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| World News |
| Posts from June 2012 |
Tehran and London formalize embassy closures
by AP
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posted Jun 28 2012 7:40AM
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran says that it has agreed with Britain to formalize the closure of diplomatic offices in each other's capitals.
Both countries shut down their diplomatic missions after Iranian hardliners stormed Britain's embassy in Tehran last year.
A Thursday report from the state IRNA news agency quotes Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying that the Omani embassy in London will now handle Iran's interests, while Sweden embassy in Tehran will do the same for Britain.
In London, Britain's foreign ministry could not immediately confirm Thursday whether the nations had finalized an agreement.
Earlier in May, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that he is eager to attend the Olympic Games in London to support Iranian athletes, but that Britain doesn't want to host him.
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Egypt's ex-oil minister jailed for 15 years
by AP
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posted Jun 28 2012 7:38AM
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CAIRO (AP) - A court has sentenced Egypt's former oil minister and a fugitive businessman who was close to ousted leader Hosni Mubarak for 15 years after convicting them of corruption in a case involving natural gas exports to Israel.
Former oil minister Sameh Fahmy and businessman Hussein Salem were convicted of harming the country's interests by exporting natural gas to Israel at prices below world market levels. Salem is on the run and was tried in absentia.
Thursday's sentencing is the latest in a series of cases against former regime figures following Mubarak's ouster on Feb. 11, 2011.
Mubarak was acquitted of a similar charge but was later sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent protesters' killings during the uprising.
Egypt and Israel are bound by a 1979 peace treaty.
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UN court acquits Karadzic of 1 genocide count
by AP
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posted Jun 28 2012 7:37AM
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has acquitted former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic of one of the two genocide charges he faces at the halfway stage of his long-running trial.
Judges say prosecutors did not present enough evidence to support the genocide count covering mass killings, expulsions and persecution by Serb forces of Muslims and Croats from Bosnian towns early in the country's 1992-95 war.
However judges refused Thursday to dismiss 10 more charges, including a genocide count covering Karadzic's alleged involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men. His trial will continue.
The U.N. court's rules allow suspects to seek acquittal after prosecutors wrap up their case. Earlier this month Karadzic asked judges to dismiss all 11 counts against him, saying prosecutors had failed to prove them.
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Iranian: Israeli agents interrogated me in Kenya
by AP
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posted Jun 27 2012 7:51AM
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - One of two Iranians facing charges related to accusations the two planned to carry out an attack with explosives in Kenya says he was interrogated by Israeli agents while in detention.
Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad also told a Kenyan court on Wednesday the Israeli agent tortured and injected him with chemicals without his consent.
Police prosecutor Daniel Musangi denied the accusations that suspects were tortured. Magistrate Paul Biwott said the allegations were serious and ordered an investigation.
Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi were arrested last week in the coastal city of Mombasa with 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of explosives. Prosecutors contend the two intended to carry out an attack that would cause "grievous harm."
An Israeli-owned hotel was the subject of a bomb attack on the Kenyan coast in 2002.
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Locals, migrant workers clash in southern China
by AP
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posted Jun 27 2012 6:42AM
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Beijing (AP) - Police in southern China say they have quelled a riot that broke out following a dispute between a migrant worker and local resident.
Chinese media reports said hundreds joined in the unrest that flared Monday in the Guangdong province city of Zhongshan. More than two dozen people were reportedly hurt. It wasn't clear whether anyone was arrested.
Police said in an online statement posted Wednesday that no one had been killed or badly hurt. The statement says one 15-year-old from the inland Chongqing region had been injured, but his injuries were not serious.
Elsewhere in Guangdong, villagers attacked police and local officials on Tuesday over plans to sell their farmland to developers with little compensation. Such complaints are common in the Chinese countryside.
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Most of Kashmir shut for 3rd day over shrine fire
by AP
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posted Jun 27 2012 6:41AM
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SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Shops and businesses are closed for a third straight day across much of Indian-controlled Kashmir as residents protest the fiery destruction of a 200-year-old Muslim shrine.
Thousands of government forces are patrolling streets in the disputed Himalayan region and have ordered residents to stay indoors in parts of the main city of Srinagar.
