Senator McCain’s strategy is to leverage the adoring crowds and personal charisma that have created excitement around Senator Obama’s campaign and use this celebrity to raise questions about the Democrat’s political depth.

Ehud Olmert’s announcement marks the apex of a political storm unleashed in May when police launched a corruption probe over suspicions he had accepted vast sums of money from a US financier to fund elections campaigns and a lavish lifestyle in the 13 years before he became prime minister in 2006.

It is the first ruling against the family of telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra’s family since the 2006 military coup that toppled him from power. The military junta has long alleged that Mr Thaksin and his family engaged in corrupt practices during his time in office.

Sources said the Opposition Leader’s mea culpa meant there was no overt criticism of him during the ensuing marathon party meeting, although criticism was implicit in the fact that many MPs were angry the Coalition had become the issue, rather than challenging the Government’s stance.

The latest Newspoll survey of leadership abilities reveals that the Prime Minister has suffered a big rise in the percentage of voters who consider him arrogant. However, Mr Rudd still holds double-digit leads over the Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson, in most key areas.

‘Continuum’ is Stargate at its very best. If this is what an on-going series of Stargate movies look like, fans are in for a terrific ride. Combine one of Stargate’s best with an excellent audio commentary and a handful of great bonus features, and sci-fi fans have no reason not to go and buy two.

The 24-year-old realtor put his million-dollar winning ticket in a safety deposit box and spent a year thinking about how the money would change his life. However, all of the patient waiting did come at a cost — the loss of about $100,000 in interest.

The letter to the Attorney-General, written by Joel Anderson, a Republican assemblyman from San Diego, called for a formal investigation into the proposed search deal between Google and Yahoo.

The Howard government’s policy of mandatory detention had essentially stopped the flow of thousands of people illegally entering Australia from Indonesia, Philip Ruddock, a former immigration minister during the Howard years, said today.

A spokesman for the Beijing organising committee announced earlier that journalists would not be able to access information or websites connected to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China, as well as other, as yet unspecified sites.