For the first time, more people are getting their news from the Internet than from print sources.
Biggest Stories of 2008: Economy Tops Campaign

The internet, which emerged this year as a leading source for campaign news, has now surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and international news.
Currently, 40% say they get [...]

Malaysian Ex- Prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday called for a global boycott of the US dollar and US-made products, including Coca-Cola, in protest over Washington’s backing of Israel.
Mahathir, who during his two decades in power was a leading voice in the Muslim world, said people had to take action against the United States over [...]

The world’s top software firm, Microsoft, is planning a massive reduction in its workforce where up to 15,000 jobs may be axed this month, says a media report.
“Microsoft is preparing to announce the first wide scale layoffs in its 32-year history, with up to 15,000 jobs at risk, according to some predictions,” ‘The Times’ [...]

Bloomberg — Singapore said its economy may shrink more than previously forecast in 2009, foreshadowing a deepening slump throughout the region as exports and manufacturing contracted further in China, South Korea and Australia.
China’s manufacturing declined for a fifth month in December, South Korea’s exports fell by more than 15 percent for a second month, and [...]

A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia has been ordered by the government to cease its Malay language edition until courts resolve a ban on the paper’s use of the word “Allah”, its editor said Thursday.
Herald newspaper editor Father Lawrence Andrew said the move was part of a series of restrictions put in place by the conservative [...]

Vegetable oil tested on NZ flight
A passenger plane has successfully completed a two-hour test flight partly powered by vegetable oil.
Air New Zealand hailed the flight as a “milestone” in the development of sustainable fuels that could lower aeroplane emissions and cut costs.
One engine of the Boeing 747-400 was fueled by a 50-50 mixture [...]

Kuwait’s government on Sunday scrapped a US$17.4-billion ($25.1-billion) joint venture with United States petrochemical giant Dow Chemical after criticism from lawmakers that could have led to a political crisis in this small oil-rich state.
The Cabinet, in a statement carried by the state-owned Kuwait News Agency, said the venture, known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, was “very risky” [...]

Melamine became a household term, after milk, dairy products and even baking ingredients were found to be contaminated with the chemical.
Parents in China were alarmed after infants were believed to have died from kidney stones and other complications after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine, a chemical used in the production of plastics.
Melamine is not [...]

The Russian military will commission 70 strategic nuclear missiles over the next three years, a senior government official said Monday, according to Russian news agencies.
The statement by Vladislav Putilin, a deputy head of the Cabinet’s military-industrial commission in charge of weapons industries, indicates the government’s intention to significantly increase the tempo of rearming Russia’s Strategic [...]

The White House announced a $17.4 billion rescue package for the troubled Detroit auto makers that allows them to avoid bankruptcy and leaves many of the big decisions for the incoming Obama administration.
Speaking from the White House, President George W. Bush said the administration decided against forcing a bankruptcy to compel cost-cutting, in order to [...]