AP - Nations in Europe’s single-currency zone agreed Sunday to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing and pledged to prevent banks failing as part of a raft of emergency measures designed to get credit flowing again.
AFP - Guinea and Mozambique filled the final slots Sunday as six months of 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup second round qualifying drama ended.
AP - North Korea said Sunday it will resume disabling its key nuclear complex after the U.S. dropped the country from a terrorism blacklist a breakthrough expected to help energize stalled talks aimed at ending the country’s atomic ambitions.
AP - Pakistani tribesmen are raising armies to battle al-Qaida and Taliban militants close to the Afghan border a movement encouraged by the military and hailed as a sign its offensive there is succeeding.
Reuters - Australia and New Zealand gave a blanket guarantee to all bank deposits Sunday in a move likely to raise pressure on other economies to do the same, amid a crisis of confidence in the global financial system.
A close family member of Jamie Lynn Spears has confirmed to The National Enquirer that the pregnancy rumors are true. The denials “are simply buying the Spears family time until they decide what to do.” (Read: Secret Mexican abortion.) The family member also revealed how the news is affecting the family:
On Lynne’s reaction:
“Jamie Lynn’s mom is furious about the pregnancy. And she’s livid the news leaked out, especially during her book tour. Lynne and Jamie Lynn have been arguing nonstop by phone.”
On Jamie Lynn’s choice:
“Jamie Lynn is being pressured by people very close to her to abort. But no decision has been made yet. Casey is furious. Jamie Lynn hadn’t told him about the pregnancy. He learned about it in the media and then confronted her and she told him it was true.”
On the inevitable Spears’ family maneuver:
“If Jamie Lynn has this baby, you can be sure they will try to sell the official confirmation of the pregnancy to a magazine, as well as the baby photos.”
I really wasn’t sure myself if the rumors were true until I saw these pictures of Jamie Lynn wearing a “Yoga Makes Me Flexible” T-shirt to Wal-Mart yesterday. At that point, an ultrasound seems kind of redundant, doesn’t it?
Wait. Did I miss the “Third Annual Try to Look Manlier than Brooke Hogan in a Bikini Contest?” Goddammit.
Stopping just short of a long-awaited endorsement, Angelina Jolie tells Vanity Fair she’s leaning towards Democratic Senator Barack Obama for President. While I hate celebrities talking politics, Angelina is a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador who knows her shit and doesn’t trip over her 8,000 children trying to endorse Obama (via the AP):
Asked if she finds Obama and his background an example to her family, she replies, “Naturally that’s good, but it’s not a sufficient reason to vote for him.
“Obama fights for international justice, he wants to militarily intervene in cases of genocide, and close Guantanamo Bay. These are the things that could move me to vote for him, not his roots.”
She then adds, “Naturally, an American president like Barack Obama would be nice for my family.”
Hey, you know what else would be nice for your family? TURN OFF THE UTERUS. Just sayin’.
AP - North Korea said Sunday it will resume dismantling its main nuclear facilities, hours after the U.S. removed the communist country from a list of states Washington says sponsor terrorism.
AP - President Dmitry Medvedev watched a missile soar from Russia’s rain-soaked northern forests toward a target thousands of miles away on Sunday, capping a weekend of launches reminding audiences at home and abroad about the country’s nuclear might.
