Monday, August 25 in the news....
- At 50, the queen of pop, Madonna, has kicked off her international 'Sticky and Sweet' tour. It is being billed as the largest menopause support group counselling session ever.
- The death of 10 French soldiers in an ambush by insurgents in Afghanistan has stoked a cry at home for France to rethink its commitment to the seven-year mission there and bring its troops home. Analysts say it may end up being the most predictable outcome of a military event ever in recorded human history.
- Lisa Leslie and the US women's basketball team were once again too good for Australia at the Olympics, winning a fourth straight gold medal. There were no drug scandals or questions of age like the Chinese gymnasts to mar the sport, although some questioned whether some of the US team were formerly men.
- Islamic militants said Saturday they had seized control of Somalia's third largest city after three days of running battles. The fighting subsided when both sides ran out of food.
- An Italian priest and theologian said Sunday he is organizing an online beauty pageant for nuns to give them more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour. The nuns, for their part, want to fight the stereotype they can't be superficial and materialistic in catering to the lowest common denominator instincts of men.
