World |
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| World News |
| Posts from January 2013 |
Raw: Deadly Protests Rock Cairo
by AP
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posted Jan 30 2013 10:19AM
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<VIDEO> Two more protesters were killed on Wednesday when they were hit with birdshot during clashes with Egyptian police near Cairo's Tahrir Square, a security official said.
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Raw: South Korea Launches Satellite Into Space
by AP
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posted Jan 30 2013 9:56AM
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<VIDEO> South Korea says it successfully launched a satellite from its own soil into space on Wednesday. The feat comes just weeks after North Korea successfully launched its own satellite.
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Death Toll on Brazilian Nightclub Fire at 234
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 29 2013 7:52PM
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SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) - A state forensics department has raised the death toll from a nightclub fire in Brazil to 234 people.
Local authorities earlier said 231 people died in the blaze, but the Rio Grande do Sul state raised the number Tuesday to account for three additional victims whose names didn't appear on the original list.
One of the victims had originally been confused with another person with a similar name. Another was identified early Sunday but didn't appear on a previous list.
The blaze broke out early Sunday at a packed nightclub in Santa Maria, a college town of about 260,000 in southern Brazil. Police say early investigations point to pyrotechnics used by a band as the likely cause of the fire.
Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation. More than 122 injured people remain hospitalized.
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Bodies Pulled from Well in Mexico are Missing Band Members
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 29 2013 7:48PM
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MEXICO CITY (AP) - A Mexican official says police have pulled 14 bodies from a well and that 12 of them have been identified as members of a musical band kidnapped by gunmen in northern Mexico last week.
Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene says police will continue to search the well Tuesday since three members are still missing.
The Kombo Kolombia band was playing at a ranch when 10 gunmen entered the warehouse Friday and forced 18 musicians and crew members into waiting vehicles.
One of the musicians escaped and led authorities to the well. Officials haven't said how the man was able to get away from his captors.
Domene told Radio Formula investigators are looking into whether the attack was vengeance by drug traffickers but wouldn't give any other details.
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U.S. Judge Awards Money in Terror Attacks on Rome and Vienna Airports
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 29 2013 7:44PM
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WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge has awarded more than $1 billion each to 26 victims - including estates and family members - of the deadly 1985 terrorist attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola issued the award against Syria. He concluded the attacks by the Abu Nidal Organization could not have taken place "without Syria's direct support."
The money includes compensatory and punitive damages, as well as interest. It will be difficult to collect, as Syria is unlikely to pay it.
Among those awarded money in the lawsuit is Victor L. Simpson, the Rome bureau chief for The Associated Press. His 11-year-old daughter, Natasha, was killed in the attack at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport. Simpson and his son Michael were injured.
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Four Detained in Connection With Brazil Fire
by AP
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posted Jan 29 2013 10:03AM
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<VIDEO> Brazilian Police have detained four people for questioning, in connection with the fire that killed more than 230 people. The Kiss nightclub had no alarm and only one exit.
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Raw: Deadly Nightclub Fire Protested in Brazil
by AP
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posted Jan 29 2013 9:51AM
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<VIDEO> A crowd of mourners held a march in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria on Monday night to demand justice for the 231 victims who died in a nightclub fire over the weekend. It was the world's worst fire of its kind in more than a decade.
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Raw: Lava Flows From Russian Volcano
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:36AM
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<VIDEO> A volcano is continuing to erupt in Russia's Far East, sending plumes of gas and ash into the sky. The Plosky Tolbachik volcano started erupting in November after lying dormant for almost 40 years.
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Raw: Lucky Escape for Motorcyclist in China
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:32AM
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<VIDEO> A motorcycle rider had a lucky escape when a truck overturned at an intersection in eastern China, narrowly missing him. Chinese media reports no one was killed or injured.
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Dramatic Rescues in Australia Floods
by AFP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:22AM
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<VIDEO> BILOELA, Australia (AFP) - (AFP) - Helicopters pluck dozens of stranded Australians to safety in dramatic rooftop rescues as severe floods sweep the northeast. A mother zips her infant son into a waterproof bag to be winched to safety by helicopter as floods surround her car at Biloela, west of Bundaberg.
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Egyptians, Police Clash Over State of Emergency
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:15AM
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<VIDEO> Egyptian protesters and police clashed on Monday, as protests continued after President Mohammed Morsi declared a state of emergency.
