ONLINE NEWS

LONDON — For nearly two weeks, Interpol has been circulating a broad international call for the arrest of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistle-blowing organization, to face questioning about alleged sex crimes, Interpol said on its Web site on Wednesday.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in the French city of Lyon, the international police agency said that it had issued the call on Nov. 20, two days after Swedish prosecutors won court approval for a warrant that Interpol could circulate, and that it had only now received Sweden’s authorization to make its action public.

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European police on alert for Wikileaks founder -- Yahoo News/AP
British police seek Assange over Swedish rape charges -- Foreign Policy
British police seek Julian Assange over rape claims -- The Guardian
Julian Assange of WikiLeaks placed on Interpol most-wanted list, more diplomatic cables released -- Washington Post
WikiLeaks: Interpol issues wanted notice for Julian Assange -- The Guardian
Interpol issues red notice for WikiLeaks founder Assange -- RIA Novosti
Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is being persecuted in Sweden, lawyer says -- Washington Post
WikiLeaks founder appeals Swedish arrest order -- Reuters
Wikileaks' Assange appeals over Sweden arrest warrant -- BBC
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, up for Time's 'Person of the Year,' with Obama, Palin and more -- New York Daily News
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange: How much trouble is he in? -- Christian Science Monitor
The Ambitions of Julian Assange -- Ross Douthat, New York Times
10 things you don’t know about WikiLeaks mystery man Julian Assange -- Toronto Star

WNU Editor: A full recap of the Wikileaks story will be posted at 24:00 EST

Angelina Jolie's directorial debut has sparked fresh controversy among a group of Bosnian War victims who are calling for the "ignorant" actress to be stripped of her role as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.

The Hollywood star has stepped behind the camera for the first time for the as-yet-untitled wartime love story, which is set in the region and was shot in Hungary and Bosnia in October and November.

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Angelina Jolie is unfit ambassador, Bosnian activists tell United Nations -- The Guardian
Bosnian Rape Victims Protest Angelina Jolie Movie in Letter to U.N. -- CNN
Bosnia rape victims to complain to UN about Jolie -- AP
Bosnian rape victims call Angelina Jolie 'ignorant' -- CNN
Bosnian wartime rape victims slam 'ignorant' Jolie -- AFP
Bosnian Rape Victims Protest Angelina Jolie Movie -- Aol News

My Comment: It is just a movie .... but the hate and bitterness of the Bosnian civil war (and previous wars) still permeates the region .... and Angelina Jolie now finds herself in the middle of it.

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Calls on Ivory Coast’s election commission to release results from this week’s presidential runoff mounted, a day after a member of the body halted an announcement of the partial count.

Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara said the lack of results left the country in a “state of uncertainty,” according to a statement given in Abidjan and confirmed by his spokeswoman, Massere Toure, today.

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Pressure mounts on I.Coast to settle tense election -- AFP
Deadline looms for Ivory Coast election results -- AP
Ivory Coast Election Results Delayed Again -- Voice of America
Ivory Coast election results torn up -- BBC
Ivory Coast tense after poll result delayed -- Financial Times
Ivory Coast president party says rebels rigged poll -- Reuters
Cries of foul play in Ivory Coast poll delay -- Euronews
Cote d'Ivoire election results could be anulled -- RFI
France urges Ivory Coast to release poll results immediately -- Expatica

Euro bounces back strongly following report that US would back more IMF money for Europe

The euro soared Wednesday after a report that the U.S. would support a larger aid package for Europe through the International Monetary Fund.

In midday trading in New York, the euro traded at $1.3140 from $1.3011 late Tuesday. It popped by more than one cent immediately after the report came out.

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Euro soars on possible US support for more IMF aid -- Washington Post
U.S. Treasury: No talks now on bigger EU fund -- Market Watch
Euro Higher As Investors Euro-Zone Worries Ease -- Wall Street Journal
U.S. ready to back bigger EU stability fund-source -- Reuters
Scenarios: Radical solutions to the euro zone crisis -- Reuters

My Comment: If these reports are true, the U.S. is now positioning itself to bail out those European countries that have been inept and corrupt in handling their own finances.

Sighhhh .... this news .... and more .... is happening on a day when the U.S. Deficit Commission is calling for more taxes and spending cuts to meet the deficit bomb in the U.S.

Yup .... with the U.S. is trillions in debt, the idea of bailing out other countries with money that we do not have is a sad symbol of how incompetent and inept we have become.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is playing down the risk of infantry and other combat arms troops causing problems if "don't ask, don't tell" is overturned.

In a first-of-its-kind survey released this week, the Pentagon found that two-thirds of the overall force predicted little impact on the military's ability to fight if gays were allowed to serve openly.

But among those who did care, most were troops
performing combat arms duties. Nearly 60 percent of those in the Marine Corps and in Army combat units said they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight on the battlefield.

