the new this week

TOKYO - Hideaki Noguchi, vice president of a brokerage house linked with corporate takeover deals by Internet and financial service provider Livedoor Co, died Wednesday evening in an apparent suicide in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, prosecutors and Naha police said Thursday. (Japan today)

Music industry sources tell DRUDGE REPORT that Europe’s Recording Industry Association the IFPI will show sales of music via the internet and mobile phones generated sales of $1.1 billion for record companies – up from US $380 million in 2004.(Matt Drudge)

BREST, France (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it would be ready to use nuclear weapons against any state that carried out a terrorist attack against it, reaffirming the need for its nuclear deterrent.

British researchers say they have found no evidence to support fears that mobile phones cause brain cancer.(Matt Drudge)

“Here's a thought. If you want to measure how much porn is showing up in searches, try searching for it yourself rather than issuing privacy alarm sounding subpoenas. It would certainly be more accurate.” (Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch)

China and Saudi Arabia are expected to sign a broad energy cooperation pact as Beijing aims to secure more energy resources.(WSJ)

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action.

Iran on Sunday said Israel would be making a "fatal mistake" should it resort to military action against Tehran's nuclear program and dismissed veiled threats from the Jewish state as a "childish game." (AP)

President Ahmadinejad said Friday Palestine is the center of the final stages of the battle between Islam and arrogance, saying the Palestinian Intifada is progressing. (Islamic Republic News Agency)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canadian political leaders on Sunday made one last cross-country dash on the eve of an election expected to oust the ruling Liberals, move Canada to the right and improve ties with the United States.

Iran’s top nuclear official on Sunday warned Tehran would resume efforts to enrich uranium on an industrial scale if its case was reported to the UN Security Council, further raising the stakes in the crisis over its nuclear programme. (FT)

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market. (AP MICHAEL LIEDTKE)