For those who must know first
AFP – Rebels celebrated Thursday after driving Moamer Kadhafi’s forces out of the port city of Misrata, as the Libyan strongman reportedly made his first public appearance in two weeks.
Read More: Libya rebels drive Kadhafi forces out of Misrata
(AFP)
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Reuters – Canada’s finance minister warned on Wednesday that countries need to get their fiscal houses in order, saying that markets would act if politicians failed to do so.
Read More: Flaherty urges governments to tackle fiscal woes
(Reuters)
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OneWorld.net – May 9 (OneWorld.net) – Two contrasting narratives on Africa’s fragile economic development will confront heads of state gathering in Turkey for a critical UN conference on the world’s “Least Developed Countries” which starts today.
Read More: Mixed messages out of Africa
(OneWorld.net)
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AP – A Venezuelan man accused of being a major international drug trafficker was arraigned Wednesday on charges including money laundering, drug trafficking and hired killings.
Read More: Reputed drug kingpin Makled arraigned in Venezuela
(AP)
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AFP – International Cricket Council (ICC) chiefs believe floodlit, day/night Tests could take place in the next few years but insist more work needs to be done on the ball before they give the go-ahead.
Read More: ICC say Tests can go day/night if ball alright
(AFP)
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AP – Australian police charged a man with people smuggling Thursday in connection with a deadly boat crash on a remote island that killed 48 asylum seekers.
Read More: Man charged after refugee boat crash in Australia
(AP)
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AP – Pressing to break a two-month siege, rebels in the port city of Misrata said they had captured the local airport and pushed Moammar Gadhafi’s forces ever further from the city’s western outskirts.
Read More: Rebels: Gadhafi forces pushed back from Misrata
(AP)
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The Christian Science Monitor – It was in a grim Soviet-era complex on the outskirts of Tallinn, Estonia, that a quiet high-tech revolution bubbled. In the research park where the USSR secretly assembled its first computer and designed its first space mission, a group of young Estonian computer buffs launched Skype and ushered in a communications revolution.
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Reuters – A rare earthquake rocked the ancient town of Lorca in southeastern Spain on Wednesday causing homes to collapse, damaging historic churches and killing at least 10 people.
Read More: Earthquake rocks Spanish town killing 10 people
(Reuters)
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 msnbc.com |
Spanish officials put earthquake death toll at 8
San Jose Mercury News AP People spend the night outside their homes in Lorca, Spain, in the early hours of Thursday, May 12, 2011. Two earthquakes shook southeastern Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing people, injuring dozens and causing extensive damage to … Double earthquakes kill eight in southern Spain Spain's surprise quakes were deadly shallow Two quakes rattle Spain, killing 10, hurting dozens |
Read More: Spanish officials put earthquake death toll at 8 – San Jose Mercury News
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 Los Angeles Times |
Uganda's anti-gay bill is far from dead
The Guardian Demonstrators protest outside the Ugandan embassy in London after the anti-homosexuality bill was tabled in the Kampala parliament in 2009. Photograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images The infamous Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, which earlier this week … Ugandan rejects gay death clause Uganda lawmakers remove death penalty clause from anti-gay bill Uganda's anti-gay bill delayed amid outcry |
Read More: Uganda's anti-gay bill is far from dead – The Guardian
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 USA Today |
Tepco: Fukushima Fuel Rods Are Fully Exposed
Bloomberg The No. 1 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. Source: Air Photo Service via Bloomberg A worker measures the radiation dose inside the No. … Tokyo to finalize aid plan for troubled nuclear operator New water leaks at Japan nuclear plant New water leaks at Japan nuclear plant |
Read More: Tepco: Fukushima Fuel Rods Are Fully Exposed – Bloomberg
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Reuters – Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday he expected almost all of the country’s provinces to eliminate their budget deficits by 2015, the same target the federal government has set for itself.
Read More: Focus on deficits, Flaherty tells Canada provinces
(Reuters)
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Reuters – Russian lawmakers said they could approve a nuclear arms reduction pact that is crucial to the “reset” in ties with the United States as early as Friday if a successful U.S. Senate vote left the terms of the treaty intact.
Read More: Russian Duma could ratify START within days
(Reuters)
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AFP – Bomb blasts in the Chilean and Swiss embassies in Rome injured two staffers in attacks that officials said may have been carried out by anarchists like the ones behind a similar plot in Greece.
Read More: Bomb blasts hit Swiss, Chilean embassies in Rome
(AFP)
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OneWorld.net – BHUBANESWAR, Dec 22 (IPS) – Just two years ago, Ratha Majhi was at his witsâ end trying to
eke out a decent living from his modest vegetable farm.
Read More: Wonder Irrigation Pump Goes a Long Way
(OneWorld.net)
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Time.com – Nationalist groups targeting ethnic minorities seek to turn Russian soccer fans into their shock troops, which could wreck the country’s plans to host the world’s premier sports event in 2018
Read More: Racist Violence Threatens Russia's World Cup Plans
(Time.com)
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Time.com – The Israelis may not agree, but the U.S.-backed Prime Minister of the West Bank believes that the logic of the institutions he’s building will bring sovereign independence by next summer
Read More: Peace Talks Stall, But Palestinians' Fayyad Conjures a State
(Time.com)
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AP – One month after a deadly exchange of artillery fire, the two Koreas ramped up their rhetoric, with South Korea’s president pledging unsparing retaliation if attacked again and a top North Korean official threatening a “sacred” nuclear war if provoked.
