Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama on Thursday did not rule out selecting rival Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential running mate if he ultimately defeats her in a race in which he has an almost insurmountable lead.

Reuters - Evening exercise classes at the Nirvana fitness centre in Beijing are in high demand these days as young professionals whose mothers once counted ration cards seek to stay svelte despite lavish lunches.

The Christian Science Monitor - With a nationwide housing crisis far from over, the risk of future mortgage losses is rapidly shifting from the private sector toward government ? and potentially US taxpayers.

Reuters - An attendant at a Canadian restaurant who was sacked for giving a bite-sized doughnut, worth 16 cents, to an agitated toddler was given her job back on Thursday after the case received wide media attention.

U.S. News & World Report - With rounds to fight running out, the self-described Rocky Balboa of politics will soon be forced to assess the damage sustained by the most expensive primary bout in history. Sen. Hillary Clinton doled out $6.4 million of her own money to her campaign since April, her campaign told reporters this week. That brings her total cash outlay to more than $11 million since January. And she's not ruling out spending more as she plans to compete in the six remaining contests. If she plans to knock out heavyweight fundraising champ, Sen. Barack Obama, she may have no other choice.

Reuters - Myanmar's junta showed no signs on Friday of bending to a chorus of angry and anguished demands to admit foreign aid workers, saying it can distribute relief to the 1.5 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis by itself.

Reuters - A U.S. judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday to submit to the court a 2002 memo said to specify harsh interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists held abroad.

Reuters - Austrian Josef Fritzl said he became addicted to incest with his daughter, who bore him seven children, and had imprisoned her in a cellar to save her from the outside world.

AFP - Arguably the oddest beast in Nature's menagerie, the platypus looks as it if were assembled from spare parts left over after the animal kingdom was otherwise complete.

Reuters - Jason Castro, the mellow singer whose dreadlocked good looks earned the devotion of countless teenage girls, was voted off "American Idol" on Wednesday, leaving three finalists to compete for the show's top prize.

AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday denied allegations of bribery but said he would resign if charged in a case that threatens to shake up the nation's political landscape.

AFP - A new, simplified family tree of humanity has dealt a blow to those who contend that the enigmatic hominids known as Neanderthals intermingled with our forebears.