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Petraeus warns of tough year ahead on Afghanistan
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:13:42 GMT
AP - The man who oversees U.S. forces in both the Iraq and Afghan wars says the fighting in Afghanistan will "likely get harder before it gets easier" and predicts 2010 will be a difficult year.
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Somali pirates free vessel with N. Korean crew
(AFP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:12:02 GMT
AFP - Somali pirates on Tuesday freed a chemical tanker with 28 North Korean sailors on board after receiving 3.5 million dollars in ransom, a maritime official said.
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Kidnapped British boy released in Pakistan
(AFP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:07:40 GMT
AFP - A five-year-old British boy kidnapped at gunpoint during a holiday in Pakistan nearly two weeks ago was waiting to be reunited with his mother after being safely recovered on Tuesday.
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Family of world's shortest man shocked by his death
(AFP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:07:17 GMT
AFP - The family of He Pingping, the world's shortest man, said Tuesday they were shocked by his unexpected death in Italy, saying he had shown no previous signs of bad health.
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Afghanistan confirms blanket pardon for war crimes
(Reuters) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:06:44 GMT Reuters - Afghanistan confirmed for the first time publicly on Tuesday that it had enacted into law a blanket pardon for war crimes and human rights abuse carried out before 2001.
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Sri Lanka's ex-army chief in court martial
(AFP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:48:37 GMT
AFP - Sri Lanka's former army chief, now a sworn political enemy of President Mahinda Rajapakse, faced a military court Tuesday on controversial charges that could see him jailed for up to five years.
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Sri Lankan opposition leader faces court-martial
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:37:02 GMT
AP - The former Sri Lankan army chief who lost his opposition bid for the presidency objected Tuesday to his court-martial hearing, saying the panel formed to decide his fate was biased against him, an ally said.
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Senate bill threatens stiff new penalties on China
(Reuters) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:35:39 GMT Reuters - China would face stiff new U.S. penalties if it fails to revalue its currency, under a bipartisan bill to be introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, congressional aides said.
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Pakistani officials: Suspected US missile kills 9
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:32:28 GMT
AP - An apparent U.S. missile attack destroyed a suspected militant compound in a tribal region of northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, intelligence officials said.
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Indian Islamist militants behind Pune blast: govt
(AFP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:28:33 GMT
AFP - A home-grown Islamist militant group was responsible for last month's deadly bomb attack in the Indian city of Pune, a government official said Tuesday.
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Thai protesters pour own blood outside govt HQ
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:26:23 GMT
AP - Thai protesters poured several jugs of their own blood at the front gate of the government headquarters and outside the ruling party's offices Tuesday in a symbolic sacrifice to press their demands for new elections.
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Officials: British boy kidnapped in Pakistan found
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:05:53 GMT
AP - Kidnappers released a 5-year-old British boy unharmed Tuesday almost two weeks after abducting him from his grandparents' house in central Pakistan, British and Pakistani officials said.
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China shows no sign of budging on Iran sanctions
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:25:50 GMT
AP - China showed no sign Tuesday of throwing its support behind new sanctions against Iran following talks with Britain's foreign minister, who had hoped to persuade Beijing to join a growing international consensus for more stringent measures.
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Vietnam releases leading dissident from prison
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:50:17 GMT
AP - One of Vietnam's leading democracy activists said Tuesday that he was released from prison because he has a brain tumor and suffered three strokes while in custody.
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Aide: Karzai 'very angry' at Taliban boss' arrest
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:38:21 GMT
AP - The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.
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China says missing lawyer sentenced for subversion
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:38:05 GMT
AP - China's foreign minister added to the mystery surrounding missing lawyer Gao Zhisheng on Tuesday, saying he had been sentenced on subversion charges but offering no details on his present status or whereabouts.
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Afghan gov't to send more police to Kandahar
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:06:40 GMT
AP - Afghanistan's government will provide more than 1,000 police reinforcements to the southern province of Kandahar after Taliban attacks killed dozens of people there ahead of a coming offensive on the insurgent stronghold, an official said Tuesday.
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Fiji declares state of emergency for cyclone aid
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:55:59 GMT
AP - Fiji declared a state of emergency Tuesday and ordered troops to launch relief operations in northern regions battered by a powerful cyclone that knocked out power and forced thousands of people to flee into shelters.
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CAPITAL CULTURE: Indonesia remembers young Obama
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:01:54 GMT AP - Somewhat bluntly, Barack Obama's former teacher sums up the neighborhood thinking when the future American president turned up with his family in Indonesia's capital more than 40 years ago.
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3 tigers very ill at Chinese zoo where 11 starved
(AP) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:55:42 GMT AP - Zookeepers are scrambling to save three seriously ill Siberian tigers at a cash-strapped zoo in northeastern China where 11 of the big cats starved to death recently.
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