Read More: War rhetoric rises between North and South Korea
(AP)
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The Christian Science Monitor – As an unseasonable freeze settles over much of Europe, even the Continent’s balmier southern climates are suffering. But their freeze relates to cash, not the cold.
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AP – A Palestinian medic says the Israeli army shot and killed a shepherd near Gaza’s border with Israel.
Read More: Palestinian medic: Israel kills Gaza shepherd
(AP)
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 The Guardian |
Preparations under way for Sudan vote
CNN International A resident of the Southern Sudan village of Nyal receives his voting card from a referendum worker at a local school. (CNN) — A plane carrying thousands of ballots has landed in Southern Sudan ahead of a pivotal referendum there … Independence Referendum Ballots Arrive in Sudan Yearender: Worry grips Sudan as new year looms Bashir: Sharia law will be strengthened if South Sudan votes to secede |
Read More: Preparations under way for Sudan vote – CNN International
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 Kansas City Star |
Romanian jumps from Parliament balcony to protest budget cuts
USA Today Protesting austerity measures, a Romanian public-television technician jumped off a balcony in Parliament today during a speech by the country's prime minister. The man, who has an autistic son, survived the 20-foot fall, which was broadcast live on … Romania – Factors to Watch on Dec 23 Romanian Flings Himself From Parliament Balcony Man survives extreme balcony protest plunge |
Read More: Romanian jumps from Parliament balcony to protest budget cuts – USA Today
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 The Guardian |
Assange says 'high chance' he would be killed in US jail
AFP LONDON — WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange said in an interview published Thursday there was a "high chance" he would be killed in a US jail if he were to be extradited from Britain on espionage charges. The Australian is on bail in Britain fighting a bid … Julian Assange: my fate will rest in Cameron's hands if US charges me Assange: I could die in a US jail Julian Assange: 'I feel at peace' |
Read More: Assange says 'high chance' he would be killed in US jail – AFP
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The Christian Science Monitor – Kenya and Uganda are tightening security at borders, airports, and bus stations after a grenade blast Monday struck a Uganda-bound bus and killed three people at a main bus station in downtown Nairobi.
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Reuters – Fresh snow forecasts threatened to prolong chaos caused by a cold snap that could also dent German growth, and airlines and rail networks struggled to restore normal services in parts of Europe on Wednesday.
Read More: More snow forecast, cold snap to dent German growth
(Reuters)
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AP – Bolivia has formally declared its recognition of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine.
Read More: Bolivia sends formal letter recognizing Palestine
(AP)
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Reuters – France asked its citizens to leave Ivory Coast and the World Bank froze funding to the West African state on Wednesday, as a violent power struggle deepened between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara.
Read More: World Bank cuts Ivorian financing as crisis deepens
(Reuters)
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Reuters – Russia’s leading opposition newspaper said on Wednesday it would publish new WikiLeaks disclosures unmasking corruption among Russia’s “highest political echelons.”
Read More: Russian paper to air WikiLeaks corruption material
(Reuters)
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AFP – Snowbound European airports raced to clear a backlog of stranded passengers as better weather conditions allowed them to begin frantic efforts to get people home for Christmas.
Read More: European airports race to clear Christmas backlog
(AFP)
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The Christian Science Monitor – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and Time magazineâs Man of the Year 2010, does not spend his holidays in China like most visitors.
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AP – No decorations, no midnight Mass. Even an appearance by Santa Claus has been nixed after Iraq’s Christian leaders called off Christmas celebrations amid new al-Qaida threats on the tiny community still terrified from a bloody siege on a Baghdad church.
Read More: Iraqi churches cancel Christmas festivities
(AP)
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Time.com – As the Spanish government forces striking air-traffic controllers back to work, the controllers face public rage, demands of compensation and possible jail time. But is the state’s stance just a way of diverting attention from the nation’s sorry economy?
