Muara Teweh!

Federal prosecutors are probing whether former Apple Computer Inc. officials forged documents to maximize executives’ profits from stock options, according to a legal publication that also reported CEO Steve Jobs has hired his own lawyers to represent him in the investigation.

Shares of the iPod and Macintosh computer maker went on a roller-coaster ride in trading Wednesday, falling almost 5 percent before rebounding by midday. In a morning note, UBS Investment Research Analyst Ben Reitzes called investors’ fears “overblown.” » Read more after the jump →

A JOINT force of government and Ethiopian troops advanced to within 18 miles of the Islamist-held Somali capital, Mogadishu, yesterday and revealed plans to besiege the city rather than attack it.

“We are not going to fight for Mogadishu, to avoid civilian casualties. Our troops will surround Mogadishu until [the Islamists] surrender,” Abdikarin Farah, the Somali ambassador to Ethiopia, said. » Read more after the jump →

Hizbullah is paying Palestinian splinter groups “thousands of dollars” for each Kassam rocket fired at the western Negev, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

According to Israeli intelligence information, Hizbullah is smuggling cash into the Gaza Strip and paying “a number of unknown local splinter groups” for each attack. » Read more after the jump →

A helicopter transporting gas rig workers crashed into Morecambe Bay in northwestern England, killing six. Rescuers in helicopters and boats searched early Thursday for one more person who was missing.

Lancashire police, coordinating the search, and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, said six bodies had been found by searchers in the cold water of the large bay within hours of the crash Wednesday night. » Read more after the jump →

A helicopter transporting gas rig workers crashed into Morecambe Bay in northwestern England, killing six. Rescuers in helicopters and boats searched early Thursday for one more person who was missing.

Lancashire police, coordinating the search, and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, said six bodies had been found by searchers in the cold water of the large bay within hours of the crash Wednesday night.

The search for the other person aboard the helicopter, which was carrying five Centrica PLC employees and two crew when it went down 24 miles, or nearly 39 kilometers, off the coast around 6:40 p.m. would go on.

It was not immediately known what caused the crash in the bay, which is east of the Isle of Man.

Mick Gradwell, Detective Superintendent for the Lancashire police, said the search was focusing around a drilling platform. He confirmed that all the bodies recovered so far were men.

Source: iht.com

Merry Christmas. Now get going on those college applications. While seniors write essays, their parents must get going on the dreaded FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which can be submitted after Jan. 1. There’s no room for procrastination, since many schools have application deadlines in late January, and many offer aid on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to get into the college of your choice, and if you want to get the money to pay for it, you have to start now. Even if you’re a middle-income family, no one knows how much aid you might receive unless you start the process by filing FAFSA. » Read more after the jump →

With college costs averaging $30,000 a year, students and parents need additional resources to obtain and afford a higher education. One New Year’s resolution to consider is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Nelnet (NYSE: NNI), a leading education planning and financing company, advises all college-bound students that beginning on January 2, 2007, they can jumpstart their financial aid process by filing the FAFSA. » Read more after the jump →