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Smoke Killed Most in Brazilian Fire; Arrests Made
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:05AM
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SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazilian police say they've made three arrests and are seeking a fourth person in connection with a nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.
Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said at a Monday press conference that the arrests are for investigative purposes. He says the detentions have five-day limits.
He declined to identify those arrested or the fourth person sought.
More than 230 people died early Sunday during the fire at a university party in southern Brazil. Police have said they think a band's pyrotechnics show ignited sound insulation on the ceiling, causing the blaze.
The Zero Hora newspaper quotes lawyer Jader Marques as saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, was arrested. The paper also says two band members were arrested.
Funerals began Monday in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, where the blaze took place.
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Raw: Amateur Video Shows Chaos of Brazil Fire
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 10:02AM
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<VIDEO> A blaze raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing 232 people as the air filled with deadly smoke and panicked party-goers stampeded toward the exits, police and witnesses said.
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Family Heads to Turkey to Seek Missing NY Woman
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 9:55AM
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<VIDEO> Relatives of a missing New York City woman who disappeared during a vacation to Turkey, her first trip outside the U.S., are heading to Istanbul to look for her, her brother said Sunday.
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Egypt's Morsi Declares Emergency in 3 Provinces
by AP
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posted Jan 28 2013 9:51AM
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<VIDEO> Egypt's president declared on Sunday a 30-day state of emergency and night curfew in the three Suez Canal provinces hit hardest by the wave of violence that has left more than 50 dead in three days.
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Raw: Police Clash With Protestors in Cairo
by AP
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posted Jan 25 2013 10:41AM
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<VIDEO> Egyptian riot police clash with dozens of protesters in Cairo, firing tear gas at crowds. Nearby, opposition protesters are gathering in Tahrir Square to mark the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime.
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Raw: Boy Rescued From Australian Flood
by AP
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posted Jan 25 2013 10:38AM
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<VIDEO> Australian rescue workers ventured into dangerous floodwaters on Friday, and brought a 14-year-old boy who was clinging to a tree to safety.
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Cameron: Pledges "In-Out" Referendum on EU
by AP
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posted Jan 23 2013 9:05AM
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<VIDEO> British Prime Minister David Cameron says he will offer citizens a vote on whether to leave the European Union if his party wins the next election expected in 2015.
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UK's Prince Harry Returning From Afghanistan
by AP
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posted Jan 22 2013 10:00AM
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<VIDEO> Britain's Ministry of Defence revealed late on Monday that Prince Harry is returning from a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter co-pilot with the Army Air Corps.
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Raw: Election Day in Israel, Netanyahu Votes
by AP
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posted Jan 22 2013 9:50AM
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<VIDEO> Israel is holding parliamentary elections on Tuesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in Jerusalem Tuesday morning. He's widely expected to win re-election.
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Chavez to Return to Venezuela
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 21 2013 5:22PM
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - One of Hugo Chavez's brothers says the Venezuelan president is expected to return home from Cuba in the coming days as he continues to recover nearly six weeks after undergoing cancer surgery.
Argenis Chavez is one of the president's five brothers and the president of the National Electric Corporation.
He tells The Associated Press that the president continues to recover. He said after an event Monday at the Supreme Court that the decision about when Chavez returns is up to his medical team but that he is expected to return to Venezuela in the "coming days."
The president hasn't been seen or spoken publicly since he left for Cuba on Dec. 10 for his fourth cancer-related operation.
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Teams Scour Algerian Gas Plant for Mines, Bodies
by AP
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posted Jan 21 2013 9:09AM
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<VIDEO> An Algerian security official says bomb squads scouring a gas plant where radical Islamists took dozens of foreign workers hostage have found 25 more bodies.
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Raw: Burned Out Vehicles Litter Mali Streets
by AP
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posted Jan 21 2013 8:22AM
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<VIDEO> Burned out vehicles and scattered bullets dotted the streets of a central Malian town after radical Islamists retreated following days of French airstrikes, according to video obtained Sunday.
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Raw: 2 Wounded in Greece Mall Blast
by AP
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posted Jan 21 2013 8:20AM
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<VIDEO> A bomb exploded Sunday at a shopping mall in Athens, slightly wounding two security guards, police said. Two warning phone calls were made to local media about 50 minutes before the blast, and authorities evacuated about 200 people.
