met yesterday to discuss the Iraqi situation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," reported the AFP news service.
"Senior American officials are sending a message that violence against US soldiers in Iraq is increasingly the work of foreign fighters – by implication, Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. But Iraqis and American officers on the ground say the evidence is stronger that Saddam Hussein loyalists and Iraqis angry at the American occupation are behind most of the attacks," reported the AP news agency.
"The US army said yesterday it had arrested four fugitive members of the disbanded Baath party during several overnight raids in the region of Tuz, 150kms north of Baghdad," reported the AFP news service.
"Former US Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a key figure in the Iraq-Niger uranium controversy, accused the Bush administration on Monday of using intimidation tactics to stifle criticism about its handling of pre-war intelligence on Iraq," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger ended the suspense and said he would run in California's recall election, awarding Republicans his marquee value in their campaign to oust Gov. Gray Davis. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein ruled out a run, labeling the election more and more like a carnival every day," reported the AP news agency.
"Arguing voices echo through the musty halls of Liberia's bullet-scarred Congress. Behind closed doors, lawmakers haggle over who should succeed warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor - a choice of two longtime Taylor allies. Just under 500 Nigerians arrived in Liberia this week, and U.S. Marines are stationed off the coast to support them as needed. But Taylor also wants an international war crimes indictment dropped before he goes," reported the AP news agency.
"CD players, cameras, laptop computers and other electronic devices will get greater scrutiny at airports, the government said, warning that terrorists may try to use such items to conceal weapons or bombs. The Homeland Security Department sent an advisory to law enforcement personnel nationwide on Tuesday alerting them to the possibility al-Qaeda could use electronics to carry out attacks," reported the AP news agency.
"While the Israeli army put on the full works for the release of some 60 Palestinian prisoners here yesterday, the Palestinian authorities, families and detainees themselves kept a lid on celebrations for a measure they perceived as vastly insufficient. Ziad Hamed, who is the director of the civil affairs office in Ramallah, said There will not be any celebrations, because this is a joke, almost all the prisoners were due to be released in a few days," reported the AFP news service.
"Butheina Dukmak, a lawyer from the Mandela institute which deals with Palestinian prisoners issues, said that some 70% of those released yesterday had in any case been due to be freed by the end of the year," reported the AFP news service.
"The parliament of conservative Malawi has decided it has had enough of the boozing and sexual shenanigans of Big Brother Africa, a reality TV show being beamed across the continent. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on the media, Taylor Nothale, said he had received many complaints over the programme," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A 12-year-old girl frustrated to see her police chief father arrive home all sweaty wrote to the Interior Minister of Germany's largest state asking if daddy could wear shorts to work.
"The correspondence between Kathrin and North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Fritz Behrens came as Germany sizzled in a record heat wave, with temperatures climbing to 40°C," reported the AFP news service.
"US Episcopalian bishops voted on Tuesday to install the church's first openly gay bishop, triggering a protest by conservative opponents who have threatened to split the global Anglican denomination," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President George W. Bush has authorised a small team of US troops to enter Liberia to provide logistical support for West African peacekeeping forces in the war-ravaged country," reported the AP news agency.
"Facing its worst disaster in decades, Portugal on Tuesday appealed for international aid to battle wildfires that have cost 14 lives in a single week and destroyed vast swathes of forest. Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso's government asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to provide up to six Canadair water-dropping aircraft along with three heavy-duty helicopters and crews," reported the AFP news service.
"In Minnesota, a history professor accused of fatally slitting her 6-month-old daughter's throat was charged with second-degree murder. Police said the girl's mother, Mine An Ener, gave the infant her morning feeding and then carried her to the bathroom, pausing in the kitchen to get a knife. Police said she told them she laid the baby on her back and then leaned over, pressing the 30cm knife's blade twice across Raya's throat," reported the AP news agency.
"Confused and frightened, residents of Indonesia's capital returned to work yesterday, fearing the deadly bombing of a luxury US-managed hotel had dealt a devastating blow to the country's already shaky economy," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The mayor of this city denounced the United States for pursuing new nuclear weapons technology and blamed Washington for pushing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to the verge of collapse, as he marked the 58th anniversary yesterday of the world's first atomic bomb attack. Tadatoshi Akiba said Washington's apparent worship of nuclear weapons as God was threatening world peace," reported the AP news agency.
