TwistedSifter

Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.

Scientologists Convicted of Fraud [BBC]

- A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud, but stopped short of banning the group from operating in France
- A Paris judge ordered the Church’s Celebrity Center and a bookshop to pay a 600,000-euro fine. Alain Rosenberg, the group’s head in France, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined 30,000 euros. Three other leading members of the group were also fined
- Unlike the US, France has always refused to recognize Scientology as a religion, arguing that it is a purely commercial operation designed to make as much money as it can

Bombings Push U.S. Toll to Worst Month in Afghan War [Reuters]

- Eight U.S. troops were killed in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday ahead of a run-off presidential election, the NATO-led alliance said, in the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the start of the war eight years ago. The soldiers killed in the bomb attacks on Tuesday pushed the October death toll to 53, topping the previous high of 51 deaths in August
- Efforts to stabilize Afghanistan have been complicated by weeks of political tension over an election in August marred by widespread fraud in favor of the incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, forcing a second round set for November 7. The Taliban has already vowed to disrupt the November 7 poll
- U.S. soldiers now make up two-thirds of the 100,000-strong coalition force, with Obama considering proposals to send an extra 40,000 troops or a far smaller number. Public support in the United States for a troop increase is up from last month, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on Tuesday

U.S. Home Sales Scale 2-Year High in September [Reuters]

- The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes jumped 9.4% in September to an annual rate of 5.57 million units, the highest level since July 2007. Financial markets had expected sales to rise to a 5.35 million unit pace after a surprise decline in August
- Sales were partly driven by first-time buyers rushing to take advantage of the government’s popular $8,000 tax credit, which is due to expire at the end of November. Sales were up 9.2 percent compared to September of last year
- Sales for both new and previously-owned homes have been boosted by a combination of the tax credit, depressed prices and low mortgage rates. The tax credit has so far cost the government about $10 billion and the Obama administration has yet to decide whether it will back an extension

Car Bomb Kills Scores in Pakistan [New York Times]

- A huge car bomb tore through a congested market of narrow alleys and crowded stalls in Peshawar’s old town on Wednesday, killing more than 80 people, many of them women, while 160 more were injured, many of them seriously
- The explosion came about three hours after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, 90 minutes drive away, underscoring the challenges facing American policy in a nation that has become skeptical of Washington’s long-term commitment
- While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the bombing seemed likely to be seen as a response by Pakistani militants to a campaign against them by the Pakistani military in their stronghold of South Waziristan along the Afghan border

Kalashnikov Decries “Criminal” Use of Rifle [Reuters]

- Approaching 90, the inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle has one big regret. The almost unstoppable Kalashnikov, designed in 1947, has become the weapon of choice for militants and rebels from Liberia to Afghanistan as well as gangsters and drug traffickers
- Although some 100 million Kalashnikovs have been produced during its 60 years of service, only roughly half of them are licensed output, meeting Russian quality standards. For Russians, fiercely proud of their few world-renowned national brands — the Bolshoi ballet, vodka, the Soyuz spaceship and the Kalashnikov rifle, this is galling
- Despite the quality of its Kalashnikovs, Russia still sells them at prices 50 percent lower than those paid for an American M-16

Big Cellphone Makers Shifting to Android System [New York Times]

- Cellphone makers that have used Windows Mobile to run their smartphones — including Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson — are now also making Android devices. Twelve Android handsets have been announced this year, with dozens more expected next year. Motorola has dropped Windows Mobile from its line entirely in a switch to Android. HTC, a major cellphone maker, expects half its phones sold this year to run Android. Dell is using Android for its entry into the cellphone market
- Android is on only 1.8% of smartphones worldwide. The percentage of smartphones using the Windows Mobile system has plummeted to 9.3%, from 12% in the second quarter of 2008. Microsoft fell behind Apple, which shot up to 13.3%, from 2.8%. Nokia’s Symbian operating system is the world leader, followed by Research In Motion’s OS for its BlackBerry
- Google’s software is intended for modern screens you tap with a finger, while Windows Mobile was built for use with a stylus. Unlike other operating systems, Android is open source software, so anyone can use or change it. Also, Android is free, while Windows Mobile costs manufacturers $15 to $25 a phone

Amazon Shares Soar, CEO Richer by More Than $2 Billion [Reuters]

- Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) shares soared 28% to touch a lifetime high on Friday after a major earnings beat and an upbeat holiday forecast. Amazon shares, which have gained 82% since January, rose by $26.20 to $119.65 Friday, before closing at $118.49 on Nasdaq, making Chief Executive Jeff Bezos richer by about $2.36 billion
- To maintain its dominance in e-readers, Amazon cut the price of the Kindle — its bestselling product in units and dollars — to $259 from $299 and introduced a global version
- Goldman Sachs said it continues to believe that the company can double its market share the next several years. The overall e-commerce market is also expected to double over the same period.

Baghdad Bombs Kill 132, Government Slams Neighbors [Reuters]

- Two suicide bombs tore through Baghdad on Sunday, killing 132 people, wounding more than 500 and leaving mangled bodies and cars on the streets in one of Iraq’s deadliest days this year
- The two blasts shredded buildings and smoke billowed from the area near the Tigris River. The first bomb targeted the Justice Ministry and the second, minutes later, was aimed at the nearby provincial government building, police said
- Attacks could rise in the run-up to the election — the second national vote since U.S. troops invaded in 2003 — as forces in and around Iraq jockey for influence over the world’s third largest oil reserves. The bombings raise doubts about the Iraqi forces’ ability to take over overall security from U.S. soldiers who pulled out of Iraqi city centers in June ahead of the complete withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011

Push to Legalize Marijuana Gains Ground in California [New York Times]

- State lawmakers are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the drug — in what would be the first such law in the United States. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring the struggling state about $1.4 billion a year, and though the bill’s fate in the Legislature is uncertain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has indicated he would be open to a “robust debate” on the issue
- Proponents of the leading ballot initiative have collected nearly 300,000 signatures since late September, supporters say, easily on pace to qualify for the November 2010 general election
- The bids to legalize marijuana are opposed by law enforcement groups across the state and, if successful, would undoubtedly set up a legal showdown with the federal government, which classifies marijuana as an illegal drug

- Fraud Plagues Sugar Subsidy System in Europe [New York Times]
- FACTBOX: Ships Held by Somali Pirates [Reuters]
- Iran wants big changes to nuclear deal with powers [Reuters]
- Pakistan Advances in Taliban Area [BBC]
- Ex-Guerrilla Ahead in Uruguay Vote [New York Times]
- ING to Split in Two Amid $11.3 Billion Rights Issue [New York Times]
- Studios’ Quest for Life After DVDs [New York Times]
- Agassi Admits Use of Crystal Meth [BBC]

Source: The Economist

- China’s car market has overtaken America’s in sales volume for the first time, several years earlier than analysts had predicted before the financial crisis
- As the American government was buying 61% of General Motors and 8% of Chrysler to prevent them from collapsing, the two manufacturers’ sales in China were rocketing
- Sales of all car brands in China in August were up by about 90%, helped by a cut in the purchase tax on smaller, more fuel-efficient cars

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