No separatist group had called for a shutdown Wednesday, but public buses and taxis have stayed off the roads. Schools and most stores remained shuttered.
Indian Kashmir police Chief Rajendra Kumar says the patrols and curfews are intended to prevent anti-India demonstrations.
The blaze that destroyed the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Srinagar on Monday sparked angry protests by thousands demanding Kashmir's freedom from Indian rule.
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Bomb blast kills 6 Afghan police officers
by AP
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posted Jun 25 2012 9:40AM
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Authorities say a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan has killed six police officers.
Uruzgan provincial government spokesman Abdullah Emat says the policemen were driving in a pickup truck through the province's Charcheno district on Sunday when the vehicle struck the explosive. He did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, the Italian defense ministry says an Italian soldier was killed and two others were wounded in an explosion Monday in western Afghanistan.
Local police spokesman Raouf Ahmadi says the Italian soldier died when a grenade went off inside a watchtower at the base. He says the grenade apparently got dropped by accident and exploded. Ahmadi says there was no sign of an attack.
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Greek prime minister to leave hospital
by AP
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posted Jun 25 2012 9:38AM
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's new prime minister is expected to be released from hospital later in the day, after undergoing eye surgery over the weekend that will prevent him from traveling to a critical European Union summit in Brussels this week.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was recovering from an operation to repair a detached retina, and was expected to leave hospital Monday afternoon. He has appointed Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos to lead the Greek delegation at the June 28-29 summit. Avramopoulos met Monday morning with outgoing Finance Minister Giorgos Zanias, Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis and others who will accompany him to Brussels.
Meanwhile, the country's designated finance minister remains hospitalized after collapsing on Friday.
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Egypt president-elect starts consultations on team
by AP
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posted Jun 25 2012 8:11AM
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CAIRO (AP) - An aide to Egypt's president-elect says Islamist Mohammed Morsi has moved into the office once occupied by ousted leader Hosni Mubarak and has started consultations on forming his team and a new government.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman for the presidential campaign, said the 60-year-old Morsi arrived at the presidential office on Monday for official meetings and consultations.
On Sunday, Morsi was declared winner of Egypt's first presidential runoff following a tight race with Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq. The campaigns deeply polarized the country.
Morsi has said that forming a national coalition government and a widely representative presidential team was a priority.
Ali anticipates the current military-backed government could remain in a caretaker role for a while. He says forming a new one "will take time."
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Grenade attack in Kenya kills at least 3
by AP
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posted Jun 25 2012 8:10AM
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MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - Officials in Kenya say the death toll from the country's latest grenade attack has risen to three.
Police official Aggrey Adoli said Monday that anti-terror police have taken one suspect into custody for the Sunday grenade and gunfire attack on a bar outside the coastal city of Mombasa. Adoli said there were three explosions and heavy gunfire during the attack.
Kenya's Red Cross confirmed that the death toll had risen to three overnight. Some 25 people were wounded.
Police official Elijah Rop said one of the injured people being treated at the hospital is suspected of having taken part in the attack.
Kenya has seen several grenade attacks since it sent troops into Somalia to fight al-Shabab militants last October.
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Germany rebuffs Obama's advice on euro crisis
by AP
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posted Jun 25 2012 8:09AM
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BERLIN (AP) - Germany's finance minister is rejecting U.S. President Barack Obama's calls on Europe to move faster in fighting its debt crisis, telling him to get the American deficit under control instead.
Wolfgang Schaeuble told public broadcaster ZDF in an interview late Sunday that "people are always very quick at giving others advice."
He says: "Mr. Obama should first of all take care of reducing the American deficit, which is higher than in the eurozone."
Obama and other leaders fear an escalating crisis in Europe could drag down the world economy.
The 17-nation eurozone is struggling to overhaul its institutions and streamline its decision making to restore investors' confidence. The bloc's debt relative to its economic output stands at about 80 percent, while it is about 100 percent in the U.S.
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Greece's New Government Wants to Repeal Taxes and Halt Layoffs
by Associated Press
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posted Jun 23 2012 1:08PM
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's new coalition government says it wants to repeal some taxes, halt layoffs and extend by two years the deadlines for tough austerity measures imposed under its international bailout agreement.
