Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

CONAKRY, Guinea - Allies of Guinea's longtime dictator mourned him in parliament on Friday but the leaders of the coup that followed his death did not attend the eulogy, raising questions about their control of the country.

Oil prices rebounded to above $36 a barrel Friday as key OPEC members were seen complying with promised output cuts, but investors were still braced for more signs that the global economic slowdown deepened in the fourth quarter.

SALT LAKE CITY - Bishop's Storehouse looks like any other grocery store at first glance: The shelves are neatly lined with canned goods and the smell of fresh bread wafts through the aisles.

NEW YORK - Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

LOS ANGELES - Perhaps now the Los Angeles Lakers can put the anguish of losing the NBA finals to Boston and the embarrassment over the way the series ended behind them.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The death toll from a shooting rampage in the United States in which a man dressed as Santa Claus entered his former in-laws' house and opened fire on guests rose to eight on Friday, police said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailers' sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season, as the weak economy and bad weather created one of the worst holiday shopping climates in modern times, according to data released on Thursday by SpendingPulse.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel reopened border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Friday, easing tensions a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a "last-minute" warning to Hamas militants to stop firing rockets or pay a heavy price.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Export-reliant Asian economies showed more signs of weakness on Friday, with Japan's industrial output diving at a record pace and South Korea warning it faces an "unprecedented crisis" as global demand wilts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eartha Kitt, who rose from the Southern cotton fields to captivate audiences around the world with sultry performances as a singer, dancer and actress, died on Thursday at the age of 81.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three senior Islamist militants escaped from their cells in clashes overnight at a police station in Iraq's western city of Ramadi, which killed at least seven police and seven militants, officials said.

CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guineans paid tribute to long-time ruler Lansana Conte on Friday and the military junta which seized power after his death appealed for international support to lead the country to elections in two years.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - GMAC LLC won U.S. approval on Wednesday to become a bank holding company, giving it access to government lending programs and helping it stave off bankruptcy.

BEIJING (AFP) - An anti-piracy task force of the Chinese navy set sail on Friday for Africa, in the nation's first potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters in centuries.

CONAKRY (AFP) - Guinea paid its final respects Friday to late dictator Lansana Conte as the military junta that seized control in the wake of his death planned a charm offensive to gain international legitimacy.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The spectre of a military invasion loomed large over Gaza on Friday as militants fired another volley of rockets despite Israeli warnings that failure to stop the attacks would lead to bloodshed.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan has cancelled leave for "operational" armed forces personnel and redeployed troops to the Indian border amid simmering tensions with New Delhi, a military official said on Friday.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume burst into a Christmas Eve party at his former in-laws and opened fire, killing at least eight people before taking his own life, US officials said on Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - Britain next year faces its biggest recession since World War II, a research group said Friday, as Japan reported a record plunge in production in a gloomy run-up to 2009 for the world economy.

LONDON (AFP) - Shoppers across Britain queued up before dawn on Friday for traditional post-Christmas sales, which this year are seeing struggling stores offering discounts of up to 90 percent.