| Suicide bomber kills 90 in Yemen, al Qaeda vows more attacks Posted:  SANAA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in army uniform killed more than 90 soldiers in the heart of the Yemeni capital on Monday and an al Qaeda affiliate threatened more attacks if a U.S.-backed campaign against militants in the front-line state did not stop. The bombing, which wounded more than 200 people, underscored the dangers Yemen faces as it battles Islamist militants entrenched in the south and threatening shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The explosion left scenes of carnage in Sanaa's Sabaeen Square, where the military had been rehearsing for a parade. ...
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| Two dead in Beirut clashes after killing of anti-Assad cleric Posted:  ALBIREH, Lebanon (Reuters) - Hundreds of Islamist gunmen fired in the air on Monday at the funeral of a Sunni Muslim cleric whose killing ignited street battles and brought the bloodshed from Syria's 14-month-old uprising spilling across the border into Lebanon. Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid, an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was buried in northern Lebanon a day after he was shot dead at a Lebanese army checkpoint in a part of that country where Sunni sympathy for Syria's rebels and the uprising against Assad is particularly strong. ...
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| No sign of breakthrough in U.N. nuclear chief's Tehran talks Posted:  VIENNA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief held talks in Tehran on Monday ahead of a meeting between major powers and Iranian officials this week, but there was no immediate sign of a breakthrough in the tense confrontation over Iran's nuclear programme. Yukiya Amano paid a rare visit to Tehran after voicing hope of its agreement to cooperate with an investigation by his International Atomic Energy Agency into what Western states suspect are Iran's efforts to develop atomic bomb capability. ...
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| Bruised Merkel returns home to more policy fights Posted:  BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel returns from one of her most difficult foreign trips in recent memory on Tuesday to face more, severe tests of her long-standing command over the policy agenda in Germany and Europe. The chancellor looked unusually isolated at a weekend G8 meeting in Camp David, where new French President Francois Hollande teamed up with host Barack Obama to push back against the bitter austerity medicine Merkel has prescribed for reeling euro zone members. ...
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| Exclusive: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters. The relationship means the People's Bank of China buys U.S. debt using a different method than any other central bank in the world. The other central banks, including the Bank of Japan, which has a large appetite for Treasuries, place orders for U.S. debt with major Wall Street banks designated by the government as primary dealers. ...
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| Putin tightens grip with new government Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and national security after protests and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue market reforms. Putin, 59, opted for continuity by retaining his ally Igor Shuvalov as first deputy prime minister in charge of economic policy, while Igor Sechin will remain his energy chief in a role outside the government. ...
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| Congo says army kills 25 mutineers in east Posted: KINSHASA (Reuters) - Twenty five mutineers loyal to a renegade general have been killed in clashes with the army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the government said on Monday. The east of the central African country remains unstable nearly a decade after the formal end of a vicious civil war which sucked in neighboring countries and left millions dead. ... |
| Ruling party candidate claims win in Dominican vote Posted:  SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Ruling party candidate Danilo Medina claimed victory on Monday in the Dominican Republic's hotly disputed presidential election, avenging his defeat 12 years ago by opposition candidate Hipolito Mejia. With the official count in Sunday's voting 99 percent complete, Medina and the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) held a 4 percentage point lead over Mejia, the candidate for the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), according to official results. ...
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| At least 11 Albanian university students killed in bus crash Posted:  TIRANA (Reuters) - At least 11 Albanian university students were killed and 22 others injured when their bus plunged hundreds of feet into a ravine on Monday, police said. The injured, some in critical condition, were rushed to hospital in the capital Tirana by helicopter. "Preliminary information says 11 are dead and 22 are injured," state police said. Some media reports said two buses had left the central Albanian town of Elbasan with 40 and 35 students on board for a two-day study tour. ...
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| Obama sketches 4-pronged strategy for Europe, sees EU consensus Posted:  CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged Europe on Monday to strengthen its defenses against financial market turmoil and recapitalize its banks as part of a four-pronged strategy for tackling the euro zone crisis. European leaders have shown an increased resolve to address these issues, and there is a "consensus across the board" from France, Germany and other European countries, Obama said in remarks that suggest Europe is considering broadening its approach to resolving the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. ...
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| Obama on Afghan: Leave on time, no 'perfect' end Posted:  President Barack Obama and leaders around the globe locked in place an Afghanistan exit path Monday that will still keep their troops fighting and dying there for two more years, acknowledging there never will be point at which they can say, "This is all done. This is perfect."
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| 96 Yemeni soldiers killed in suicide bombing Posted:  A Yemeni soldier detonated a bomb hidden in his military uniform during a rehearsal for a military parade, killing 96 fellow soldiers and wounding at least 200 on Monday in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years.
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| Violence in Syria spills over into Lebanon Posted:  Syria's war barreled over the border with an angry, raucous funeral Monday for an anti-Syrian cleric whose killing set off a night of deadly street battles in Beirut and raised fears that Lebanon is getting drawn into the chaos afflicting its neighbor.
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| Egypt's election to decide army's political future Posted:  This week's landmark presidential election should end six decades of effective military rule in Egypt, but it remains unclear how much authority the generals who took over from Hosni Mubarak will cede to the elected leader.
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| UN nuclear chief seeks pact on wider Iran probes Posted:  The head of the U.N. nuclear agency pushed Monday for a breakthrough pact with Iran to resume inspections into suspected secret atomic weapons work and possibly set in motion further dealmaking when envoys from Tehran and world powers gather later this week in Baghdad.
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| Egypt court gives 12 Christians life sentences Posted:  An Egyptian court sentenced 12 Christians to life in prison and acquitted eight Muslims on Monday in a case set off by religious tensions in the country's south.
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| Interim president of Mali injured by protesters Posted:  Demonstrators forced their way into the office of Mali's interim president on Monday and attacked the elderly leader, who was later brought to a local hospital unconscious, a witness and an associate of the president said.
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| Prosecutor launches new Strauss-Kahn rape probe Posted:  A French prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation into allegations of rape in a Washington hotel by former IMF chief and one-time French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
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| 3 dead, 2 missing after crowded weekend on Everest Posted:  Three climbers died and two others were missing while descending from the summit of Mount Everest — a toll that raised concerns about overcrowding in the "death zone" at the top of the world's tallest peak.
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| Israeli premier says Iran wants to destroy Israel Posted: Iran is seeking atomic weapons to destroy Israel and world powers should not make any concessions over its nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday. |