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Cameron: Algeria Pursuing Terrorists
by AP
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posted Jan 18 2013 9:47AM
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<VIDEO> British Prime Minister David Cameron says Algerian forces are pursuing terrorists and possibly hostages, following an attack on a gas plant.
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Europe Joins US, Grounds Boeing 787s
by AP
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posted Jan 17 2013 9:47AM
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<VIDEO> The European Air Safety Agency is following the lead of the FAA, and grounding all Boeing 787s, amid concern about battery fires.
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Raw: Collapse of Building in Egypt Kills 14
by AP
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posted Jan 16 2013 10:18AM
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<VIDEO> Police officials say an eight-story apartment building collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria early on Wednesday, killing 14 people.
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Helicopter Crash in Central London, 2 Dead
by AP
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posted Jan 16 2013 10:15AM
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<VIDEO> London police confirm two people are dead, after a helicopter crashed during a rush hour in central London. The chopper apparently went down after hitting a construction crane on top of a building.
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All Boeing 787s in Japan Grounded
by AP
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posted Jan 16 2013 10:11AM
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<VIDEO> Japan's two major airlines grounded all of their Boeing 787s after one of the planes made an emergency landing on Wednesday.
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Rare Element Discovery Could Launch Jamaica into Tech Marketplace
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 15 2013 7:14PM
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KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Jamaica's top energy official says the Caribbean island may benefit from deposits of rare-earth elements that are key ingredients for cellphones, wind turbines and gas-saving cars.
Science, Technology, Energy & Mining Minister Philip Paulwell says Japanese researchers believe they have found "high concentrations of rare earth elements" in the country's red mud, or bauxite residues.
Paulwell says researchers from Japan's Nippon Light Metal Co. Ltd. believe it can be efficiently extracted.
He says a pilot program will establish the scope of a project and its environmental impact. The island's environment agency has already authorized the pilot program but other agencies still need to examine it.
Paulwell made the announcement Tuesday in Parliament, touting it as something that "has the potential to redefine Jamaica's economic prospects in a positive way."
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Raw: France Beefs Up Security to Prevent Attacks
by AP
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posted Jan 15 2013 9:42AM
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<VIDEO> Since the military operation in Mali began on Friday, armed French soldiers have been on guard on the subway, in train stations and at some of the world's most recognizable monuments in France.
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Raw: Train Slams Into Building Near Stockholm
by AP
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posted Jan 15 2013 9:10AM
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<VIDEO> Officials say a cleaning lady stole an empty commuter train and drove it to a suburb of Stockholm where it derailed and slammed into an apartment building. The woman suffered injuries and was arrested for suspicion of endangering the public.
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Raw: Thousands Descend on Pakistan Capital
by AP
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posted Jan 15 2013 9:02AM
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<VIDEO> Thousands of Pakistanis fed up with political leaders they say are corrupt and indifferent rallied in the Pakistani capital, as the cleric who organized the rally called for the government to resign.
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Victims of Costa Shipwreck Mark Anniversary
by AP
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posted Jan 14 2013 9:07AM
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<VIDEO> Survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck and relatives of the 32 people who died marked the first anniversary of the grounding Sunday with the unveiling of memorials to the victims, a tearful Mass in their honor and a minute of silence.
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6 Arrested in New India Bus Passenger Rape
by AP
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posted Jan 14 2013 9:05AM
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<VIDEO> Police said Sunday they have arrested 6 suspects in another gang rape of a bus passenger in India, four weeks after a brutal attack on a student on a moving bus outraged Indians and led to calls for tougher rape laws.
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Topless Vatican Protesters: 'In Gay We Trust'
by AP
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posted Jan 14 2013 8:51AM
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<VIDEO> Four women went topless in St. Peter's Square to protest the Vatican's opposition to gay marriage. The pope appeared not to have been disturbed as he delivered his traditional prayer from his studio window overlooking the piazza.
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Bombings Kill Scores in Pakistan
by AP
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posted Jan 11 2013 9:08AM
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<VIDEO> A series of bombings in different parts of Pakistan killed 115 people, including 81 who died in a sectarian attack on a billiard hall in the southwest city of Quetta. The blasts punctuated one of the deadliest days in recent years here.
