MOSCOW, July 3 (UPI) -- Russian leaders have agreed to allow U.S. military planes carrying troops and equipment to use their country's airspace, officials said Friday. Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, told The New York Times military operations in Afghanistan help protect the southern border of Russia. he said. Russia has allowed the United States to ship only non-lethal supplies and aid through its territory by train. The cha... Read Full Story

VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AFP) -- Latin America and the Caribbean are well placed to emerge from the storm buffeting much of the global economy, multilateral lenders said here on Friday."There is no doubt that the big surprise for the everyone is that Latin America and the Caribbean will be one of the regions that can most quickly exit the crisis," said Luis Alberto Moreno, head of the Inter-American Development Bank."It depends how the international recovery goes but, still, all the projections ... Read Full Story

BEERSHEBA, Israel, July 3 (UPI) -- Gene mutations that once helped humans evolve and survive could increase the risk of cancer and other diseases today, researchers in Israel said. The mutations were found in the genome of the mitochondria, the part of cells responsible for energy production that is passed from mother to child, scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev said. Dr. Dan Mishmar, a molecular biologist at the university, said in a release Friday. Mishmar's team found the... Read Full Story

LOS ANGELES, July 3 (UPI) -- A representative for Tobey Maguire says the U.S. actor has named his first son Otis Tobias Maguire. People.com said Friday the unidentified representative offered no explanation for the newborn's name, but the Web site did explain that Tobias is the formal version of Maguire's first name. The 34-year-old star of the trilogy is married to 32-year-old Jennifer Meyer. The couple met in 2003 and has a 2-year-old daughter, Ruby. Otis Tobias Maguire was born May 8. C... Read Full Story

VENTURA, Calif., July 3 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been selected as winner of the 2009 Sitting Duck Award, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists announced Friday. The award is given annually to the person who provides the best material for columnists facing deadlines. Palin, who became a national political figure overnight last year when Sen. John McCain selected her as his running mate, beat out former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. said the society's current president, ... Read Full Story

WASILLA, Alaska, July 3 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday she will resign as governor by the end of July and will not seek a second term in 2010. Palin, Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate last year, said Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell would be sworn in as the new governor July 25. Speaking outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin said being a governor would have been the as she approaches her final year in office. she said. Palin said. She s... Read Full Story

BRASILIA (AFP) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will call on wealthy nations to moderate their demands on poor countries during next week's G8 summit in Italy, a presidential spokesman said Friday.Lula will tell the world's eight largest economies to be more flexible in what they ask from developing nations in response to the global economic crisis and climate change."Developing countries are the ones who most need the beneficial effects of anti-economic crisis measures and t... Read Full Story

LONDON, July 3 (UPI) -- Health officials in the United Kingdom say the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, may not be containable due to the rampant spread of the influenza infection. The Scotsman (Edinburg) said U.K. Health Secretary Andy Burnham issued a projection that had the United Kingdom enduring more than 100,000 new cases of swine flu daily before the end of August. Burnham said. Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer for England, said the rising number of swine flu cases in the United Kingd... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- NOW Foods is recalling products containing whey protein concentrate because of possible Salmonella contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The voluntary recall of 12 products and 29 lots is an extension of the recall being conducted by NOW supplier Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, FDA officials said in a release Friday. The products being recalled include Strawberry Whey Protein, lot 1125277; Vanilla Whey Protein Economy, lot 1066010 and Va... Read Full Story

TEHRAN, July 3 (UPI) -- Iranian authorities indicated Friday they planned to put some members of the British Embassy staff in Tehran on trial, officials said. Nine staff members were seized after the unrest sparked by Iran's disputed presidential elections on June 12. Some were released but the number still detained was unclear. Iran accused the Embassy staffers of fomenting and orchestrating protests, The New York Times said. Pro-democracy Iranians, however, said they were caused by a wide... Read Full Story