Tsunami warning to every nation around the Pacific after massive 8.8 earthquake strikes Chile
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A building in Santa Cruz, Chile, lies flattened after the massive 8.8 earthquake this morning Read more
Top 10 News Stories of '00s
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The news stories that shaped the first decade of the new millennium, from terrorism to natural and humanitarian disasters. (Note: These are not ranked in order of importance.) Read more
The Story Behind the 'Stans
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Answer: In Persian, the suffix “stan” means “place of.” In Russian — remembering that Kazakhstan borders Russia, and five ‘stans used to be part of the Soviet Union — the word “stan” means “settlement.” So we have seven countries in Central Asia that share the “stan” suffix: Afghanistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Pakistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan The [...]
Birkett: Death penalty all fixed
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 Joe Birkett interrupted me with a scornful, dismissive, “Oh, come on!” Not bad! We were more than 90 minutes into an extraordinary debriefing session with the often prickly DuPage County state’s attorney Wednesday morning, and this was the first and really only flare-up. Read more
Tsunami Warnings After Deadly Chile Quake
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Alison Chung, Sky News Online More than 120 people have been killed after a huge earthquake struck the Chilean coast, which triggered a tsunami and sparked warnings for 53 countries. [...]
‘Glee’ Gilsig ‘wants Bette Midler cameo’
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Fox Jessalyn Gilsig has admitted that she would love Bette Midler to appear in Glee. Gilsig, who plays Terri Schuester in the comedy, told People that Midler would be a “good fit”. “Bette Midler should be on the show,” Gilsig said. “I’d want her to be my aunt or something.” She added: “You can imagine [...]
8.8-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile
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A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and a half and setting off a tsunami. Read more
Whitman goes negative with pre-emptive TV strike against Poizner
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The Meg Whitman for Guv campaign ain’t satisfied with a massive early lead in the polls over insurance commish Steve Poizner or a huge lead in cash-on-hand that the billionaire ex-CEO has over the… Read more
Staying at the Basra ‘B&B’
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It is jokingly dubbed ‘the most expensive B&B in the world’. Then again the trailer camp is the only ‘bed and breakfast’ that also provides lunch, dinner, a gym, 24-hour Internet access and a relatively secure place to stay in Basra.Situated within the newly-acquired American military base in this southern-Iraqi province, the B&B provides private [...]
‘Faith, Unity, Discipline’
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Times photographer Jack Hill in Pakistan. Islamabad: After Karachi, we headed to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Islamabad is a new city, built during the 1960s to replace Karachi. Being so new, it doesn’t have as much character as some of the other cities in Pakistan but it is green and spacious and [...]
In Marja, U.S. faces a tough fight against Taliban
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AFGHANISTAN Taliban resistance persists in Marja Outnumbered and outgunned, Taliban fighters are mounting a tougher fight than expected in Marja, Afghan officials said Sunday, as U.S.-led forces converged on a pocket of militants in a western section of the town. Despite ongoing fighting, the newly appointed civilian chief for Marja said he plans to fly [...]
Book review of “Nothing to Envy,” by Barbara Demick, and “The Cleanest Race,” by B.R. Myers
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“If you look at satellite photographs of the Far East by night, you’ll see a large splotch curiously lacking in light,” writes Barbara Demick on the first page of “Nothing to Envy.” “This area of darkness is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Read more
Mullen leads trip to Haiti, faces Preval’s ire on allegation
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — Haitian President René Préval faces many challenges: a country in ruins, a government in tatters, a traumatized population. But on Friday, he wanted to get something else off his chest. Read more
Venezuela’s Chávez Takes a Mighty Swing at Golf
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CARACAS, Venezuela — Every day, Pascual Cicenia plays golf on an emerald course that is 18 holes of tropical heaven in the middle of this chaotic city. He doesn’t take it for granted, he said, especially now that President Hugo Chávez has disparaged the sport as an elitist endeavor with few friends in his populist [...]
Sarkozy describes France’s ‘blindness’ to genocide in Rwanda
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KIGALI, RWANDA — France made serious errors in judgment over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and wants to ensure that all those responsible for the slaughter are caught and punished, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday. Read more
Ahmed Chalabi’s renewed influence in Iraq concerns U.S.
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BAGHDAD — Ahmed Chalabi, the onetime U.S. ally, is in the limelight again, and his actions are proving no less controversial than they did years ago. Read more
Greek PM to meet Merkel, Obama amid debt crisis
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ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s prime minister announced plans on Friday to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week as signs grow that diplomatic efforts are under way to resolve his country’s debt crisis. Read more
Heavy winter storms wreak havoc in Northeast
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A record-breaking winter storm slammed New York and much of the U.S. Northeast on Friday, forcing businesses, schools and transportation systems to shut down as nearly two feet of snow fell in the city. Read more
Uribe fails in Colombia term bid
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The Colombian constitutional court has rejected a referendum which could have led to President Alvaro Uribe running for a third term in office. Read more
Head of IMF proposes new reserve currency (AP)
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WASHINGTON – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, suggested Friday the organization might one day be called on to provide countries with a global reserve currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar. Read more