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Haitian Runner Hopeful for Post-quake Rebuild
by AP
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posted Jan 11 2013 9:07AM
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<VIDEO> Haitian runner Astrel Clovis runs six days a week through the streets of Port-au-Prince, despite potholes, a lack of sidewalks and the long-term aftermath of the country's devastating earthquake three years ago.
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Hopeful Tougher Gun Control will Help Mexican Gun Violence
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 10 2013 7:54PM
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MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's newly named ambassador to the United States says he hopes the U.S. imposes new gun-control laws that will help reduce violence in Mexico.
Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora said Thursday that the mass shooting of school children in Newtown, Connecticut, last month had raised outrage to the point where previously unfeasible legal changes may be possible. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he will deliver new gun-control proposals to President Barack Obama by Tuesday.
Mexico says U.S. guns, particularly assault weapons, help fuel drug cartel-related violence south of the border.
Medina Mora says he hopes the Newtown shooting will, in his words, "catalyze the necessary societal support for a change in the regulations that will be more favorable to the interests of our country."
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Raw: Whales Trapped Under Ice in Canada
by AP
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posted Jan 10 2013 11:00AM
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<VIDEO> A community in Quebec's Far North is calling for outside help to free about a dozen killer whales trapped under a vast stretch of sea ice. Amateur video shows the trapped whales.
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Raw: Wildfires Rage Across Australia
by AP
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posted Jan 9 2013 8:14AM
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<VIDEO> Firefighters battled scores of wildfires in southeastern Australia as authorities evacuated national parks and warned that hot, dry and windy conditions were combining to raise the threat to its highest alert level.
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Raw: Police in Honduras Find Gold-plated AK-47
by AP
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posted Jan 9 2013 8:13AM
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<VIDEO> Police in Honduras seized a weapons cache which included a gold-plated AK-47 assault rifle during an operation that began in the northern city of Choloma on January 4th.
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Raw: 'Unruly' Airline Passenger Taped to Seat
by AP
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posted Jan 9 2013 7:50AM
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<VIDEO> Icelandair said it had to restrain a passenger with duct tape on a flight from Reykjavik to New York City because he was hitting people, screaming profanities and spitting.
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US Sees Iran Behind Hostage Photos of Ex-agent
by AP
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posted Jan 9 2013 7:48AM
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<VIDEO> Two years after a hostage video and photographs of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson raised the possibility that the missing American was being held by terrorists, U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images.
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Raw: Wildfires Rage Across Australia
by AP
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posted Jan 8 2013 9:55AM
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<VIDEO> Firefighters are battling wildfires raging across southeastern Australia as authorities evacuated national parks and warned that blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic" conditions in some areas.
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Raw: Richardson, Top Google Exec. in NKorea
by AP
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posted Jan 7 2013 8:12AM
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<VIDEO> Former New Mexico Governor and UN Ambassador Bill Richardson expressed concern about North Korea's humanitarian situation, missile launches and dialogue. Richardson is visiting with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.
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Raw: Anti-government Protest in Bangladesh
by AP
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posted Jan 7 2013 6:53AM
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<VIDEO> Police in Bangladesh fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells on Sunday to disperse protesters trying to enforce a general strike called to denounce a fuel price hike.
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Calling for Drug Crackdown in Puerto Rico
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 4 2013 5:50PM
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico's new governor is calling out National Guard troops to help prevent drug and weapons smuggling.
Alejandro Garcia Padilla said late Thursday that soldiers will be stationed in ports and airports across the U.S. territory to help bolster security. It was his first executive order as governor.
At least 50 soldiers and airmen will be activated by February, National Guard spokesman Maj. Paul Dahlen said Friday. He said that unlike past years, the National Guard this time will not be armed and visible to the public, but instead will provide technical support including the use of radar to monitor the island's coastline.
The National Guard was last activated in February 2010 for one year to help Puerto Rico fight rising crime on the island of 4 million people.
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Iranian Businessman Deported from U.S.
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 4 2013 5:49PM
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CHICAGO (AP) - U.S. immigration officials have deported an Iranian businessman found guilty of illegally shipping equipment to Iran that authorities said could be used in the country's nuclear program.