The policy statement issued says the coalition wants to change the deal so there will be "no more cuts to salaries and pensions" and "no more taxes." It also says the government will not carry out any public sector layoffs.
Greece has been dependent since May 2010 on funds from two international rescue loan deals with other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund. In return, Greece has made a series of deep spending cuts and tax hikes.
Whether the new government can deliver on its renegotiating pledges will depend on how they are viewed by their international creditors. Germany is the largest single contributor to Greece's bailout, and it has repeatedly said Athens must stick to its austerity targets.
Debt inspectors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF are due to return to Athens on Monday.
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No Guarantee Assange's Political Asylum Will Work
by Associated Press
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posted Jun 21 2012 6:22PM
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LONDON (AP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says there's no guarantee his bid for political asylum from Ecuador will succeed.
Assange was spending a third night inside Ecuador's London embassy on Thursday. He told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio via phone that he decided to turn to Ecuador after his native Australia refused to intervene in his planned extradition from Britain to Sweden.
He says Wikileaks, which specializes in revealing government secrets, had "heard that the Ecuadorians were sympathetic in relation to my struggles and the struggles of the organization with the United States."
Assange indicated he doesn't know when Ecuador will decide on his case.
Assange has been fighting since 2010 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations.
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S. Africa: Rwandan general accuses Kagame
by AP
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posted Jun 21 2012 9:36AM
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) - A Rwandan general claims Rwandan President Paul Kagame ordered the killing that sparked the east African country's 1994 genocide.
Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa made the accusation Thursday as he testified in a Johannesburg courtroom about an attack on his own life in 2010.
Asked why the three Rwandans and three Tanzanians on trial may have wanted him dead, Nyamwasa, who is Rwanda's former military chief, began to describe a breakdown in his relationship with Kagame. Nyamwasa fled in 2010 to South Africa, where he was shot. Rwanda's government has denied involvement in the attempted murder.
Nyamwasa testified: "The president of Rwanda ordered the killing of the former president of Rwanda, President Habyarimana."
A missile brought down the plane carrying Habyarimana, a Hutu, in 1994. The current Rwandan government blames Hutu extremists. But Hutu militants blamed the crash on Tutsis, sparking the genocide.
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Vatican steps up condemnation of Syria violence
by AP
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posted Jun 21 2012 9:34AM
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VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican is stepping up its condemnation of violence in Syria with Pope Benedict XVI calling for urgent humanitarian aid to reach residents.
Benedict also demanded Thursday that those responsible for the bloodshed end it, warning that continued violence will have "strongly negative consequences for the country and entire region."
Benedict, who is due to visit Lebanon in September, spoke to groups working with Eastern rite Catholic churches, many of which work in the region.
The Vatican had been relatively silent at the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime, mirroring the general sentiment of Syrian Christians who largely stuck by Assad out of fear of the Muslim hard-liners in the uprising against his rule.
But the Vatican has become increasingly vocal in its condemnation of the bloodshed.
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Jordanian TV reporter abducted in the Philippines
by AP
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posted Jun 21 2012 9:32AM
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AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan says a veteran TV reporter who had interviewed Osama bin Laden months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, has been kidnapped earlier this month in the Philippines.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sabah Rafei said on Thursday that Jordanian authorities have information through "contacts" that Baker Atyani was abducted. She declined to elaborate.
It was the first official confirmation of the kidnapping. Rafei says efforts are being exerted to "secure Mr. Atyani's safe release."
Police in the Philippines said last week that Atyani disappeared June 12 with four other people on a restive southern Philippine island where Muslim militants are active. There were reports he traveled there for interviews with Abu Sayyaf militants and foreign hostages for a TV documentary.
The 43-year-old Atyani is Al-Arabiya's TV bureau chief for Southeast Asia.
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Mubarak Said to Be in a Coma, Off Life Support
by AP
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posted Jun 20 2012 9:19AM
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<VIDEO> Security officials say Hosni Mubarak is in a coma but off of life support and his heart and other vital organs are functioning.
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Deadly Bus Crash Overnight in China
by AP
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posted Jun 20 2012 9:10AM
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<VIDEO> Rescue crews worked to get people out of wreckage left when a bus dropped into a ravine in eastern China early Wednesday. State media reported at least 17 people were killed and 28 hurt.
