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PM has no plans to attend Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies (World, 21 articles)
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China's Ambassador to London will be the prime target of pro-Tibet protests tomorrow as the Olympic torch is carried through the city to promote the Beijing Games. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has urged Gordon Brown to boycott this summer's Olympic opening ceremony in protest at China's human rights record. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government hasn't discussed boycotting the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics over human rights concerns, but that he does not plan to attend. A group of French athletes wants to wear a badge emblazoned with the words "For a better world" at the Beijing Olympics to show support for human rights in Tibet. How does the Olympic flame remain burning, even on a plane? When the Olympic torch is paraded through London on Sunday, all eyes will be on stars like Dame Kelly Holmes and cricketer Kevin Pietersen. French athletes and officials promised dissent over Chinese policy after the torch reaches Europe, saying that athletes carrying the torch through Paris would wear badges celebrating free expression. At least two people were killed in a clash between protesters and police in an area of western China that borders on Tibet, state media and human rights groups reported Tuesday.
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Mugabe foes claim victory in Zimbabwe elections - (World, 33 articles)
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The party's top leaders met to decide how to react to election results that have yet to be announced, six days after the presidential poll. While official presidential election results have not yet been released, independent observers had projected a runoff, saying Tsvangirai won the most votes, but not the 50 percent plus one vote necessary for an outright victory. Earlier, Mugabe apparently launched his campaign for an expected runoff presidential ballot even before the official results of Saturday's election were announced, with state media portraying the opposition as divided and controlled by former colonial ruler Britain.
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Nato, Russia agree on transit for Afghanistan (World, 34 articles)
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Expansion of the alliance to Russia's borders "would be taken in Russia as a direct threat to the security of our country". ZAGREB, CROATIA President Bush told a NATO summit that the United States would increase its number of troops in Afghanistan, administration officials said Friday, as the president sought to assure partners of Washington's long-term commitment to the campaign. NATO leaders worried about the "increasing threat" of missile proliferation have endorsed the U.S. plan to build a missile defence shield in eastern Europe, officials say.
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Al-Sadr offers to help Iraqi security forces (World, 20 articles)
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Much of the increase was a result of the fighting between Iraqi government forces and Shiite militiamen in the southern city of Basra. In a dramatic reversal, Iraq's prime minister ordered a nationwide freeze Friday on Iraqi raids against Shiite militants, bowing to demands by anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr only one day after promising to expand the crackdown to Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued the order after al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia fought government troops last week in Basra and elsewhere, hinted at retaliation if Iraqi security forces continue to arrest his followers.
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Protesters deplore Dutch lawmaker's anti-Muslim film - (World, 5 articles)
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The same image appears at the end of film, except that the fuse is lit and a clock counts down the seconds, then fades into blackness broken by flashes of lightning. Elsewhere in the film, a hand turns a page of the Quran as the screen darkens and the sound of tearing paper is heard. The film concludes with a scrolling text that says the West defeated the Nazis and communism, and now must defeat an Islam that " wants to dominate, subject and seeks to destroy our Western civilization.
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Bomb plot suspects had other targets in mind, London court told (World, 11 articles)
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In the second day of the trial of the eight men on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and acts of terrorism, prosecutors presented surveillance of a "bomb factory" the men allegedly set up in a run-down London apartment. Prosecutor Peter Wright showed footage from videos alleged to have been made by six of eight British men accused of the massive airline plot, saying the men believed the videos would be discovered following their simultaneous suicide missions. Eight British men planned to set off homemade bombs aboard at least seven airliners flying over the Atlantic to the United States and Canada, hoping to kill hundreds in a mammoth terror attack, a prosecutor said Thursday as their trial opened.
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Cowen looks certain to succeed Ahern (World, 8 articles)
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Political analysts said Ahern and his allies feared the probe could affect the outcome of Ireland's coming referendum vote on a new European Union treaty, and possibly local council and European Parliament elections next year. The Belfast Telegraph reports on the story of a girl who was allegedly "snatched from Northern Ireland by her father" and spent most of her life abroad. The Republic of Ireland's Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, has formally put his name forward for the leadership of Fianna Fail.
