A missile defence system covering all Nato countries has been agreed at the alliance's summit in Lisbon, US President Barack Obama has said.

The shield would cover all Nato members in Europe and North America.

Nato is also backing the swift ratification of the Start treaty between the US and Russia, cutting nuclear weapon stockpiles.

The summit will discuss Afghanistan on Saturday, with plans to end combat operations by 2014.

Nato will ask Russia to co-operate on missile defence and join the system.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11711042

Italy's prime minister is under attack for authorising what amounts to plastic surgery on two Roman marble statues.

The statues, which depict the naked gods Venus and Mars, are on show in Silvio Berlusconi's Rome residence.

Mr Berlusconi ordered a replacement for the missing penis on the statue of the ancient god of war, and a missing hand for Venus.

Art experts say it is tasteless and aesthetically wrong to replace the missing body parts.

(picture by Gus Lichtenstein)

A biking accident has left the New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally with a bruised knee.

Ms Keneally was riding to work this morning, when the handlebar separated from her bike as she entered the underground carpark of her Governor Macquarie Tower office.

An ambulance was called but was not needed.

Her office is describing it as a minor incident and says the Premier is continuing with her normal duties.

Last month Sydney mayor Clover Moore tumbled from her bike and broke an ankle on Ride to Work day.

Is the world ignoring signs of the so-called "end times"

According to renowned philosopher Slavoj Zizek the capitalist system is pushing us all towards an apocalyptic doomsday.

He points to the faltering economy, global warming and deteriorating ethnic relations as evidence.  

On Thursday's Riz Khan we speak with Zizek, who has been called the "most dangerous philosopher in the West", about his controversial theories and prognosis for the future.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/11/201011111191189923.html

--------------------

Australia's republican movement wants to use the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton to push the case for a fresh referendum on whether Australia should ditch the monarchy.

The couple officially announced their engagement last night, a month after the Prince proposed in a Kenyan game park.

The future Princess Catherine has been given Princess Diana's blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring and bookies are tipping an August 2011 wedding.

(picture by Gus Warhol)

President Karzai told The Washington Post newspaper, over the weekend that he wants a reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and that he wants the remaining troops to stay on their bases as much as possible.  General Petraeus says any drawdown will be based on security conditions and the capabilities of Afghan security forces, and that at the moment, they do not allow for a reduction.  On the pace of military operations, Petraeus frequently notes that it is only during the last few months that he has had enough forces to conduct the level of operations he believes is necessary to defeat the insurgency.

Tonight's TV debut of Sarah Palin's Alaska has been marred - or given a little extra publicity, take your pick - by criticism from a respected conservationist that the former state governor went fishing too close to protected brown bears for the sake of dramatic footage.

SEOUL, South Korea — The Group of 20 major economies took initial steps to address imbalances in the global economy on Friday. But they did not act as assertively as President Obama had hoped, and he left little doubt that he considered one country, China, the primary source of the problem.

On September 13, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age published a set of articles by Fairfax group Indonesia correspondent Tom Allard presenting detailed claims by victims of torture by members of the elite Indonesian National Police (POLRI) Anti-Terror Squad known as Densus 88 or Detachment 88.

Am I right in remembering the First Home Owner Grant comes from the federal government?

Then this is some very special political opportunism.

A picture by Roy Lichtenstein just sold for US$42 million... More dosh than the Campbell Soup Can by Andy Warhol. The one on the right is by Roy Lichtenstein that is. The one on the left was of course the inspiration. Meanwhile an old theory in regard to the CIA sponsoring the "modern" arts has resurfaced for whatever reason...

Using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, scientists have recently discovered a gigantic, mysterious structure in our galaxy.

This feature looks like a pair of bubbles extending above & below our galaxy's centre.

Each lobe is 25,000 light-years tall & the whole structure may be only a few million years old.