Amirhossein Sairafi pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy, money laundering and violating the 1995 Iran trade embargo and was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
He was released Thursday from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Sairafi was then deported from Chicago on a commercial flight.
Sairafi was accused of helping ship specialized vacuum pump equipment to Iran through a free-trade zone in the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. authorities say the equipment can be used in the enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce reactor fuel as well as material for nuclear weapons.
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Israeli ex-spy chief criticizes PM on Iran
by AP
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posted Jan 4 2013 5:35AM
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JERUSALEM (AP) - A recently retired Israeli spy chief says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted irresponsibly regarding Iran's nuclear program and accuses him of prioritizing personal concerns over national interests.
Yuval Diskin, chief of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency from 2005 to 2011, has voiced similar criticisms before.
Diskin says Netanyahu tried to convince him and his colleagues to approve what he called an "illegal" decision to attack Iran. He describes attending a "bizarre" meeting with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and then-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which they discussed the Iranian nuclear threat over cigars and liquor.
Diskin spoke in an interview to a filmmaker who made a documentary about Israeli spymasters. The interview appeared Friday in Israel's daily Yediot Ahronot.
Netanyahu's office in a text-messaged statement called Diskin's comments "baseless."
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Eurozone inflation holds steady at 2.2 percent
by AP
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posted Jan 4 2013 5:34AM
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BRUSSELS (AP) - Inflation across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro was unchanged at 2.2 percent in the year to December.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, did not provide further details in its estimate released Friday. More information will be provided in a second estimate to be published later this month.
Inflation in the eurozone remains above the European Central Bank's target of keeping the annual rate of price rises "just below 2 percent."
The ECB holds its first policy meeting next Thursday. It is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.75 percent even though the eurozone economy as a whole is back in recession.
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Chinese firms agree $11 billion deal in Cambodia
by AP
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posted Jan 4 2013 5:33AM
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Two Chinese firms have signed an $11 billion deal with Cambodia to build a new railway, a port and a steel factory in the Southeast Asian country.
San Sok Lika, an official with the Chinese-owned Cambodia Iron and Steel Mining Industry, said Friday that construction on the projects should begin by July.
The projects include a 400-kilometer (249-mile) rail line which will run from a steel plant in northern Preah Vihear province to a port in Koh Kong in Cambodia's southwest.
A recent statement issued by the two companies said the $11.2 billion deal was inked Dec. 31.
Cambodia Iron and Steel is based in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The other firm, Steel Mining Industry, is based in China.
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Obama Signs $633 Billion Defense Bill into Law
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 3 2013 7:40PM
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HONOLULU (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed the $633 billion defense bill into law, but has criticized one of its provisions protecting conscience rights.
The provision exempts chaplains from ceremonies like same-sex weddings that they oppose based on their faith. It also says the military cannot punish chaplains or other service members for their religious beliefs and must accommodate them unless the individual's speech or actions threaten good order and discipline.
In a signing statement, Obama called the conscience provision "unnecessary and ill-advised" and said his administration remains committed "to protecting the rights of gay and lesbian service members."
The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty responded that "the president is not at liberty to disregard the law" he signed.
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Health of Hugo Chavez Remains Delicate
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 3 2013 7:38PM
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MIAMI (AP) - Venezuelans in the United States are closely watching the health of President Hugo Chavez and weighing what it means for the future of their families and their homeland.
Chavez's condition remains delicate after suffering complications following cancer surgery last month. In the Venezuelan hub of South Florida, immigrants are following the news online, by television and through relatives still in the country.
Many of them say they will not immediately head back to their homeland if Chavez dies because they realize change will not be imminent. But they are optimistic the country can recover from some of the turmoil it has suffered.
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Israeli undercover raid sets off violent protests
by AP
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posted Jan 3 2013 7:15AM
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian officials say Israeli undercover troops broke into a West Bank house in a failed arrest raid, igniting a violent protest and signaling that Israeli-Palestinian security coordination may be in trouble.
The Israeli military says some 500 Palestinians threw stones and firebombs at troops near the town of Jenin. Palestinian officials say a Palestinian was shot in the hand by army fire and an elderly woman was bitten by an army dog.
In recent years, the West Bank has been relatively calm as a result of coordination between Israel's military and Palestinian security forces in tracking down militants. However, Palestinian officials say Israel has stepped up unilateral actions, such as surprise arrest raids, since the Palestinians won U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine late last year.
