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Iraq forces gain more control, but lose more lives (AP)

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Thirty-two percent of those killed were security forces, compared with 12 percent of the total figure last September, the AP figures showed.
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Tories pledge to freeze council tax for two years

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A Conservative government would freeze UK council tax for two years, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne pledged yesterday in a surprise move unveiled to cheers at the party’s conference.
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Stampede Kills Scores at Temple in India

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JODHPUR, India (Sept. 30) - Thousands of pilgrims panicked by false rumors of a bomb stampeded at a Hindu temple in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 168 people in the crush to escape.
Television footage showed dozens of bodies lying on the sidewalk, while nearby frantic people tried to revive unconscious devotees, slapping their […]

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Should we be worried? Brown raises savings guarantee to £50,000 after day of turmoil

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Gordon Brown has confirmed that the government plans to raise the guarantee for bank savings to £50,000 from £35,000 in a new banking law.
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Gauteng resignation

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The leader of South Africa’s richest province, Gauteng, resigned yesterday, heightening speculation about a split in the ruling African National Congress.
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France's Worst Serial Killers?

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The trial of Michel Fourniret — who reportedly enlisted his wife’s help to seize virgin girls to rape and kill — began March 27, 2008, with Fourniet refusing to speak unless court went into closed session and refusing to let the press take his photograph. The Times of London reported the gory details:

“The couple resembled […]

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Abdullah's Interfaith Effort

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Saudi Arabia’s king called for greater dialogue and openness between the world’s monotheistic religions on March 24, 2008. In the face of rising tensions over Mohammed cartoons, al-Qaida claiming Pope Benedict XVI is leading a crusade, and a stalled Middle East peace process, King Abdullah’s outreach took on extra weight. From the International Herald Tribune:

“‘The […]

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Observers Call Belarus Vote ‘Flawed’

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Not a single opposition candidate won a parliament seat. So yeah, I think it’s safe to say, without even having observed a single polling station myself, that something stinks. Here’s the report, straight from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe:

“…The election took place in a strictly controlled environment with a barely visible campaign, […]

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`Con-Con’ ballot question’s wording speaks for itself

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As you may know, there will be a referendum question on the November ballot asking if we should hold a convention to overhaul the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
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India Temple Stampede Kills 168

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12:55pm UK, Tuesday September 30, 2008



Alex Crawford, India correspondent, in New Delhi













At least 168 people have died in a temple stampede in India, according to local government officials.








Police officer carries a stampede victim from the scene



There are unconfirmed reports the death toll in Jodhpur, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, could be as high as […]

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Janet Jackson hospitalised in Montreal

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Rex Features

Janet Jackson has been taken to hospital after falling ill during a sound check in Montreal.
The singer, 42, is currently being monitored by doctors, according to W&W Public Relations.
Jackson hopes to reschedule her show, which was due to take place last night. Last Friday, she cancelled a concert in Detroit because of “production constraints”.
She […]

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Asian markets fall at opening

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The historic carnage on Wall Street spread to Asia Tuesday, with stocks across the region plunging after Congress rejected a rescue plan that investors had hoped would bolster volatile financial markets.
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US: WARSHIPS SURROUND SHIP WITH SUDAN-BOUND TANKS

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - The U.S. Navy sent more warships Monday to surround a hijacked ship loaded with Russian-made tanks and said that the cargo had been destined for unknown buyers in Sudan.
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Harvey Milk Democratic club to vote whether to back Cindy Sheehan

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Harvey Milk Democratic club to vote whether to back Cindy Sheehan

The Harvey Milk Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Democratic Club will still be LGBT next week, but the Democratic part may be in doubt.
The club will vote next Tuesday on whether to pull its endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and give it to Cindy Sheehan, […]

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New world order notes: Cuba, Venezuela’s Chávez, the U.S. banking crisis

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Mexico City, Mexico, and Havana, Cuba - Around the world, the leaders of many different governments, political analysts, investors of all kinds, and both admirers and detractors of the United States of America (and, even more precisely, critics of its government, which has few fans anywhere) are watching with concern and alarm as some of […]

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As Contagion Spreads, Moods Abruptly Shift

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PARIS, Sept. 29 — The turmoil that began on Wall Street now spans the globe.

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Pakistan Picks New Chief For Intelligence Agency

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The Pakistani government has selected a new chief for its powerful intelligence service, the ISI, replacing a figure the Bush administration has long suspected of ties to Taliban extremists and other militant groups in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, according to diplomatic and administration officials.

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Voters in Ecuador Approve Constitution

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 28 — Ecuadorans approved by a wide margin Sunday a new constitution that would expand the powers of President Rafael Correa and open the possibility that he could serve a decade in office.

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Bottled Water at Issue in Great Lakes

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CHICAGO — Even as a 10-year campaign to block wholesale export of Great Lakes water came to a successful conclusion in Congress last week, some legislators and environmentalists vowed to continue their fight to close a “bottled-water loophole,” a campaign that taps into a national debate over sales of H2O in disposable containers.

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Navy Warships Monitor Boat Hijacked by Somali Pirates

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CAIRO, Sept. 29 — The U.S. Navy bolstered its force of warships off Somalia on Monday, intensifying its watch over Somali pirates holding a hijacked Ukrainian-operated vessel with crew members, arms and tanks aboard.

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