of Liberty to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam; this rebellion would be called the.... well, by this time the press lost interest and so this is probably the first you heard about this, for as we know, it was only the hippies and Jane Fonda who protested the war, right(?)

Boxing Day is observed in Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries. The name comes from the old custom of servants and other functionaries carrying boxes for Christmas gratuities or bonuses.

Kwanzaa, or "first fruit," a modern, seven-day-long celebration by African-American families of their heritage and ancestry, begins today.The west's strategy in Afghanistan has been thrown into disarray after the Taliban said they had suspended preliminary peace talks with the US, and the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, called for coalition troops to retreat to their bases and end patrols through Afghan villages.

In statements released within minutes of each other on Thursday, the main opponent and main partner of Nato-led forces in Afghanistan trampled on military and political blueprints that the coalition had hoped might allow them to exit the country without leaving it in chaos.

"I'm really shocked, these are two pieces of very bad news," said one senior western diplomat in Kabul. "It's probably the bleakest day of my time here in Afghanistan."

The mission has suffered a series of setbacks as a result of demonstrations against