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India ready to charge men accused of gang rape
by AP
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posted Jan 3 2013 6:04AM
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NEW DELHI (AP) - Indian police say they are ready to file murder, rape and kidnapping charges against six people accused in the gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old university student.
New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat says the charges against the suspects were expected to be presented to a court in south Delhi on Thursday.
The Dec. 16 rape triggered outrage across India and sparked demands for stronger laws, tougher police action against sexual assault suspects and a sustained campaign to change society's views on women.
Media reports say 30 witnesses have been gathered, and the charges have been detailed in a document running more than 1,000 pages.
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Monti says 2nd term could vindicate his policies
by AP
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posted Jan 3 2013 5:51AM
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MILAN (AP) - Premier Mario Monti says a second term would demonstrate to Italians that he is not a wicked taxman.
Monti told RAI public television Thursday that he believes his technical government "did good things for Italy."
Monti, a trained economist, is heading a caretaker government in the run-up to February elections, where he is harnessing a coalition of centrist parties.
His 13-month technical government passed tax increases and spending cuts to shield Italy from the sovereign debt crisis. Monti said it also took measures to help families and the economically lagging south.
Three-time former Premier Silvio Berlusconi has harshly criticized Monti's decision to enter the race, saying Monti lacks credibility.
Monti shot back that this "is the judgment of a person who has demonstrated a certain volatility in judgment."
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Mexico Detains Unlikely Band of Drug Traffickers
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 2 2013 7:34PM
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MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican marines say they have detained an unlikely band of drug traffickers that includes 12 boys and a woman with a baby who possessed rifles, grenade launchers and drugs.
A navy statement issued Wednesday says the 18 people were caught on New Year's Eve in the town of La Estacion in the northern state of Zacatecas. It alleges they were carrying nine rifles, two pistols, two grenade launchers and packets of marijuana and cocaine.
The navy says the only woman in the group was carrying a baby girl. It doesn't say what authorities did with the baby.
Twelve of the 17 male suspects are said to be minors. Drug cartels often hire youths to work for them and many have been arrested since the government launched its offensive against traffickers.
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Iran says it captured 2 more US drones in past
by AP
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posted Jan 2 2013 11:13AM
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian navy commander claims Iran captured two small U.S. drones in past missions in addition to at least four others reported earlier.
Adm. Amir Rastgari says the two drones were of the small, low-altitude RQ-11 type, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency. He said one was captured in summer of 2011 and the other Nov. 2012.
Rastgari claimed most of the data from the unmanned aircraft was recovered.
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said last month that it captured a ScanEagle American drone after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf. At the same time, Iran claimed it had taken possession of two other simple, small ScanEagles.
In 2011, Iran claimed it brought down a more sophisticated CIA spy drone after it entered Iranian airspace from Afghanistan.
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Around half-million Syrians now refugees
by AP
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posted Jan 2 2013 11:12AM
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GENEVA (AP) - The U.N. refugee agency says about 84,000 people fled the escalating civil war in Syria in December alone, bringing the total number of those displaced since the beginning of the 22-month-old conflict to around half a million.
The agency said Wednesday that the number of registered refugees rose from about 394,000 to 478,000 within a month. If those still awaiting registration are included, around 569,000 people have fled Syria for neighboring countries.
It says Turkey hosts the largest group of registered Syrian refugees, totaling almost 150,000 as of Jan. 1. Some 130,000 people have fled to Lebanon, and another 120,000 to Jordan. Iraq hosts some 68,000 refugees.
Separately, another U.N. body said new figures suggest more than 60,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, topping activists' estimate of 45,000.
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Israel orders Bedouins to leave West Bank area
by AP
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posted Jan 2 2013 9:06AM
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KHIRBET AL-MEITEH, West Bank (AP) - Israel's army has ordered dozens of Palestinian Bedouins to leave their communities in a remote West Bank area while it conducts military exercises there.
The military says the order is temporary, and that the Palestinians are living illegally in closed military zones.
The Bedouins say they have lived there for decades, making a living by herding animals. They say Israeli officials are pressuring them to leave.
While the army has issued temporary evacuation orders in the past, Bedouins say they have increased in frequency. They say it is distressing for their children and livestock to move, and that many of them have nowhere else to go.
