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In Donald Rumsfeld's first interview since leaving the Pentagon, he hailed the efforts in Afghanistan as a "big success", but attributed the failures in Iraq to the Iraqi's government inability to build a foundation of democracy. "In Afghanistan, 28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their own parliament and they've improved a lot on the streets," Rumsfeld says in the October issue of GQ magazine. But he stated that reaching a similar situation in Iraq would take "some time and some effort". Rumsfeld also defen

The Canadian government is in heated debate regarding a law which allows Muslims to wear veils at the polls. It has been decided, amid concerns from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that the law will not change, and women are still allowed to wear veils when appearing to cast votes at the ballot box. PM Harper says a ruling which Elections Canada made in July to allow veils was wrong. Over the past week politicians from all three major federal parties are agreeing with Harper's stance on the issue. "I have to say that it concerns me greatly, be

Bayern Munich starlet and Germany U17 captain Toni Kroos won the Golden Ball for being the best player and the Adidas Bronze Shoe for finishing 3rd at the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup. He contributed with 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 matches. With receiving 26% of the votes, Toni Kroos edged out Nigeria's Silver boot winner, Macauley Chrisantus, who received 25% of the vote for the Golden Ball. Spain's Bojan came in 3rd with 19%. Kroos will now return to Bayern Munich II. He is still eligible to play 2 more year in the U19 team. Statistics OpponentS

Mariners 14, Tigers 7: The Mariners scored 13 runs in the first four innings, led by Adrian Beltre, who drove in four runs off a two-run double and a two-run triple. Curtis Granderson went 4-4 in the loss, recording his 20th stolen base, and making him only the third player to hit 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs, and steal 20 bases in a season. Red Sox 3, Orioles 2: Coco Crisp drove in the winning run off an eighth-inning single. Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 2: Carlos Pena went 3-4, and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on a solo

APEC Australia 2007 has officially closed in Sydney, with Australian Prime Minister John Howard delivering APEC's final declaration. The final leader's declaration said that APEC member economies will support the Doha trade talks and that the leaders examined a series of measures to deal with terrorism, pandemics, contaminated food, energy security and natural disasters. Mr Howard said that the APEC members had decided to make "An urgent request to all countries involved in the Doha process to renew their efforts to achieve an outcome, emphasi

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has thanked residents of host city Sydney for their patience during the APEC summit. Sydney was subject to the largest and tightest security operation ever seen in Australia. Those in the city were subject to restricted areas in the central business district, which were fenced off, closures of some of the city's iconic sights, road closures and traffic congestion. "I do want to thank the people of Sydney for their forbearance in the face of the normal restrictions, security wise, that are involved in condu

Pope Benedict XVI, speaking on the third final day of a visit to Vienna, Austria, has appealed for renewed respect for Sundays. In the Roman Catholic Church, Sundays are called the Hebrew word Shābath (now called the Sabbath), meaning "to rest". Originally on Saturdays, which is still retained in the Jewish faith, it was changed to Sunday by Catholics in the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ which was on Sunday. During a Mass at St Stephen's Cathedral, the Pope promoted leisure time as 'something good and necessary amid the mad rus

Asafa Powell has broken the world 100 metre record at the IAAF Grand Prix Rieti. The Jamaican set the record of 9.74 seconds in one of two heats, after setting the previous record in Athens in June 2005, and meeting it twice in Gateshead and Zurich. The race took place under a strong following wind, but still within International Association of Athletics Federations standards. Speaking about the heat, Powell said 'It's just to remind my fans that Asafa Powell is still here. I came here and executed properly and did what I was supposed to do.'

At least 20 people have died and 20 more are injured after a partially constructed flyover (overpass) in Hyderabad, India collapsed onto traffic. The disaster occurred at the Panjagutta junction, near Nagarjuna Circle. Two large concrete sections dropped onto oncoming cars and motorised rickshaws, damaging several severely. A large emergency effort was immediately activated, but experienced severe difficulties in reaching the site due to congested traffic resulting from the collapse. Ambulances from the 108 EMRI Service and Appollo Hospitals

Fernando Alonso wins the 2007 FIA Formula-1 Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy, with his teammate, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton second. The pair won the top two places of the 78th Grand Prix held in Monza, starting from the front line. This win became the first for Fernando Alonso on this track and his another hat-trick. During most of the free practice and the qualification McLaren seem to be clearly ahead of their rivals from Ferrari, resulting in that Alonso easily took the pole position. Si

A debate has been launched by almost 300 people, seeking further research into William Shakespeare and the many masterpieces attributed to him. The group, named the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition, are reluctant to believe that the Bard wrote all of the plays that make him internationally famous, and are keen to unravel the mysteries surrounding his life and work. Although it is widely accepted that Shakespeare existed and penned many works, the group question why all records of Shakespeare are non-literary, and how so many high-quality plays

In the pool stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, eight teams played their first matches of the tournament. Wales came from behind to defeat Canada after a first half scare. South Africa comfortably defeated Samoa, while Ireland beat Namibia and Scotland beat world cup debutants Portugal. In Pool B, Wales took an early lead against Canada with three penalties from James Hook. However Wales struggled throughout the first half, and tries from Canadians Jamie Cudmore, Craig Culpan and Morgan Williams meant that Canada led 17-9 early in the second h