· Juror Defies Russian Court's Attempts to Close Murder Trial to Media
MOSCOW, Nov. 20 -- The trial of three men accused of helping to organize the murder of one of Russia's most prominent investigative reporters, Anna Politkovskaya, took a surprise turn Thursday as a juror publicly challenged the court's decision to hold the proceedings behind closed doors.

· Japanese Artist Chronicles Young, Ambitionless Office Workers in Comic Books
TOKYO -- The American poet Theodore Roethke called it "the inexorable sadness of pencils." It's the desolation of time lost and dreams forsaken while sitting in an office.

· Report Sees Nuclear Arms, Scarce Resources as Seeds of Global Instability by 2025
The drive for dwindling resources, including energy and water, combined with the spread of nuclear weapons technology could make large swaths of the globe ripe for regional conflicts, some of them potentially devastating, according to a report released by the National Intelligence Council yesterday.

· Judge Orders Release of Five Guantanamo Bay Detainees
For the first time, a federal judge ordered the release yesterday of detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay after evaluating and rejecting government allegations that five men were dangerous enemy combatants.

· CIA Withheld Details On Downing, IG Says
An internal CIA probe has concluded that agency officials deliberately misled Congress, the White House and federal prosecutors about key details of the 2001 downing of an airplane carrying U.S. missionaries in Peru, according to a senior lawmaker who called yesterday for a new criminal inquiry i...

· U.S. Reports Killing of Iraqi Blamed in Reservist's Death
BAGHDAD, Nov. 20 -- U.S. forces said Thursday that they had killed an Iraqi insurgent leader responsible for the death of a 20-year-old Army reservist who became a focus of national attention in the United States during the four years he was missing in action.

· Blast in Bangkok Kills 1, Injures 23
BANGKOK, Nov. 20 -- An explosion at an anti-government protest site in central Bangkok early Thursday killed one person and wounded 23 others, prompting a leader of the demonstration to call for a mass rally against the government on Sunday.

· United Nations to Deploy 3,100 More Peacekeepers in Congo
NEW YORK, Nov. 20 -- The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to reinforce the beleaguered U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, approving the temporary deployment of more than 3,100 additional personnel to help protect hundreds of thousands of civilians.

· Argentina to Nationalize Pension Funds
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 20 -- Argentina's Senate on Thursday night gave final approval to the government's plan to nationalize the private pension system in an attempt to protect retirement investments from the international financial crisis.

· ICC Prosecutor Seeks Arrest Warrants for Three Sudanese Rebel Leaders
Vowing to protect Sudanese civilians, the International Criminal Court prosecutor yesterday requested arrest warrants for three rebel commanders he accused of war crimes in an attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region of Sudan.

· In Beijing, Applicants Try for a Piece of the Stimulus Package
BEIJING -- They have been coming here from all over China, businessmen and local officials looking for a slice of the Chinese stimulus.

· China's ‘Grim' Employment Picture Could Threaten Communist Party Hold on Power
BEIJING, Nov. 20 -- A top Chinese official on Thursday described the country's employment outlook as "grim" and said he will expedite a new system to mediate employment disputes as China seeks to head off social unrest amid a weakening economy.

· The year 2025: Oil, dollar out; Russia, Islam in
WASHINGTON -- Global warming could be a boon to Russia, a European country could be overrun by organized crime and the U.S. dollar _ and the United States itself_ could further decline in importance during the next two decades, says a U.S. intelligence report with predictions for the world in 2025.