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North Korea threatens South with 'sea of fire' - (World, 10 articles)
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Such rhetoric by North Korea at times of increased tensions is not rare, and it comes just two days before a scheduled visit to South Korea by the chief U.S. negotiator in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks. In a statement sent to the South, a North Korean general threatened that his country would take unspecified "military countermeasures" against its neighbor, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. North Korea was responding to a Defense Ministry message Wednesday asking the communist North to stop trying to provoke the South, saying Seoul was ready for dialogue to promote peace.
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France waiting on FARC in Colombia hostage mission (World, 8 articles)
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BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) A French-led humanitarian mission faced an uncertain future Friday in its efforts to deliver medical assistance to a high-profile hostage in the Colombian jungle French President Nicolas Sarkozy would travel to Colombia's border with Venezuela to free a French-Colombian hostage, his foreign minister has said. Bernard Kouchner said France was still waiting for a direct response from Farc rebels about a mission to aid Ingrid Betancourt, who is seriously ill.
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Cajun Rice Pilaf is a snap in a rice cooker (World, 6 articles)
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The rise in prices - 50 per cent in two weeks - threatens upheaval and has resulted in riots and soldiers overseeing supplies in some emerging countries, where the grain is a staple food for about 3bn people. The increase also risks stoking further inflation in emerging countries, which have been suffering the impact of record oil prices and the rise in price of other agricultural commodities - including wheat, maize and vegetable oil - in the last year. Kamal Nath, India's trade minister, said the government would crack down on hoarding of essential commodities to keep a lid on food prices.
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Serbia Outraged at Haradinaj Acquittal (World, 4 articles)
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The U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled on Thursday that there was not enough evidence to convict former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj of murder, torture and rape of Serbs and non-Albanians during the Kosovo war. Haradinaj was exonerated of responsibility and of a conspiracy to drive ethnic Serbs from Kosovo to seize complete control for ethnic Albanians. ROME The most senior Kosovo Albanian to be prosecuted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal was cleared Thursday of all counts involving the murder and torture of Serb civilians, a verdict that quickly inflamed passions across the Balkans.
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Aide to Israeli security minister shot near Gaza (World, 7 articles)
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A delegation of Canadians with an Israeli cabinet minister came under fire near the Gaza Strip Friday morning, escaping injury in an attack that left one Israeli wounded. Visiting a crossing between the southern West Bank and Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the checkpoints block militants and are vital to Israel's security. Dozens of other people were at the site at the time, Cabinet Minister Avi Dichter said, but no one else was hurt.
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Communist leader backs Berlusconi on Alitalia (World, 6 articles)
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Divisions that plagued Italy's centre-left coalition during its cut-short two years in power are widening further in its last days over the Alitalia crisis. With just over a week before Italians go to the polls , Fausto Bertinotti, speaker of parliament and leader of Communist Refoundation, finds himself completely at odds with his partners in government. Loss-making Alitalia, 49.9 per cent owned by the state, is trying to rescue takeover talks between trade unions and Air France-KLM, which collapsed on Wednesday.
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ABC News: Diana Inquest: Jury Considers Verdict (World, 5 articles)
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The second issue for the six women and five men is whether the paparazzi who chased the princess around Paris bear a heavy responsibility for her death and the death of her boyfriend Dodi Fayed. Philip was taken to the hospital yesterday evening by private car after suffering from a cold for three or four days without showing signs of improvement, the palace said. Another Buckingham Palace spokesman said Philip walked into the hospital without assistance and spent today working on his correspondence from his hospital bed.
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Pope to visit N.Y. synagogue led by Holocaust survivor (World, 4 articles)
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Born in Poland on May 18, 1920, Karol Wojtyla (pronounced voy-TIH-wah) was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI, who died in 1523. During his first papal trip to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will visit a synagogue led by a rabbi who survived the Holocaust, U.S. bishops said Thursday. Benedict will make a brief stop April 18 at Manhattan's Park East Synagogue, whose leader, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, lived under Nazi occupation in Budapest and emigrated to the U.S. in 1947.
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Chavez nationalizes cement industry (World, 4 articles)
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CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez's government justified its plans to nationalize the cement industry Friday by accusing foreign-owned cement companies of restricting supply to boost local prices while boosting exports to maximize profits. Industry Minister Rodolfo Sanz said the foreign-owned companies that dominate cement making in Venezuela have been " producing below their capacity so supplies don't increase, exporting their production and creating domestic market shortages. " There is definitely nothing more to do than condemn this action Carstens told a news conference in Mexico.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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