The state Senate yesterday unanimously passed an extraordinary resolution asking Senator Dianne Wilkerson to resign immediately, following the allegations that she accepted eight bribes worth $23,500 in an FBI undercover operation.

She promptly declined, with her campaign issuing a statement last night indicating that she has no intention of resigning and will defiantly continue her write-in campaign to save a seat she has held for 15 years.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/10/31/wilkerson_rejects_senates_call_to_quit/

****************************

The UN says it has credible reports that camps sheltering 50,000 displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been destroyed.

Reports suggest the camps were forcibly emptied and looted before being burned, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said.

Aid groups say they are struggling to reach an estimated 250,000 people in the region fleeing fierce fighting between government and rebel forces.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7702099.stm

*****************

The rate of new diabetes cases nearly doubled in the United States in the last 10 years, with the highest levels in the South, the government said yesterday in its first state-by-state review of new diagnoses.

The highest rate was in West Virginia, where about 13 in 1,000 adults were diagnosed with the disease. The lowest was in Minnesota, where the rate is 5 in 1,000.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/31/diabetes_rate_doubled_in_last_10_years/