Challenges In The News 07/15/08

First it went after drug dealers, then booze and car theft. Now the Palestinian movement Hamas, which seized power in Gaza a year ago, is taking on another challenge to its self-styled Islamist rule -- Internet pornography.

The new iPhone is built for business and that makes it a real challenge to the BlackBerry and other corporate cellphone systems for the first time, tech analysts say.

Journalists keen to shed the professional stereotype of overweight smokers tied to their desks can now join a running challenge. David Waddington, a reporter with the North Wales Pioneer, has thrown down the gauntlet to four types of reporters keen to prove they're the fittest.

Patients receiving treatment at the Mater Dei?s Renal Unit were paid an unusual visit Sunday morning by some 35 cyclists training for the annual HSBC Lifecycle Challenge from Lourdes in France to Casablanca in Morocco between August 14 and 25. The challenge, which this year marks its 10th anniversary, is supported by HSBC Life Assurance which committed ?20,000 for renal patients at Mater Dei.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is confronting another challenge: whittling down what is believed to be the largest presidential campaign debt in history.

THE SUPREME COURT yesterday ruled wisely that not every personnel decision made by the government should be subject to constitutional challenge.

After much urging on the part of public transportation stakeholders, Minister of Works and Transport Dr. Earl Deveaux confirmed that the government will initiate a 100-day challenge to help transform the public transportation system in The Bahamas.

Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, faces a new challenge to his authority. Thousands of lawyers and other activists are headed to the capital Islamabad for a rally this week. They will demand that Musharraf resign and bring back the judges he fired last year. Protests calling for the reinstatement of judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf are the first major challenge to Pakistan's new coalition government. Pakistan's new ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, says there is consensus that the judiciary should be restored, but disagreement on how to do it.

Larry Pontbriant’s father said the 60 people who took part in the fitness challenge Sunday may save someone’s life someday.

Al Franken, a longtime Democratic activist better known for his career as a comic entertainer, won the endorsement of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party on Saturday for what is expected to be a competitive challenge against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in this November's general election.

Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said Friday he won't challenge the candidacies of five local office-holders who are seeking re-election.