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Obama Confident Europe Will Resolve Debt Crisis
by AP
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posted Jun 20 2012 8:59AM
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<VIDEO> President Barack Obama says European leaders `grasp the seriousness' of their debt crisis and are moving with `heightened sense of urgency' to find a solution.
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US: 3 Russian Ships to Head to Syria
by AP
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posted Jun 20 2012 8:53AM
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<VIDEO> A Pentagon official says the U.S. believes three Russian ships carrying supplies and possibly personnel will be departing for Syria and the U.S. has no reason to believe they are headed anywhere other than Russia's naval base in Tartus.
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Raw Video: Mass Protest in Tahrir Square
by AP
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posted Jun 20 2012 8:49AM
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<VIDEO> Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been protesting in Tahrir Square, Cairo on Tuesday. The campaign of Hosni Mubarak's former prime minister said he has won Egypt's presidential election, not the rival Muslim Brotherhood's candidate.
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Raw Video: G20 Focused on Job Creation
by AP
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posted Jun 19 2012 8:58AM
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<VIDEO> Leaders at the G20 Summit are agreeing to to make economic growth and job creation their top priority. The leaders are expressing this in a draft communique, to be released Tuesday at the end of the G20 summit in Mexico.
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Body Parts Suspect Back in Canada
by AP
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posted Jun 19 2012 8:57AM
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<VIDEO> Canadian porn star and accused killer Luke Magnotta has been returned from Germany to Canada. He's accused of killing and dismembering a man, and mailing the body parts to Canadian political parties and schools.
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Raw Video: Obama Arrives for G20 Summit
by AP
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posted Jun 18 2012 9:50AM
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<VIDEO> President Obama arrived in Mexico for the G20 Summit. The President is expected to push Europe to take more decisive action to deal with its debt crisis.
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Greek Election Boosts Worldwide Markets
by AP
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posted Jun 18 2012 9:49AM
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<VIDEO> Pro-Bailout Parties gained enough votes in Greece's Sunday election to form a governing coalition. The results indicate that Greek voters want to stay in the Eurozone. The news boosted international markets.
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Raw Video: Pro-Bailout Parties Win in Greece
by AP
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posted Jun 18 2012 9:43AM
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<VIDEO> Fears of an imminent Greek exit from Europe's joint currency receded Sunday after the conservative New Democracy came first in critical elections and pro-bailout parties won enough Parliamentary seats to form a joint government.
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Raw Video: Shelling Rocks Syria's Homs
by AP
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posted Jun 18 2012 9:02AM
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<VIDEO> Syrian troops intensified shelling of rebel-held neighbourhoods in Homs on Sunday, according to activists who are pressing for the evacuation of endangered families from the restive area.
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Raw Video: Kidnapping by Mexican Police
by AP
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posted Jun 15 2012 5:17AM
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<VIDEO> Mexican prosecutors have released surveillance videos that show five city policemen kidnapping three men from a hotel in western Mexico. The men later were found asphyxiated and beaten to death.
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Raw Video: Deadly Bus Crash in Mexico
by AP
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posted Jun 14 2012 9:15AM
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<VIDEO> At least 11 people, including at least two children, were killed in Mexico on Wednesday and more than 34 were injured when a bus on a school field trip crashed into a house and then split in half.
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Car Bombs Targeting Shiites Kill 65 in Iraq
by AP
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posted Jun 13 2012 9:19AM
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<VIDEO> A wave of car bombs struck Shiite pilgrims in several cities across Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 65 people and wounding more than 200 in one of the deadliest attacks since U.S. troops withdrew from the country.
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Funnel cloud caught on tape over Venice, Italy
by CBS
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posted Jun 13 2012 7:17AM
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<VIDEO> At least one person was injured and some homes were damaged after an apparent tornado churned behind Venice, Italy's legendary canals. Scott Pelley reports.
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Amateur Video Said to Show Shelling in Homs
by AP
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posted Jun 12 2012 9:23AM
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<VIDEO> Syrian forces barraged Homs with mortar shells on Tuesday, while clashes broke out elsewhere in the country, activists said.