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Report Of The Comprehensive Review Of The Issues Associated With A Repeal Of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- U.S. Department of Defense

Front-line fighters wary of repealing 'don't ask' -- Washington Times
DADT No More? Republicans Threaten To Block All Dem Initiatives -- TPM
DADT repeal now basically dead -- The Guardian
Study reveals pockets of significant opposition -- Stars And Stripes
Pentagon plays down resistance to gays among some -- AP
Gates, Mullen Endorse Working Group’s Report -- U.S. Department of Defense
Obama endorses his Pentagon study that endorses his 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal that's still not happening -- L.A. Times
Risk `Low' From Ending Gay Ban in Military, Defense Department Study Says -- Bloomberg
Pentagon study finds few drawbacks to dropping 'don't ask, don't tell' -- L.A. Times
Pentagon Report Reinforces Push To End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- Time Magazine
Pentagon: No 'don't ask, don't tell' discharges in several weeks -- CNN

ABC's Luis Martinez sends the following note from the Pentagon:

"Remember the Air Force’s unmanned 'baby space shuttle,' the X-37B, launched in late April? Seven months later the military is now putting out the word that it’s going to land this weekend at Vandenberg AFB in California.

"The Air Force has been secretive about what kind of payload the small shuttle’s been carrying all this time, but it soon became clear that it was some kind of reconnaissance device. They say the goal is to have a reusable spacecraft that can carry payloads in orbit for as long as nine months. That way they can send up different devices when needed."

The Air Force put out this two-sentence release:

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USAF X-37B Landing Slated for Dec. 3-6 -- Aviation Week
Robotic mini space shuttle expected to land at Vandenberg -- L.A. Times
Unmanned Air Force space plane to return to Earth -- Washington Post
Secret Military Mini-Shuttle Headed Back to Earth -- ABC News
Unmanned Military Shuttle Scheduled To Land Friday -- Red Orbit
Secret Military Mini-Shuttle Cleared For Landing -- Discovery News
DARPA's mysterious X-37B Space Plane Earth-bound -- Christian Science Monitor
Launch Companies Beg NASA: Save the Space Planes! -- The Danger Room
Usefulness of robotic X-37B space plane questioned -- MSNBC/Space
Experts: Is Air Force's Secret Robotic Space Plane Still Needed? -- CBS News

Vladimir Putin has told America to stay out of Russia's internal affairs, angrily deriding a leaked US diplomatic cable that dubbed him 'Batman' and President Dmitry Medvedev 'Robin' as rude and unethical.

In a combative interview with CNN, the Russian prime minister dropped diplomatic protocol to lash out at US criticism of him and his country laid bare in a series of US diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks.

Mr Putin dismissed US defence secretary Robert Gates' views on Russia as "deeply misled," said that a US decision not to ratify a key US-Russia nuclear arms reduction pact would be "very dumb," and repeated Kremlin warnings that the world would face a new arms race if Nato did not treat Russia fairly.

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Putin: Resistance to Nuclear START Treaty "Dumb" -- CBS
Putin warns of arms buildup -- Washington Post

Putin warns West over missile shield -- Deutsche Welle
Russia's Putin warns West over missile defence-report -- Reuters
Russia will build up forces without New START, Putin says -- CNN
Moscow warns of arms race unless NATO does deal on missile shield -- Sydney Morning Herald
Putin Warns U.S. of Potential Russian Nuclear Buildup -- Bloomberg
Vladimir Putin: Russia will build more nukes without START -- Politico
Russia issues new missile defence threat -- The Guardian
Putin: No START means Russian nuke buildup -- UPI

WikiLeaks row: Putin labels US embassy cables 'slanderous' -- The Guardian
Putin Criticizes U.S. Remarks on Russia -- New York Times
Putin says Gates is 'deeply misled' -- Politico
Putin fires back over WikiLeaks criticism -- ABC News (Australia)

Putin not to attend Russian 2018 Fifa World Cup bid -- BBC
England 2018 boost as Vladimir Putin refuses to attend World Cup vote -- The Guardian
Putin opts out of helping Russia's World Cup bid -- AP
Putin denounces anti-FIFA 'smear campaign' -- AFP

Putin "Seeking to Restore Russia's Grandeur", Leaked Cables Claim -- CBS News
Russia May Import Overseas Grain If Shortage Arises, President Putin Says -- Bloomberg
Putin Suggests Russia Could Join Euro Zone, Make Euro World’s Reserve Currency -- Daily Reckoning
Vladimir Putin's EU energy package discovery -- RIA Novosti
US diplomats called Putin 'alpha male': Report -- Times of India
U.S. embassy dubbed Putin, Medvedev ‘Batman and Robin’ - Wikileaks -- RIA Novosti
U.S. Wary of Putin, Berlusconi Ties, Guardian Reports, Citing WikiLeaks -- Bloomberg
WikiLeaks 'to highlight Putin and Berlusconi's special relationship' -- The Telegraph
Mr. Putin has a vision for Eurasia and concern for Gazprom -- Sevim Geraibeyli, Examiner
Will Vladimir Putin run for president? -- The Telegraph

Vladimir Putin: profile -- The Telegraph