Col. Sanders Impersonator Punks UN

(NEWSER) - The recent recovery of a statue of KFC’s Col. Sanders from a Japanese river is said to have ended a curse on a baseball team there. Which gave the company a clever idea: offer the effigy to the notably hexed Chicago Cubs, Deadspin reports. PETA strenuously objects. “If one irritated goat could cause a decades-long curse, just imagine what billions of angry chickens could do,” the animal-rights organization writes. More»

Recovery of statue from river may lift 'curse' on Japanese team

(NEWSER) - A statue of KFC founder Colonel Sanders tossed into a river in Osaka, Japan, over 2 decades ago has been recovered, possibly ending the "curse" that's widely believed to be shadowing the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, the Mainichi Daily News reports. Jubilant fans tore the mascot from its moorings after a big win in 1985, and the Tigers haven’t won a Japan Series since. More»

New Baghdad office to open

(NEWSER) - The United Nations plans to increase its presence in Iraq, but has serious concerns about the "unstable" security situation, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at a meeting in New York yesterday with Iraq's prime minister. The expanded UN mission would seek to stabilize Iraq by mediating sect rivalries, bolstering humanitarian aid, and encouraging cooperation with neighbors, the Guardian reports. More»

New Baghdad compound and mediation aid also on the table

(NEWSER) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has offered to increase personnel in Iraq for the first time in more than 3 years and is seeking $130 million to build a reinforced compound in Baghdad for the growing UN mission. Ban faces a backlash from member states afraid of inheriting a US-created disaster, while the Iraqi government is concerned that UN interference will dilute its power. More»

Opposition doubts government restraint, though truce seems to largely hold

(NEWSER) - Syria's fragile ceasefire seems to be largely holding, as renewed protests today put it to its first real test. But one Hama protester was shot dead by security forces as thousands of protesters again took to the streets, reports the BBC, while the New York Times notes that clashes had broken out in scattered areas of the country. Opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun has his doubts, saying officials have their "hand on the trigger," Reuters reports. "While we call on the Syrian people to protest strongly ... we ask them to be cautious because the regime will not respect the ceasefire and will shoot." More»