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Peruvians Find 14 Bodies From Helicopter Crash
by AP
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posted Jun 11 2012 8:18AM
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<VIDEO> Searchers in Peru have recovered the bodies of all 14 victims from Wednesday's helicopter crash in the snowy, remote Andes mountains, officials said.
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Raw Video: Peru Chopper Crash Victims Recovered
by AP
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posted Jun 11 2012 6:52AM
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<VIDEO> Searchers in Peru have recovered the bodies of 13 of the 14 people who died in a helicopter crash high in the Andes, officials said. Many victims were South Koreans, who were exploring sites for a possible hydroelectric plant.
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Airstrikes Hit Syrian Town of Talbiseh
by AP
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posted Jun 8 2012 9:22AM
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<VIDEO> Amateur video footage uploaded on Thursday showed what activists claimed was a Syrian army helicopter firing on a town near the restive central city of Homs.
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Panetta on Pakistan: Patience "Reaching Limits"
by AP
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posted Jun 7 2012 9:05AM
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<VIDEO> U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday pressured Pakistan to do more to root out the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani terrorist network from its territory, saying that U.S. officials are "reaching the limits of our patience."
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Sure Bet There'll Be Wagering Around Olympics
by AP
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posted Jun 7 2012 9:04AM
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<VIDEO> Britain's gambling operations _ and gambling monitors _ are gearing up for the Olympics.
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Raw Video: Body Parts Suspect Arrested in Berlin
by AP
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posted Jun 5 2012 5:24AM
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<VIDEO> A Canadian porn actor suspected of murdering and dismembering a Chinese student and mailing his body parts to Canada's top political parties was reading about himself on the Internet when he was arrested Monday at a cafe in Berlin.
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Raw Video: Fireworks Display for Diamond Jubilee
by AP
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posted Jun 5 2012 5:22AM
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<VIDEO> A spectacular fireworks display has capped a royal concert in London celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 60-year reign as British monarch.
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Brazil's President Says European Nations Must Come Together
by Associated Press
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posted Jun 4 2012 5:51PM
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SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil's president says European nations must cooperate better to exit the financial crisis they face - and they shouldn't rely on growth in developing nations for help.
President Dilma Rousseff spoke Monday in Brasilia alongside Spain's king, who is visiting Brazil leading a business delegation.
Rousseff says Brazil's message to the upcoming G20 meeting is that Europe needs to stop bickering and act in unison.
She also says getting the global economy back on track "cannot rely solely on the measures adopted by developing nations."
An expanding middle class in nations like Brazil and their demand has helped the bottom lines of many multinational companies.
Spain's King Juan Carlos says that his nation has the "commitment and determination" to shrug off the crisis and that its governing institutions are solid.
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New Vatican Docs Leaked Despite Arrest
by AP
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posted Jun 4 2012 9:55AM
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<VIDEO> More internal Vatican documents have been leaked to the press, despite the arrest of the pope's butler. The Vatican declined to comment on this latest leak.
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Syrian Leader Likens Bloody Crackdown to Surgery
by AP
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posted Jun 4 2012 6:47AM
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<VIDEO> Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has defended his government's crackdown on opponents, saying a doctor performing messy emergency surgery does not have blood on his hands if he is trying to save a patient.
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Nigerian Airplane Crashes, Killing 153 Onboard
by AP
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posted Jun 4 2012 6:42AM
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<VIDEO> A commercial airliner crashed into a densely populated neighborhood in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, killing all 153 people on board and others on the ground in the country's worst air disaster in nearly two decades.
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Panetta: US Wants More Access to Vietnam Harbor
by AP
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posted Jun 4 2012 5:24AM
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<VIDEO> U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived at a former American air and naval base at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. He is the most senior American official to go there since the war ended.
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Raw Video: River Pageant for Queen's Jubilee
by AP
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posted Jun 4 2012 5:23AM
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<VIDEO> More than 1,000 boats were to sail down the River Thames on Sunday in a flotilla tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne that organizers are calling the biggest pageant on the river for 350 years.
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Truck Carrying Sheep Flips in Australia
by AP
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posted Jun 1 2012 10:17AM
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<VIDEO> Sheep hit motorists in the Australian city of Melbourne, after a truck carrying hundreds of them them rolled on a bend and ended up hanging precariously over a highway.
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