Read More: After the Strike, Spain's Air-Traffic Controllers Face a Backlash
(Time.com)
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 CBC.ca |
Senate approves New START treaty and help for 9/11 first responders
Los Angeles Times The passage of the nuclear arms treaty, help for 9/11 first responders and the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' has some Republicans grumbling that the Democrats have the upper hand as the lame-duck session ends. New York senators Kirsten Gillibrand … United States Ratifies Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia Senate approves nuclear arms pact US Senate votes for Russian nuclear arms treaty |
Read More: Senate approves New START treaty and help for 9/11 first responders – Los Angeles Times
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 msnbc.com |
Former Argentine dictator sentenced to life
CNN International By the CNN Wire Staff (CNN) — Former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla was convicted and sentenced to life in prison by a federal court Wednesday for human rights abuses during his rule. Videla was among the coup leaders who overthrew … Former Argentine dictator jailed for life Former Argentine Dictator Videla Jailed For Life Argentine junta leader sentenced to life in prison |
Read More: Former Argentine dictator sentenced to life – CNN International
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 The Guardian |
Pope's Christmas Eve address a scoop for the BBC's Today programme
The Guardian The BBC hailed a historic coup in securing Pope Benedict XVI to deliver the Christmas Eve message on Radio 4's Thought for the Day. The pontiff recorded his first scripted radio or television address in Rome today, for the Today programme's religious … Pope records Thought For The Day Pope to deliver Thought for the Day on Christmas Eve Pope to deliver Christmas message on the BBC |
Read More: Pope's Christmas Eve address a scoop for the BBC's Today programme – The Guardian
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OneWorld.net – SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 18 (New America Media) – More than 400 homeless veterans from across Northern California relaxed
in comfort at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. The occasion: a âStand Down,â where the homeless veterans were given access to good food, clean clothes, showers and beds.
Read More: Standing Up for Homeless Vets at Stand Downs
(OneWorld.net)
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The Christian Science Monitor – Savoring the diplomatic victory of renewed direct peace talks announced last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet today that a peace treaty with the Palestinians would be “a difficult thing, but it is possible.”
Read the First Comment
AP – Dozens of biologists and environmental activists rescued two freshwater dolphins Sunday among nine that have been trapped in a river by low water levels for more than a month.
Read More: 2 of 9 trapped dolphins rescued in Bolivia river
(AP)
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AP – For 33 men found alive after 17 days trapped deep in a copper and gold mine, the toughest challenge now may be preserving their sanity during the months it may take to carve a tunnel big enough for them to get out.
Read More: 33 miners in Chile are alive, but stuck for months
(AP)
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AFP – Rwanda’s capital is changing from a sleepy backwater where most things closed at 9:00 pm to a future Singapore with gleaming office blocks and all-night shopping.
Read More: Kigali — from sleepy backwater to Africa's Singapore
(AFP)
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AP – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday inaugurated the country’s first domestically built unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an “ambassador of death” to Iran’s enemies.
Read More: Iran inaugurates nation's first unmanned bomber
(AP)
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Time.com – Australia has its first hung Parliament in 70 years, with neither the conservative Liberal-National Coalition nor the Labor Party getting the requisite 76 seats to win the national election
Read More: Australian Voters Face Hung Parliament in Close Election
(Time.com)
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AP – NATO says roadside bombs have killed two members of the international security force in Afghanistan, including one American.
Read More: NATO: Bombs kill 2 foreign troops in Afghanistan
(AP)
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 CBC.ca |
Philippine Hostage-Taker Releases 7 of 25 Captives
Voice of America Photo: AP Hostage negotiators, left and right, talk to foreign tourists taken hostage by Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza after securing their release at Manila's Rizal Park Monday Aug. 23, 2010. An ex-policeman who hijacked a tour bus in the … Dismissed police inspector takes tourist bus hostage in Philippines 8th passenger released from tourist bus hijacked in Manila Manila police: Optimistic hostages to be released 0700 GMT |
Read More: Philippine Hostage-Taker Releases 7 of 25 Captives – Voice of America
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 Daily Mail |
Cairo museum officials admit $50m Van Gogh Poppy Flowers still missing
Daily Mail By Mail Foreign Service The fate of a £32million Van Gogh masterpiece stolen from a Cairo museum remained a mystery last night. The 12in-square painting of red and yellow flowers was cut from its frame at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum on Saturday. … Van Gogh Painting Remains Missing No alarm at Egypt Van Gogh museum Van Gogh $55 Million `Poppy Flowers' Theft in Cairo Blamed on Lax Security |
Read More: Cairo museum officials admit $50m Van Gogh Poppy Flowers still missing – Daily Mail
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 The Hindu |
Ottawa to match aid for Pakistani flood victims
Globe and Mail Villagers, displaced by floods, lead their livestock through flood waters on August 22, 2010 in the village of Baseera near Muzaffargarh in Punjab, Pakistan. The country's agricultural heartland has been devastated, with rice, corn and wheat crops … Pakistan appeal donations to be revealed Feds to match Pakistan relief donations Economic outlook dire for Pakistan flood victims |
Read More: Ottawa to match aid for Pakistani flood victims – Globe and Mail
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Reuters – A fire at a Toronto transformer station knocked out power to much of the city on Monday, snarling traffic in the midst of a blistering heatwave, but appearing to have little impact on financial markets.
Read More: Toronto hit by blackout after transformer fire
(Reuters)
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AFP – India’s largest phone operator Bharti Airtel said Tuesday it will invest 600 million dollars in Nigeria’s mobile market following a huge recent acquisition deal spanning 15 African nations.
Read More: India's Bharti Airtel plans heavy investment in Nigeria
(AFP)
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Time.com – Bronislaw Komorowski’s victory in Poland’s presidential election opens the way for stronger ties with the E.U.
Read More: Poland: Komorowski's Election Win May Help Boost E.U. Ties
(Time.com)
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