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Pakistani villagers bury slain aid workers
by AP
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posted Jan 2 2013 6:08AM
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SWABI, Pakistan (AP) - Hundreds of Pakistani villagers have turned out for the funerals of aid workers and teachers who were gunned down by militants in the country's northwest.
Family and friends on Wednesday buried two of the female teachers, along with a female health worker and a male medical technician.
The four were among seven people killed Tuesday on their way home from a community center in the town of Swabi where they were employed by a non-governmental organization.
There has been no claim of responsibility, and no arrests have been made.
The director of the NGO said he suspected the attack might have been retribution for the group's work helping vaccinate Pakistani children against polio.
Many militants in Pakistan view the vaccination campaigns as cover for western espionage.
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New Political Party Being Formed in Egypt
by Associated Press
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posted Jan 1 2013 7:24PM
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CAIRO (AP) - The leader of Egypt's largest Islamist ultraconservative party has announced he is forming a new political party, splitting from the Salafi Al-Nour party, which has emerged as the country's second strongest political group.
Al-Nour has been locked in an internal power struggle since October because its leaders disagreed over the role of a body of clerics in the party's politics.
Emad Abdel-Ghaffour, who headed al-Nour, said Tuesday he is forming the Al-Watan (Homeland) party and "opening a new page."
Abdel-Ghaffour, also a presidential adviser, has been an advocate of separating the party from the Salafi clerical body which backed the party's creation. He has the backing of key Salafi clerics and politicians.
The Salafis are more conservative than the dominant fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood of President Mohammed Morsi.
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Egypt police arrest suspect in attack on protester
by AP
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posted Jan 1 2013 6:14AM
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CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian police say they have arrested a suspect in a drive-by shooting that seriously wounded a protester in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, where an open-ended sit-in is taking place.
According to witnesses, gunmen before dawn on Monday seriously wounded 19-year-old Muhanad Samir, who has said he was jailed and tortured under Egypt's former ruling military council after he witnessed the killing of another activist.
Lawyers say the attacked appeared to target Samir, who is battling for his life with pellets embedded in his head.
Officials said Tuesday they arrested a cafe owner who told police that he fired on the square after people manning makeshift checkpoints there searched his car an
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Israel eases building materials blockade on Gaza
by AP
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posted Dec 31 2012 8:56AM
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JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli military says tons of building materials will start crossing daily into the Gaza Strip from Israel if the quiet along their border holds.
It's the first significant easing of a near-ban Israel had imposed on such shipments after Hamas militants seized the Palestinian territory five years ago. The new policy is also the first key concession to Hamas since an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ended eight days of fighting last month.
A military spokesperson said Monday that Israel began allowing shipments of gravel to Gaza's private sector on Sunday because the Israeli attacks on Hamas' military operations in November cowed the militant organization into quiet.
Israel says that construction materials like cement, gravel and metal rods can be used to make fortifications and weapons.
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Chinese activists defy guards to visit Nobel wife
by AP
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posted Dec 31 2012 8:54AM
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BEIJING (AP) - Five Chinese activists defied security and made a brief visit to dissident Liu Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia, confined under house arrest since her husband was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago.
The rare visit Friday was captured on video by activist Hu Jia, who posted it on YouTube on Monday.
Hu said the activists wanted to see Liu Xia on that day to mark her husband's birthday.
In the four-minute video, the activists are seen arguing with a man guarding the staircase leading to the couple's apartment in Beijing.
Hu said that after they got past the guard and met Liu at home, Liu whispered that she was under immense pressure because of tight surveillance, so they kept the visit short.
Liu Xiaobo is in prison for subversion.
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Nigeria president likens nation's unrest to Syria
by AP
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posted Dec 31 2012 8:52AM
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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria's president has compared the violence by an Islamist extremist sect in his West African nation to the ongoing civil war in Syria.
President Goodluck Jonathan made the comments Sunday before a church in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
Jonathan said the sect known as Boko Haram "is taking over Abuja (and wants) for me and those working in government to run and hide somewhere else."
Jonathan also told worshippers at the church that the violence around the world made him wonder if this is a "way of telling us that the end times are so close."
According to an Associated Press count, Boko Haram has killed more than 780 people this year alone in Nigeria. The killings continue despite soldiers and police flooding the nation's north.
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