New York Times: Government Will End Clunker Program Early

The government will end its popular “cash for clunkers” program on Monday, more than two months early, because it is already running out of money.

Telegraph: Lockerbie bomber returns to hero’s welcome

The Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi returned home to Libya yesterday to cheers and patriotic music after being freed on compassionate grounds.

Guardian: Obama attacks decision to free Lockerbie bomber

Barack Obama last night denounced Scotland’s release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi as a mistake, and revealed the US had wanted Libya to keep him under house arrest until his death.

The Times: Taliban threats take toll on Afghan polls

The credibility of Afghanistan’s presidential election hangs in the balance today after Taliban threats and attacks severely depleted voter turnout and observers reported widespread electoral fraud.

Times of India: Heat on Kahn because of scanner on Bollywood shows

The US Customs and Border Protection’s extra scrutiny of Shah Rukh Khan was triggered by a perception among US agencies that Bollywood showbiz is beset with dodgy financial transactions and alleged underworld links.

South China Morning Post: No takers to supply swine flu vaccine

Hong Kong is unlikely to have swine flu vaccines available before the winter flu peak strikes, after the government cancelled its tender call for five million shots last night.

Sydney Morning Herald: Lockerbie relatives slam release

Relatives of those killed in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing have expressed outrage at the release of the only man convicted of the crime as he returned to Libya to a hero’s welcome.

China Daily: Gangster trawl nabs top police

At least six police chiefs of district-level bureaus in this southwestern municipality have been detained for serving as "protective umbrellas" for local gangs.

Straits Times: Plot against Apec Summit

Investigations into last month’s deadly twin bombings in Jakarta have uncovered a plot targeted at the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (Apec) Summit in Singapore, intelligence sources said.

Obama’s Afghan policy rattled

The violence-scarred elections in Afghanistan provided a stage for the Taliban to show war-weary Americans and Afghans that it has rebounded and can strike even after eight years of war.

For President Barack Obama’s policies, the timing could not be worse.

With memories of the Sept. 11 terror attacks dimming, Americans are tiring of the conflict. New polling shows a majority, 51 percent, of those surveyed now believe the war is not worth the fight, an increase of 6 percentage points in a month.

Obama’s answer to the mounting scepticism is to say that, in a way, the war has just begun. The final push to wipe out America’s Taliban and al-Qaida enemies is not eight years old but really got started when he took office and ordered 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan.

In short order, he also installed a new commander and persuaded Pakistan to join the United States in what on Thursday he called a pincer movement to squeeze the enemy astride the common border. - SAPA-AP

By Staff reporter and agencies