JAPANESE MULL EFFECTS OF CUTENESS-BASED ECONOMY

Japanese mull effects ofcuteness-based economy
A group of young girls, above, dressed in "cute" dresses gathers in front of a sweet cafe in Tokyo. These days, the biggest global exports from Japan Inc. are the epitome of cute. But the prevalent and obvious obsession with things cute has the world's second-biggest economy engaging in some serious soul-searching lately, wondering what it is about this harmony-loving culture that makes its people gravitate so frantically toward cuteness.
Militants take S. Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Islamic militants captured the last strategic town held by their warlord rivals Wednesday, consolidating their hold over a large swath of Somalia even as the country's parliament called for help from foreign peacekeepers. President Abdullahi Yusuf's government, whose military consists of little more than the president's personal militia, has watched from the sidelines as the Islamic forces overcame a coalition of secular warlords to take control of southern Somalia. With Wednesday's victory in Jowhar, 60 miles northeast of Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts Union now controls all of southern Somalia except Baidoa, the seat of the weak transitional government. The rival warlords no longer have a foothold in the region.
Financial turmoil causesPalestinian wage delay
RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Hours after angry civil servants stormed parliament, the Palestinian foreign minister came back Wednesday from a trip to Muslim nations carrying luggage stuffed with $20 million in cash for his money-starved government. The piles of bills were a sign of Hamas' desperation in the face of a Western boycott. The Islamic group, which runs the Palestinian government and whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, has refused to cave in to calls by Western donor nations to renounce violence and recognize the Jewish state. With hardships growing daily for Palestinians, dozens of the civil servants burst into the parliament building in the West Bank to demand their overdue salaries. They threw water bottles, tissue boxes and other small items at Hamas lawmakers and forced the parliament speaker to flee.
Lieberman's re-electionno foregone conclusion
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, warily watching his primary challenger advance in the polls, must soon decide whether to start collecting signatures for a possible independent bid this November. Lieberman's campaign contends that it's focused only on winning the Aug. 8 primary, but the Democrat has not ruled out petitioning his way onto the November ballot as part of a backup plan to secure a fourth term in the Senate. "I am not going to close out any options," the senator recently told reporters.
Man who killed girlfriend'sparents gets life in prison
LANCASTER, Pa. -- A young man accused of killing his 14-year-old girlfriend's parents and running off with her pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder in a deal that spared him from the death penalty. David G. Ludwig, 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting Michael F. and Cathryn L. Borden inside their Lititz home in November after they demanded he break off his relationship with their daughter, Kara. She was not charged with a crime.
Advocacy group saysmeth threat is overstated
WASHINGTON -- Methamphetamine use is rare in most of the United States, not the raging epidemic described by politicians and the press, says a study by an advocacy group. Meth is a dangerous drug but among the least commonly used, The Sentencing Project policy analyst Ryan King wrote in a report issued Wednesday. Rates of use have been stable since 1999, and among teenagers meth use has dropped, King said. "The portrayal of methamphetamine in the United States as an epidemic spreading across the country has been grossly overstated," King said. The Sentencing Project is a not-for-profit group that supports alternatives to prison terms for convicted drug users and other criminals.
Associated Press