Half million Californians forced to flee wildfires; fossil record shows high temps correspond to mass extinction; China launches lunar probe...

24 October :: More than 500,000 Californians have been evacuated as wildfires blaze out of control, more than 1,000 structures destroyed; firefighters admit they cannot control the fires, can only hope at present to protect people; Gov. Schwarzenegger has warned the White House the fires are too vast to be dealth with by state agencies... UK researchers have found link between elevated global temperatures and mass extinction throughout fossil record; findings suggest escalating global temperatures could lead to a new mass extinction; Le Monde Diplomatique has reported UN figures showing high concentrations of CO2 correspond to highest temperature spikes... Sentence for Pinochet security forces chief extended 15 years; he has been found guilty of masterminding, ordering abduction of dissident last seen at Villa Grimaldi detention center in 1974... China launches unmanned orbiter, its first lunar probe; Japan has just put its first satellite into lunar orbit, with India planning to follow; some worry 'nationalism' in region fueling new 'space race', though for now there does not appear to be a plan to militarize... Turkey has admitted it launched airstrikes against PKK positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan, crossing as far as 20km into Iraqi airspace; pres. of Kurdish regional assembly, Iraqi pres. Talabani, also a Kurd, have called on PKK to renounce the use of violence; Turkish ground forces have allegedly made isolated incursions as well, through for now no large-scale ground invasion has occurred... NYT reports "In a report made public on Tuesday, a review panel found that there were too few American officials in Iraq to enforce the rules that apply to Blackwater and other security contractors. It also found that the conduct of the contractors had undermined the broader mission of ending the insurgency and establishing a democratic government in Iraq"... China, world's #2 oil consumer, tells OPEC oil prices are too high; contacts were part of OPEC-China 'roundtable' to help steer OPEC policy with regard to China's explosive growth in petroleum demand...

CA plans to sue EPA over emissions; Kurdish rebels offer truce with Turkey; Microsoft cedes to EU regulators...

23 October :: California attorney general Jerry Brown has said he plans to file suit against the EPA, for stalling permission for CA, 11 other states to force automakers to produce cleaner vehicles; suit aims to push emissions regulations designed to reduce threat/pace of human-induced global warming... Kurdish rebel group offers Ankara truce, saying "Our movement and people have the strength to defend itself under any condition; however, we prefer to solve the problems by democratic and peaceful ways rather than armed struggle"; Turkish gov't has explored launching cross-border raids against PKK rebels inside Iraq, US reported to be contemplating airstrikes against rebel positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan... Microsoft has surrendered to antitrust regulators in Brussels, after years of litigation and fines, agrees to free up dozens of patents for license-free consultation by developers; regulatory office says interoperability issues still remain, Microsoft is on warning that other cases are being looked at, dealing with DRM in Vista, 'integrated security' solution, browser functionality... NYT reports "More than a quarter of a million people were urged to flee their homes on Monday as wildfires ravaged Southern California for a second day, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and charring swaths of scrub and forestland"; the 'paper of record' also reported homes burning "with no firefighters in sight", as shifting winds, spreading fires made it difficult to strategically contain blazes... Scientists rush to get first glimpse of gravity waves, phenomena predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity, but which have yet to be observed in any astronomical event...

Iran nuclear negotiator steps down; Turkey reports raid by Kurdish rebels kills at least 9 soldiers; far-right party leads Swiss poll...

21 October :: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has stepped down, allegedly over differences with Pres. Ahmadinejad; Iran gov't says there is no rift among leadership, diplomats, Larijani will attend meeting with UN representatives to ease transition to new negotiator's team... At least 9 casualties reported in PKK raid on Turkish forces near Iraqi border; BBC reports deaths have spurred popular support for military incursions into Iraq to hunt Kurdish rebels; Iraq gov't says Turkish incursions would violate int'l law; observers fear Turkish cross-border raids would further destabilize Iraq... Reuters reporting US military raid on Sadr City district of Baghdad has killed 13, wounded 69, showing two toddlers among the dead; US says clashes with Mehdi militia group led to airstrikes on residential neighborhood... Chinese Communist party removes VP, two other top officials from party leadership, preparing to elevate new generation of leadership, as party conference comes to end... Far-right People's Party (SVP) appears to have won Swiss election, is predicted to take 61 of 200 seats in parliament, Green party makes strong gains; with 50% of electorate estimated to have cast ballots, SVP 'victory' may represent as little as 15% of total voting-age population, the party's 'black-sheep' campaign stoked fears of official racism... Houston Chronicle reports $90 oil is not record when adjusting for inflation, "The federal government says prices still haven't exceeded the January 1981 inflation-adjusted record of $93.09. The Paris-based International Energy Agency says the actual record was in the previous spring and is $101.70 in today's dollars"... Ségolène Royal has criticized Sarkozy's new French gov't for its "total improvisation" with regard to social policy; Sarkozy's opponent in the presidential elections, Royal also said "Driving a modern country to strike is the mark of poor government", referring to the ongoing transport strike...