You are currently browsing the Current World News weblog archives for the day Thursday, December 4th, 2008.

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Chinese Investment in Africa

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China is increasingly turning to Africa for its energy and raw materials needs and as a market for cheap, manufactured goods.
The question on everyone’s mind is what effect - for good or for evil - China’s expanding role will have on the continent. Will China’s ambitions in Africa constitute a new round of colonialism or […]

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‘Afghan Stars’ Loving the Spotlight

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By Bridget Johnson, your guide to Journalism

Lima Sahar looks like any other “Idol” hopeful waiting in a hotel meeting room for her chance to show off her vocal cords for a panel of ornery judges. But the songstress, who placed third on the third season of “Afghan Star,” has also become a beacon of hope […]

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Farewell to `Quotegate’

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The three of you will be glad to know that, barring unexpected
developments, I’m planning to say goodbye to the “Quotegate†story that
I’ve written quite a  bit about since my first column on it one month ago today.
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Why British Humour Is In Our Genes - And The Stories Moving Up The Web Agenda

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Sky.Com News, the news with the web’s agenda, is on-air and online at 7.30pm. Here are all the links to the blogs, videos and stories discussed by Martin Stanford and guests.
The most-clicked stories on Sky News Online:
Police Chief Death: ‘No Obvious Cause’
Weather: Winds Of 80mph Pummel Britain
Shannon’s Mum: ‘Someone Took Her To Hurt Me’
Unholy […]

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Tibet Violence: Dalai Lama Calls For International Investigation

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The Dalai Lama has called for an international investigation into China’s crackdown on protesters in Tibet. The spiritual leader thanked world leaders for their concern over the increasingly violent scenes being played out in the Himalayan region.
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Picture Special: Football Fitties Part Two

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Toned, trained and used to being disciplined, footballers are our kinda guys. They’re so attractive, in fact, that we’ll even put up with the occasional bit of dribbling. Last week we compiled a gallery of some of the sexiest soccer stars around, but the best is yet to come. Part two of our Football Fitties […]

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Iraq Insurgency Runs on Stolen Oil Profits

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The sea of oil under Iraq is supposed to rebuild the nation, then make it prosper. But at least one-third, and possibly much more, of the fuel from Iraq’s largest refinery here is diverted to the black market, according to American military officials.

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5 YANKS HURT IN PAKISTAN BLAST

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March 16, 2008 — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A bomb exploded in an Italian restaurant crowded with foreigners in Pakistan’s capital yesterday, killing a Turkish woman and wounding 11 others including five Americans.
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Pelosi: Democratic dream ticket “impossible”

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For all of you out there hoping Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton might run together this November — and yes, that includes you, Hillary — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has three words for you.
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Views from abroad on Spitzer, sex and his “crime”

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A politics-themed “blogue” for Canada’s French-language cyberpresse.ca online news service notes that the sexcapades that got just-resigned New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s into career-crushing trouble are bad news for the presidential campaign of Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, too. That’s because, he notes, Spitzer’s sex-related, headline-making adventures could unpleasantly remind voters of the extramarital dalliances of […]

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Uankaa yourself

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People in politics are the objects of a lot of sneering and scepticism, and overall this is a healthy and necessary thing. But often, I suspect, even we sneerers have a touching and naive faith in those who lead us. We complain about them, of course, but they are doing a job that few of […]

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Disminución en remesas, llamado de alerta para América Latina

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Jesús Antonio Soriano había querido hacer algo por Chalatenango, un departamento al norte de El Salvador devastado por el conflicto civil en los 80. Así que hace cuatro años, junto con tres socios nacidos como él en ese departamento, desarrollaron un plan para mejorar el valor de la tierra y generar empleo por medio de […]

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Withdrawal Pains

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The current discussion about drawing down American troops in Iraq — whether “immediately,” “rapidly” or “as soon as possible” — would be amusing were it not so dangerously divorced from reality. There could be no greater mistake than drawing down the U.S. force now, at a moment when there is real hope for success if […]

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Needed: Honesty on Iraq

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Iraq is the moral quagmire of the past quarter-century for American presidents and politicians. Every attempt by our leaders to ignore, manipulate or resolve with brute force that country’s deep conflicts has quickly come back to haunt its architect with unanticipated consequences and new, agonizing choices.

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Plumbing the Depths of Indian Widowhood

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It was 11 years ago, but the image of a widow’s wretchedness etched itself into the soul of Deepa Mehta , the Indian-born filmmaker who has made a career of deconstructing India’s darkest taboos in sparse cinematic works of art.
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Seeing Red Over Bid to Clone a Bull

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MADRID — Victoriano del R¿o has a favorite animal, a majestic bull named Alcalde, who is nearing the end of his days after faithfully and lucratively siring more than 400 offspring. Loath to see him go, del R¿o is paying a company in Texas about $45,000 to have the big boy cloned.

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Heavy Presence of Chinese Police Quells Rioting in Tibet’s Capital

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BEIJING, March 16 — Chinese police flooded into the streets of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Saturday to smother riots that have destroyed scores of Chinese-owned businesses and left at least 10 people dead. Officials demanded that the rioters surrender by midnight Monday, and shopkeepers cowered in their stores as tourists fled the city.

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GOP Congressman From Illinois Won’t Run in 2008

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JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 21 — Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), facing questions about his ethics, announced Friday that he will not seek an eighth term.

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Ex-Captive Describes Years With Guerrillas

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CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 12 — Clara Rojas, one of two hostages freed Thursday after being held captive for years by Colombian rebels, gave birth to her son nearly four years ago by kitchen-knife Caesarean and has not seen him since he was taken from the jungle at 8 months old.

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Drug Trade Tyranny on Mexico’s Border

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TIJUANA — The killers prowled through Loma Bonita in the pre-dawn chill.

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