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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has arrived at President Moshe Katsav's official Jerusalem residence to inform him that he intends to dissolve the Knesset. The president is expected to give another Knesset member 21 days to form a coalition, followed by a 14-day extension. General elections are set to be held three months later. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...3172356,00.html

A giant white radish that won the hearts of a Japanese town by valiantly growing through the urban asphalt was in intensive care at a town hall in western Japan on Thursday after being slashed by an unknown assailant. http://www.worthyweirdandwacky.com/zone/re...RADISH-DC-html/

Haider Sediqi didn't give much thought to the small, zippered pouch that a passenger forgot in his taxicab when he got out at Los Angeles International Airport. http://www.worthyweirdandwacky.com/zone/ne...orld-headlines/

Two unhappy owners reported the unusual thefts to officials this week. The owner of the eight South African boer goats told sheriff's deputies the animals were taken from a corral north of Lincoln [Nebraska] sometime between Nov. 7 and Monday. http://www.worthyweirdandwacky.com/zone/wf...98-detail-html/

A green-eyed tabby cat that apparently made its way from Phoenix to Iowa will be reunited with his family on Friday thanks to workers at a Polk County animal hospital. http://www.worthyweirdandwacky.com/zone/az...tCat18-ON-html/

Anthony Sheppard shocked his mother this week with a telephone call, a day after he was reported dead. "When he called me I thought I was talking to a ghost," said Verna McCowan. http://www.worthyweirdandwacky.com/zone/ho...-ENTERTAINMENT/

At least 200,000 persons demonstrated yesterday against the recent bombings of three luxury hotels, while a new online statement attributed to terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi defended the attacks and threatened to cut off the head of Jordan's King Abdullah II. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...18-110234-2315r

Michael Newdow, the atheist whose challenge of the Pledge of Allegiance reached the United States Supreme Court, is now targeting “In God We Trust” on the country’s currency. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...ly.asp?ID=22107

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's outgoing government has agreed to sell two submarines to Israel for a deeply discounted price, German news magazines reported on Saturday. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...ges/647321.html

The House last night overwhelmingly voted down a resolution calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, as Republicans tried to draw a line in the sand after a week's worth of back-and-forth charges over the war. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...19-123457-8799r

Suicide bombers killed 74 worshippers at two Shiite mosques near the Iranian border Friday, while a pair of car bombs targeting a Baghdad hotel housing Western journalists killed eight Iraqis. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...rint?id=1326536

An audiotape purportedly from the head of al-Qaida in Iraq Friday threatened to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II and bomb more hotels and tourist sites. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://.../D8DV0TP02.html

Masking differences with public smiles and friendly chitchat, President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday addressed U.S. concerns over Kremlin backsliding on democracy in their private talks. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...rint?id=1325021

An interceptor missile fired from a US Navy cruiser shot down a mock warhead over the Pacific after it had separated from a medium-range missile, the US military said. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...0&w=AFP&coview=

The Palestinian Authority intends to allow Hamas and Islamic Jihad members to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing to "freshen up" in Egypt. The crossing is due to open on November 25. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...ges/645901.html

Iran has supplied Hezbollah with more than 10,000 short-range rockets, most of which are deployed in southern Lebanon within reach of Israel, an Israeli diplomat said Thursday. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...,175947,00.html

President Putin promoted two trusted allies to top cabinet posts this week in a move seen by political analysts as a possible start to what some in Moscow are calling "operation successor." http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...enderforprint=1

A few days ahead of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's announcement on his decision whether to stay in Likud or establish a new party, his aides tell Ynet Thursday that "The temptation to leave is big, the polls are good, but this is a very, very scary move." http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...3170982,00.html

China deflected a call from U.S. President George W. Bush to embrace democracy and religious freedom, choosing on Thursday to set a positive tone for his impending visit to Beijing. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...0&w=RTR&coview=

A once-radical idea to build a 2,000-mile steel-and-wire fence on the U.S.-Mexican border is gaining momentum amid warnings that terrorists can easily sneak into the country. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...der-fence_x.htm

Security forces have killed three Al Qaeda suspects, a provincial governor said Thursday, while the country's defense minister warned that militants have smuggled explosives, weapons and cash into Afghanistan for a resurgent terror campaign. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...,175803,00.html

Nearly three months after Hurricane Katrina forced tens of thousands from their homes, bureaucracy is creating a new tide of trouble for victims of the storm. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...rina/index.html

European leaders are watching with apprehension the violence spread across districts of France that are heavily populated by disaffected Muslims, in what European media call the "French intifada". The riots that have shaken France and stunned the continent have been carried out mostly by African and Arab teenagers who see themselves as victims of racial and religious prejudice. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...enderforprint=1

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged up slightly this week, posting the 10th consecutive increase and keeping rates at the highest level in more than two years. http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...es_x.htm?csp=34

Iraq's interior minister has defended a government facility that was found to be holding dozens of prisoners, including some showing signs of torture, saying it held "the most criminal terrorists." http://www.worthynews.com/zone.cgi?http://...=cnn_topstories