AP - President-elect Barack Obama is likely to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as Treasury Secretary in a time of intense economic turmoil as he rounds out the upper echelon of his Cabinet, a senior Democratic official familiar with the deliberations said Friday.

The Yahoo! Newsroom - In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

The Yahoo! Newsroom - In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

The Yahoo! Newsroom - In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.

Alistair Darling may be forced to set out future taxes rises to pay for a short-term boost to the economy, the BBC understands.

RICH home owners being squeezed by the economic crisis are flooding the market with luxury properties.

PROTESTERS have demanded that US President George W Bush get out of Peru where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, blaming him for the world economic crisis.

VOTERS say it's time for the Rudd Government to start doing things.

AS the world celebrates World Toilet Day, sanitation experts have called for dry dunnies because flushing is "unsustainable".

STORM-weary residents of southeast Queensland have received yet another warning to batten down for another blast of severe weather tonight.

A RUSSIAN computer game simulating a new war between Russia and Georgia, in which NATO-member Poland backs a fresh bid by Tbilisi to take back its rebel regions, is to hit shops soon.

Samsung Electronics has started mass production of 256G-byte solid-state drives, which could make their way into laptops in a few months, the company announced Thursday.

FORMER actor, chauffeur and fitness instructor Gordon Wood began his new life in jail yesterday as a convicted killer with just three words: "I am innocent."

Link: http://www.360cities.net/

Adding a layer of content to Google Earth, 360Cities brings you interactive panorama shots of cities from around the world. This is an incredible time suck, though I wish there were more everyday shots, less focus on the main tourist attractions of each city.

Contribute: Add an image, link, video or comment »

The Best Links:

1. Rio de Janeiro
2. Hong Kong
3. Los Angeles
4. Tokyo
5. London
6. Venice
7. Moscow
8. Amsterdam
9. Paris

The Yahoo! Newsroom - In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.